The Danger Of Student Hazing
There has always been so-called student hazing, a widespread practice among young people to welcome new members into a group. Their goal is often ‘mockery’ and fun at one person’s expense. Today, however, the danger of student hazing is that the more humiliating, violent, and risky it is, the better.
Student hazing, a need for acceptance and belonging
A hazing is a group phenomenon, an initiation ritual that is often used at university entrance. However, it is also common to do it in other school contexts, in the military field, in university residences or in some student unions.
The ultimate goal of initiation practices or rituals is to make those who wish to be part of the group pay a ‘toll’ to be accepted. This toll can be made up of several tests that are decided by the members who already belong to the group and range from submitting the new member to difficult physical tests or walking naked in a public place, to bathing in cold water in winter or even receive a spanking.
Indeed, during adolescence, young people need to feel accepted by their peer groups and are sometimes able to do whatever it takes to be recognized and included in the group.
And the greater the need for acceptance, the greater can be the prank to which a person may be willing to be subjected, even when it is excessive and has significant consequences, both physically and psychologically.
Also, in many student prank calls, drinking alcohol is a common denominator. So, this is a factor that further favors any student hazing, however innocent it may seem, to become something truly dangerous. This is because, when people consume alcohol irresponsibly, they are more likely to lose track of risk and danger.
Actions to avoid the danger of student hazing
To avoid the danger of student hazing, both in the family and in the school institution, it is possible to develop actions such as:
- Offer workshops or lectures to address the importance of coexistence, tolerance and mutual respect, as well as highlight the danger of student hazing as a form of abuse with important physical and psychological consequences, both for people who go through situations of abuse, as well as for the intellectual authors of student hazing, who can suffer, in some cases, both psychological and legal consequences.
- Establish appropriate channels of help, information and psychological containment to report student hazing. That is, those who have been subjected to this type of evidence or who are witnesses to it will be able to talk about it and report these situations. In this sense, there are associations that combine efforts and means to eradicate student hazing and initiation rituals.
Student prank to receive and not to assault
As we said, both parents and educators must develop actions to make young people aware of the danger of student hazing. For this, it is also important to work with empathy and put yourself in the other’s shoes, considering that:
- A student prank should be a way to welcome and make someone feel good, in any social environment.
- If considered an initiation ritual, a student hazing should start a new stage, being the gateway to new work, social, training or leisure opportunities.
- It is necessary to think before acting. To avoid the danger of student hazing, we need to teach young people to think before idealizing them and make them consider that “we should not do for others what we do not like them to do to us” .
