It's All Fun and Games, Until...

This August, the National University of Singapore suspended all orientation camp activities after news of sexualised games and forfeits made the headlines. CLEO speaks to four girls to find out what their own university orientation camp experiences were like and better understand how and why those incidents happened.

- Sophie Hong

Raunchy orientation games are nothing new. A decade ago, The Straits Times reported on orientation games that involved lip contact. Another activity saw freshmen washing each other’s armpits, even those of the opposite gender.

But earlier this year, the issue was thrown back into the spotlight when The New Paper reported that a male and female freshman had to reenact an incestuous rape scene.

The article also highlighted an incident where a female freshman was asked inappropriate questions, like who in her group was the sluttiest girl, and which guy’s bodily fluid she’d drink.

The final straw was when a video went viral on social media: it showed four male students holding a girl and guy in a spreadeagle position, and dunking them repeatedly under water.

Game on

So are these raunchy orientation camps a regular feature at university camps?

Not quite, according to the girls we spoke to.

“Some people actually warned me about how sexual or ‘dirty’ these university camps can get, so I was prepared to say no to certain games or forfeits if I didn’t feel comfortable,” says Francesca*, 22, a student at Nanyang Technological University. She has participated in three camps and says, “That kind of stuff never happened to me or my orientation group. But I did hear of some university camps that got a little more wild.”

Another camper, Grace, 26, recalls a bizarre game where they had to play Captain’s Ball on the beach – using pieces of slimy raw chicken as the ball. “Some games were mildly physical, like having to hold hands or using our mouths to pass each other food, but I didn’t feel like those games had sexual undertones.”