Freshman year should be a highlight of teenage life but for many first-year students hazing rituals -- a "rite of passage" at Thai universities -- is a nightmarish experience.
Hazing rituals in Thai have been termed rap nong which means "welcoming freshmen event".
While rap nong may sound charming and harmless, the reality is different, despite it being a staple of Thai university life for decades.
In a typical rap nong, seniors often yell, coerce and force freshmen to do ridiculous and funny things to show submission and unity.
While many events end happily, there have been hazing ceremonies that get out of hand with senior students taking it upon themselves to inflict cruel and unusual punishments on their young charges, with one such incident being exposed this week with the death of 19-year-old Padyos Chonpakdi.
Padyos was a first-year student at Rajamangala University of Technology Isan in Nakhon Ratchasima province. He was a passionate footballer and, according to reports, a large group of senior students took him to a field where they said they were going to play football.
But once at the field things turned violent.
Padyos was reportedly forced to guzzle liquor, and then was punched and kicked by the senior students until he fell unconscious and subsequently died. Sixty students -- seniors and freshmen -- reportedly attended the hazing ritual.
Seven senior students implicated in the teen's death were immediately expelled from the university and faced criminal charges yesterday.
Padyos tragic and untimely death has been added to a growing number of victims when hazing goes brutally wrong.
Last year, a vocational student was kicked to death by seniors. In 2020, three students died from hazing rituals.
It is not that educational institutes have turned a blind eye to the problem. Universities have banned such violent pranks but hazing rituals remain popular and in order to avoid the oversight of universities, seniors often conduct their own hazing rites off-campus.
While some fresher students unwillingly join in out of peer pressure, many others perceive rap nong as a rite of passage and, in doing so they help continue what has become a sadistic tradition.
Rap nong is the opposite of other events conducted in respectful and civilised ways, that have the role of forging unity and fraternity at universities.
Rap nong has become a vessel that nourishes a culture that condones violence, hierarchy and submissiveness.
To deal with it at a fundamental level, society needs to find better solutions to counter it and the best way to solve the problem must begin early at schools.
Students must be taught about a culture of peace and how to treat others with respect. The best way to end a bad habit is to have it replaced with a better and more constructive one.
Education institutes need ongoing campaigns against sadistic hazing rituals and seek to promote alternatives such as sports, charity projects or even entertainment events as acceptable forms.
Doing nothing about the problem means waiting for more students to become victims of a culture of violence.
