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Undergraduates on the campus of the University of Hong Kong on December 20. A sexual harassment survey found that such incidents in orientation camps “have become something like ‘seasonal influenza’”: expected to occur every year. Photo: Dickson Lee
Opinion
Alice Wu
Alice Wu

‘Tradition’ of bullying and sexual abuse at university orientation camps must stop

  • Such acts have been known for decades. Universities must now step in and stop ‘ocamps’ from degenerating into sanctioned abuse, hazing and harassment
Alice Wu
Alice Wu
Why you can trust SCMP
It’s all fun and games until it’s not. And from what we’ve seen hitting the news in the past few weeks, university orientation camps are not all fun and games. Arrests have been made after allegations of sexual abuse at orientation camps for two universities. Video footage of inappropriate activity at other orientation camps have surfaced.
Things have become so bad that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu spoke out, condemning such acts as “intolerable”, calling on universities to “cooperate with law enforcement” and pointing out that society expected proper conduct from university students.
Orientation camps, it seems, have crossed the line into initiation rituals, hazing and even violence. It’s not a recent phenomenon. News of “ocamps”, as they are called here, have been making the headlines every few years.

That this problem keeps cropping up makes it absolutely necessary for universities to do more to safeguard their students, including and especially incoming ones. And by doing more, I mean going beyond stating their “zero tolerance” policies towards bullying and inappropriate behaviour and updating their guidelines on organising student activities.

Clearly, orientation camps have deviated from their intended purpose – to welcome newcomers, offer a chance to make friends, and introduce them to a supportive and inclusive community and university life – into some sort of initiation process, a rite of passage for newcomers to be “accepted”.

Initiation rites are a part of human existence and an important part of socialisation. A community with a strong identity fosters conformity and stability. Power is obviously at play. Outsiders must prove themselves worthy to be accepted. Once upon a time, it would have been justified by, say, the survival of the tribe.

Freshmen taking part in a cheering competition as part of a five-day ocamp at the University of Hong Kong on August 30, 2006. There’s a line between fostering a sense of belonging and making newcomers feel unwelcome unless they complete certain activities. Photo: Jonathan Wong

But subjecting students already accepted into the university to activities that resemble initiation rites are in effect an ostracisation – and that goes against the very purpose of orientation. There’s a line between fostering a sense of belonging and making newcomers feel unwelcome unless they complete certain activities, however inappropriate or harmful.

Such activities that emphasise the power imbalance between existing members and newcomers – with existing members setting the rules and dictating the games to be played – are rightly considered bullying, which includes hazing. Encouraging or coercing ocamp participants into behaviours that may be uncomfortable for them, physically or emotionally, can be considered harassment.

Hazing involves harmful behaviours that can include forced consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs, which impairs judgment and makes it hard for intended victims to defend themselves. Also in this category are coerced or degrading sexual acts and physical abuse.

The argument that it is tradition and a part of the university “culture” makes it imperative that universities step in and stop ocamps from degenerating into sanctioned abuse, hazing and harassment. Inducting new students into university life by putting them in harm’s way, with older students acting as perpetrators, does not make the transition to undergraduate life exciting or liberating.
The Po Leung Kuk Jockey Club Tai Tong Holiday Camp in Yuen Long, where a woman attending an Education University orientation camp is alleged to have been raped. Photo: Wikipedia

While initiation rituals can be powerful and highly effective in creating intense shared experiences that strengthen community spirit and instil core values, they can also be very destructive.

The power dynamics in initiation, with newcomers removed from the routines of normal life while subject to groupthink, make it all too easy for groups to get away with hazing. And when coercion is in place, along with substance abuse, those being initiated have little chance of properly calibrating their risks or protecting one another.

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In its 2019 study on the sexual harassment of university students, the Equal Opportunities Commission said that “incidents of sexual harassment in orientation camp have become something like ‘seasonal influenza’, which is expected to occur every year”.

It found that as many as 23 per cent of university students had been sexually harassed in the 12 months before its survey. More importantly, it identified and examined the reasons that victims did not come forward, the enabling silent bystanders, the abuse of power and the lack of support from universities when it comes to raising awareness on sexual harassment.

It is time for universities and education officials to seriously study the report – if they haven’t before – and address these issues head on. What happens in ocamp does not stay in ocamp. The bad behaviours and damage are carried onto campuses and have an impact on students – whether they are the perpetrators, victims or bystanders – beyond their years in university.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA

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