IN PLACE of the School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) Night usually held during the Ateneo Freshmen Orientation Seminar (Orsem), a SOSE Camp will take its place on August 8.
Orsem is an annual welcoming event for Ateneo freshman held before the first semester of classes. This year, it will occur from July 29 to 30.
According to SOSE Sanggunian Chair Luigi Del Rosario, he and his team aims to produce a “freshman training camp” through SOSE Camp’s group dynamic activities and exercises, as well as more department-specific talks by motivational speakers.
More interactive
According to Yap, SOSE Night has been ineffective for freshmen in the past few years.
“[This is] first due to the volume of information being crammed in a short three-hour program. Second, the freshmen are already tired from [the] Orsem [program],” he said.
Del Rosario added that his team noticed how organizations still ended up giving preparatory courses to freshmen even after Orsem.
“[This] to us was indicative of a lack in substantial information being provided by the previous SOSE welcoming night programs,” he explained.
Del Rosario said that SOSE Camp will allow freshmen more space for roaming as it will utilize the Loyola Schools campus for its activities.
“In the usual SOSE Night the freshmen just stay inside the Covered Courts, mostly on their seats. In SOSE Camp, classrooms and facilities outside the covered courts will be utilized,” he said.
Furthermore, he said SOSE is fostering its partnership with the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) by involving the presidents of SOSE’s home organizations in the crafting of the overall program of SOSE Camp.
Science and Technology Cluster (STC) Head Jurel Yap revealed that SOSE Camp will be a more comprehensive and interactive program for freshmen compared to SOSE Night.
“More time will probably be given to the home organizations to introduce themselves and how their orgs fit within the SOSE community,” Yap said.
SOSE Sophomore Central Board Representative Railey Montalan said SOSE Camp will be a more integrative and serious event.
“We want to show the students what to expect in their courses, in the science orgs and in SOSE in general, so we might have more serious activities and discussions,” Montalan explained.
SOSE life
According to its Frequently Asked Questions page, SOSE Camp aims to give incoming freshmen a crash course on “SOSE Life.”
For Del Rosario, SOSE life is about applying what the student has learned in the classroom for the benefit of others.
“SOSE is home to the brightest minds, and so as academic leaders, we also want to be engaged in service to the nation and global community through science, technology and innovation,” he said.
For Yap, SOSE life means being curious and making the most out of the student’s program of choice.
“I want the SOSE students to come out ready and more equipped for their life as a SOSE student through being more aware of the support systems that can help them flourish in their four to five years in college,” he said.
On the other hand, Montalan said SOSE Camp could inspire freshmen to pursue their interests and to push SOSE’s goal of innovation.
“The pursuit for knowledge and advancement is the drive of SOSE students, and I think this pursuit binds the different people of SOSE together; we do what we do because we want to innovate and change things for the better,” he said.
Changing traditions
Yap believes that the time has come for Orsem traditions to create new opportunities such as the SOSE Camp.
“As long as it’s for the betterment of the freshmen’s Ateneo and SOSE experience, I’m fine with breaking traditions,” he said.
Likewise, Del Rosario believes that Orsem is for the freshmen rather than tradition.
“I believe that if changing Orsem traditions means a more productive, informative and impactful learning welcoming experience for the freshmen, then tradition is something I am willing to forego,” he said.
Del Rosario clarified that it will be up to the succeeding Sanggunian and COA administrations whether SOSE Camp will persist for the subsequent years.
However, he said he would like to see the next set of leaders to continue pursuing a “more productive, informative and impactful freshman welcoming program.”
Moreover, Yap said the academic calendar for the succeeding school years is also a factor in determining whether another SOSE Camp will occur.
“It would depend so much if there is still a one-week break between and the first week of class in the coming years, but given there still is, I hope the next set of leaders would push for a similar effort,” he said.
