Taking the SMU Freshmen Experience to Extreme Limits (Part 2)
Photos: Darren Goh Deqin and Chua Cheng Yuan
Text: Yan Yuet Chiong
“Not just fun, more than adventure, closer than family” – that is the tagline of this year’s SMUX Camp, and it embodies the very values that SMUX (SMUXtremists) promotes for both its activities and community.
A highly-anticipated event, the SMUX Camp seeks to introduce freshmen to the thrills and excitement of outdoor adventure and experiential learning that characterizes SMUX, one of the largest and most active co-curricular clubs in the Singapore Management University (SMU).
Not Just Fun
SMUX Camp 2011 eschewed the parochial focus of solely ensuring that its activities would be fun. Instead, its main objective was to introduce freshmen to the seven main activities under the SMUX framework – biking, diving, kayaking, parkour (free running), skating, trekking and laser tagging. Thus, the SMU freshmen were provided with the opportunity to sample each of these activities. At the same time, they learnt the safety precautions associated with the respective activities.
More than Adventure
Throughout the camp, the freshmen were drawn from their comfort zones, exposed to unfamiliar environments and made to figuratively jump into the deep end of the pool (which the freshmen also literally experienced during diving). While measures were taken to ensure that the camp’s activities were conducted under safe conditions, there was no escaping their tough and grueling nature, which really tested the mettle of every freshmen.
Closer than Family
SMUX is steeped in the tradition of a familial culture. SMUX Camp 2011 further reinforced this familial culture; the teamwork required in each activity fostered camaraderie among the freshmen, helping them to become more closely-knit like a family, even before the official commencement of their student life in SMU.
Despite being faced with unpredictable weather throughout the duration of the camp, SMUX Camp 2011 braved the “storms” and was a resounding success, which would not have been possible without the invaluable assistance of various stakeholders during the camp. In recognition of their valuable contributions, a big thank you and thumbs up goes out to them.
