Student Organizations as Conflict Gangs, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

The article presents information and analysis concerning the existence of interfraternity violent conflicts on the campus of a major state university in the Philippines, the University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD). Historical accounts from university administrators and faculty indicate that fraternity violence on the UPD campus began at around the end of the Second World War, with the death of a fraternity pledge during a hazing incident. In the 1960s, a student was killed in conflict between rival fraternities, signaling the escalation of fraternity violence from hazing of pledges to interfraternity fracases. The purpose of this article is to discuss and analyze this phenomenon by addressing contemporary campus records of inter-fraternity violence, responses of fraternity members to personal interviews, and possible explanatory factors. The present analysis indicates that most instances of fraternity violence occur during the second half of any given term but not during the exam period. This pattern provides some support for the view that violence is used to camouflage a student's poor academic performance.