GASS VII

Semester 1, Academic Session 2008/2009

Hmm, sounds quite studious, huh? Yet it has a very optimistic note to it ^-^ Another year has started and that means many fresh faces to meet on campus, yay! The old seniors here are really excited to meet the fresh young (juicy) juniors because some of us are already jaded seeing each other for the past god knows how many semesters... Huhu.. Just joking =P

At the beginning of the semester, SCIENCESS has successfully organised the seventh Gathering of Science Students (GASS), its first important semi-annual programme, under the Public Relations and Information (PRI) Bureau. GASS VII, in its seventh year running, is a one-night gathering of all science students, to welcome the new faces (and unite the old ones), giving them the opportunity to find new friends from different departments and batches, our in-house way of socialising =)


Though I arrived to the Main Auditorium quite late, I managed to witness the programme kicking-off with the introduction of the SCIENCESS exco line-up. Zack and his comrades looked very charming and assuring as our society leaders on stage, wearing the official Kulliyyah of Science (KOS) blazer, with blue ribbons and all. But the truth is, in our hearts, the excos are just like the big brothers and sisters of our big SCIENCESS family. The night's emcees, Master J (better known as Jazli Aziz) & Farhana (a.k.a. Nainai) were superb in keeping the evening light. Needless to say, they were hilarious in the way they kept stealing each other's lines.


The pantomime by the second-year students was very amusing. I was captivated to watch three caring students from different backgrounds working hard together to come up with an antidote for an epidemic that is plaguing IIUM students. I say, if the epidemic was laziness, sign me up to be treated. Hehe. Admirably, they suceeded, but when one of the leading actors died in the end, it was simply tear-jerking ='( in essence, the pantomime gave a better overview of the prospects of each departments with the message of unity deftly conveyed. It was definitely the highlight of the evening. Thanks a lot to Zul Yunus and Co. for coming up with the performance on such short notice.

After that, there was a conclusive virtual tour of KOS, where all the facilities that are available at KOS are featured in a video. We were shown many venues for students to conduct their classes or programmes, laboratory sufficient for hands on practical, a cafeteria to fill up our empty stomachs, and not forgetting the Resource Centre and CTS student lounge to spend time in between classes. It was interesting the way they presented the tour based on the true life story of a typical science student on a frenzied day, portrayed by The Don =) So, as a healthy undergraduate, please do not deny the possibility of waking up late, not being prepared for quizzes, having crushes on classmates, playing video games, and falling asleep when we're supposed to study ^-^ Hehe, its a student life, right? ;p C'est la vie.

To top it off, the guys from WacKOS also prepared a fantastic video to publicise the WacKOS project to first-year students. They've also started a green environment and lunchbox campaign. So support the cause and use lunchboxes, not polystyrene packs. Maybe we can start a petition for the cafes to use eco-packs like in Gombak.

At the opening of the second session of the evening, Faqar and Haneen had a good-humoured four-line-Malay-poem-duel (indirect translation of membalas pantun). As cheeky as Faqar gave his four lines, Haneen replied in exact scholarly dose. We were at wits' end laughing. Nevertheless, both of them did a wonderful job in giving us a glimpse of our colourful Malay tradition.

The one thing I still remember clearly from that evening was Dr. Jesni, our new Deputy Dean of Student Affairs, quoting Lilo (from the movie, Lilo & Stitch), "Family means that nobody gets left behind." Though the words were simple, it had a significant note etched into it. Well, I guess for the night, everyone eating together was just what the doctor ordered.


With one heart, under one roof, as one family.

Su-Qi