'A thin line separating the brainy from the brainless': Thai university students forced to dance naked in hazing ritual

Orientation activities are organised to help students bond and ease their way into the school system.

However, some seniors from a university in Bangkok, Thailand, took things a little too far by forcing their juniors to perform in the nude. 

In a viral video that was uploaded onto Twitter on Saturday (July 16) by user @RedSkullxxx, three male students could be seen dancing butt naked at an unknown beach with their clothes strewn around their ankles. 

A group of spectators was also watching and laughing at them as they took part in the hazing ritual. 

In the captions, the Twitter user gave more context to the video and shared that it was part of an orientation ceremony for an electrical engineering faculty from Southeast Asia University.

The school is located in Bangkok's Nom Khaem district. 

“What era are we living in which allows juniors to strip naked for the satisfaction and entertainment of their seniors? There’s a thin line separating the brainy from the brainless," wrote the user. 

It isn't the only video either. In a separate tweet on July 14, the same user uploaded another clip of the three male students performing more obscene acts. 

This time around, they weren't in their birthday suits and still had their pants on.

According to Coconuts Bangkok, the students were also forced to chant obscenities while their middle fingers were raised.

In response to the incident, Southeast Asia University released a statement saying that off-campus initiation ceremonies are strictly prohibited.

The university said it will launch an investigation and punish whoever is responsible for the ritual, reported Thai news platform The Thaiger.

The university said it has also spoken to those responsible for the incident as well as their parents. 

Hazing rituals are banned at most Thai universities due to their long and violent history.

In reality, however, they have become ingrained in the Thai education system and are still rife today, according to The Thaiger.

Singapore has had its own cases of hazing incidents as well.

Last year, a group of students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic was caught on tape peeing on the backs of two schoolmates who were squatting down naked in a shower stall.

One of the students who had been urinated on also stepped forward to say that he thought of the incident as "mindless fun" and added that people did not understand the whole picture of what had happened. 

After investigations, the 28 students behind the incident were disciplined and their punishments ranged from corrective orders to suspension. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com