2007 ~ 2012 |
A NEW CAMPUS AND THE BIRTH OF SASS
Indomee, campus hallways and
the politics of identity
Shazwan M Kamal
The Journalist (2018). ▶
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1- The real challenge at
Monash was not about graduating or making it out in
one piece, but rather finding something decent to eat.
70
Discovering
my passion
for music
was one
of the
best things
I found
out about
myself at
Monash.
Yes, food was the biggest challenge that plagued
many students, or at least during my time at Monash
circa 2006-2009.
Back then, we had just moved to the new campus in
Sunway, and the culinary choices at the cafeteria at
the time was either mixed rice, 1901 hotdogs, Indian
food or Indomee.
The problem with the mixed rice and the Indian food
(curry, vegetables, roti canai) was that its quality
was as consistent as my attendance for Dr Sheila
Murugesu’s classes.
And so, just like the students who eventually left
Monash, the stalls in the cafeteria closed down, one
by one. All except the Indonesian stall which sold
Indomee and fried chicken.
Ah, that was my fix, my jam.
I think more than two-thirds of the food I consumed
during my time in Monash was from this stall. It wasn’t
great, but the taste and quality were consistent. It was
something my taste buds could implicitly trust.
I had heard rumours that some students held
a protest at the Monash cafeteria shortly after I
graduated, to complain about the quality of the food
and the lack of dietary choices.
That was (is still?) the beautiful thing about Monash,
at least during my time. No one was above reproach.
I remember lodging a formal complaint against a
lecturer who wanted to use his students’ essays and
publish them as his own. The Head of School at the
time (Dr James Chin) listened and took action.
I remember many things, though some were blurred
by bad memories, poor choices and unintended
consequences.
I remember the doors of the rooms of many lecturers
open to students at all times, ready to listen to their
complaints. Lecturers like Dr Yeoh Seng Guan, Dr
Andrew Ng, the late Benjamin McKay (bless him!) and
Dr Helen Nesadurai went above and beyond what was
required of them, nurtured and educated minds inside
and outside the classroom.
I was literally bound and tied up for one of Dr Yeoh’s
classes (think it was a lesson on Foucault, Culture
and Power). Kinky, but the effort he took to make
students understand the reading material and lessons
resonated with me. It is something that I still think
about and apply today in my field as a news editor
and a journalist
I remember falling in love with Dr Sharon Bong’s
writing classes, for every single lesson. Looking back,
it was when I realised how much I loved writing and
how much it helped me confront the realities of many
issues I was dealing with at the time (and even now).
There were no rules, no forms of pretense, as every
word jotted down on a piece of paper was a reflection
of stuff I barely understood about myself at the time.
I also remember religiously skipping some classes of
some lecturers (who I will not name) just so I could
perform with my bandmates at the cafeteria to a
crowd of probably ten people. HAHAHA!