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The Psychological Impact of Hazing

06 February 2024 | Story Dr Munita Dunn-Coetzee | Photo SUPPLIED

Opinion Article by Dr Munita Dunn-Coetzee, Director: Student Counselling and Development, Division of Student Affairs, University of the Free State.

The discovery of two hidden rooms with disturbing images and materials at Wilgenhof Men’s Residence (Stellenbosch University) last month has rekindled conversations about hazing and hazing practices. Wilgenhof, with a manifesto emphasising it as a place of belonging where all are free to be themselves, is described as a ‘house of horrors’, as punishment was seemingly doled out to male students as determined by an informal disciplinary committee.

Hazing is an ancient, universal practice. In society, whether past or modern, the need to join a group is an aspect of humanity. Hazing in educational institutions tends to occur as part of the hidden curriculum and manifests in a cyclical nature, for example, at the beginning of an academic year. A number or practices are associated with joining groups – it may take the form of a rite of passage, a ceremony, hazing, or paying a fee. The goal of participating in hazing activities is to be admitted and accepted in the group. By participating, prospective members can also prove their commitment to the group. When people freely choose to undergo a difficult initiation, it often increases their commitment and group cohesion – they need to believe the price of membership was worth it. The whole point of hazing is to build solidarity between members of a group.

Successfully navigating intimate, reciprocal relationships

The cohort of students joining higher education in South Africa typically fall in the 18- to 25-year-old range, and thus within the developmental phase of emerging adulthood. Erik Erikson, a German American child psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings, emphasised that this stage of development is about successfully navigating intimate, reciprocal relationships with others. A developmental need at university is therefore to fit in, to belong to a group, and to be part of campus activities – it brings security and protection. Hazing, however traumatising or painful, fulfils a developmental need.

Research has shown that the length of time for young people to actually create a personal identity has increased to the mid-to-late 20s. Emerging adulthood in Western culture can therefore be a time of shifting identities. This brings about a continued risk of experimentation with unhealthy behaviour. They are no longer minors and are faced with two additional life challenges: increased adult responsibilities and decreased familial support. From the onset of puberty through age 25, the adolescent brain undergoes profound changes in structure and function. A core element in the journey to adulthood involves the attainment of autonomy – on an emotional and behavioural level – learning to make your own decisions and manage your own emotions. Another developmental need is thereby met through hazing practices.

Psychological consequences of hazing

While a few hazing rituals may appear mildly risky, many rituals cross the line. It is believed that humans are psychologically wired to form social groups in response to a threat, and this is what makes hazing effective in creating group identity. Despite the fact that hazing is potentially fatal and emotionally damaging, it is also believed that new students should have the same hazing experience as their predecessors. The hazing culture is therefore reproduced and enforced.

The psychological consequences of hazing can be rife. The concept of hazing is built upon psychological manipulation, degradation, and humiliation. Negative consequences that might have lasting effects include sleep problems, difficulty forming relationships, difficulty trusting others, decreased self-esteem, depressive tendencies, anxiety, self-harming tendencies, as well as academic underperformance. Unfortunately, hazing can also consist of social isolation, forced exercise, excessive drinking, and activities with a sexual innuendo. This results in embarrassing, abusive, exploitative, and dangerous activities.

A student who has experienced hazing might feel a loss of control and empowerment, feeling more like a victim than before the hazing. This may appear directly after the hazing or later. Students who might have experienced traumatic events prior to hazing are more at risk for negative psychological reactions to hazing. This also applies to students witnessing hazing. They may experience feelings of guilt and shame for not having intervened to assist the hazing victim. And ironically, those who initiate hazing are not horrible, malicious human beings. They may believe the actions are expected of them and that they are carrying on a tradition for their residence. Those who haze others may also experience some of the same psychological consequences. We need to also remember that these psychological consequences would be significantly exacerbated should a student pass away due to a hazing-related activity.

Will you still send him?

The focus thus far has been on the student, but what about the student’s parents, caregivers, and support system? Within the South African education system, not all South Africans have access to higher education. As a student finishing Grade 12, your dream is to enter tertiary education and to become the one breaking the cycle of poverty. Despite claiming that a university is a welcoming community assisting students to optimise their potential, hazardous hazing activities – such as the current discourse on Wilgenhof’s ‘house of horrors’ – have far-reaching negative physical and psychological consequences for both parents and students.

Joining any group or team should not mean sacrificing your psychological health and well-being. It should be optimising your sense of self and enriching you systemically. If your son has been accepted at Wilgenhof Men’s Residence for 2024, will you still send him?

This article was originally published on News24.

News Archive

State of our campuses: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

2016-10-15

UFS announces strategy for completion of the 2016 academic year

Agreement between UFS management and student leadership in relation to residences

After almost four weeks of student protests about fees at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the subsequent suspension of the academic programme and closing of campuses, the senior leadership announced on 14 October 2016 a strategy to ensure that students will be able to complete the 2016 academic year.

The university on 13 October 2016 announced that it will shut down its Bloemfontein and South Campuses until 28 October 2016 for crucial and complex arrangements to be put in place to readjust the academic calendar and ensure that all students can complete their studies. The senior leadership did, however, make it clear that the university will not be shutting down for the remainder of 2016.

No teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and honours level will be offered between 17 October and 28 October 2016. The university will re-start teaching and learning at undergraduate and honours level in the first week of November 2016.

However, teaching and learning will not take place in the classrooms during November 2016, but through a different mode of delivery that consists of a combination of printed and recorded lectures, study materials and learning aids that will be provided by the university and delivered through Blackboard. In this manner no attempts at disrupting the rest of the academic year will affect our students’ academic programme. Students, however, will sit for the exam on campus.

Students in residence accommodation can return to campus as from 29 October 2016 and it is recommended that students who do not have off-campus internet access return to campus in order to access study material to complete the academic year.A new timetable for exams is still being developed and will be communicated as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

Faculties have been differently affected by the loss of teaching time. Some faculties like the Faculty of Law have completed their curriculum, while other faculties like the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences require more teaching time. Some faculties, like the Faculty of Health Sciences, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.

The needs of the different faculties have been taken into account for developing a rescue plan to complete the 2016 academic year.

The Faculty of Health Sciences will continue its classes and clinical rotations as normal for all three schools on the Bloemfontein Campus and in the relevant hospitals. All students registered in programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences will stay in residences for the full period of their studies and exams. Final-year medical students will graduate in December 2016 as expected.
In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, final-year students for the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) will stay on campus during October through to December 2016 and their classes and tests will not change.
Arrangements for all other faculties and programmes are being prepared and within the next week, students and parents/guardians will receive communication about how curriculum content will be completed and when the final exams will take place.
The university is extending the academic year so that we can recuperate all the lost teaching and learning time. The qualifications conferred on the 2016 class will be of the same quality and standards as all UFS qualifications.

The UFS is and will remain a fundamentally contact teaching and learning education university. However, under the current circumstances faced not only by the UFS, but higher-education institutions across the country, the best way of ensuring the integrity of the academic programmes in most faculties is by using an alternative way of teaching and learning. Other South African universities have chosen the same approach to be able to complete the academic year.

Instead of students going to class, they will have content delivered to them where they are (library, computer labs, their own computers, etc.) through Blackboard and printed and electronic material. This is a different way of learning but students will be carefully guided and supported.

Faculties are currently preparing all the necessary materials and instructions to support student learning.Standards and quality will be the same as if students were attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum. The exam timetable will be adapted for these students to be able to complete their practical work when the academic activities commences in November 2016. The relevant faculties will communicate the schedule of practical work directly to the students.

Students in their final year will complete their studies during 2016. It is possible that in some cases the graduation ceremony for these students will be in June 2017 instead of April 2017. This will not prejudice students with bursaries, or committed employment in law firms or other businesses. The university will provide the necessary academic transcripts as proof of the completion of the relevant qualifications. None of these changes will affect postgraduate students.

The university will maintain regular communication with students and parents/guardians to update them on the new exams timetable.Faculties will communicate directly with students about issues related to their programmes.

“One of the areas in which significant progress was made, is that we were able to agree on a basis for stability with student leaders. The student protests occurred during an important time in the university’s academic calendar and the readjustment of our academic programme has put tremendous pressure on academic and support services staff, and created anxieties for parents,” said Prof Nicky Morgan, Acting Rector of the UFS.

“The senior leadership restates its commitment to free education as well as its willingness to stand together with students and other public universities to impress on government the urgency to decide on a time frame for the roll-out of free higher education for the poor and missing middle. We will use the next two weeks to meet with the leadership of Universities South Africa to coordinate collective action in this regard. We will furthermore also roll out a series of activities to inform and educate students and the general public on different models and experiences of providing free higher education,” he said.

The strategy to readjust the 2016 academic year is applicable to students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

State of our campuses #15: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

State of our campuses #14: All academic activities on UFS campuses remain suspended on 13 and 14 October 2016

State of our campuses #13: Availability of information about plans for remainder of UFS 2016 calendar year

State of our campuses #12: All academic activities at UFS campuses suspended for 11 and 12 October 2016

State of our campuses #11: Academic activities on UFS campuses continue

State of our campuses #10: Impact of non-completion of the 2016 academic year on UFS students

State of our campuses #9: Academic programme on all UFS campuses to resume on Monday 10 October 2016

State of our campuses #8: UFS extends vacation as from 28 September until 7 October 2016, 28 September 2016

State of our campuses #7: All three UFS campuses will be closed today, 27 September 2016.

State of our campuses #6: All UFS campuses reopen on Tuesday 27 September 2016

State of our campuses #5: UFS campuses to remain closed on Monday 26 September 2016

State of our campuses #4: Decisions about the UFS academic calendar

State of our campuses #3: UFS campuses closed until Friday 23 September 2016

State of our campuses #2: UFS Bloemfontein and South Campuses closed on Tuesday 20 September 2016 (19 September 2016)

State of our campuses #1: Academic activities suspended on UFS Bloemfontein Campus (19 September 2016)

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