A Long Journey to Integrate Many Things

Musyawarah Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Universiti Utara Malaysia (PPI UUM) pada hari Jum'at, 28 September 2007 telah berhasil memilih Adhitya Akbar dan Saudari Indi Nervilia sebagai Ketua dan Wakil Ketua PPI UUM periode 2007/2008. Keduanya adalah mahasiswa tingkat degree (bukan postgraduate) sejalan dengan tradisi yang berkembang di PPI UUM bahwa kepengurusan dipegang oleh mahasiswa degree. Tradisi ini berdasarkan filosofi bahwa PPI UUM adalah organisasi kader. Diharapkan setelah mereka lulus dan ambil postgraduate course di UUM, mereka tidak lagi "bernafsu" jadi pengurus PPI UUM. Bagaimana dengan mereka yang S1-nya di Indonesia dan ambil S2 di UUM? Semoga saja mereka sudah terlibat berorganisasi di BEM/Senat dan organisasi ekstra kampus ketika di Indonesia. Jadi, ketika di UUM tak perlu lagi lah jadi pengurus PPI UUM. Peran mahasiswa postgraduate di PPI UUM adalah peran moral: membimbing adik-adiknya di PPI UUM. Pengurus PPI dapat menghubungi mahasiswa postgraduate bila ...

The opening of cafes for non-Muslims studying and living at UUM is good news for multi-religious communities sharing the same place (UUM) and time (September-October/Ramadhan) with different views of the secular and sacred time within which eating and drinking are allowed or not. The news will sound better, I think, if the policy of UUM also accommodates Muslims who are not fasting as the rules of colleges do not allow students to cook at their rooms/ colleges except the Maybank College. They also need to access cafes for breakfast and lunch. Not all Muslims are required (obligated) to fast during Ramadhan, even some of them are not allowed to fast at all by Allah and His Rasul.