Several anonymous complaints reveal alleged abusive practices at the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar. The news was released by the portal Tomar na Rede, which had access to a video where a “Doctor” from the Accounting course is seen humiliating freshmen, forcing them to lie down in a ditch and being doused with an unknown mixture, while uttering insults and threatening those filming.
According to the complaints, the student responsible “is known for being aggressive and abusive” and this type of behavior “goes beyond all limits”. Another student criticizes the inaction of the Magnum Consillium Veteranorum (MCV), the committee that supervises practices at the institute, accusing it of “turning a blind eye” because some freshmen belong to the committees.
After the portal Tomar na Rede released the video, the Magnum Consillium Veteranorum announced the temporary suspension of the “Doctor” in question, for an indefinite period, “until the necessary tests of aptitude and conduct as an active element of practice are carried out”. In the statement, the organization argues that “the practices take place, as a general rule, within the usual limits” and guarantees that “all freshmen participated of their own free will”.
The situation generated a wave of indignation on social media, relaunching the debate about the limits of academic practices and the need for greater supervision of these practices in higher education institutions.
