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Postcard: Valdivia, Chile

Sarah Navis,
Grand Central Magazine

In Chile it is a tradition for the second-year college students to pick on the freshmen. With vinegar, flour and paint, second-year students draw all over the freshman's bodies and clothes, breaking eggs in their hair and setting a million Chilean pesos minimum – about $11 U.S. – that the mechónes have to give to the second year students. Photograph by Sarah Navis
(Click here for more images.)

You think you had it bad as a freshman in college? Don’t tell that to college freshmen in Chile.

Here at the University Astral an "initiation" lasts for the first month of classes. The second-year students, who are in the same major as the “mechónes” (freshmen), take charge in the initiation.

How do they initiate the mechónes? With vinegar, flour and paint, second-year students draw all over their bodies and clothes, breaking eggs in the freshman's hair. Then the mechónes are made to give $5,000 Chilean pesos minimum – about $11 U.S. – to the second-year students.

The way they collect this money is usually by asking random people in the streets or in their cars if they could spare some money – mind you they are all covered in flour and reek of vinegar and dead fish.

The money that is raised from the freshmen is then put into a fund that will be used to throw a party for everyone later in the semester.

At least the money is going for a good cause.

This is all so interesting to me because not only are the freshmen getting soaked in disgusting liquids and their clothes are getting ruined, but the staff do not care. They know that this tradition has been going on forever in Chile. They probably had to go through it when they were in college.

It’s such a normal thing that when I was talking to a group of Chilean students, they asked what we did in the U.S. to the freshmen. I said we don’t anything, and especially nothing like this. They thought it was stranger that we did nothing than actually dousing them in filth.

The best part about this is after the second year, students make a mess of the sidewalk; the janitors clean it up as if it were an everyday mess. Well, it will be for the next month. It is such a tradition that no one finds it strange at all, so I guess I shouldn’t either.

I was lucky enough to witness this phenomenon firsthand. I was with a group of Chilean students who are studying to become English teachers, and they wanted Andie, another girl from Central Michigan University, and my help in tricking the freshmen to stay in this classroom.

In Chile it is a tradition for the second-year college students to pick on the freshmen. With vinegar, flour and paint, second-year students draw all over the freshman's bodies and clothes, breaking eggs in their hair and setting a $5 million Chilean pesos minimum – about $11 U.S. – that the mechónes have to give to the second year students. Photograph by Sarah Navis
(Click here for more images.)

We had to tell them that a class was going to be held in this particular classroom and to wait a few more minutes because the professor was on his way. We introduced ourselves and asked them a few questions. The whole point to this was to keep them all in one location so that the second-year students could "get them."

It didn’t take long and soon the classroom was full of second-years, each wearing garbage bags and masks similar to the ones dentists use. The freshmen were not happy. I looked around and there were so many girls dressed in nice clothes. It was crazy!

The second-year students had a list of names and called them out one by one, at which time the students are covered in paint and marker. After they were done with that, they tied them all together with a rope through their belt loops. This keeps the freshmen from running.

Once they were all tied together, they were taken outside. This is where all of the mess is made with the vinegar and flour.

This happens for the first month. It is expected and in reality is kind of a unique and for the most part harmless way of greeting the newcomers to your school/major. It was a lot of fun watching, but I would not have wanted to go through it as a freshman.