The FASS Open House 2011 was all about embarking on a great new adventure with the Faculty. How apt is it to liken the journey in FASS to that of an adventure with many unseen challenges! Being a soon-to-be-graduating student, I recall vividly the time when I was still a clueless “freshie”; I did not know the difference between Sociology and Social Work and thought that Malay Studies modules are taught in the Malay Language! Navigating through the mysterious maze of different subjects seemed like an almost impossible task for anyone to master.

This is why I felt that the Open House was a good platform for prospective students as the booths and talks exposes them to the nitty-gritty details of what they can expect from each subject. In this year’s Open House, each Department’s exhibition area had its own distinctive flair. There was also an atmosphere of friendly competition as most Departments tried to outdo each other by offering attractive freebies to prospective students. Among them, the Department of Malay Studies had an assortment of traditional Malay kuehs and batik designed notebooks, the Department of History offered mini-tool kits, and the Centre for Language Studies dished out booklets containing short phrases in multiple languages and not forgetting sweets from different parts of the world.

While the visitors eagerly munched on these tidbits and sweets, seniors and lecturers were seen busily answering their queries on the FASS curriculum. For those who were too shy to ask any burning questions face to face, lectures were held throughout the day by the Departments, introducing the fundamentals of the different subjects offered by FASS.

The Student Hub was also buzzing with activities with student societies such as the Youth Expedition Project and the FASS Student Club having booths to showcase activities they have organised and are planning to organise in the new academic year. Many freshmen signed up for the Arts Camp to get themselves sufficiently orientated with FASS as well as to get to meet more people before semester starts.

This new academic year, FASS, in conjunction with FOS, will also be rolling out the carpet for the pioneer batch of Environment Studies students. The talk by Prof Peter Ng on ‘Training a New Generation of Environmental Managers and Researchers in Asia’ held in LT 12 was especially well received. Being a new programme, faculty members who are part of it were swarmed with questions by both the prospective students and parents alike during the lunch reception after the talk.

I was extremely amazed by the turnout. Despite the heavy downpour in the morning, prospective students were not deterred from streaming into FASS throughout the day. I can only imagine how excited these prospective students must have been after attending the Open House.

To all you freshmen, welcome to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences!

By: Fairus Bin Jasmin
FASS History Major (Class of 2011)