Reach Out Week
Reach Out Week was a four day (9th April - 12th April, 2014)[1] institute wide campaign organised by Student Welfare Group with support from institute to reach out to students. The campaign encouraged students to participate in several games, activities and candle light march with the objective of improving interaction and community culture.
Background[edit | edit source]
Two IIT Kharagpur students committed suicide on March 12, 2014, and March 30, 2014.[2][3] These two unfortunate events prompted the authorities to take up initiatives and address the situation on a larger scale. The third edition of Anamaya, a NSO IIT Kharagpur newsletter summarizes the campaign in following words:[1]
We had a reach out program for the students that came with fun games, activities and a blackout, but most importantly, it came with a message, a message that you are not alone. Every problem, every situation can be dealt with the right kind of help and sharing your fears and anxieties with your friends, family and teachers (who were an integral part of this program).In the end, the newsletter team wishes you good (mental and physical) health, mourns the loss of two students and hopes that the tragic accident will be taken as a lesson for something that hopefully will never be repeated again. Reach out, stay healthy and keep asking yourself and the others...R U OK? Keep the flame burning.
Program[edit | edit source]
Day 1 - 9th April, 2014, Wednesday[edit | edit source]
- Blackout for 2 hours between 8:30 PM – 10:30 PM
- Power Supply + LAN to be shut down for every hall
- To bring people out of their rooms & communicate with their peers
- Hot-Spots identified across the campus – Jnan Ghosh Stadium, Technology Students' Gymkhana, Bidhan Chowk.
- Hotspots will be lighted up
- Jnan Ghosh Stadium will have surprise elements
Day 2 - 10th April, 2014, Thursday[edit | edit source]
- R U OK? Day
- Every person in a wing comes out and starts a conversation with his wing-mates around R U OK
- Observed institute wide between 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM
- Coordinated by representatives of respective wings • Representative will be allocated by HCM & Hall Coordinators of each Hall
- The names of absentees will be noted down
Day 3 - 11th April, 2014, Friday[edit | edit source]
- Yellow Ribbon Day
- Entire KGP community will wear Yellow Ribbons throughout the day to signify that there are people who care
- Message to be sent – “We are keeping our flames alive”
- The ribbons will be provided to the Halls at their security counters for distribution to the boarders a day in advance
- At the end of the day these ribbons can be clustered on notice boards everywhere. These ribbons will also be put on three trees - one near PAN loop, one in front of Jnan Ghosh Stadium and one near BC Roy Hall
- Professors may devote some time in the class to address this vital issue
- Director’s Anecdotes: The Director will be interacting informally with the students at Bidhan Chowk. This session can be of an hour - from 6 PM to 7 PM
Day 4 - 12th April, 2014, Saturday[edit | edit source]
- Candle March Day
- Emanating from Gymkhana to Bidhan Chowk – in remembrance of the friends who left us
- To make people sensitive towards feelings of their peers
- Everyone comes together in the Bidhan Chowk and puts his/her candle on the Bidhan Chowk
- Candles to be collected from the respective Hall security counters
Reception[edit | edit source]
See Also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- Reach Out Week - Student Welfare Group, IIT Kharagpur (PDF)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 IIT KGP NSO. "NSO - IIT Kharagpur's blog". Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ↑ "Second suicide at IIT hostel in fortnight". The Telegraph. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ↑ "IIT-Kharagpur student allegedly commits suicide". NDTV India. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.