Personal Development Given Priority

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Student activities inside and outside the campus still become an attraction for a part of the students to improve their non-academic ability. Let alone, organizational experience is frequently needed to get a job or pursue a career for the future.

However, the interests of achieving a better future, as well as technological development, lead to a change in the student interest in activities outside the lecturing sessions.

At present, activities in the socio-political field, such as the study of social and political thoughts among students, tend to be less desirable. Student activity units related to social sensitivity, such as campus press or campus theater, are also in short of attraction. Interest in the activities of social organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, also tends to decline.

On the contrary, activities related to individual capacity building and directly related to future careers/jobs, such as in research, technology, and pioneering efforts, are more desirable.

Vice Rector for Student Affairs of Brawijaya University (Unibraw) Malang Arief Prajitno said last weekend that many university students are doing research to be proposed in national activities, such as the annual event of National Scientific Week.

"Unibraw has been the overall champion for six times. We are preparing for the seventh time. Last week there were 175 titles of Unibraw students, which were checked by the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry from five fields, both exacta and social subject matters,"said Arief in Malang, last weekend.

The university management, Arief further said, is very supportive and provides incentives to students who do extremely well, including providing scholarships to those who become champions.

President of Student Executive Board of Gadjah Mada University (BEM KK UGM) Obed Kresna Widyapratistha said that now many of his fellow students form pioneering companies or join the socio-entrepreneur activities.

Since several years ago, the Gadjah Mada University has a special program to encourage students to give birth to the pioneering companies. The university even founds the Innovative Academy, an institution that provides training and guidance to students to form startup companies.

At the same time, said Obed, the students\' interest to become active members of BEM KM UGM also remains high. In one open recruitment session, the number of students applying for membership of BEM KM UGM can reach 600 people. Of this number, about 350 people will be received.

Diminishing interest

However, the decline occurs in student interest for activities such as the student press. Secretary General of the Yogyakarta council of the Indonesian Student Press Association Rahmat Ali cited as an example at the Humanius Student Press Agency (LPM) of the Ushuluddin Faculty of Sunan Kalifaga State

Islamic University, Yogyakarta, last year there were only about 20 students who registered themselves as new members of the association. The number of applicants who attended education and training was only about 10 people. "The 10 people themselves were not necessarily enduring to the end. In fact, previously, according to the story of his senior, many students immediately registered themselves as soon as the registration was opened," he said.

Student interest in the moderate Islamic organizational activities conducted by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah also tends to decline. Maarif Institute Executive Director M Abdullah Darraz said this was caused by the fact that the roles of the two organizations\' wings in the universities, namely the Islamic Student Movement of Indonesia (PMII) and Muhammadiyah Student Association (IMM), are not optimal in the regeneration process.

This condition gives rise to a "empty space", which is utilized by other parties. "For me, this phenomenon is a momentum of introspection for all the children of the nation. Moreover, this is also a criticism for other elements of the nation, such as Muhammadiyah and NU, which are less massive and aggressive in developing the movement in the younger generation," said chairman of the central executive board of Muhammadiyah Youths Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak.

Gusdurian Network Activist Syafiq Ali said that in this reform era, the pocket of intra-campus movement is weakening. The movement community which during the New Order was on campus is now looking for a new space outside the campus, such as to political parties, professionals, press. They rarely go to the campus to keep the regeneration process. "As a result, there are currently many students who do not have enough political insights and social sensitivity. They only focus on pursuing personal dreams," said Syafiq. (E01/E03/E18/RTG/SYA/HRS/ WER/ NCA/ SAN)