Annual braw;s a tradition for UKI, YAI students
Annual braw;s a tradition for UKI, YAI students
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
It doesn't take ideological differences for students of the
Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) and YAI Persada Indonesia
University to attack each others campuses and be engaged in,
often, brutal brawls.
"It can start from a simple thing like if a male YAI student
makes a pass at a female UKI student, or a male YAI student
accidentally brushes against a UKI student," Dimas, 21, a
communications student at YAI, said on Friday.
No matter how trivial, it seems good reason for the students
to descend on the street that separates their campuses on Jl.
Salemba Raya, Central Jakarta, disrupting the traffic and,
injuring passersby who happen to be on the battlefield.
Although he admitted that the brawls could disrupt classes and
hurt other people not involved in the brawls, Satrio, a third
year student of international relations at UKI, could not imagine
life without it.
"It has become a tradition for us, so we no longer feel
awkward about it," he said.
A sidewalk vendor who sells fried bananas and tofu in front of
YAI campus, Wahyu, said the brawls between the two campuses had
taken place for years.
"It takes place frequently. It's a common thing," he said.
According to the students, shop owners and sidewalk vendors in
the area, the brawls occur more than once a year, usually in the
beginning of the fall semester, when new students are coming in.
The latest brawl took place in September, when around 100
students were involved in a one hour battle, in which the
students hurled rocks, bottles, sticks, molotov cocktails and
firecrackers at each other from 30 meters away.
The brawl resulted in 36 students being injured and the
Central Jakarta Police were called to disperse the students.
In a bid to curb the recurring brawls, the municipal
administration has joined forces with five institutions in the
area to set up a special task force to end the violence. The task
force comprises the neighboring University of Indonesia (UI),
UKI, YAI, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and St. Carolus
Hospital.
The task force is responsible for monitoring security and
upholding public order along Jl. Salemba.
Criminologist Erlangga Masdiana, however, said that the
police's decision to set up the task force was only a short term
solution.
"What will work in the long term is a sustainable
transformation process, which will require all patrons, including
the universities' alumni and faculty heads, to bring the students
of the two universities together in a friendly activities, such
as hiking and camping, and let them come to terms with each
other," said Erlangga, who is a program director at UI's School
of Criminology.