DORM SWEET DORM

For the first time since I came to Semesta, I am feeling really unhappy about the new dormitory rules. Things are just so not right to my point of view as if this school was never the school that I knew. Well I do really support the way Semesta rotates its teachers and belletmens crew but this time, I really think that they’d gone too far with the change. You can see that this year, all of the belletmen are from outside. They are smart and religious I believe, in spite of that, they have no knowledge of our culture here I suppose. Misunderstanding happened quiet often that in some case they end up arguing between the students and belletmen.



When the first time I came, there were like ten belletmens who all could understood the situation of the students. Well of course troubles were made too but in the end, the belletmen were the man who punished and adviced the troublemaker. Now, belletmen are still the man of justice but it is pitty that the advice that they gave are not sent properly to the students. The belletmen are new here and know little about Bahasa Indonesia. Even if they could do in the future, they just can’t touch the students heart.

Recently, my class was punished because of a simple thing. It started when we were studying together or as we know as ‘etud’ at night on one Wednesday. We were studying quietly as ussual when suddenly Mr Yavus entered our classroom. He was on his night patrol controling the noisy students who don’t study. Just when he entered the room, he commanded one of my friend Hendra to turn his chair to its normal position. He also told the class to be quiet with a really uncomfortable voice. Hendra who had his chair facing to the right side of my other classmate Syahrindra, was asking for math help as everybody else in the class does. Just a moment later, another friend of mine Aga stood up from his chair and walked towards Syahrindra. Mr Yavus immedietly called upon Aga and told him to get back to his chair straight away. Aga who badly needed Syahrindra’s help disagreed and questioned Mr Yavus’s command. The debate raged, Aga didn’t understood why was asking help to a friend to solve a math question is forbiden during studying time. On the other hand, Mr Yavus was always wih his rules that such discusion will disturb the others. Aga tried to explained that the other guys were okay and they too needed to ask questions to the smart guys.

No matter how hard Aga tried, Mr Yavus was just too stuburn to accept our opinion. Frankly, I really don’t agree with Mr Yavus’s idea. I doesn’t make any sense. I mean, how could you study when you can’t ask anything? It was no use of discussing with someone who had closed his had. Aga finally gave up and Mr Yavus then without any sensible reason punished the whole class. We were not allowed to go home during the weekend because we were late for morning etud in the previous day. He then mentioned all the trouble we had made along the week. He seemed to be really satisfied ruining the whole class weekend plans. After he mentioned all of our fault, he left the room. Banging the door like an angry bull. Cursing us with words we don’t understand as he walked through the corridor.

No one was smiling in my class that moment after the incident. The class was down in sorrow. Never we felt this mixture of anger and dissapointment. We began to compare the old system applied last year. We were powerless and depressed by the fact that Mr Yavus was in charge of the dorm. You just can’t blaim him for he had our mistakes as the reasons. Actually our mistakes were not suppose to be penalize that hard. We were just late for a few minutes which I might say acceptable, looking at the fact that we too came out of the class late. An eye for an eye so a late come in for a late come out.

You see, that was just one example from many stupid arguing from a simple thing which end up with a very un fair judgement by those men who called themselves as belletmen. Well it is not my purpose to somehow huumiliate or exposing the badside of the belletmen. I do believe that being a belletmen is such an honourable and holy or sacred thing. But please, we do have reasons for arguing and punishingus that way was just not solving anything. It will slowly but surely make the relationship betweenus as students and belletmens loose. We don’t want that to happen of course.