College graduation, for many, represents a rite of passage into adulthood. But it seems some students at Universitas Riau (Unri) in Pekanbaru, Riau, still have some growing up to do.
Yesterday afternoon, the Social and Political Studies Faculty (Fisipol) was holding a graduation ceremony event on campus. The event was marred by one little annoyance that led to a full on brawl.
“The engineering students drove past (the venue of the ceremony) and revved up their motorcycle engines. Because they were noisy, the Fisipol students who were at the graduation got angry. The engineering students also got angry, and thus happened the brawl between students,” said Pekanbaru Police Deputy Chief Edy Sumardi, as quoted by Detik today.
Dozens of students from both sides reportedly took part in the brawl, causing damages to university property.
“There were university facilities that were damaged. There were (broken) flower pots, windows shattered from rock throwing,” Edy said.
An untold number of students were reportedly injured during the brawl. The unhealthy inter-faculty rivalry carried on into the evening until the police came to disperse the crowds.
There were no reports of any arrests.
Brawling between students, or tawuran as it is known locally, occurs at an alarming rate in Indonesia, especially among high school students. Over the past five years, there have been more than 130 deaths from over 800 brawls just in and around Jakarta.
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