Who needs orientation programs?

Who needs orientation programs?

Didik, a new student at the Bandung Institute of Technology
(ITB), is relieved to find a well-run student orientation program
(Ospek) at the institute, in which there is no violence or
humiliation by senior students as he had initially feared.

"The rector has threatened to expel (senior students) if they
commit harmful deeds," the student of ITB's Urban Planning
Department said.

The only instance where Didik and other new students felt
"humiliated" was when they were ordered to wear their high school
uniforms, with hats, and march orderly before entering classrooms
to listen to speeches by senior students and lecturers on being a
successful student at the institute.

A similar program conducted at the private Trisakti University
in Jakarta also got under way smoothly.

Sephia, a new industrial engineering student, was obliged to
wear a black and white uniform and a big name tag pinned to her
dress for the session, during which she and other students
gathered to listen to an introduction about studying at the
campus.

"No violence or humiliation. Female students were just asked
to braid their hair into five strands. A bit funny, but that's
OK," Sephia said.

In the past, ITB, Trisakti and many other institutes and
universities had harsh hazing sessions. New students often
fainted, some even died, after being abused by senior students.
New students were made to stand in the searing sun for hours, and
were often kicked and slapped.

Fights among students during orientation programs often
erupted. A few years ago, a clash broke out between hundreds of
students from Surabaya's 10 November Institute of Technology
(ITS). Dozens of students were injured and windows were broken in
the brawl, and the police were called in to break it up.

Some senior students have been suspended and punished for
excessive violence during hazing.

Year after year, hazing always sparked controversy, with many
demanding that an end be brought to it, saying hazing was
counterproductive and turned into a forum where seniors
illustrated their power over new students. Hazing here is thought
to have been inherited from the Dutch.

One case that highlighted the extreme violence of local
orientation programs was the death two years ago of a student at
the Institute of Public Administration (STPDN) in Jatinangor,
Sumedang, West Java, which sparked a national uproar.

The case was revealed after a videotape of junior STPDN
students being beaten up by seniors was aired on TV one year
after the incident. The videotape showed freshmen being kicked
and punched by older students on the STPDN campus.

One freshmen, Wahyu Hidayat, died after being treated for days
for severe injuries. Ten students were jailed and the state-run
school was temporarily closed.

Despite rampant violence during orientation programs, many
aspects of the program are considered beneficial to introducing
new students to university life.

Which is one reason why universities maintain the program. And
most of them now try to prevent violence from occurring.

Both Didik and Sephia agreed that they obtained useful
information about their campuses from their orientation programs.
It also gave them a chance to get to know senior students and
lecturers.

However, Anisa, a new bachelor-degree student at Prasetya
Mulya Business School, considers orientation programs useless.

"It's often used by senior students to take advantage of
junior students," Anisa said.

She said that her school arranged an outward bound trip for
new students instead of making them attend an orientation
program.

For Anisa's school, which just introduced its bachelor
program, an outbound program may be preferable for students to
prepare them for their years of study.

"I'm in the first class. So we have no senior students. It
would be impossible for our S2 (graduate) students to conduct an
orientation program," she said.

Who really needs an orientation program, anyway?

A. Junaidi