Whenever we degrade others we actually debase ourselves

Educational advisor Audrey Smagghe, social worker Catherine Lelan, headmaster Florence Gauthier and gendarmerie officer Christophe Olivier attend an anti-bullying meeting with students from the Yves Klein High School on March 6, 2017 in La Colle-sur-Loup, France. PHOTO | YANN COATSALIOU | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Hazing denotes the processes through which new students are initiated into the secondary school system.
  • Once a hazing culture thrives it becomes real as the progression into more vicious acts is inescapable.
  • In order to integrate, some students willingly partake in hazing as a proof of their commitment to the ideals of their new school.

Hazing is the imposition of strenuous and/or humiliating tasks as a means of initiating a person into a group. It dates back to medieval schools in Greece.

In the 1600s, it was a requirement for graduation in some European universities. In spite of its abolishment in the 1700s, hazing continued unabated. In 1900, the practice was reported in secondary schools in Europe and the USA. In Kenya, the phenomenon has been endemic in schools since colonial days under the moniker ‘monolisation’.

In the present context, therefore, hazing denotes the processes through which new students are initiated into the secondary school system. Theoretically, the process is intended to be harmless, but last month’s incident at Alliance High School suggests otherwise. Nonetheless, it is (informally) designed in line with the traditional initiation that marks child-adulthood metamorphosis.

This takes place both in girls’ and boys’ schools. From an all-male school perspective, hazing is shaped by masculinity-related social norms.

The gender theory posits that masculinity is a socially constructed and ideologically driven concept, which stresses physical prowess, courage and composure in the face of trial. This stereotype of masculinity is entrenched in our school culture and determines how boys bond in competitive and male-only setups. With intention of transmitting ideal masculine behaviours, the bonding results in hazing.

NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

Once a hazing culture thrives, the in-for-a-penny in-for-a-pound phenomenon becomes real as the progression into more vicious acts is inescapable.

Hazing has a circuitous effect. The hazed, wants to haze those who follow as he now finds a cathartic opportunity to express his repressed feeling by letting it out on the new students. Tolentino da Almeida (1740-1811) captures this exquisitely: “I suffered insults and wrong turns; I kept everything handwritten; and, over the next novices, I trumped with usury.”

Hazing has innumerable negative consequences. They include: poor grades; physical, emotional and mental instability; sleep deprivation; post-traumatic stress disorder; and, erosion of trust. It is prevalent in schools for five major reasons.

First, by nature, human beings need to belong. In order to integrate, some students willingly partake in hazing as a proof of their commitment to the ideals of their new school. Second, some researchers hypothesise that such willingness could be due to the absence of formalised initiation in our contemporary societies. Thus, hazing in schools assumes the role of rituals of transition.

Third, humans tend to obey authority, and in the context of hazing, senior students represent that. With time, junior students become seniors, thereby assuming prominent roles in the rituals.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

Fourth, proponents of hazing actively propagate it; while the opponents participate in it because subjecting new arrivals to these activities reinforces their belief that what they endured was fine. This is called cognitive dissonance.

Fifth, preservation of school tradition. This reason is supported by a 2013 study of boys’ secondary schools in South Africa, which revealed that parents sanctioned hazing to be part of the traditional “toughening-up process” and a conduit for socialisation.

Where such beliefs prevail, perilous activities are likely to be masked within the formal programmes. Hazing cannot be resolved by theories and moral sermons. Neither can knee-jerk reactions alter these set patterns.

Treating hazers with disdain is part of the problem. For, this is the same judgment that they inflict on their targets.

We need to cultivate trust. With trust, students will listen to the guidance that parents and teachers provide. With trust, they learn that each time they uplift others, they generate ripples of hope. Eventually, those ripples become a wave that tears down the mightiest haze-linked walls.

Prof Kibicho is the author of : Sex Tourism in Africa and Traditional Martial Arts. [email protected]