Seal Clubbing, "sluts" and first years

Rhodes is a dangerous jungle where the opportunity for Seal clubbing is rife. The concept of seal clubbing stems from the inhumane killing of baby seals, the definition can be found at: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seal+clubbing. The Rat and Parrot, Union and Friars are the hunting grounds for second, third and fourth year students. The result often ends in disaster with a tarnished reputation. However, the question is this: who are to blame the hunters, or the hunted?
Writing from a female perspective, I feel that both parties should be held accountable for their actions. However, this still does not justify the idea of taking advantage of first years simply to win a game. Phillipa Reinders commented,” I felt so uncomfortable in first term, I felt like I was just a piece of meat and no one actually cared who I was.” This is an opinion shared by many first years, however, one has to ask, why have fourth years taken such an interest in first years? This leads me to believe that, once being first years, they fell prey to the seal clubbing antics and did not maintain friendships within their year, and so the cycle continues as each group of first years arrive. However, Beckett commented, “I think that when older boys take interest in us it’s like winning a trophy when you kiss them, I also think that in some cases girls are making a point by breaking away from high school.” This is a view where the hunted may be blamed for their actions as they were aware of the repercussions.
The general consensus around campus is that the ratio to boys is outrageous and is bordering 4:1; this has lead to some cut throat competition in order to be noticed; all hopes of finding your soul mate are quickly crushed and more than often, you find yourself doing things you would never normally consider. For example, digs formals, where the object is to dress promiscuously, get drunk and in most cases kiss your partner. The idea of dressing up as an ideal fantasy and playing games that have sexual connotations is both insulting and condemning towards women; even more so when they are branded “sluts”. However, I want to raise the controversial issue of why men are labelled players, yet women are sluts when they both do the same thing. Coming from an all girl’s school, I have seen firsthand that in many cases girls are more judgmental and often are the catalyst for labelling other girls “sluts.” it is hypocritical to say that the above issue is unfair when many girls contribute to slander, furthermore, even when they are promiscuous, when it doesn’t hurt anyone else, why should that wrong? We claim to live in a liberal society; however, it is issues such as these that directly contradict our beliefs.
I believe that there is so much to learn about ourselves and that we are in fact “baby seals,” however, I think that we should take more responsibility for our actions and stop shifting most blame elsewhere. We are all individual free thinking human beings, therefore, we should be aware of the risks we take and look at our own morals and consider whether we are in fact simply continuing the cycle that we so hate.