Against
Yeah, you’re a first-year student. A fresher. But isn’t the whole ‘egg the fresher’ trope overdone? Come up with something funnier, @therestofthestudentbody. Pick on someone your own size instead of a bunch of vulnerable 17 and 18-year-olds (weird when you put it that way, isn’t it?). They’re nervous enough. Hurling verbal insults toward them does enough damage without an egg on top.
Aside from this prank being more overplayed than Twilight, I heard that my friend of a friend had to bring an Epipen with them on the way to their own Toga Party since they were allergic to eggs. Consider it: you could seriously harm my friend’s friend who is just as fragile as the vessels launched at them. Not to mention that throwing an egg at someone counts as common assault, so that’s quite bad generally.
Wide-eyed, don’t know the difference between Clyde and Hyde Street, these are young people who will be scared to leave their hall lest they get yolked. We don’t want that. Think about their contribution to student culture – while they’re all out at Toga, the streets are clear to have fun without tripping over them passed out on the street. They also provide excellent alcohol poisoning training for our local ED (just kidding, please don’t wind up there if you can avoid it).
They pump shit-tonnes of money into our micro-economy (Nitro and Cruiser stock boom) and make the OUSA executive feel important for three days (Tent City was awesome!). The pros of a good group of wild freshers are endless, so why egg them into a fearful, hermit existence? Don’t even make me bring up the food waste element, you prick. That also applies to any flour-bombing you were planning as an eggy alternative. Go make a tray of brownies or something, you clearly have all the ingredients.
For
Like it or not, we have to face hardship in life. There’s no point in denying it. But what truly counts is the way in which we are shaped by such adversity. Sure, getting egged sucks for the target fresher in the moment, but one day, in decades to come, it'll make a classic story at the family function. Everyone needs their student degen lore.
Regardless of your feelings on this subject, the fact remains that as a fresher, you're unfortunately at the bottom of the food chain. Would you blame a lion for hunting an injured gazelle? No. Because it's nature, isn't it? Same principle. My point is, the question of whether we should 'egg' freshers or not is futile. We don't get a say in what is the natural order of the world.
With that said, it isn't always wraps for the targeted fresher, but rather, they have the opportunity to defy the odds and evade such attempts on them. You know how in nature documentaries, sometimes the galloping lion is actually out-played by their prey? Doesn't happen often, but it does happen. In egging a fresher, you're not only contributing to their character development; you're offering them a chance at evasion and infamy. You chuck an egg at a fresher and miss? Well, now that student is back at their hall being hailed as the 'Neo' of the Freshers. You've done them a favour!
Now, I recognize the reality of allergies and such, and can absolutely understand the concerns for those who are vulnerable to such foods splattering on them. Not too sure what the solution is there? Epi-pen? Idk? Maybe Freshers with egg allergies should have big signs they carry around saying so, so the egg brigade can spare them accordingly? At the end of the day, focus on the silver lining: at least the eggs aren't frozen.