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Sink or swim for there are no life boats or life vests.
Like trade winds colliding in the skies, when cultures clash the weak gives; the
strong takes dominance, taking no prisoners, yielding many victims.
There are many projects on campuses that have the potential to contribute to a positive
First Year Experience for students, but fail to do so and in fact end up on the contrary. A
fresher’s ball is organized on campus aimed as a social cohesion event to help new and
first time entering students to enjoy themselves, to meet friends and to start to belong.
Alcohol flows, controlled substances, fights break out, students are stabbed, guns shorts
are fired, cars are crashed, unprotected sex, and by dawn, what was aimed with good
intentions to be a social cohesion event has claimed several victims who as a result,
might never get the degree or qualification they cam for and which is so desperately
desired by their communities and the nation. Sounds familiar! There is widespread
concern that the value of the young person coming to university is being depreciated
irresponsibly by failure to secure campuses and to take charge of and direct the
experience of first time entering students when they are first exposed to the various
vulnerabilities that not only form campus culture but are representative of the wider
world of independence and self determination for which students are being prepared by
the very university to which they have turned for the purpose.