Reports have surfaced of extreme and inhumane hazing rituals targeting freshers at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, raising serious concerns about student safety and campus discipline.
According to sources, despite the Faculty of Management providing a dedicated hostel to protect new students from hazing, senior students are allegedly preventing freshers from entering and instead forcing them to stay in hostels alongside upperclassmen. This tactic appears to be an attempt to continue the traditional freshers initiation rituals that have long been criticized for their abusive nature.
Additionally, a group of senior students is pressuring university authorities to close the separate hostel for first-year students in the Faculty of Arts and relocate them to hostels shared with seniors. Lecturers and concerned students fear that such a move would expose new students to increased harassment and intimidation.
A senior lecturer at the university confirmed that tensions escalated into violence recently, resulting in a fresherssustaining a severe eye injury. The injured student is currently receiving treatment at Kalubowila Hospital. The incident has only deepened concerns among the academic staff, with many professors voicing their distress over the ongoing hazing culture.
The situation has prompted calls for immediate intervention from university administration and law enforcement to ensure the safety and well-being of new students. Many believe that unless strict measures are enforced, the cycle of abuse and fear among freshers will continue unchecked.
