MANIPAL: It was a trip down memory lane for the former students of School of Communication (SOC) as the college conducted an alumni meet in its premises on August 13. A mélange of cultural events and discussions, the event also commemorated 20 years of the institution.
While on one hand, performances by the present students livened up the spirit of the meet, speeches by the guests of honour and faculty members stressed on relevant issues. Stalls by Article-19, the annual fest of the college and Chicken Sambar, a production house comprising past and present students of SOC were also set up.
Dr Leela Rao, the first director of SOC (then, Manipal Institute of Communication or MIC) and the chief guest for the evening traced the roots of the present form of journalism deliberating on the emergence of new media in her address. She reminisced, “In my generation, journalism was never considered as a profession where one needed to acquire any skill. It was considered a creative form, something you had and not something to be taught. We never had any ‘alumni’. This indicates how the discipline has grown over the years.”
Highlighting the recent changes, Dr Nandini Lakshmikantha, Director, SOC charted out the college’s growth over the two decades. Vanita Pai, a pupil from the foremost batch of the institution said, “In MIC, we were given room to discuss and arrive at our own opinion. The time spent here has been very critical in making us the individuals we are today.”Past pupils took to the stage to reminisce their tenure at SOC. They also congratulated the organising team and the faculty members.The event concluded with a video exploring the progress of the institution over the past few years, followed by a formal dinner.