Schoolies week
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Schoolies or Schoolies week (also known as Leavers' or Leavers' week) refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (known as "Schoolies" or "Leavers") having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December.
"Toolies" refers to older revelers who participate in Schoolies Week but are not high school graduates. "Pre-schoolies" refers to younger adolescents who participate in Schoolies Week but have not graduated high school yet.
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[edit] History
Schoolies week first began at Broadbeach, Queensland in the 1970s, in the week after final exams. [1] Schoolies Week events began to be organised and the Gold Coast, Queensland attracted schoolies from all over Australia for celebrations. Since then, the tradition spread as Australian high school graduates celebrated their graduation with a week-long party at many popular tourist destinations around the country.
Schoolies week is considered by some as a cultural rite of passage in Australia. The most enduring Schoolies Week tradition is the first run down the beach and dive into the ocean after school is finished forever. That plunge of freedom is the essence of freedom Schoolies symbolises. [2]
[edit] Locations
Queensland's Gold Coast, particularly Surfers Paradise, maintains its status as the largest single venue for this revelry, attracting tens of thousands of Schoolies. Schoolies are also present at the Sunshine Coast; this is an alternative for the graduates who fear the negative media attention attracted on the Gold Coast. Schoolies have similar traditions at Magnetic Island in Townsville, Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Sunshine Coast and Port Macquarie. Byron Bay & Surfers Paradise are particularly popular amongst private school graduates. For South Australia, Victor Harbor is the location of choice, while in Victoria the Surf Coast is popular, mainly consisting of Lorne and Torquay, however Phillip Island is also quite popular for students living in the east and south of Victoria. In Western Australia, Rottnest Island off Perth and the South West towns of Dunsborough and Busselton are popular destinations. In Tasmania there is not an established "Schoolies" location or tradition as such. Internationally, popular schoolies destinations include Bali, Fiji and Vanuatu[3].
[edit] Criticism
Since the event began to attract large enough numbers to warrant annual media attention, the Schoolies week has become a familiar concept nation-wide. Popular media frequently criticise what has become a rite of passage due to binge drinking, sex and promiscuity. Police attention is regularly required where the collective behaviour of Schoolies at some locations gets out of hand, such as Rottnest in 1986. In efforts to reduce such acts, the week-long event on Rottnest in Western Australia has, as of 2006, been reduced to six days, which itself has resulted in a fair amount of criticism from the youth public.
In recent years, violence (notably sexual violence) has become an increased threat to the safety of attendees. Fights have broken out between Schoolies from one area and another[4] and predictable media coverage of antics, accidents, and attacks has followed. The Queensland Government has been criticised for their efforts to stage-manage the event and limit celebrations.[3]
2007 saw one of the most troublesome Gold Coast Schoolies celebrations in history, where in one night, police arrested 30 Schoolies and the number of arrests for the entire week doubled compared to the previous year. Supt. Jim Keogh said that over the past eight days of Schoolies celebrations, 217 Schoolies had been arrested on 244 charges compared with 94 Schoolies arrested for the same period in 2006. Charges were laid against Schoolies for serious assault, drunk and disorderly, drugs and obstructing police. It prompted talks of banning Schoolies week. [4]. This has led Schoolies to look at safer alternatives to ensure their wellbeing.
[edit] Official Schoolies Events
Official Schoolies Events are drug-free and alcohol-free events held at many Schoolies destinations. They include concerts, dances and parties. For all official events, attendees are required to be a registered Schoolie and present Schoolie ID on entry. This Schoolies ID, which at some locations includes a photo, is given to Schoolies upon registering, which requires the presentation of current school ID and incurs a small fee. At many destinations, the official events are held in fenced-off areas or in nightclubs to prevent the infiltration of "toolies" and to maintain crowd control. Some events are free while others (often those held at nightclubs) incur an entry fee.
[edit] Toolies
Popular Schoolies (or leavers) venues are often attended by people well past school age, labelled by the media as toolies. The word is derived from the notation "too old for Schoolies" and also the slang expression "tool". Toolies are associated with the targeting of drunk teenagers for sex, and are also frequently involved in any disturbances that take place during the celebrations. Because of this, toolies are a major topic of media scrutiny during Schoolies week. Toolies also refers to early school leavers who are in apprenticeship training but join in the Schoolies celebrations.
Another group that have some presence at Schoolies week celebrations are those known as "foolies" or "pre-Schoolies". These are adolescents who haven't yet left school but still partake in activities during Schoolies week. Many organised events during Schoolies week, such as concerts, only admit those who are school leavers. On the Gold Coast in particular, Schoolies are often given wristbands as a form of identification.
[edit] Problems and risks
Schoolies week celebrations can involve large volumes of alcohol and other drugs such as tobacco, cannabis and ecstasy. Confrontations between participants can occur resulting in violent assaults. Other problems and risk associated with schoolies week include sexual health and sexual assault.
[edit] Injuries and death
The risk of injuries increase during Schoolies Week, particularly on the Gold Coast, where in 2002, the Queensland Government established a triage to treat and assess injuries and implement first aid. There have been a number of schoolies related deaths and many violent altercations between youths. In some cases deaths resulted from balcony falls and suicide has also been an increased problem during Schoolies Week.
[edit] Alcohol and drugs
Widely considered a week long alcohol binge, schoolies week is most criticized for excessive drinking and problems that flow from this. In 1995, 75% of male schoolies and 53% of female schoolies report being drunk most or every day or night of Schoolies Week.[5] More recently laws have been changed at a Federal level increasing the tax on pre-mixed spirits, and at a state level in Queensland to focus on parents supplying alcohol to their children in an irresponsible way. Drink spiking has also been a significant problem.
The availability of drugs at Schoolies Week has also been a problem. In 1995 25% of male schoolies and 14% of females reported being stoned most or every day or night of Schoolies Week. At Gold Coast Schoolies Week in 2007,it was reported that drugs such as Marijuana and Ecstasy were cheaper and more widely accessible than alcohol. [6]
[edit] Violence
Schoolies has been long known for its violence, media reporting has focused on schoolies violence and in the mid nineties there were incidents where news crews handed out money for schoolies to initiate violence so they could film schoolies violence for the evening news.
One of the most violent schoolies was in 2002 at the Gold Coast. Police were under-resourced as several violent clashes occurred involving groups of people every night that week. In subsequent years with Police numbers significantly increased and innovative approaches developed violence has continued, but Police have rapidly engaged and resolved violence. When the Queensland state government took over the management of Schoolies at the Gold Coast in 2003 from the Gold Coast City Council, after the most violent Schoolies Week in 2002, their primary concern was public perceptions of Schoolies Week.
All schoolies destinations have been more heavily policed since and some destinations have engaged private security guards to assist. The most significant statistic regarding violence at schoolies over the past few decades has placed the blame more so in the hands of 'toolies' than 'schoolies' themselves. Damage to hotel rooms has occurred, as well as vandalism to other private and public property.
[edit] Sex
Sexual health has been made a focus since opportunities for casual sex at schoolies week can lead to unprotected sex and the propogation of sexually transmitted diseases. There are also concerns about sexual activity in public places such as beaches. Increases in sexual assaults during schoolies week destinations has also been a problem. Schoolies week destinations often attract older predators often referred to as "toolies".
[edit] Popular culture
- Blurred (play) is an Australian play about school leavers travelling to schoolies week.
- Blurred (film) is a 2002 Australian film based on the play.
- Extensive footage of schoolies and schoolies week was featured in Fat Pizza Uncensored, a DVD collection of extras sold with some copies of the DVD for Fat Pizza: The Movie.
[edit] See also
- Spring break a week-long recess from studying in early spring at universities in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, China and other countries.
- Civil disturbances in Western Australia
- Russ Norwegian graduate revelry.
