Freshmen students begin their first school year with full of drive and optimism, and so they would be enthusiastic in participating a lot of welcoming parties and social gatherings at their departments and clubs. But then, they would experience several uncomfortable and sometimes even violent welcoming practices.
  One of the most common practices is binge drinking. Binge drinking within a few hours may fatally toxic in some individuals. According to the Korea Public Health Association, at least one college student has died every year since 2006 due to the binge drinking. South Korean universities have become notorious for such dinking culture.
  There are some other alcohol related rituals. Lately, a photo posted on the social media of a university in Busan by the family member of a freshman was under the media spotlight, where freshmen were soaked with makgeolli – that was even mixed with food waste - and older looking student was pouring it. Later, it was found that the students are members of a soccer club within a department. A student representative of the department explained that it was a traditional ritual to wish the students good luck in upcoming year for the club and was not compulsory. Similar cases of other universities have been also reported successively, indicating that such rituals are rampant on campuses.
  There may be different opinions on such welcoming rituals. Some may think that they are just traditional events for fun. Others may think that they are nothing but hazing practice and so they cannot be tolerated anymore. Hazing can be defined as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.” According to the definition, one thing is clear; saying that an event was not compulsory cannot be the excuse for that not to be hazing.
  We all would agree that it is time to put an effort to develop more respectable culture in welcoming freshmen and promoting a group unity. For doing this, all school members, including students and school administrators, must work together. The first action would be not to hesitate to have open and active discussions on suspected hazing practices on campuses.