hankyoreh

It turns out that violent hazing of first-year students at university is not something limited to colleges of physical education. The country has just seen footage of students in one university’s German department tormenting students who entered the department as new students this semester while on a retreat at Mt. Gyeryong in South Chungcheon Province. In the video, you see scenes you would expect to see only in the military, and the mood is a far cry from the youthful spirit and passion that are supposed to be part of department retreats such as these. One second-year student is attacked with such intensity for not speaking loud enough that the only difference from the military is that the participants are not wearing uniforms. The military isn’t what it used to be, actually, so maybe the hazing at the retreat was even more severe.

Every time there are revelations of violence among students at institutions specializing in sports and physical education, a lot of people write it off as something limited to students at those types of schools or in those types of majors. Not because people look down on such students, but because the atmosphere requires discipline, order, and teamwork. Our society being one where violence has been rampant, we have often confused it with discipline. Still, many had expected that the old habits of yesteryear had disappeared and been replaced by departments that emphasize independence, individuality, and intellect.

It appears, however, that such expectations were out of touch with reality. Though they may be a minority, there is no evidence that the students involved are exceptions to the general trend. When one of the older students defends what happened as "part of the memories that are made at such student retreat trips," what he says is little different from the sports and physical education students who describe violence as "tradition." You are admitting that violence is habitual if you call it ‘tradition’ or ‘something memories are made of.’

Violence is just violence. This is a truth no one can deny. There are many factors to prevent people from seeing this simple fact. The most insidious of this kind of block is when violence wears the clothing of "custom." This being the case, before blaming individuals, we should crush the oppressive things that have made violence customary. One way to do that would be for universities to prohibit the use of violence and enact regulations that allow for strict disciplinary action in such cases.

It was in the late ’90s that schools began campaigns to have sexual abuse and harassment prohibited on campus, largely because of demands by female students. The demand that sexual harassment be eradicated from places of learning and intellect eventually succeeded when some universities did indeed change their school regulations. Among other things, the campaign also had the effect of preventing harassment by educating people about it. Rules prohibiting violence and abuse would have a similar effect. The more long-term approach will have to involve teaching students in primary and secondary schools of the ills of violent behavior. Only when there are both formal regulations and consistent education will society uproot itself from the cycle of violence.



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