By Maa-Oul-La-Neine Tunis
The Fourah Bay College(FBC) Administration has completed a two-day orientation ceremony for First Year Students as part of the process of helping them to know the rich history of the college, and also positively guide their activities on campus. The two-day orientation ceremony held on the 12th and 13th March, 2021 took place at the Ajayi Crowther Amphitheater.
Remarkably, the orientation ceremony is the first in the history of the college to give students the opportunity of using very beautiful regalia as a dress code projecting the symbolic green and white colours of FBC, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Sierra Leone (USL).
Officially welcoming the Students into the FBC family, the Deputy Registrar of FBC, Mr. Vivian McEwen said that the students should consider themselves special for moving a step further to achieving their goals by successfully making it as students in the College. He also admonished the students to fruitfully utilise the opportunity given them describing it as a lifetime golden opportunity that could positively transform their lives.
Deputising the Vice Chancellor of USL, and also the Deputy Vice Chancellor of FBC at the ceremony , the Assistant to the Deputy Vice Chancellor of FBC, Professor John Abdul Kargbo said that the College Administration is pleased to having the freshmen as their newest clients, but also hastily advised that much is expected of them in terms of positive behaviour. “ We expect you all to behave responsibly by adhering to the rules and regulations governing students activities on campus. The provision of an enabling academic environment and a disciplined atmosphere for all on campus are the core values of the college, and unbiasedly enforcing laws to project and maintain the core values of the historic college is a major priority for the Administration,” he emphasized.
Professor Kargbo also encouraged the students to pay their fees and complete their registration in time for them to be eligible to attend lectures and take examinations. He further stated that the College Administration will not allow students who refuse to pay their fees and register for the academic year to either attend lectures or be part of any examination.
Highlighting the need for students to know the administrative structures within the University, the University Registrar, Mrs. Olive A.K. Barrie painstakingly explained to the students the importance of the different administrative structures within the University to their progressive stay on campus. She further encouraged the students never to be shy in making positive use of the various structures in moments of necessity.
Speaking on behalf of the Students, the Students’ Union President of FBC, Augustine Bona joyously expressed his delight seeing the freshmen and women uniformly dressed in their unique college regalia. He also encouraged his fellow students to be focused in striving towards achieving their purpose on campus. He further described the Freshmen and women as being the lucky batch of students since their enrollment into the college has coincided with the reactivation of the students’ hotels by the College Administration potentially easing the burden on accommodation presently faced by some students.
There were also other important speakers from top management within the University who made important speech geared towards preparing the new students for their life changing academic journey on campus.
The Orientation Ceremony was climaxed with the Tourism Minister of the Students’ Union Government of FBC, Kwegoh Sowa and his team who took the freshmen on a very important tour exposing them to important sites within the campus. The tour was organised to further aid the students understanding about the rich history of the college, and pending learning facilities under construction or maintenance.
Credit: Media Directorate-University of Sierra Leone
