The Sport and Physical Education Center, SPEC, came to life on Thursday, August 30, with thousands of new students. The moment for which all the planning went into finally arrived. Like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon and turning into a beautiful butterfly, so to the UWI breathed with new life and activity. UWI Life Student Orientation serves as an introductory session for new students to meet staff and become acquainted with the many programmes that UWI has to offer. The morning session featured an address by leading psychologist, Dr. Dianne Douglas, while the afternoon ice-breaker session featured personalities such as 'J.W.' and 'Blaze' and performances by the UWI Dance Theater and Kes the Band.
In her short but lively address to the new students, campus principal Professor Bridget Brereton singled out the St. Lucians, Tobagonians and even the Botswanians. She informed the students about the student exchange and study abroad opportunities and pleaded with them to take their studies seriously. She implored them to engage in extra-curricular activities, join a club or learn a foreign language. She urged them to enjoy the UWI Life experience stating that it is a time for freedom and experimentation; a time for them to expand their minds and horizons. She reminded them that with freedom came responsibility and urged them to live up to the code of student ethics and behave in a manner that will add credit to the university.
Feature speaker Dr. Dianne Douglas outlined four assets for youth development. The first is the support system from family, the university, and the wider community. The second is empowerment. She urged them to see themselves as resources making contributions to society. The third is boundaries and expectations. She asked that students be punctual for classes; dress appropriately and display some semblance of 'broughtupcy'. The fourth asset she spoke about is constructive use of time. She suggested that they should take advantage of lectures as well as getting involved in extra-curricular activities.
After this informative session, students were invited to visit the various booths set up by the different departments and faculties. After lunch, they were treated to an ice-breaker session hosted by radio personalities J.W. and Blaze. During this session, numerous prizes and vouchers were given away by sponsors like Republic Bank Ltd., UWI Bookshop, UWI Credit Union, Sacha, the WIZZ Computers Ltd. and others. One lucky student received a laptop while yet another won a 20” Plasma TV. Members of the UWI Dance Troupe gave the students an entertaining performance while an extraordinary performance by Kes the Band brought the orientation session to a close.
