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Camps go on CAI ZHIMIN NEWS EDITOR
HANDS UP: Freshmen bonded over games despite the difficulties faced. PHOTO | COURTESY
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F R ESH M EN or ientat ion ca mp ( FOC) committees were thrown not one, but two curveballs this year, in the form of the H1N1 virus and lack of accommodation on campus. De s pite t he s e c h a l le nge s , c a mp committees managed to deliver, welcoming their freshmen with a series of successful activities. Only two camps were known to have broken camp earlier as a precaution against the H1N1 virus. The Student Affairs Off ice (SAO) had instructed all camp committees to halt their activities once the number of confi rmed H1N1 cases hit five, according to Students’ Union President Ng Hwei Yun. The 22-year-old also revealed that Ca mp I n si ny u r, t he N T U Combi ned Engineering Camp, as well as the Nanyang Business School (NBS) FOC were hit by H1N1 concerns. “But it wasn’t that big a deal because whoever had H1N1 have all recovered,” she added. A third-year Accountancy student who declined to be named told the Nanyang Chronicle NBS FOC broke camp half a day earlier. Orientation groups shrunk as much as one-third in size overnight, as freshmen left one after another. It was suggested that the sharing of tumblers may have accounted for an increase in the rate of virus transmission among the freshmen and seniors. T he v ice-chair person declined to comment when contacted. C a m p c om m it te e s t he Na n y a n g Chronicle spoke to said they practiced temperature taking twice daily. Freshmen were also instructed to bring a personal thermometer. Ng said the Union Orientation Camp (UOC) bought an infra-red thermometer costing almost $100 to make temperature taking more convenient for large groups of people. T he t her mometer detects temperatures by pointing the device at the person’s head. UOC also in-vested in masks and other medical supplies. H a l l s we r e i s s ue d a n i n f r a-r e d thermometer each, on a loan basis from the school, according to Hall 1 President, Justin Lim. His hall camp committee were also u nder i n st r uc t ion s f rom SAO, w it h rest r ict ions issued to m in im i ze t he exchanges of bodily fluid during games. “Ga me s wh ic h i nvolved pa s si ng food from one mouth to another were previously acceptable but this time, it is a no-go,” said the third-year NBS student. The university advises all staff and
students who develop flu-like symptoms to visit the nearest Pandemic Preparedness Clinic (PPC). On campus, the Gethin-Jones Medical Practice located at the south academic complex is a registered PPC. To be responsible, seniors insisted the parents fetch the ill camper, said Ng. Other than that, the camp ran smoothly. Echoing similar experiences, NTU Sports Club camp chairperson Leonard Lim said that bringing unwell freshmen to a PPC or sending them home was the only inconvenience that Sports Unlimited 16 camp faced. Tan Wee Bing, a freshman who attended both UOC and his Hall 8 FOC felt that the camp committees have taken sufficient precautionary measures. “There is only so much the seniors can do, temperature checks and quarantining suspected cases. Camp participants must also be responsible and cooperate with the seniors in order to prevent and minimize H1N1 cases,” he said. I n add it ion to H1N1 fea r s , FOC committees also faced the challenge of hav ing to source for off-campus accom modat ion as ha l ls u nder went renovation. Besides chalets, FOC committees had to set budget aside for the use of camp sites. UOC spent four nights at Camp Christine belonging to Girl Guides Singapore, located at Jalan Bahtera off Lim Chu Kang Road. Ng estimated that the off-campus accommodation and additional transport to fer r y f resh men to and f ro Camp Christine came up to about $5000 for UOC. A check with SAO revealed that camps could seek fi nancial help to offset the costs. “We do provide grants to student groups on a need to basis. We review them case-by-case,” said Mdm Wendy Gwee, Senior Assistant Director, Student Activities. However, not all camps were affected. Sports Unlimited 16 camp, for example, traditionally houses its freshmen offcampus, so the lack of hall rooms did not affect plans. Tan, 20, a freshman from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering said: “If we had our hall camp at our own hall, we would be better orientated and adapt to hall life more easily. And I believe the games could be wilder and much more fun if we played them in school instead of in public areas.” O t he r s , howe v e r, f e lt t he c a mp location did not matter. Edwin Lim, 21, a freshman at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information said: “Whatever it is, I made friends and had much fun during camp and I guess that is what matters most.”