Academic violence and culture<\/p>\n
The deplorable tragedy that befell the Public Administration
\nCollege (STPDN), Sumedang, West Java -- involving the death of
\nWahyu Hidayat (20), a first-year student, who was allegedly
\nbeaten to death by a group of senior students, followed by the
\nmobbing of journalist-photographer, Bivansyah Dunda (26) of Koran
\nTempo by students of the same school -- has had repercussions
\nboth for the delinquent students and the reputation of the school
\n(The Jakarta Post, Sept. 6 and Sept. 9; Media Indonesia, Sept.
\n9).<\/p>\n
A piercing caricature on the Post's Opinion page (Sept. 10)
\nreflected the mentality of the school, (as illustrated by the big
\nquestion mark drawn in place of a head). But the caricature also
\ntarnished the image of the quality education that generally
\nprevails in this country.<\/p>\n
An article written by a senior scholar appeared in Kompas,
\nSept. 8, entitled A distinction between academic culture and the
\nculture of academic violence. In essence, the article discusses
\nthe academic cultural practice purporting to acquaint newly
\nenrolled students with campus life -- which is acclaimed as
\nhaving academic virtue.<\/p>\n
However, in practice, deviations from the ideal postulate
\nfrequently occur in the application of extreme violence. This
\ninevitably culminates to fall within the purview of criminology.<\/p>\n
However, it must be noted that it has become commonplace for
\nthe public to despise and condemn the so-called culture of
\ncorruption in this country, that has become a rampant practice.<\/p>\n
To speak of a \"culture of academic violence\" constitutes a
\ncontradiction in terms, as it is incongruent with the definition
\nand concept of culture itself. So the term must be dismissed.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, any positioning of the two concepts (culture and
\nviolence) essentially constitutes a misplacement.<\/p>\n
S. SUHAEDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/academic-violence-and-culture-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }