Boonyapat Krachang is the president of the engineering faculty's student club at Chiang Mai University and is in his fourth year of studies. He believes the benefits of Sotus far outweigh what he says are minor disadvantages. "Our faculty has Sotus to teach our juniors to respect the seniors and teachers. It also teaches morals and brings harmony among them," Mr Boonyapat said.
"One of the few disadvantages I see is the time involved. The students have to spend their evenings in the cheering room or do activities with their new friends, but this will give them connections with friends and seniors."
He insisted his faculty did not force freshmen to partake in Sotus. Those who complete the Sotus freshmen year are given a uniform at the end.
Those who don't have to participate in Sotus events in their second year and help seniors welcome the new crop of first years.
Mr Boonyapat defended the practice of shouting at freshmen, saying it was not a way of displaying power but instead a method of controlling 800 new intakes. He added that singing the faculty song three days a week and participating in activities such as sporting events were intended to create harmony.
He said there were no anti-Sotus freshmen in his faculty and everyone joined the activities willingly.
Anipa, a staff member responsible for freshmen at Maejo University, which also has a strong Sotus tradition, said the practice was about creating equality rather than violating people's rights.
"We still have a strong tradition and a ceremony that we continue from generation to generation," she said.
"The purpose of the ceremony is to make everyone stay together equally. Our university began with students who were from poor farming families. Nowadays, we have many different kinds of students. Some of them are from rich families and drive Mercedes to university, use expensive phones and wear brand-name clothes, while some students from very poor families come on public transport from their village in the mountains. Some of them are from families of 10 or 12 people and they are happy that their kids can get into a university."
Ms Anipa said students from diverse backgrounds were randomly put into a university dormitory where they have to learn to adapt and live with others.
"Some students do not have much money to feed themselves," she said. "They have to apply for a job as a security guard in the university while some of them wash and iron clothes for their fellow students to get 20-30 baht to eat. When children from rich families see something like this they see the value of the money they spend, and sometimes help their friends with some money or food."
Forcing students to dress in black and wear the same footwear and banning personal items and valuables during freshmen's week was a way to instil a sense of egalitarianism.
"We have strict rules like this because we want them to see that they are equals when they wear the same outfit and have no brand-name goods," she said. "The activities during the week are actually not tough but we just want them to know each other and love each other."
She said if the students have a valid medical reason or need to be exempted because of family reasons they are always excused.
UNIVERSITY RESPONSE
intimidation tactics: A clip from the short film 'Vicious Cycle', which tells the story of a freshman standing up to the bullying of seniors.
Thanaruk Suwanprapisa, vice-president of student development at CMU, said there are two types of welcoming ceremonies: an official orientation organised by university staff, and another organised by senior students at individual faculties.
He said activities for freshmen must be approved by the university board. Outside authorities, teachers and parents were welcome to observe them.
"Before undertaking any activity, second-year students who normally set out the activities for freshmen have to report the activity's details to the university and the faculty's dean and board who consider its appropriateness," he said.
"The cheering room must be closed at 8pm sharp and at 9pm everyone must be back in their accommodation. After 9pm, we have university officers patrolling around the area to check."
He conceded there were unsupervised activities involving "sub groups" of students from the same province, school or "groups of third-gender students".
"We are trying to get these underground groups in the system as student clubs," Mr Thanaruk said.
He said no first-year students could be forced to participate in Sotus if they felt it was inconvenient. "We do not force them to do it," he said. "Deciding not to join does not affect their study life."
He accepted that abstainers may be socially ostracised and said the university offered support.
"I understand seniors may have a way to try making all freshmen join in the activities - like psychological social sanctions - but we have a call centre and staff standing by to help them.
"Any freshman who has a problem can