Initiation?

[This is a speech I wrote as a persuasive speaking demo for Public Speaking Society... I whipped it out in about 2 hours for Joey because he asked nicely, and I managed to do it pretty well for a first draft. Well, he said so anyway. I did it as a slightly satirical take, and I obviously wouldn't believe most of it, although most of the younger guys didn't get the jokes! :P Anyways...]

There is a problem in this school today, gentlemen, and not just this school, but multitudes of others all around the world which share our common goal of educating our youth for the real world ahead of them, but are impeded in their purpose by a seemingly done and dusted issue. I’m not talking about the rugby culture, or cheerleading practices, or even Mr Holtman’s pirate DVD store. No, the issue reaches far deeper, and that is the subject of initiation, where a new stance on this controversial topic might drastically improve the school environment. Gentlemen, we should and must legalize initiation in private schools if our privileged youth are to remain competent. Frankly, our over-fed, over-pampered, and far too sheltered up-and-comers are ruining our society with their skewed interests and detachment from reality.

I bring up the old adage: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Short of AIDS, we see that this holds true, and your great-grandfather was right all along. If you have been subject to an experience pushing you outside your comfort zone, it will no doubt increase your strength in withstanding hard experiences like it in the future. Many of the traditional initiation practices involve night swimming, roof climbing, running around naked at midnight, and mild “fun and games” which may involve a bit of rough-and-tumble (hold your snickers, I will get onto that in a moment!) are all aimed at this, showing the new boys that they should believe in themselves and are more than capable of completing these tasks, whether physically or emotionally demanding. They are also considered less “girly” than the obstacle courses at adventure camps. So we see that we are breeding a hard-as-nails generation that will one day be able to share the same stories your old fogies shared with you. There is an irreplaceable sense of bonding that occurs between boys that have gone through this.

Not only does it make the young whippersnappers tougher, but it also puts them in their rightful place. A hierarchy at a private school exists for many reasons.
1. If a cross-grade collective such as an ensemble or stage crew need to get something done, the experienced senior management needs to have faith that their orders will be carried out.
2. Sometimes arrogant and brash juniors will attempt to bully seniors and maybe even take advantage of the system to abuse their underlings, and this cannot be allowed to happen; they must have experience and must earn their right to the top of the pile. Initiation reinforces this hierarchy and readily tells them who the boss is.
3. And we see this in many old schools, seniors are simply overwhelmed with the tasks and responsibilities they are assigned, far more than once they leave school, and so it is perfectly rational for them to be allowed the privilege of having menial tasks such as shoe-shining and sandwich-making done for them, and thus putting these necessities out of their heads so they can focus on productive scholarly, sporting, and cultural pursuits.
4. Having newboys that know their place is less disruptive to the school environment as they go about their tasks, and if the seniors know this, they will spend less time trying to instill this hierarchy and more time being at school.
5. Being able to delegate such tasks and have this “power” is a show of reward for the seniors who have worked hard throughout their school career. Motivation is created because the more respected and hard-working seniors will command more authority, and thus the standard of success with which prospective seniors aim to is higher.

So we see that there are a lot of positives which create a better and more productive school environment, and ultimately thus we do want initiation back. Schools are not just there to teach us maths and English, they are there to teach us about real life and prepare us for independent life when we are deemed worthy of leaving school, and initiation greatly aids this. But obviously it has in recent years come under fire as an un-legit practice because of newboy-rights-activists and whining parents. However, if we examine their arguments closely, they have more holes than a swiss cheese on a Viking’s table.

The counter-arguments vary greatly, but they can all be put under the hood of a possibility of wanton bullying arising from this opportunity, and we can easily prove that this is false on many counts.

The first is the case of sheltered youth. Many parents will complain that their little “mommy’s boys” will be harmed by the due process of education, and we dismiss this as tragic misconception. We have seen that private schools shelter our youth in a little bubble, making them nearly unable to function in the real world. Just as failure and disappointment must be experienced as part of the flow of life, so must the feeling of subordination and following orders. Instead of creating ineffective and expectant citizens, we are creating youth who will have been taught to look out for themselves.

The second is the case of unnecessary bullying. Where does one draw the line between running around at night and getting beaten with a cricket bat? What most people fail to realize is that most schools have a rigorous discipline system put in place to protect the boys from unnecessary abuse. Teachers are well-skilled in where to draw the line, and combined with a collective decision befitting each situation, we will leave the specifics to the disciplinary committees.

Many schools have expelled their top students, making headlines along the way, and so we cannot say that students are not aware of the jurisdictions surrounding this issue. Due punishment shall be dished out if the seniors choose to willingly disregard the school rules. We have seen this at Bishops in the case of Mayhem Week. It got taken too far one year, and all of us saw the consequences.

Many would argue that there are some sociopaths with utter disregard for common decency, but what we see is that these kind of people will look for a way to achieve their means no matter what. Even at Bishops, we experience unnecessary rudeness and hostility which is still completely against school rules. Accepting initiation does in no way imply acceptance of bullying.
The third is the case of divisions in the school environment, in terms of those accepting of it and those not. What many people who were subject to the wrong kind of initiation do not realize is that in many instances it is either fun in of itself or it is one of those harrowing experiences that is laughed about afterwards anyway. I mean, newboy pyramids… come on, who didn’t enjoy them!? This stuff is fun!

There is an ever-expanding gap between the quality and usability of our education and the education of our grandparents. We are able to close it, but we must bring initiation back.