Thai University Students Use Facebook To Fight Hazing

What’s the Latest Development?

Fed up with a dangerous hazing culture, a group of Thai university students decided to step up activism against it by creating a Facebook page where people can report on and post photos demonstrating inappropriate behavior. The Anti-SOTUS page now has 11,000 members from across the country, and since the start of the school year this month, some of them have already posted evidence, including photos “in which scores of freshmen are shown lying down in what is identified as waste water.”

What’s the Big Idea?

The group’s name literally means it’s against the code (seniority, order, tradition, unity, and spirit) used by generations of university students to intimidate and exploit freshmen. Last year, injuries and deaths resulting from hazing led the Thai Education Ministry to ban smoking and drinking during freshman orientation, and another government agency issued policy guidelines to help make orientation safe for everyone. Not surprisingly, hazing is still done behind closed doors, and some of the policy changes have met with resistance. However, the Anti-SOTUS page is creating some much-needed public discussion surrounding the practice.

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Read it at The Wall Street Journal