Vice-chancellors act to curb initiation rituals

UNIVERSITIES are to be given new guidance to curb “humiliating” initiation rituals amid rising concern over student mental health.

Initiations – which can involve students being forced to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and perform degrading tasks – are on the rise across the country, according to university chiefs.

Universities UK (UUK), the vice-chancellors’ membership body, has reacted by preparing its first piece of guidance on initiations.

Prof Julia Buckingham, the UUK president and vicechancellor of Brunel Universities, said there was growing alarm about the issue.

“Vice-chancellors are very aware of what is going on in campuses,” she said. “It’s something all of us have seen more of. We are concerned about mental health issues and well-being.”

She added the focus on initiations was triggered by the 2016 death of Ed Farmer, 20, an economics student at Newcastle University, who died after a “drink-fuelled initiation” into the university’s agriculture society.

Prof Chris Day, vice-chancellor at Newcastle, is leading UUK’s work on guidance.

While initiations are banned in theory at many universities, bans are often not strictly enforced.

Prof Buckingham said one approach to the issue would be to use stricter discipline regimes. “One way could be to make it very clear this sort of behaviour is unacceptable, and if they do behave in that way there will be consequences,” she said.