The call follows further controversy about universities’ annual hazing rituals after the revelation last week on social media that a 19 year-old freshman at the International Maritime College’s Sri Racha campus almost drowned in a pond during one such activity.

The controversy involving Chokchai Thongnuakhao – who ended up in a hospital intensive care unit – sparked public anger about “violent” orientation ceremonies. However, there have been many dramas and tragedies during these yearly events.

Konlawat Doklamjiek, an administrator of the Anti-Sotus Facebook page (which stands for “Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit”) who is also a university student, said that these problems stem from the lack of awareness about rights among students, teachers and the public.

“Every time when there is violence during freshmen orientation activities that makes the front page [of papers], people always discuss how to make the activities less violent. But in my view, such practices should never exist at all, because they are just an opportunity for seniors to exercise their power from seniority and violate the rights of freshmen,” Konlawat said.

“I think the main reason that keeps these awful practices alive is not the seniors, who inherit and continue this ritual every year, but the newcomers themselves who lack a proper understanding about their rights and don’t stand against it.”

As a student who has campaigned to end the “seniority” system, he said the culture allowed senior students to force freshmen to do what they order, which sometime violates junior students’ rights and dignity. These practices sometimes include public humiliation, sexual harassment, or dangerous activities that can cause serious injury or loss of life.

Konlawat said schools should educate students more about their rights and dignity – to let them know about and cherish their rights and stop them violating other people’s rights. Teachers and universities should also get serious about offences that violate students’ rights and not conceal such problems.

Maha Sarakham University lecturer Chainarong Sretthachau had a similar view. He said repeat violence in freshmen orientation activities was the fault of universities that do not value human rights.

“As we can see from the latest issue at Kasetsart University, where executives tried to play down the controversy, the institutes themselves do not cherish human rights and instead focus on protecting the university’s reputation,” Chainarong said.

“In order to end this cycle, students have to stand up for themselves and their families should not tolerate the violence against their children. Universities have to protect the wellbeing of their students first and there should be tight regulation to control freshmen orientation activities.”

He suggested freshmen orientation activity could be done in a positive way – by not using an authoritarian system to force freshmen to do things, but instead let senior and junior students become friends based on a voluntary orientation ceremony, as they do at Thammasat University.

“People are naturally able to adapt to the new environment and make new friends without imposing a Sotus system, which will only promote authoritarian culture in society,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chokchai’s father, Amporn Thongnuakhao, submitted a plea on Friday to the prime minister, asking for a law to stop violent orientation ceremonies.

“I would like to see a new law to regulate [student] orientation activities and let the government and universities learn from my son’s case. I want that this tragic incident should never happen to someone’s child again,” Amporn said.