Adopting a friendly approach

Comfortable Beginning

A friendly ragging session also spices up the proceedings. Gone are the days when the juniors had to bow down to the seniors’ ways and do whatever was told to them during the ragging sessions.

Not only have colleges become more strict in this regard, even the seniors prefer to befriend their juniors in a warm manner rather than indulge in bullying.
Metrolife interacted with a few senior students across colleges and ask them how they make their juniors feel comfortable.

Most students said they introduce their juniors to the many activities in colleges and get them to participate in most of them. The clubs and associations are another highlight.  
Karthika Nair, a final year student at Mount Carmel College, says they do not believe in ragging. So they make their juniors feel at home by helping them with everything. “We make sure that we are around to help the juniors whenever they need us and the student union is always there for everything. We bond the most during the ‘Fresher’s Week’ where we encourage them to participate in as many events as possible,” said Karthika

Soumi Bhattacharjee, a final year art student at Mount Carmel, says it’s not very hard to break ice with juniors.

“You just need to give them a feel of campus life and tips to get food faster without breaking the rules, how not to get into trouble and soon you will see that they begin to look more relaxed. This is just a way of getting them to settle down fast,” she pointed out.

The scene is not very different in co-education colleges across the City. Geethu Alapatt, doing second year BBM at Kristu Jayanti College, says the ice-breakers begin with the orientation programme. Geethu says, “Our campus is free of ragging. That is the first step toward making the freshers feel at home. Then we have various events such
as ‘Virtuso’, ‘Accumen’,

‘Kalajyothi’ and clubs like ‘Centre for Social Activities’ and ‘Literary and Cultural
Association’ that require active participation from the students. So we first introduce the juniors to these activities and later get them to participate in them,” she said.

College fests and the various associations bring the seniors and juniors together. Kezhia S, a second year BM student of Kristu Jayanti ollege, thinks that one must adopt a friendly approach toward juniors. “We’re all here to help rather than throw attitude. And it’s only the seniors who can give their juniors a feel of what it has been studying in the college,” she points out.

Wasim Akram and Seenu Sharma, both final year students of the Indian Academy, feel that seniors are the best to help the juniors settle down in a new atmosphere.
“The idea is to instill self-confidence and give them the feeling that you are available for them at all times,” said Seenu.

Wasim adds, “We get them to join in as many clubs and participate in almost all the events on campus. We tell them that winning or losing is secondary, participation is important. We also share with them our experiences and what it was like when we first joined the college. All this makes them feel at home.”