Jakarta Varsities English Debate at UI<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's prominent economist Dorodjatun
\nKuntjoro-Jakti has voiced a strong objection against capital
\npunishment.<\/p>\n
"The death penalty does not solve problems," he said.<\/p>\n
But wait, don't take him seriously!<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun, dean of the School of Economics, University of
\nIndonesia, made the statement during a debate with finalists of
\nthe Jakarta Varsities English Debate 1995.<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun, along with Ascobat Gani, dean of the university's
\nSchool of Public Health, and Amir Santoso, a lecturer at the
\nuniversity's School of Political and Social Sciences, "acted" as
\nthose who were against the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Their "opponents" were the teams of the University of
\nBrawijaya in Malang, East Java, and of University of Indonesia's
\nSchool of Computer Science.<\/p>\n
The computer students, who won the game, made up one of the 16
\nteams taking part in the annual debate.<\/p>\n
The debate was organized by the Local Committee of the
\nBrussels-based Association Internationale des Etudiantes en
\nSciences et Commerciales (AIESEC) at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"Among the objectives of the debate are to encourage the use
\nof English, to encourage academic interaction as well as to
\nprovide communication training to undergraduates in the hope of
\ndeveloping versatile and confident intellectuals," according to
\nthe organizing committee.<\/p>\n
AIESEC, an international organization for students interested
\nin economics and business, has 75,000 members from 750
\nuniversities in 81 countries throughout the world.<\/p>\n
UI's School of Economics joined AIESEC in 1984, which was then
\nfollowed by the Brawijaya University, Padjadjaran University in
\nBandung, Diponegoro University in Semarang and Andalas University
\nin Padang, West Sumatra.<\/p>\n
It is not easy to become a member. The private Trisakti
\nUniversity in Jakarta applied for membership in 1993 and it is
\nstill in the process of becoming a member.<\/p>\n
"We have to conduct a feasibility study for at least one
\nyear," President of UI's AIESEC committee, Ira Noviarti, said.<\/p>\n
Among the things AIESEC look into are the human resources,
\nstudent activities, and the organization of a university.<\/p>\n
"Well, yes, it is bureaucratic," Ira said.<\/p>\n
She admitted that it is not easy to join AIESEC, which claims
\nto be the world's largest student-run organization and the "most
\npowerful" one.<\/p>\n
Several universities had earlier showed an interest to join
\nAIESEC, but later gave up after learning about the organization's
\ntough requirements .<\/p>\n
UI's AIESEC has 120 members, all students of the School of
\nEconomics. More than 100 students submit applications annually,
\nbut usually less than 60 are accepted. Half of them leave within
\na year or two as they feel either that the activities infringe
\nupon their studying hours, that they are not suited to the
\norganization or that they find it difficult to interact with the
\nother members, according to Ira.<\/p>\n
Other faculties<\/p>\n
Ira said the organization may accept students from other
\nfaculties next year.<\/p>\n
If the membership is extended to students of other faculties,
\nthen the problem of human resources will be solved, but Ira
\nwarned that there might be bureaucratic problems.<\/p>\n
"We are still making the SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses,
\nOpportunities and Threats) analysis on the subject," she said.<\/p>\n
As an independent organization, AIESEC does not receive any
\nfinancial aid from the government or the universities.<\/p>\n
"We raise the funds to finance our activities ourselves,"
\nIndah Iramadhini, project officer of last week's English debate,
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
She said the organization does not charge any membership fee.
\nHowever, they have to pay for the training programs provided by
\nAIESEC. New members have to join three training programs on
\norientation, motivation and management. For each program, which
\nlasts two days, the students pay between Rp 15,000 and Rp 20,000.<\/p>\n
AIESEC runs two global programs called International
\nTraineeship Exchange Program and Global Theme Program.<\/p>\n
Under the traineeship program, students can obtain practical
\nworking experience as well as the cultural experience of living
\nin other countries. The global program targets on a significant
\nsocio economic topic and searches for practical solutions to
\nglobal problems. This year the global program is Education
\nTowards International and Cultural Understanding.<\/p>\n
UI's AIESEC has organized a number of activities on a national
\nand international scale, including the Stock Exchange Game,
\nCareer Days, Banking Training Seminar and Asia Pacific Leadership
\nDevelopment Seminar.<\/p>\n
"What I like best in AIESEC is that it can bridge the business
\nworld and the students," Endika Widyawardhana of Brawijaya
\nUniversity said.<\/p>\n
Apart from that, he also enjoys the cultural interaction with
\nthe other AIESEC members from overseas, like a group of Japanese
\nstudents who recently visited Indonesia.<\/p>\n
One of AIESEC trainees who is currently in town is Debby
\nSchlick from Buffalo, New York, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in
\nBiology and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies.<\/p>\n
She has been here for 10 months teaching English at a high
\nschool.<\/p>\n
As a foreigner who comes from the other side of the world, she
\nexperienced culture shock which took her several weeks to work
\nthrough.<\/p>\n
"I just relaxed and went with the flow... not talking a lot,
\nbut absorbing, hearing, smelling, seeing, observing and
\nlearning," said the 24-year old short-haired woman.<\/p>\n
She is scheduled to finish her job here at the end of the
\nmonth and is planning to travel around the country before
\nreturning home.<\/p>\n
This year the University of Indonesia has 11 "guests" who are
\nin the city under the International Traineeship Exchange Program.
\nThey work in various fields, including advertising, chemistry,
\naccountancy, and, of course, teaching English.<\/p>\n
"But there are only two students from the University of
\nIndonesia who have had the opportunity to join the program,"
\nIndah said.<\/p>\n
Students who want to take part in the program are interviewed
\nby the Student Review Board, who later send their applications to
\nthe AIESEC headquarters.<\/p>\n
Indah said that not many students get the opportunity to join
\nthe program because there are a limited number of openings which
\nmatch certain qualifications.<\/p>\n
"They would have more chance to go if they did not chose the
\ncountry of destination, but many of them say that they want to go
\nto the United States," she said.<\/p>\n
To be able to work in the U.S., the students must have a
\nTOEFL score of more than 500.<\/p>\n
"English is one of the problems facing the applicants," Indah
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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