Remember the various cases of hazing that happened last year at the National University of Singapore (NUS)? A lot has happened since then, from emergency meetings and revisions of rules to punishments meted out to student leaders of the camp to the complete suspension all orientation events.
Since the period of suspension for last year’s ‘fun activities’ in the NUS Freshman Orientation Camp, the school has since released new guidelines regarding activities during FOC for all NUS students, which Channel NewsAsia managed to obtain.
The email contains instructions detailed by the Orientation Review Committee (ORC), a group specifically set up by NUS last September to deal with all the hoo-ha of the past and avoid potentially similar incidents in the future.
Public outcry was particularly overwhelming last year when The New Paper published a new exposé on the weirdly depraved and raunchy games conducted by student leaders that went on under the noses of the NUS administration.
In the email, instructions stated that all activities for FOC must be vetted and approved by the ORC, up to and including the camp’s main activities, activities not part of the schedule – AKA free periods – and even cheers and forfeits (whew!). All “negative features” such as ragging, violating one’s dignity, activities involving intimate body contact and the such are strictly prohibited.
Starting with this academic year, expect members of the ORC to act as safety officers patrolling around – or even observing from a distance with a ratio of one officer to a group of 50 students – the grounds where orientation camps are held. Student leaders will have to undergo a peer leadership course as well.
Generally, university students are expected to behave like proper adults, what with classes usually handled with a hands-off attitude by the professors. Thus, with this measure in place, it could really make the students feel collared in areas where their idea of ‘fun’ thrives.
