Culturals ease the anxiety

Updated on: Monday, July 20, 2009

The first day at college is very special for every teenager passing out of school. It is not just about the new campus or new course, but also about meeting a whole new bunch of friends and seniors. This is where “freshers’ parties” could help, by providing a platform for juniors and seniors to break ice. At a time when ragging has become a serious issue, these parties seek to facilitate a pleasant introduction to peers.

Talking about his recent “freshers’ day” at college, Satish Shanmugam, in his first year of B.A. Journalism, says: “I had a very bad opinion of seniors, as I have heard a lot of scary stories about ragging, but I was proved wrong.” He found the seniors to be friendly and in fact, it was they who made him feel at home, he adds.

Different colleges seem to have different ways to welcome the freshers. At M.O.P. Vaishnav College in Chennai, for instance, the inter-departmental cultural contest ‘Abhilasha’ serves as a forum for the new comers to interact with one another, as well as the seniors. Keerthana C., a first-year student of B.Sc. Visual Communication, says: “We work together as a team… seniors help us out and at the end of the event, we become one nice group.”

For K. Rakesh, too, the shift from school to college has been exciting. “The news of my college’s cultural programmes for freshers made it more interesting. I am basically a dancer and like to do stage performances. My seniors train us for the culturals and we share a great rapport with them,” says the fresher from DG Vaishnav College.

The senior students also look forward to these interactions. Zubin Vincent, Cultural Secretary of MCC, says, “Freshers’ cultural competitions are platforms where they can showcase their talents. We get to know them better during this time.”

Amrutha Ananth, Cultural Secretary of MOP Vaishnav College for Women, concurs. “It is a good chance to get to know our juniors. This would help them participate in other cultural programmes in which they would perform along with the seniors. This develops a strong bond between the two.”

Vidya Addhepalli, a final-year student, thinks the rapport between juniors and seniors could also depend on the treatment one receives as a fresher herself. “Having a good bond with the juniors helps identify their talents and we could form effective teams depending on our areas of interest.”

What about students who enrol for postgraduate courses? “PGs also need a freshers’ day to get to know their seniors better. Understanding that the PGs are a more serious bunch… it could be an orientation given by the seniors.” says Aishwariya S., pursuing PG.

Entry into college also provides opportunities for students to pick up life skills that could come in handy later. For example, students would have to do a lot of negotiating with peers and seniors. For unlike in school, a lot of things in college get discussed and even finalised among students and are later taken to the professors for approval and suggestions.

Harish, final-year student of Patrician College, feels that in some cases seniors may tend to dominate. He thinks it is important for students to know how to interact with peers and arrive at a consensus in a matured fashion, avoiding petty fights.

However, these freshers’ programmes serve as a good learning experience, say students. Kishore Whagmare of DG Vaishnav College says freshers’ parties work wonders for both the seniors and juniors. “Juniors can become less hesitant with their seniors. When I was a fresher, I made friends with many of my very interesting seniors and later, juniors.”

Culturals ease the anxiety

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