So, the students of my years just held an event to welcome and prepare the new students of year 2008 in International Program (IP) of FE UII to study in International way. Its name is Study Preparation Program (SPP) with the theme Pearlsonal Treasure. This is an annual event that the committees are from the students of the new student’s previous year (the youngest seniors).
Some stated that this event is a tool or medium to prove the quality of making events to the previous students (we are forbid to call them senior). Others said that it is a useful event to introduce the IP family to the new members of the family. But for me, this event is purposed to impress the new students of how lucky they are now, members of the prestigious program in the Faculty. And also to raise the prides and loves for the International Program.
In this event, we had a talk show with our alumnus who have been success and around here somewhere, invited the foreign students of Australia to have discussion about culture, and introduced the new students to the internal organizations of Faculty of Economics in UII and our IP neighbors from Faculty of Law and Faculty of Industrial Technology UII. There were also live music from the bands of IP FE UII, fast breaking together with the guesses, and Fireworks Party in the end of the event.
While in other Faculties, Universities, or Schools, people use different type of approaches to the new members in the institution. Most Faculties and High Schools in Jogjakarta, they held the Orientation & Introduction Event/Party a la military. They gave the new students tasks to bring some attributes that are hard to made and find (sometimes they even put some word-traps) to give pressure; and finally that the committees could punish them (they changed the word “hukuman” means punishment into “pembinaan” which means guiding, to give a more ears-friendly-effect) in their defected or imperfect attributes. Also when they did something that doesn’t fit with the senior’s values, the “pembinaan” will be given to them.
And then, in the last day of the a la military Orientation Event/Party, the committees will welcome the new students with happy face and hugs (maybe). And with all of the tiring experiences from the new students in obeying what their seniors asked them to, the relieved feelings (that the event finally over) are well-used by the committees to create the excitement. Instead of paying revenge for what they have been through and what the seniors have done to them, what the new students do are joining the celebration party which forced by the seniors with their “loving expressions”.
Beside of those two types of orientation & introduction events (welcoming party and a la military) for the new students; there is also another kind of orientation event that called MOS (Masa Orientasi Siswa) or Students Orientation Time. This event is a combination of seminars and introduction to the new environment of the institution. But most of the committees, who are responsible to design which type of orientation & introduction event to be held, considered this event as a boring event. Since MOS is a must-held event in Jogjakarta’s High Schools, some always held more than one orientation event in a month for the new students.
Me, who have ever experienced three of them, will analyze the psychological impacts in me for the first two kinds of orientation & introduction events (welcoming party and a la military) to the new students. And to help you design what to do in the event to get the psychological effects we want.
Use my first experience of participating an a la military orientation & introduction event in my High School (SMA 9 Yogyakarta) which is called PARSSI (I’m not sure what is this letters stand for). In the going home time, we, the new students, were surprised and shocked being harsh-mannered (orally) by our new seniors. When they came in to the classes, they opened the door pretty rudely and successfully made the frightening impression to us. They read the tasks for the next 2 days (the impressing day was on Saturday) as fast as they could and gave us 3 chances to get 3 tasks being repeated.
The events that happened in PARSSI, how we reacted to the “pembinaan”s the seniors gave to us, the memory of how I made the Chief Committee cried (Sorry, Kak Eci), and other memories about it always made me smile. Even I can still remember the nickname I got from one of the senior because I can’t hold my self from laughing. It’s fun if I reminisce that time, but to experience it again I will say no as soon as I can.
Those proved although they were not a nice things to do, they will still become our sweet memories. And how they become sweet memories was because there were loves and loyalty born for the name of my High School. But unfortunately, these memories became sweet memories not because of the event itself. They were becoming sweet memories since I lived the school life with lots of addition to the proud points of becoming a student of SMA 9 Yogyakarta. So, during the time in living the school life, students started to love the school. Just like that and with this love, it is enough to turn embarrassing memory become a sweet memory.
Honestly, the only advantage I felt from PARSSI was the unification of the class inhabitants. My classmates and I felt being oppressed by the seniors during the PARSSI and it brought us to help each other, know each other, and protect each other. The celebration in the last day (Sunday) which done by water throwing and yelled the informal name of the High School (GANZA) didn’t brought us the pride of being a new member of the institution. It only works to repair the relationship between seniors and juniors. From this event, the united feeling in a class is growing strong, but then you will consider the other classes as your competitors, not family. It proved by the culture of creating a name for each class that inherited by the alumnus.
Then, the Study Preparation Program which now the welcoming party’s atmospheres were thicker. The theme of SPP I participated was Metamorphoself, with the objective to morph the new students into better international qualified students. Unfortunately, I didn’t found any program in it that functions to equip us into International Qualified students. There were boring seminars and lots of games to relate between the students of 2006 and 2007. And of course, there were no harsh-mannered acts done during the event.
Lots of delightful and delicious snacks & meals during the program that time. Guess stars (White Shoes and the Couple Company) were invited to come in, saying hello, and sing couple songs for us. Then in the late time of the event, we were being blindfolded and dragged to a place to watch the Fireworks party that was made to welcome us. I don’t know but in that time, suddenly I felt that I chose the right nice place. All I can remember, all of the programs in the SPP that time were complimenting the International Program.
There were times when we have the lunch and dinner together, some of us even experienced food sharing with the committees. There were really no limitations for us to be in the middle of the peers. What I’m talking about is the No-Seniority-Culture we have. So we experienced a party, the feelings of being welcomed and accepted, and have a new family. Plus, there was no feeling of unification from just my year students. I don’t get any feelings that we have to prove our quality to the seniors. Don’t get any feelings that the best choice to start having a friend is from your same year’s peers. It was not a perfect event I can say it, but it was succeed making us being the part of the family.
So, which types will you choose. The effects is depend on how you combine the things I have wrote above. When you need you juniors respect you as a senior for them but not give them strange feelings in their new school, do the welcoming party but keep the space between the committees and the participants. Be in the middle of the participants when they need you, not because you want to show them how friendly you are. Build moments to make them feel that the new environment is theirs and show them how good the committees are.
Well, there are lots things to combine to get another different psychological impact. Hopes this article could helps you out designing the orientation event for your new juniors. Post your experiences about the orientation & introduction events you ever have and the impacts to your life in that environment.
Originally posted here, September 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment