Unika Lakukan Penyegaran Nilai Kemanusiaan Bagi Mahasiswa Baru

 
SEMARANG, 13 Agustus 2014: Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata melakukan penyegaran nilai-nilai sosial bagi mahasiswa baru, seiring dengan lunturnya nilai toleransi di masyarakat yang tercermin dari tingginya konflik antar kelompok dan individu.
“Dalam Pembekalan Terpadu Mahasiswa Baru (PTMB), tahun ini, Unika mengambil tema ‘Membangun Kemanusiaan’ sebagai refleksi dan inspirasi dari pahlawan nasional Mgr Soegijapranata,” ujar Ketua PTMB  2014 Ridwan Sanjaya, Ph.d menyambut para mahasiswa baru Unika.
Menurut Wakil Rektor I Bidang Akademik Unika Soegijapranata tersebut tema PTMB tahun ini masih memiliki benang merah terhadap tema karya PTMB sebelumnya a.l. ‘Kasih akan Tanah Airku’ (2011), ‘Sekolah Hati Pijari Negeri’ (2012) dan Integrity for Humanity (2013).
Menurut dia tahun ini seluruh pihak diajak untuk belajar menumbuhkan, mengembangkan dan berbagi nilai-nilai luhur kemanusiaan ke dalam kehidupan nyata a.l. kesederhanaan, kerendahaan hati, kemauan untuk melayani, serta komitmen atau kesediaan untuk setia pada prinsip-prinsip kebaikan dan kebenaran.
“Kegiatan ini merupakan wahana yang tepat dalam menerapkan semangat tersebut, dimana ada banyak dari kita yang berasal dari luar kota, luar provinsi atau luar pulau. Baru sekarang hidup terpisah dari orang tua dan bertemu dengan rekan baru di Unika,” paparnya.
Ridwan mengutip ajaran Mgr Soegijapranata, mengingatkan kita untuk dapat menjadi garam hidup bagi sesama sehingga keterlibatan kita dapat memberikan dampak yang baik bagi kehidupan masyarakat sekitar.
Pembekalan Terpadu Mahasiswa Baru (PTMB) Unika Soegijapranata tahun 2014 resmi digelar pada 13 hingga 15 Agustus diikuti sedikitnya 1800 putra-putri terbaik dari ujung timur hingga barat Indonesia.
Meneruskan tradisi tahun-tahun sebelumnya, Unika Soegijapranata memberikan beasiswa bagi siswa dari golongan ekonomi kurang mampu, siswa berprestasi di bidang keilmuan dan atlet tingkat propinsi hingga nasional.
 
 
Pidato Rektor
 
Puji syukur kepoda Tuhan yang Maha Esa – yang telah memperkenankan kita untuk berkumpul dalam perhelatan meriah ini.
Selamat pagi saya ucapkan kepada para Wakil Rektor, Dekan, Ketua Lembaga Kepala Biro/UPT, segenap dosen, tenaga kependidikan dan mahasiswa sekalian
Secara khusus saya mengucapkan selamat datang di Kampus Soegija kepada seluruh mahasiswa baru – angkatan 2014 – UNIKA Soegijapranata. [In particular, please allow me to warmly greet the new students of 2014. It is indeed a great pleasure for us – lecturers, staff and “senior” students – to have you all here this morning – welcome to our campus!  welcome to the campus of SOEGIJA!
Seeing a large crowd of students, it reminds me of a famous quote about education by Henry Brougham: “Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave”. [Pendidikan membuat manusia mudah dipimpin, tetapi sulit untuk diperbudak]
It is indeed a straightforward and explicit quote, however, it’s quite challenging -if not too difficult – to realize. And one of the primary tasks of a university is exactly that – namely to groom young men and women to become responsible citizens who can think and act independently – by utilizing their knowledge and upholding a set of good values.
Starting from today, all of you – the new students – are belong to a campus which has a special motto “Talenta pro patria et humanitate – Talents for the country and humanity – Talenta untuk tanah air dan kemanusiaan”. It is, of course, not a coincidence if the theme of this year’s orientation week (PTMB) \s “membangun kemanusiaan” or “cultivating humanity”.
If we look at what happened in the world right now, clearly, we are witnessing many many challenges for humanity, including – among other – the Gaza never-ending conflict, the rise of a new form of terrorism – as represented by the ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the South China Sea tension, the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and – not to forget – the presidential race dispute in our own “backyard”, just to name a few. The dispute over the result of last month’s presidential race has shifted from a mere political problem to a wider spectrum of humanity crisis. We can see clearly that this political crisis is actually rooted in the very essence of human nature particularly power-greediness, honesty, fairness, anger and envy.
Education, including university education, is expected to equip the educated individuals with the capability to make discernment or proper judgment about humanity issues. Those who can undergo a process of discernment are actually pioneers in the society. In other word they convey the good news to the society.
I do hope that through this 3-days orientation program (PTMB) the new students will have a chance to learn about and to reflect on humanity issues, and at the same time to explore the multi facets of this campus. In this opportunity, I would also like to encourage the “senior” students – the PTMB committee – to lend a hand to their new fellow students to better understand the true campus life. Since we are working on “cultivating humanity” theme, I am very sure that this orientation program (PTMB) will be free of violence, be it physical or verbal, l am really thankful to the students committee for their willingness to cooperate in this humanity mission.
Finally, I wish you a very meaningful orientation program. God Bless us all.
Semarang, 13 -08-2014
BudiWidianarko
Rector