JOIN USFun with studies
There is this notion that medical colleges are only about studies. St John’s is not like that because we balance everything,” says Manu Abraham, president, Student’s Union, St John’s Medical College. “We are encouraged to use our potential. We have a great cultural team and we won the second prize at Spandan, the national-level cultural fest.”
Abraham catalogues the achievements of his college. “We study two or three weeks before the exams or when we have to.” But he’s quick to reassure, “Don’t worry, St John’s creates some of the finest doctors”.
The future doctors apparently love their campus. ‘‘The campus is really lovely. It’s so full of greenery. We like to hang out by the basketball court or the amphitheatre on campus,” gushes Swathi S.
The much-talked about campus is also the venue for the annual fest at St John’s, which is called Autumn Muse. During the days of the fest, the campus sees students from colleges across the City. Manu informs that while the college hasn’t hosted a fest in about two years because of advanced examination dates and other reasons, “the fest is usually held for a cause, like for the poor patients who may not be able to afford treatment.”
Students from all over the country consider the St John’s hostel as their home. “On birthdays, we wish the particular person at midnight by barging into his room and make the person feel special. Earlier, we used to have block parties in the hostel. But now with the anti-ragging laws in place, these have stopped. During exams, we hang out in the corridors till 4 am and study together. When one batch is preparing for the exams, students from the other batches go out and get food for the others,” he says.
“We share a ‘baby-committee relationship’ on campus. The first-year students are called the ‘babies’. Students from the second and third year are on the committee and we share a great rapport. The babies help the committee in organising various events. We end up becoming great friends,” says Swathi.
Medical students living together always have some interesting rituals. Swathi tells us about one. “We like to talk about everything in medical terms. So if somebody has a simple headache, we make a different diagnosis on what it could be and speak in medical terms.” She laughs and continues, “people outside won’t understand”.