Who needs orientation programs?<\/p>\n
Didik, a new student at the Bandung Institute of Technology
\n(ITB), is relieved to find a well-run student orientation program
\n(Ospek) at the institute, in which there is no violence or
\nhumiliation by senior students as he had initially feared.<\/p>\n
\"The rector has threatened to expel (senior students) if they
\ncommit harmful deeds,\" the student of ITB's Urban Planning
\nDepartment said.<\/p>\n
The only instance where Didik and other new students felt
\n\"humiliated\" was when they were ordered to wear their high school
\nuniforms, with hats, and march orderly before entering classrooms
\nto listen to speeches by senior students and lecturers on being a
\nsuccessful student at the institute.<\/p>\n
A similar program conducted at the private Trisakti University
\nin Jakarta also got under way smoothly.<\/p>\n
Sephia, a new industrial engineering student, was obliged to
\nwear a black and white uniform and a big name tag pinned to her
\ndress for the session, during which she and other students
\ngathered to listen to an introduction about studying at the
\ncampus.<\/p>\n
\"No violence or humiliation. Female students were just asked
\nto braid their hair into five strands. A bit funny, but that's
\nOK,\" Sephia said.<\/p>\n
In the past, ITB, Trisakti and many other institutes and
\nuniversities had harsh hazing sessions. New students often
\nfainted, some even died, after being abused by senior students.
\nNew students were made to stand in the searing sun for hours, and
\nwere often kicked and slapped.<\/p>\n
Fights among students during orientation programs often
\nerupted. A few years ago, a clash broke out between hundreds of
\nstudents from Surabaya's 10 November Institute of Technology
\n(ITS). Dozens of students were injured and windows were broken in
\nthe brawl, and the police were called in to break it up.<\/p>\n
Some senior students have been suspended and punished for
\nexcessive violence during hazing.<\/p>\n
Year after year, hazing always sparked controversy, with many
\ndemanding that an end be brought to it, saying hazing was
\ncounterproductive and turned into a forum where seniors
\nillustrated their power over new students. Hazing here is thought
\nto have been inherited from the Dutch.<\/p>\n
One case that highlighted the extreme violence of local
\norientation programs was the death two years ago of a student at
\nthe Institute of Public Administration (STPDN) in Jatinangor,
\nSumedang, West Java, which sparked a national uproar.<\/p>\n
The case was revealed after a videotape of junior STPDN
\nstudents being beaten up by seniors was aired on TV one year
\nafter the incident. The videotape showed freshmen being kicked
\nand punched by older students on the STPDN campus.<\/p>\n
One freshmen, Wahyu Hidayat, died after being treated for days
\nfor severe injuries. Ten students were jailed and the state-run
\nschool was temporarily closed.<\/p>\n
Despite rampant violence during orientation programs, many
\naspects of the program are considered beneficial to introducing
\nnew students to university life.<\/p>\n
Which is one reason why universities maintain the program. And
\nmost of them now try to prevent violence from occurring.<\/p>\n
Both Didik and Sephia agreed that they obtained useful
\ninformation about their campuses from their orientation programs.
\nIt also gave them a chance to get to know senior students and
\nlecturers.<\/p>\n
However, Anisa, a new bachelor-degree student at Prasetya
\nMulya Business School, considers orientation programs useless.<\/p>\n
\"It's often used by senior students to take advantage of
\njunior students,\" Anisa said.<\/p>\n
She said that her school arranged an outward bound trip for
\nnew students instead of making them attend an orientation
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
For Anisa's school, which just introduced its bachelor
\nprogram, an outbound program may be preferable for students to
\nprepare them for their years of study.<\/p>\n
\"I'm in the first class. So we have no senior students. It
\nwould be impossible for our S2 (graduate) students to conduct an
\norientation program,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Who really needs an orientation program, anyway?<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/who-needs-orientation-programs-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }