::: Star Campus :::

Spotlight

A solemn slogan

Dr Binoy Barman

I like the slogan of Star Campus: “Linking young minds together.” It is really a superb slogan, which entails a great responsibility on part of its propagator to set up an effective connection among the young citizens of the country. Star Campus provides opportunities for the young talents to come up with inner impulses and express them on its pages. It encourages them to nourish their creative faculty for the betterment of their own lives as well as of the nation. It promotes the ideal of enlightenment, which is bolstered by its numerous programmes -- on-campus and off-campus.

Who are the young minds for Star Campus, after all? They are not necessarily people of particular age brackets. Ideologically speaking, young are those who have the vigour of facing problems in real life -- who have strong optimism to lead society onwards. They are not simply school, college and university students, but the folks who teach them and who work from the managing bench to ensure congenial atmosphere for education. Young are those who have innovative ideas, coming from all professions, to change society for the welfare of common mass.

Linking young minds is undoubtedly a challenging job. The strategy of Star Campus for accomplishing the job is intriguing. It does not simply engage the young force in writing for the purpose of publication. It goes beyond the narrow definition of journalistic enterprise, dragging individuals out of idle talking and doodling. It organises seminars, conferences, discussions, reading addas and shed light on the problems encountered by the young people. It creates good brainstorming exercises, making them aware of the needs of particular course of actions.

I am acquainted with the linking-minds slogan since the inception of the magazine. I always give support to its benign spirit as I get support from it. I like to write in it as I can share my ideas with the young brains. I like to throw new ideas among the readers and ignite their imagination. Through their feedback I try to understand the makeup of the young minds today, thereby enriching my own knowledge and setting new directions of writing. It's always an exciting experience for me.

As the Head of the Department of English at Daffodil International University, I had the privilege to collaborate programmes with Star Campus couple of times. I still remember the intellectual discourse on “Should our politicians study literature?” There was a lively debate with the participation of journalists, educationists, teachers and students. That time Professor Dr. GM Shahidul Alam from IUB was the keynote speaker who presented a clear picture of politico-literary situation of the country. The other programme was a literary discussion on the science fiction of Jules Verne in combination with a book review. The purpose was to create awareness about the importance of scientific vision in life and stoke the reading habit of students. I was particularly enthralled with the review of “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”, a book by Barak Obama. The reviewer was Dr. Faheem Hasan Shahed, Head of the Department of English, American International University-Bangladesh, to whom I am especially thankful.

I find one problem with the mind-linking endeavour, however. Star Campus seems to lack a well organised team to accomplish the mammoth job. They have enthusiasm but not sufficient energy in physique at par -- they have dream but not adequate capacity to materialise the dream. There should be more staff there -- more reporters, subeditors and other supporting hands -- equally efficient and active. They can link the educational and social institutions, not just haphazardly moving from one to another but with proper plans and actions. They can organise more time-demanding programmes with their roles at the pivot, appropriately involving all quarters.

Anyway, it must be acknowledged that there is no lack of integrity on part of Star Campus in discharging its self-defined responsibility. Star Campus is not simply is a magazine of 32 pages, it is a commitment chorused by 32 lakh young voices. It has won the young hearts with its earnest efforts in the last couple of years, I dare say. I hope it will continue to inspire the young minds to the way of progress and prosperity with a touch of scientific and humanistic outlook. It must uphold its solemn slogan in the marching forward.

(The writer is Assistant Professor and Head, Department of English, Daffodil International University.)