Lite lelo! but know when to act

If you are ragged, approach an anti-ragging cell. But before you do that, understand what an icebreaker is and what is offensive ragging

Colleges across the state have begun to reopen. Very soon, freshers and seniors will find themselves playing Tom & Jerry, respectively. In the hide-and-seek game, Toms will seek Jerrys to boss over and Jerrys will try to confine themselves to the classroom walls. But remember, you, the Jerry, can’t always remain unseen. So, when you know you have to encounter ragging on or off the college campus, why not go prepared?

Icebreaker or ragging

To begin with, understand what is ragging – Are you being made to do something you would think is offensive or are you being part of a rite of passage that you will laugh about and cherish 10 years from then? If your senior asks you to sing out loud or summons you to get a girl’s number or orders you to propose to a girl/guy or solicits a treat at the canteen or, say, calls you to dance with a group of girls or tell the kiss table (something popular in engineering college), do not take offense. These are just fun acts to help break the ice between juniors and seniors.

“Last year, when freshers were allowed in our bus, almost five months after the college re-opened, I along with other fellow seniors in the bus, asked the juniors to measure the length of the bus with a pen or made them dance in the moving bus,” recollects an engineering student. “It was all for fun. We never meant any harm to the freshers,” he adds.

If, in the name of ragging, you are asked to involve in physical fights with seniors (this happens with male students), it is the extreme form of ragging. Or if a senior continues to pester you despite your refusal to carry out a task, you surely can get irritated and take offense.

How to address extreme ragging?

Speaking of how a student can handle severe ragging, Priyanka Vakkalanka, a third year IT student, says, “If a fresher feels the need to complain, he/she can approach the anti-ragging cell comprising students and faculty. The authorities will take appropriate action against the accused.” Another third year student at IIT-H, Sanyam Kapoor, says, “A student in distress can address the ragging issue to the mentor group available on the campus.”

Tips for the sensitive types to tackle ragging

For the sensitive type, even asking for an informal bio-data (introduction) can be a teary-eyed, ghastly experience. Dr N N Raju, Superintendent at Government Hospital for Mental Care and professor of psychiatry at Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, advices the tensed types to take the mild form of ragging in their stride. “While I strongly condemn ragging as it can disturb one’s mental peace, I am of the opinion that a student should remember that ragging is not just a campus phenomenon.

Life will throw several similar instances where one will have act strong when being teased.

As long as it is limited to singing and dancing and similar mild requests, a student can participate in the act and be done with.”