Written by: Thinesh Naidu
Merry. Fun-filled. Bonding and camaraderie.
These are the 3 terms I would use to describe the Fresher’s Welcome Party that took place on the 25th of March, 2016. My perspective on this event was a rather unique one, as I was part of the organizing committee for the party. I was one of the 10 game masters, in charge of the board games that would be played that night.
The crowd, comprising of new and returning Sunway University students, began filling up the extended deck of the foyer at 6.30pm.
All attendees of the welcome party were treated to a scrumptious combo of Aglio-Olio spaghetti & fried rice, courtesy of Joshi Josh, and also banana cakes and jellies made by members of the Sunway University Student Council.
The party started proper at 7pm. The board games were officially opened up, and the game masters proceeded on a table-by-table basis to instruct individual groups of attendees on the minutia and technicalities of the games laid before them.
Running concurrently with the board gaming session was the open mic session, which featured pre-determined and impromptu selections from the student council and audience pool.
The atmosphere was all-round warm and relaxing (thought the warmth could be partly attributed to the recent heatwave phenomenon), and everybody seemed to be in their element, thoroughly enjoying themselves. The standout board game of the night was, without surprise, Cards Against Humanity, a game designed to bring out the worst of us.
And thanks to some really enterprising players, we got this little gem:
The incessant Malaysian heat did not dampen the mood of the attendees, and everyone cheered and sang along whenever a particularly good song was being belted out on stage. The standout songs of the night were “Titanium” by Sia, performed by Sandya, “Secrets” by One Republic, performed by Chow Shenn Kuan and Yoon Pei Li; and “Wonderwall” by Oasis, performed by Tahsin.
All in all, the event was successful one, as it clearly achieved its key objectives: Bringing seemingly random groups of strangers together, and introduce them to each other. At a certain point, even the passers-by stood transfixed as they listened to the wondrous vocal potentials of Sunway University belting out song after song.
Inserted below are random shots of the event, taken by 2 other photographers and I (Ang Shuo Yan and Mwesi Ndibalema) who were on scene, and happened to be contacts of mine.