It's a whole new world
Aug 13, 2009
Most universities open for the new academic year with freshmen this weekend. Joseph Ssemutooke gives an insight into the life that awaits them.
Most universities open for the new academic year with freshmen this weekend. Joseph Ssemutooke gives an insight into the life that awaits them.
A free world
The first thing that will strike a fresher in his first days at campus is the independence. That total freedom to do whatever one wants without being answerable to anyone — be it going swimming or drinking instead of attending lectures.
With no teachers to coerce one into attending class, no strict parents to ask where one spent the night and no prefect to look out for and report those who smoke, one simply chooses to make or destroy themselves in this free world.
Fashion and style
At campus, everyone dresses the way they like — be it a suit, hijjab, tunic, or jeans.
But the general rule is being trendy, and many will endeavour to remain ahead of the pack. Students who make it a trait to don the latest in designs (hair-styling, designer garments, fragrances, etc) achieving icon status in lecture rooms and hostels.
The state of your residence also fetches points, so residing in a plush hostel (like Akamwesi) really matters. Plus what your room comprises — a screen is a must for some status, a refrigerator shows pure class and extras like cookers are real wealth. Ah, and driving about campus tops it all. No matter whether it is one’s father’s car clandestinely sneaked away from home.
Relationships
Most students engage in some sort of romance, while the busy-bees weave an entire web of relationships. Even cross-generational relationships feature, with files of cars picking or dropping off girls at their hostels in the evenings.
But for the fresher, there is more to marvel at. Being locked out by
a roommate indulging his erotic interests overnight not least, and continuing guys taking advantage of fresher girls’ naivety to pounce on them like hungry lions.
The ‘happening’/partying
For those outside campus, all campusers party hard. But as freshers will soon find out, the campus where everyone partied hard is of old. There is revelling simply not being one’s way, but more generally, there is the limitation of funds to run the happening.
Yet still those that party do so really hard, and for them, the idea that campus is all about fun holds very true. The ones to be caught at every joint from the lowest Malwa joints in Kikoni to the biggest hang-outs Kampala has to offer. Campus itself is never in lack of plot, with the plethora of bars and pubs in Wandegeya, the innumerable campus nights at every discotheque and the incessant promotions and shows at venues within the university.
Politics, culture and strikes
The so-called ‘university culture’ is all about the serious scholars going nuts, putting on red gowns and singing or yelling obscenities. During guild elections, this stretches as far as campaign rally crowds staging actual battles in the name of political activation. Then the incessant strikes, which is the campusers’ weapon against any form of injustice, from delayed meals to proposed tuition increments.
Academics
Many people think books aren’t serious at campus.But truth is; life at campus revolves around books, and those who fail to acknowledge it pay with low grades and retakes. Whatever one might be reading, it takes real effort to pass (what with totally new things to grasp every semester and regular tests, courseworks and research) and those who graduate with distinction put in extra effort. Particularly around examination time, campus becomes a quiet drab district, with people reading everywhere — in lecture rooms, library, and under trees.
A free world
The first thing that will strike a fresher in his first days at campus is the independence. That total freedom to do whatever one wants without being answerable to anyone — be it going swimming or drinking instead of attending lectures.
With no teachers to coerce one into attending class, no strict parents to ask where one spent the night and no prefect to look out for and report those who smoke, one simply chooses to make or destroy themselves in this free world.
Fashion and style
At campus, everyone dresses the way they like — be it a suit, hijjab, tunic, or jeans.
But the general rule is being trendy, and many will endeavour to remain ahead of the pack. Students who make it a trait to don the latest in designs (hair-styling, designer garments, fragrances, etc) achieving icon status in lecture rooms and hostels.
The state of your residence also fetches points, so residing in a plush hostel (like Akamwesi) really matters. Plus what your room comprises — a screen is a must for some status, a refrigerator shows pure class and extras like cookers are real wealth. Ah, and driving about campus tops it all. No matter whether it is one’s father’s car clandestinely sneaked away from home.
Relationships
Most students engage in some sort of romance, while the busy-bees weave an entire web of relationships. Even cross-generational relationships feature, with files of cars picking or dropping off girls at their hostels in the evenings.
But for the fresher, there is more to marvel at. Being locked out by
a roommate indulging his erotic interests overnight not least, and continuing guys taking advantage of fresher girls’ naivety to pounce on them like hungry lions.
The ‘happening’/partying
For those outside campus, all campusers party hard. But as freshers will soon find out, the campus where everyone partied hard is of old. There is revelling simply not being one’s way, but more generally, there is the limitation of funds to run the happening.
Yet still those that party do so really hard, and for them, the idea that campus is all about fun holds very true. The ones to be caught at every joint from the lowest Malwa joints in Kikoni to the biggest hang-outs Kampala has to offer. Campus itself is never in lack of plot, with the plethora of bars and pubs in Wandegeya, the innumerable campus nights at every discotheque and the incessant promotions and shows at venues within the university.
Politics, culture and strikes
The so-called ‘university culture’ is all about the serious scholars going nuts, putting on red gowns and singing or yelling obscenities. During guild elections, this stretches as far as campaign rally crowds staging actual battles in the name of political activation. Then the incessant strikes, which is the campusers’ weapon against any form of injustice, from delayed meals to proposed tuition increments.
Academics
Many people think books aren’t serious at campus.But truth is; life at campus revolves around books, and those who fail to acknowledge it pay with low grades and retakes. Whatever one might be reading, it takes real effort to pass (what with totally new things to grasp every semester and regular tests, courseworks and research) and those who graduate with distinction put in extra effort. Particularly around examination time, campus becomes a quiet drab district, with people reading everywhere — in lecture rooms, library, and under trees.