Spotlight

In our golden days practically all schools and colleges had their own annual magazines where students would be able to publish their creative write ups, poems, stories and jokes. 'Forward' was very special to us. The monthly issues were four page newsletters. The annual issue would contain class-wise photographs of all students, along with photographs of the school headmaster, teachers and other staff. There would be few pages that would contain pictures of student activities performed during the year. Forward would be published in English. Those of us who wanted to write something in Bangla were a bit handicapped. Our Bangla teacher Amalendu sir came with a solution. Why not produce a 'wall paper?' Soon the monthly 'wall paper' Nirjhor was adorning the wall of the school assembly hall. Realizing the enthusiasm of the Bangla lovers the school authorities agreed to finance the publication of an annual issue of Nirjhor. All of us, Ahmed Fazal Siddiqui, Pranab, Animesh, Shukumar and others just had to work overtime to have Nirjhor ready for distribution on the last day of school. Nirjhor did not continue its publication beyond two years. May be the leadership was not there. Amalendu sir left the school and we passed our SSC examination. Forward still continues to be published annually in a trimmed down size.

In the mid sixties DUCSU began publishing a monthly newsletter. Few issues were edited by my friend Saleh, who later on went to become a professional journalist. DUCSU and all other universities had its own annual magazines too.

In the fifties and sixties the numbers of national dailies published were few. But each had a weekly page dedicated for young writers. The Daily Azad (now defunct) had 'Mukuler Mahfil.' Sangbad had 'Khelaghar.' 'Young Observer' of the Pakistan Observer (the Bangladesh Observer) edited by Uncle Kim (Geetiara Shafia Chowdhury) was a must read for any youngster who had interest in reading and writing in English. Uncle Kim was quiet a celebrity amongst us and dear Uncle's identity was only revealed when the revered 'uncle' decided to get married.

Not many schools publish annual magazines these days. In last four decades the number of school going students in the country has increased manifold. If the enthusiasm of the young creative writers would match the rise in the number of students then the culture of publishing regular magazines by and for the students of the educational institutions of the country would continue.

Judging the existing rate and quality of literacy of Bangladesh we have more newspapers published than many other countries of similar stature and profile. According to published statistics there are 400+ dailies published in this country out of which about twenty five are published from Dhaka alone. Not many cities in the world can boast of such an achievement. Not even New York or London! All newspapers do not have pages or supplements for young budding creative writers where they can ventilate their creativity and develop their skill in creative writing. Daily Star's weekly Star Campus is an exception. Not only it has managed to offer young writers a platform to demonstrate their skill of creative writing it has also inspired quite a few new writers to show their ability to write. Often I have personally taken a copy of Star Campus to my class and asked students to try to write something for the magazine. Some of them took the challenge and came out with something that got published. It was for the first time they were writing something besides writing their exam scripts. Of course some got thrashed. Some did not meet the standard others simply got lost. Over the years the quality of Star Campus improved. Its readership has definitely increased. But it still needs to go miles before it can set a standard. It needs to find out the satisfaction level of its readers. Have contributions from new writers. The editor can have 'addas' with students of different educational institutions and share with them the joy of publishing. If not at all institutions, there can be Star Campus reps in selected educational institutions. This will inspire them to master the art and skill to compose and write, a skill facing critical challenge because of our decaying education system (multiple choice and true/false type questions). As far as possible the contents of the magazine should be original instead of reproduction from other published sources. From my own experience I can vouch that our young generation has tremendous potentialities. They just need some platform and a bit of inspiration. Star Campus can very well provide both of these. It can be a school for potential creative writers. Star Campus is celebrating its second anniversary. Felicitation to the Campus team.

Abdul Mannan is a former Vice-chancellor of Chittagong Univrsity. Currently he teaches at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. He can be reached at abman1971@gmail.com. August 20, 2008.

Star Campus is a lone ranger in Bangladesh helping campus boys and girls express themselves in English. With the advent of the internet, the next generation can now reach out to the outside world and interact with students of other 'campuses' at a scale that was only a dream in our days.

In just two years Campus has developed a recognisable style of its own. To develop a sense of competitiveness and search for talent throughout Bangladesh, Campus can organise an essay writing competition. The best 30 odd essays can be published for 30 consecutive weeks. Then the first few winners are declared. The Daily Star then publishes a book. This can be done once every year. This will create readership and also ignite confidence in the young people.

Being in the academia and being associated with Campus has made me optimistic in the potential the children of the 21st Century have in taking Bangladesh forward. Star Campus and The Daily Star can exploit the power of English as a means to communicate globally and harness the power of the internet to prepare the grounds for our children to face the challenges of a world that's becoming smaller and smaller by the day.

When we won't be around, we'll look through the eyes of today's children; we'll speak through their minds; and we'll love through their hearts. I wish Star Campus all my best. It's a pleasure being associated with the 'young'.

Faculty, Departments of Economics
Jahangirnagar University and North South University

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