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View all search resultsNewcomers are usually eager to explore what a place has to offer, what kind of traditions it holds, and most importantly, what kind of people they will be dealing with for some time
ewcomers are usually eager to explore what a place has to offer, what kind of traditions it holds, and most importantly, what kind of people they will be dealing with for some time.
And that is what campus orientation for new students all about.
"This is a totally different environment from my high school. The learning system and process, the relation between senior and junior and many more," said Sisca Cristiani, a first-year accounting student at Atma Jaya Catholic University.
She said that although her campus held a two-day gathering at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah for the freshmen, she felt that the introduction was not enough.
"I was glad that there was such a thing before starting my class. It gave us time to get to know the campus a bit, and try to adjust to this new environment," she said while waiting for her turn to take picture for her student card.
Sisca added that unfortunately, the orientation period was not enough to give her a complete view of the campus and custom.
A noted education expert from the Jakarta State University, Arief Rachman, said the orientation period was necessary for new students for several reasons.
"The priority is to introduce the campus geographically to the freshmen. New students of Bandung Institute of Technology *ITB*, for example, need to know the location of the laboratory right away so they won't get lost," he said.
What was also important was the chance to get to know the lecturers, and here seniors played an important part in giving information so freshmen would know how to deal with them, Arief said.
He also said that orientation would also mean a lot for students to understand the culture of the campus so they could know how to develop themselves.
"Fourth is the introduction of the social life, their relations with senior and maybe alumni," Arief said.
He said that the bond between the seniors and juniors could start through informal occasions, such as going camping.
"But this activity must be under the dean's or rector's approval and there should be tight supervision in order to avoid bad things."
It has long been known that many students are victimized by orientation exercises, which in most cases includes hazing from the seniors.
The latest incident occurred in Medan, North Sumatra, when cadet Hendra Syahputra from the Technical and Flight Safety Academy (ATKP) died after he reportedly fell during the orientation at his campus.
However, Hendra's parents filed a report with police after discovering signs of abuse all over their son's body.
Also early this year, Dwiyanto Wisnu Nugroho, an ITB student, died during the orientation.
Due to many similar cases, many universities now ban any orientations held separately from the main one organized by the university.
Wahyu Tri Laksono of History study at the University of Indonesia said that his faculty no longer had such activities as it was illegal.
"Actually, it was important for us from the history department to have such an event as it would help the juniors know their seniors and alumni. It can't be set aside that in our major, keep the seniors intact is vital, especially when we've graduated," the third-year student said.
Due to so such incidents, many schools now totally shut down orientation activities that might involve violence. Others, however, tried to find new methods in making introductions about the campus to the freshmen.
Bina Nusantara University, for example, recently held a musical performance at the Jakarta Convention Center on Sept.6, titled BINUSIAN 2013, to wrap up the orientation program.
During the inauguration, students performed traditional dances and choir, as well as theatrical and band performances. Freshmen also took part in the event by performing similar shows as seniors and featuring magical acts.
Before the inauguration, freshmen attended preparation classes to learn about what kind of life they would live for the next few years. The classes were completed by video conference so students in one class could see what happened in the other classes.
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