Month: May 2023

Categories
Current News

Controversy and Solutions of Smoking Ban Regulations in Campus Areas of Sanata Dharma University

Prasetyo is giving his opinion about the non-smoking regulation in the USD campus areas (Picture taken on April 17, 2023)

Sanata Dharma University. The slogan ‘smoke-free campus’ which prohibits smoking in the campus area becomes controversial among the members of Sanata Dharma University who smoke and do not.

A non-smoker student from batch 2020 stated, “I disagree with the smoking ban regulation on campus because there are many students and staff who have smoking habits to relieve their stress and fatigue.” This student then suggested that smokers should be given a designated smoking area with the purpose to let them smoke freely without disturbing the non-smokers on campus.

A smoking student from batch 2022 disagreed with the slogan of a smoke-free campus. According to him, it was difficult to objectify this slogan because the majority of smokers are students. For this reason, he said, “Sanata Dharma University should provide ashtrays on every corner of the floor or make a gazebo for them to smoke.”

Responding to the students’ pros and cons, Anna Fitriati, a lecturer and the Vice Dean of Faculty of Letter stated that in Yogyakarta Governor Regulation Number 2 of 2017 Article 1 Paragraph 6, it is stated that educational institutions are public places in which smoking is prohibited. She then added that as an educational institution, Sanata Dharma University should comply with the applicable laws. According to Fitriati, she agreed to the enforcement of the smoking ban regulations on campus. She said, “As adults, students should be aware of following the rules in public places. If smoking is prohibited in a certain area, then they should not smoke there.”

To solve this problem, Fitriati also stated that at the beginning of the new academic year, the campus conducted socialization to distribute knowledge to the students of Sanata Dharma University about the smoking ban rule that they must obey. However, according to her, there are still many who were ignorant about these regulations. In order to set a good example for the students, lecturers and staff had also been urged not to smoke indiscriminately.

Fitriati also advised smokers not to smoke indiscriminately because it could pollute the environment and disturb non-smokers. She also added that non-smokers could also advise those who smoke in off-limit areas to do it in the designated areas wisely and politely.

Answering all suggestions and solutions related to the smoking ban policy on campus from the government, which had received many cons from members of Sanata Dharma University, HB. Prasetyo W. as the Head of the Facilities and Infrastructure Bureau confirmed that they had planned the construction of designated shelter facilities in open spaces at Campus 1, 2, and 3, which were planned to be built this year. “The budget has been given to build at least one smoking shelter on each campus,” he said.

Regarding the smoking ban regulations, Prasetyo also gave his opinion about it. “This policy is subjective. If I am a smoker, then I do not agree, but because I am a non-smoker, I agree.” He also added, “I just follow the rules, that is why I do not forbid it, and we will provide a place for smoking because such a habit cannot vanish just like that, it needs a process.”

 

Journalist: Dulce Cicilia Sariri

Editor: Yohana Satvika Wahyuveda, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)

Categories
Current News

Recent Renovation at Campus I USD Causes Minimum Parking Issue

The Renovation progress of the parking area (Picture taken by Kenar)

Yogyakarta (4/13/2023) – Since the hall’s renovation began at Campus I Sanata Dharma University, demolitionists’ activities near the parking area have been a hassle for both staff and students. 

Because of the limited parking space, students have to get clever to park their vehicles in the temporary spot. Although there is a basement parking spot, it is usually reserved only for cars and those who come earlier to claim their spot. This causes quite a ruckus among those who come late to the Campus I parking spot.

Juari explaining the history of the parking area (picture taken by Beryl)

“The parking lot has been there since 1994,” Juari said. Back then, there were no problems with the size of the parking lot because of the low number of students. Fast forward to this current stage, a larger parking space is absolutely necessary to contain the growing number of students. 

“I think it began with the construction of the Economic Faculty that the parking lot became a bit cramped,” he added, “as for now, the parking lot is still manageable, though sometimes it can be disorganized. Many motorcycles have collided with one another these days.”

As a result, the security guards need to be more active in organizing the students around the parking lot. “We hope that after the renovation, the parking lot’s condition should be normal again, and the students can park their vehicles without hassle anymore.”

Gerald Widyo Utoro, a student of USD English Letters, has expressed his thoughts about the parking space issue. Since he lives quite far from campus, he has to come early to get his motorcycle parked, but since the renovation began, he has been extra careful in choosing his parking spot.

Gerald prefers using a motorcycle, though it means he has a higher chance of finding a parking spot. He said, “Even though I found a parking spot, sometimes my motorcycle still collides with other motorcycles.” 

That had caused a few scrapping in his motorcycle surface layer. Still, the only thing that students of USD can do now is to hope that the university committee will provide extra parking space for the student’s vehicles.

Nevertheless, another Sanata Dharma University named Audrey Rosari complained about the minimum parking space at Campus I Sanata Dharma University when she was hanging out. She said that students have difficulties in finding a parking spot often. As such, students have to park their motorcycle on Campus II.  “They said that they’re tired of walking to Campus I from Campus II every so often,” Audrey added. 

When asked about the possibility of using TransJogja or ojol (ojek online) to decrease the increasing growth of students’ vehicles, she admitted that she preferred to use her own motorcycle. “I could use TransJogja, though the nearest bus stop to my house is around 1 km. It can be pretty tiresome to walk that distance every day. As for ojol, I’ve used it once in a while before, but I would not use ojol in the long run. The cost of using ojol from my house to the campus is quite expensive.”

“I guess an advice I can give is to make a specific vast parking place,” Audrey suggested, “imagine the basement of malls. Usually, malls have two to three basement floors built specifically for parking spaces.”

She knew her suggestion was not realistic for the near future, but she had hoped it could be done in more or less ten years from now on.

 

Journalist : Kenar Syalaisha Kanayana

Editor: Nanda Pratama Putera Tomasila, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Categories
Current News

The First Ever Bincang Alumni & Malam Keakraban in the Faculty of Letters

Bincang Alumni participants

Yogyakarta (15/04/2023) -The first Bincang Alumni & Malam Keakraban of the Faculty of Letters are held in Driyarkara Auditorium, Sanata Dharma University. As a celebration form of the 30th anniversary of the Faculty of Letters, this event is held under the grand theme of “Peran Sastra dalam Menjawab Perkembangan Zaman”.

The event was held as a vessel for students of USD, especially those who are about to graduate, to learn more about life after graduating by sharing it with the alumni. Simon Arsa Manggala, the chairperson of the Bincang Alumni & Malam Keakraban stated, “Every era has its own challenges, so alumni, as the person who already went through some of those challenges, can give a stock for the others, and Bincang Alumni is a vessel to collect the alumni.” 

The alumni speaking as source persons are Hugo Indratno, an alumni of USD English Letters Department, Agus Budi Purwanto, M.A., an alumni of USD History Department, And Kabrina Rian Ferdiani, S.S., an alumni of Indonesian Literature Department. At the event, they started discussing the topic with Hugo Indratno’s quote,  “The relation that’s in the faculty is as is,” conveying the meaning of the importance of being down-to-earth with a great attitude.

Agreeing with what Hugo Indratno said, Agus Budi Purwanto also tells the importance of connecting with a great attitude and social observance. Adding to that, Kabrina tells her story about digital marketing and tells us to challenge ourselves. “We can grow following the growth of the world if we always broaden our knowledge and not only rely on the one we get on campus.”

Bincang Alumni ended with a 2006 potluck party video as a form of reminiscence of the college times for the alumni. Although it was an old video, the recent generation students enjoyed the inclusion upon seeing familiar faces such as the USD lecturer.

Everyone is dancing and singing together on Malam Keakraban

Afterward, the event continues with malam keakraban where there is a performance, such as a band performance from ELMO, spoken word poetry by Agnes Seraphine (USD English Letters Student batch 2021), and another guest band. As the name suggests, the gathering night brings the student, staff, and alumni closer together.

The night goes on with a lot of dancing and other fun stuff. As an audience member, Maria Diva (USD English Letters Student batch 2021) said, “There is no minus for the event because it’s really fun, and I enjoy the whole event.” And she further said, “ If I were to join the event again next year, I would definitely join again because it’s literally wow.”

Raffi Andaru, ELMO’s band vocalist, states, “I think that this event is really warming because there are a lot of students involved and the lecturer seeing their old students coming back into Sanata Dharma.” This event really brings them together.

The Bincang Alumni and gathering night event was a huge success, with the proof that 50 or more people came to the event, Aji Cahyo Baskoro, Head of the  30th Anniversary Faculty of Letters event, said. 

“Tonight has been going well, especially how things were prepared with so little time. There are still a lot of people coming and enjoying the event.” With that, Bincang Alumni & Malam Keakraban will be carried onto the upcoming Faculty of Letters anniversary.

 

Journalist: Gregorius Beryl S.S.

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Categories
Creative Writings Poem

The Awaken of Judgement

As the light around me fades 

The sky darkens like the abyss 

As my beating heart slows

My eyes are closed now the abyss surrounds me

 

Was this inevitable to reverse?

My life wasn’t as bright like others

Blood needs to be shed for my safety

And those whom I cared about were the consequences

 

The blade of justice prevailed

At the cost of my own soul

This was it nothing can save me

My faith has been chosen by the gods

 

My only wish is to live a tranquil life in my next incarnation. 

 

Those words will change my existence forever

Unexpectedly, I am moved to a void

A figure appears from the abyss 

Standing there, menacingly, silently 

 

Am I being punished?

Is this the retribution for my sins?

I stand there trembling 

Knowing that my faith is set

 

The deity appears docile

No words escape its mouth

The deity’s presence is heavy 

A mere mortal like me will suffer

 

Though you have sinned, all life deserves second chances

 

The past of yours was filled with agony

Despair was inevitable 

You shattered your own life

Giving everything even your soul

 

Ending another soul is a vile sin

But to uphold the blade of justice 

You slaughtered those corrupted beings 

With the cost of your fragile soul

 

While you slowly fade

You’ve shown no regrets

Your expressed happiness 

Because now no one will harm them

 

You sacrificed yourself for the sake of others, you truly are a kind being

 

The deity’s wisdom enlightened me

Her merciful grace brings warmness

I feel light as a feather

As I reduce to nothing

 

That chance was given to me 

A new life to come forth

Reborn not as a punishment

Reawaken as a chance to live 

 

Author: Putu Beryl Putra Widyadhana

Editor: Nanda Pratama Putera Tomasila, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Illustrator: Betsy Mariana Agoha

Categories
Creative Writings Poem

La Primavera!

Hanged, Bottticelli’s in Uffizi

There, Venus stares to tempt us

To a grandeur garden, more than thousands of palazzi

Inside, spring awaits us

 

La Primavera!

Spring; it has come!

See the orange of the marigold

That revives the sense of warmth

Which once was shut by the cold

 

Like Chloris transforms into Flora, blossom

Even after Zephyr blows his cold wind of March

We, too, thrive and blossom

After grappling with life

 

The spirit of reborn

The completion of a metamorphosis

Act as a notion

To mark the termination of the crisis

 

La Primavera!

Winter to Spring

Cold to warm

 

A revival of a dead self,

A time to step into the light

La Primavera!

 

Author: Valentina Pascalia

Editor: Desca Geovani Kristi, Ruth Tirza Arina (QC)

 

Categories
Creative Writings Flash Fiction

Me, My Roses, and a Holly Berry Flower

I love to grow a garden of roses. Every day, I take great care of it. Watering, fertilizing, and checking; never miss a day. Sometimes, when the mood is right, I make a bouquet, seeing my roses intertwined as one, dressed with the sheer reflective piece of cloth, and all being tied up with the reddest ribbon I have, but my favorite part is giving it to someone as special as those bouquets. Seeing them smile as wide as a crescent moon is touching to me.

As days passed, the roses in my garden started overflowing, and I decided just to give them out. Since making a bouquet take a long time, giving them stalk by stalk is what I do. I am handing them as if they are flyers with how crowded the town is. It’s a piece of cake to get the numbers down, but I didn’t expect that it would also bring me down as I see my stalk of roses scatter. Some are thrown away, some are in the trash can as I see them peeking, and some are on the ground being stepped on, showing their wilt. The quick change from a smile to an upside-down smile is very clear to see. 

Since I have some roses left, I give them to someone special who will always smile when I give them flowers. With my last bit of energy, I knock on the door and smile, ready to give them the last flowers. Except this time, they don’t and reject it. “I’m sorry, I just got tired of roses, besides, I already have a bunch of bouquets that you always give me. I have nowhere to put them.” I’ve heard rejection before, but this feels like a bush of thorns laces scars all over the outer of my heart. As I say, “Oh… well, it’s okay. I- maybe I went overboard with it,” I leave holding a rose, and its thorns prick me because I forgot to cut the thorns on this rose, and I think to myself, “Wow, everybody must’ve hated me today, even my own rose.” While I hold my head, hang it low, and sit on one of the benches on the sidewalk, I trace my path. 

A moment later, a girl approaches me, giving me a holly berry flower, and says: “Hey, trade this with one of your roses.” It makes me jolt out of shock because other than the fact that she suddenly appears, no one has ever given me a flower before. A piece of flower I receive makes my frown fade into thin air. She adds, “Loving isn’t always about giving, don’t forget that you also need to receive it as well. Only then can you say that love is mutual.” 

Hearing that gives me an idea. I start to assemble a bouquet with the holly berry flower she gave me and tie it up with the rest of my leftover roses. Seeing a different shade of red makes me wonder if I could grow another flower. So I ask her if she got another one of those holly berry flowers. She said, “Of course.” And I replied with “Thank you.” I run to my garden and start planting the flower.

Long story short, I’ve expanded my garden with multiple kinds of flowers. Every flower you can name is yet to be still there, but I will always look forward to trading flowers with someone and discovering each story behind the flowers they’ve given. As for me, I will always look back at my rose and remember the very first time I knew what love meant, and instead of just giving, I will never forget to receive some love too.

 

Author: Gregorius Beryl S.S.

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Illustrator: Kenar Syalaisha Kanayana

Categories
Creative Writings Poem

Be the Flame

There is

an immense relief

and an eye-opening belief

in the saying:

 

To be the light,

you need not 

to be a friend of a star

and brighten its fame.

 

Start becoming

the candle’s flame

in the midst of the dark

and burn the galaxy

 

into yours.

 

Author: Agnes Seraphine

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati

Categories
Creative Writings Essay

Friends vs. Colleagues: An Eye-Opening Lesson of Committing to College Events Committee

In the college events committee dynamic, the blurred line between friends and colleagues can confuse many of us. However, experiencing both relationship types simultaneously may lead us to more meaningful lessons. Let’s take a look at these three common issues in college events’ committees related to friendship and professionality and how we can overcome them.

 

Issue 1: Should I trust and include them?

This is the question that most often appears in OPREC (Open Recruitment) season. We are in a situation where the department has a limited number of students, and some are inevitably our friends. As a part of the committee, we are expected to judge the candidates objectively. However, as a friend, we might claim to know all the goods they have and all the bad they hide. We may also think it would be easier to work with them since we have built a strong “bond”.

Here are two questions that you need to ask: why do they want to join the committee, and why do you want them on the committee? Finding the answers is not as simple as interviewing with templated questions that we know all too well how to “correctly” answer. 

If you want the committee’s future guaranteed, you must spend extra energy beyond the CV, interview, and your current “friendly” knowledge. Take that further step to find more reliable sources who can tell you about their factual footprints, potentials, and risk points. Trust me, and you will need this not for the mere formality of the procedure or to judge them based on their absolute past. Instead, this background information may help you visualize the kind of football you want to play in the team. In other words, what kind of dynamic will exist between the committee members with their tendency to think, feel, react, and behave?

 

Issue 2: Should I listen to them?

Listening to a friend’s suggestion can be tempting as they are also a part of the department and your circle of “usually trustable” friends. However, the question is how much do they understand about the situation that you are in?

Whether they are a part of the committee or not, you still have to investigate to what extent they know about the big picture of the situation. Do they understand the essential mission of the event, the number of committees, the budget, the timeline, the people, the dynamic in between the committee members, the skill and parameters needed in a particular division, how much time and effort you take to do it, or the actual practice of the work? I bombard you with these considerations to say a very important point: deciding the committee is more challenging than flipping the back of your hand.

Further, you can investigate what they know about things you have yet to learn. They may have the information outside of the committee that can add to the abovementioned considerations. Their perspective, filtered with the status quo of the committee, may assist you (not control you) in making the decision. 

What matters most is how you absorb and logically process the information you have gained. Make sure that it is your hope for the event to be successful that takes control, not your desperate need for your friends’ approval. Please understand that not all ideas should be heard, and not all audiences can be pleased. Only take the suggestion which qualifies for the event’s primary goal, the value of the committee members, and the doability of the suggestion. If your brain, heart, and colleagues agree it is strategic, do it. If it is not, leave it. 

Now, what if you are in the position of the critics? Let’s move on to issue number 3.

 

Issue 3: Should I tell them?

Your friend messed up, creating a problem you must fix in the committee, and pisses you off. Telling them will possibly hurt their feelings and break your friendship apart, but keeping it for yourself will bring worse consequences for the committee’s work. Sounds familiar?

You have three choices: tell them, tell the others except them, or do not let them know (ever).

If you choose the latter two, mark my words: you contribute to their damaged future. If they never know what they did wrong, they will never try to mend it either, and congrats! You will be constantly pissed for the rest of your work period. If other people know their mistake except them until the end, congrats! Now your friend will never be accepted in any other committees in the future, and they will never have the chance to grow because of you. So the answer is, tell them, but how?

First thing first, ngaca. If a problem happens, two parties always have their contribution to the mistake, so defeat your ego first and find your part in the issue before facing this friend. Ensure you intend to tell them to improve the situation and not to satisfy your hunger for the illusion of power. Only then, tell your friend mindfully about what they did wrong, what you did wrong, and find a way on how both of you can do better. Communicate how their wrongdoing made you feel and how it will impact other committee members if they keep repeating the behavior.

I understand that you might be scared of their reaction. However, a great leader once taught me this: “if your “friends” continuously deny their mistakes and refuse to change just for the sake of unreasonable ego or fear, you will have to question yourself: are they really good friends of yours when they do not bother to respect you?”

 

Author: Agnes Seraphine

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)

Illustrator: Betsy Mariana Agoha

Categories
Current News

USD Library’s Bag Policy Hits Inconsistency after the Pandemic

Students still bring their bags into the library despite the written regulation being put 
on the front locker’s display (taken by Agnes Seraphine on April 4th, 2023)

Sanata Dharma University. Since the library’s bag policy was re-implemented on the 13th of February, 2023, many students still bring their bags instead of leaving them at the locker station. The staff also no longer imply the regulation strictly.

Many students admit that the bag policy could be more convenient. Rio Ardian Sanjaya, a regular visitor of the USD library from the English Letters Department batch 2021, complained, “The bag policy is actually good so that we can be transparent about what we bring. However, for students like me who bring many things, such as a laptop, its charger, phone’s charger, earphone, mouse, books, (when) I move them to the library’s bag almost every day, isn’t it tiring?”

Responding to this, Clara Wening, a student staff member who has worked in USD Library since July 2022, mentioned that the staff has “run out of ideas already” on making students aware of the regulations. Although they had repeatedly reminded them to put their bags inside the locker and the regulation was already written clearly, most students did not choose to read and follow the rule. The limited number of staff also becomes one of the obstacles in supervising all visitors in detail. Consequently, the rules become less and less strict over time.

The Head of USD Library Service Nikodemus Suradi added, “The rules are not applied too strictly because we do not want to act as a police. Instead, we aim to educate the students and give the best service while conforming to the value of cerdas dan humanis.”

However, the decreasing strictness of the bag policy needs to be clarified for students on whether the policy is necessary. 

“I myself was hesitant because the prohibition has already existed, but I still bring my own bag. I feel guilty, but the staff also do not rebuke me for doing so, so I just kept doing it since it is more practical for me,” Chian Hu, a PBSI student batch 2020 who is also a regular visitor of the library, admitted. 

In answering the aim of the bag policy, Suradi explained that it has actually been implemented since the library was built in 1995, so it is not entirely a new rule. It is officially written in USD library’s regulation number 06/PUSD/XI/2022 in section III part A, which includes two following statements:

  1. Pengunjung dapat menyimpan barang bawaan di locker yang disediakan.
  2. Perpustakaan menyediakan tas pengunjung untuk membawa barang-barang yang diperlukan.

“The biggest unsolved problems in the library are book theft, visitors bringing food, and damaging the books. We are doing our best to maintain the quality of the books,” Clara Wening, a student staff member who has worked in USD Library since July 2022, on the primary purposes of the bag policy, said. 

The provided transparent bag is expected to help the staff supervise what the visitors bring into the library more efficiently. However, Wening said that many students, especially those coming in during and after the pandemic, still need to be made aware of this importance. 

Some students think that the bag policy is unnecessary because what they do is only change the cover (the bag). The staff must check whether they bring food or other prohibited items inside the bag. Additionally, they think there are still many gaps in which visitors can trick into stealing the books aside from putting them in the transparent bag.

To get out of the inconsistency loop, some regular visitors in the interview, including Chian Hu, suggested that the library staff socialize more about the bag policy’s aim through various media, such as Instagram posts or stories. They also indicated that the strictness of the regulation is maintained or even supported by an official penalty.

Yosua Antonio Subekti, another regular visitor from the English Letters Department batch 2021, added that students should become more aware that the library is “a public place and it’s not something we own. Sure, we pay for the building, but it doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want. There are regulations that we must follow.”

 

Journalist: Agnes Seraphine

Editor: Sitti Aminah Intan Utami, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)