Bullying or Prank?

Bullying or just a prank in good fun? This came after I'd read an article about the rise of crimes among female teens, and a novel about a high school massacre by a boy who had been bullied in school (Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult), so I am more inclined to think negatively of this incident. What do you think? Here's the forum discussion of this issue on STOMP:  http://talkback.stomp.com.sg/forums/showthread.php?t=50720&page=17

BIRTHDAY PRANK GONE TOO FAR?

Kenny Chee/My Paper/14 Nov 08 

A VIDEO clip of a birthday prank filmed in an elite school has caused an up-roar among netizens. 

In the video, which is more than 10 minutes long , a n Anglo-Chinese Junior College student was tied to a chin-up bar, had cake stuffed in her face, and was humiliated right within the school’s premises. 

“Is this how you celebrate other people’s birthdays – by humiliating them?” said forum poster 

frodonet at Hardwarezone.com. Stomp poster justafool said: “Definitely not the type of classmates I want my kids to be with nor the type of school I want 

them to attend!” 

The video was first uploaded on YouTube last month, but was taken down. It was then posted on Stomp and other video-sharing sites yesterday. The clip started with a birthday celebration for the girl in the school canteen. But things took a turn when at least four female schoolmates carried the girl to a chin-up bar. They tied her wrists to the posts of the bar despite the struggling girl’ s cries of “no”. Some onlooking male students encouraged the prank. After she was tied, her schoolmates cheered and clapped. 

When the girl suddenly became quiet and hung her head, one student told her not to cry. But this was shortly followed by creamy food items being stuffed in her face and later into her uniform. Milk and an assortment of drinks were then poured on her. The helpless girl resumed screaming. At one point, she shouted: “ I really hate all of you!” Her schoolmates responded by singing a birthday song. 

An ACJC staff member who was passing by stopped to reprimand the students. “What’s going on?” he said. One female student replied that they would clean up the premises. 

Many who had watched the video or heard about it did not approve of t he prank. ACJC alumnus Mark Zhang , 24 , thought “tying up someone was a bit too much”.  The mechanical engineering student at the National University of Singapore said that while birthday pranks are “fairly common in secondary schools and JCs”, it is usually boys who are targeted. 

Shocked Stomp poster lucky123 said JC pranks on birthday boys, such as pushing the boy into a tree or a pole, “pale compared to (the video)”. 

Still, some do not think there is anything wrong. 

“It ’s just a hazing,” said Stomp poster kennynaboo. “Why get so worked up? Birthday and initiation ‘sabotages’ are part and parcel of growing up.” 

ACJC’S RESPONSE

I refer to your queries about a post put up by a Stomper regarding a birthday celebration for an ACJC student. The school is aware of the incident, which was a celebration for a student who is popular with her peers. 

We understand that the student was prepared for the celebration, and that there was no malice or bullying involved. 

When a teacher saw the celebration, he stopped it immediately and counselled the students. The birthday girl also assured the teacher that she was not physically or emotionally hurt. 

Some weeks after the event, a teacher again enquired about the girl’s well-being, and she assured the teacher and the school that the celebrations were carried out in the spirit of good fun and that she was well. 

Although the activity was done in good humour, the college has counselled the students involved on the possible hazards of such activities, and explained that there are more appropriate ways to express their friendship among peers. 

Mrs Kelvyna Chan 

Principal, Anglo-Chinese Junior College