Sex, rock'n roll in pre-graduation glee

Having sex with 17 people in as many days, downing a case of beer in 24 hours and making out with a student of the same sex are just a few of the escapades many Norwegian high school students get up to each May in a well-established pre-graduation tradition.

Every year, some 30,000 teens about to graduate from high school take part in massive celebrations that go on unabated from May 1 until they culminate in a huge blow-out on Norway's national holiday on May 17.

"These festivities have the same feel of liberation as a carnival in a Mediterranean country: you take a break from everyday existence, you put on a mask and you do everything that is off-limits the rest of the year," anthropologist and author of a thesis on the subject Allan Sande told AFP in Oslo.

Recognized by the red or blue uniforms that indicate what high school they attend, the "russ", as these near-graduates are called, attempt to carry out a number of feats to earn small "trophies" tied to the tassel and the brim of their caps.

Staying awake for 72 consecutive hours earns you a black ribbon tied to the tassel, taking a dip in an icy fjord before May 1 earns you an ice cream stick, having sex in a tree earns you a twig, while abstaining from sex for the entire 17-day period earns you a safety-pin.

"It is true that some of the challenges are 'border line' but we have toned down a number of the rules this year due to health reasons," Oslo's russ president Anette Sophie Fuglesang told AFP.

"Earlier, one had to drink a case of beer in six hours instead of the 24 today" to earn the right to a beer cap, she pointed out in a cracking, whiskey voice.

"And all references to sex are now accompanied with a recommendation to use a condom," she added.

The word "russ" comes from the Latin "Cornua Depositurus", or removing the horn, which refers to an ancient tradition in which a censor removed a horn that had been attached to a student's forehead to indicate that he had passed his entrance exam to university.

Considering the huge amounts of alcohol consumed by the high school students who have just reached the legal drinking age of 18, it is also ironic that "russ" phonetically resembles "rus", the Norwegian word for "intoxication".

For many russ, the celebrations throughout the month of May serve as an initiation rite marking their first foray into sexual relations and heavy drinking.

This sometimes has a tragic outcome. Over recent years, a number of youths have died of meningitis, which spreads rapidly among the russ indulging in intimate relations and beer-sharing.

There are also numerous car accidents as the students drive from party to party, and a number of girls are raped each year by other students or by men who gravitate to the huge gatherings of young and intoxicated russ.

While the festivities often get out of hand, the money some students spend on the celebrations, and especially on transportation to and from the parties, can be even more shocking.

The russ get together in small groups and invest in red or blue-painted vans or busses that they equip with huge loudspeakers and loud, melodious horns to keep the party rocking and neighbors awake all night.

This year, 28 high school students from the upscale Baerum suburbs near Oslo spent a whopping 800,000 kroner (127,000 dollars, 99,000 euros) on buying and outfitting their "russebuss".

While the wild parties and crazy pranks are hotly debated in Norway each year, many feel that the most disturbing element of the celebrations is that they take place as the students are writing their final exams.
Flunking an entire year of studies is not possible in Norway, where students simply retake the exams they fail while continuing to follow their set curriculum, but the festivities still take their toll on academic achievements.

The parties used to take place after graduation, but in 1984 Norwegian authorities tried to put a damper on the celebrations by pushing final exams forward from May to June when summer holidays begin.

The students responded by not only beginning earlier but also extending the festivities.

"It is not my place to ban the russ parties but they encroach on the school year and we receive many reports of dozy and rowdy students," Norwegian Education Minister Kristin Clemet told AFP.

Case in point: students yell out "skaal", or "cheers", every five minutes in class or spend an entire lesson under their desk to earn trophies in their cap, which can indeed be disrupting.

Faced with the unquenchable party lust of the country's high school students, Norway's government is now considering reinstating May exams to ensure that students are sober when they show up for their finals.

--AFP