Bullying in NUST
Posted: Monday 17 June 2013 by Hellllbender in Labels: fooling, harassment, nust, ragging, seecs, society, torture
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This article isn’t meant to disrespect anyone; I just want to express my general opinion towards the majority of seniors in NUST who think they own the place. An event of the past compelled me to pen my thoughts over this issue. So, me and my friends were merrily indulged in a healthy game of football, we were having fun and there seemed to be no sign of anger. Then one false move by a senior, with whom we were playing, sparked a fire that ended with us abandoning the ground. It was clearly the senior’s mistake and it wasn’t as if we were shouting at him but this guy obviously didn’t want to accept his mistakes in front of a freshie, so he started asserting the fact that he was four years older than us and this granted him absolute authority over what is right and wrong. Harsh words were uttered by him and seeing his mood and realizing the fact that he may bring his bigger buddies and create a scene, we decided to leave him alone.
This wasn’t the first time, I’ve seen the same happen to a hostelite. He was a friend of mine and apparently he and his roommate had a lot of disagreements over each other’s lifestyle. Then one day, as I was just about to enter my room I heard violent shouts. They seemed to be coming from a room nearby, at that time not many people were present in my hostel. So I got near enough to eavesdrop and figure out the matter. That friend of mine was in an argument with a senior who was angered over the fact that why he raised his voice (even if it was by a little), apparently the senior believed that only they had those rights and that the freshies didn’t. The argument continued, another friend of mine came to his aid and tried to convince the senior to let the matter go. The argument ended but like with all such arguments with the seniors, I have noted that they always try to assert this as a fact that they should be respected whether they have earned it or not.
This wasn’t the first time, I’ve seen the same happen to a hostelite. He was a friend of mine and apparently he and his roommate had a lot of disagreements over each other’s lifestyle. Then one day, as I was just about to enter my room I heard violent shouts. They seemed to be coming from a room nearby, at that time not many people were present in my hostel. So I got near enough to eavesdrop and figure out the matter. That friend of mine was in an argument with a senior who was angered over the fact that why he raised his voice (even if it was by a little), apparently the senior believed that only they had those rights and that the freshies didn’t. The argument continued, another friend of mine came to his aid and tried to convince the senior to let the matter go. The argument ended but like with all such arguments with the seniors, I have noted that they always try to assert this as a fact that they should be respected whether they have earned it or not.
I do believe that fooling or ragging comes within the norms of university life and helps create friendly relations between freshies and seniors (provided that the fooling wasn’t harsh or taken beyond the limits) but this popular culture of ‘might is right’ seems awkward in a campus for civilians. I do respect the seniors, they are years ahead of us and have already gained that genuine experience of university life which all freshies will later strive to do, but using the sentence ‘we are your seniors and you’re supposed to respect us at all costs’ as a weapon to win any argument or settle matters just seems queer coming from people who are supposed to be well-educated and well-groomed by university life. I hope this article helps the seniors understand the feelings of us freshies, we do respect you but when you try to force yourself over us as authoritative then you’re no different than a dictator but then again I guess we Pakistanis have gotten used to that as well.
Written by: Sarim Mehdi