Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. rampant (adj.) [ram-puhnt] – occurring frequently or widely
Example: Rampant distribution of pirated films is a big problem
for the movie industry.
2. anonymously (adv.) [uh-non-uh-muhs-lee] – in a manner of having an unknown name
or identity
Example: The respondents can protect their identity by
answering the survey anonymously.
3. shear (v.) – [sheer] to remove by cutting or clipping
Example: A sheep’s wool is sheared to make winter coats.
4. dedicate (v.) – [ded-i-keyt] to commit in a specific thought
or action
Example: The student dedicated all his time to studying so that
he can succeed in his career.
5. halt (v.) – [hawlt] to cause to stop something from continuing
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
To end
the rampant ragging in the colleges of India, members of a family
victimized by the violent form of bullying have dedicated their lives to fighting it.
Ragging,
a form of bullying or hazing usually done by seniors on freshmen, took the life
of Rajenda Kachroo’s 19-year-old son, Aman, a first-year student in one of
India’s prestigious medical schools. Over the years, ragging has led to
numerous similar cases of student deaths, suicides, and even insanity.
Rajenda
and his wife, Priya, were clueless about their son being ragged in school, until
their son came home one day with his hair sheared off. He
eventually admitted to being ragged, but assured his parents that the bullying
would soon end.
True to
Aman’s words, the bullying did soon end when he and his roommates were woken up
one night by a group of seniors asking them to stand in a line. The seniors
then beat up Aman and his friends. Aman died that night from head injury.
Because
of this tragic incident, Rajenda decided to dedicate his life to stopping ragging in schools. He and his
wife established an anti-ragging helpline where students can anonymously
report incidents of ragging.
This is
just one part of Rajenda’s contribution in halting cases of
ragging. He said he will continue to fight and will not stop until the calls
for help also stop.
For the
last two years, the helpline has received about 250, 000 calls, with 850
serious complaints about ragging.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
What do you think school authorities
can do to stop or prevent bullying from happening?
·
Who else do you think is responsible
for handling issues of bullying?
Discussion B
·
If you were to come up with a
punishment for bullying, what would it be?
·
Are you aware of any laws in your
country related to bullying?
