A lotus always grows in the mud – a beauty that blooms from something seemingly unpleasant. The culture at SCMC is like that lotus that blooms in the murky waters of stress, pressure to complete assignments, exams and gossip.
As I walked into this campus, I had a number of fears and expectations as to what I was to find ahead of me. SCMC has quiet the reputation for selecting students who are brilliant, willing to learn and are achievers. While this sounded like great company to be in, there was always the fear that competition and internal ‘politics’ here would be excessive.
One thing that I learned about SCMC’s culture soon after joining was that the work (academics) here are taken very seriously. All students are highly motivated and aim to be at the top of the class in both academics and extra curriculars. My assumption that SCMC’s culture would be a competitive one was proved true. However, the competition here is a healthy one with everybody continuously encouraging the other, concentrating on improving their own performance rather than ruining the others and the faculty motivating the students to take on challenging assignments and prestigious internships.
Encouraging creativity is an asset of SCMC culture. Creativity in every assignment of every specialisation is appreciated and applauded by faculty as well as fellow students. Internships that require creative tasks such as photography, content writing, creative writing etc. are not only supported and acknowledged by SCMC but also encouraged.
Learning at SCMC is not restricted to the lectures and presentations. With a no textbooks system, students here often employ the internet and rich texts by experts in every subject to help with the curriculum. A culture of doing one’s own research besides learning what is taught in the lectures is followed.
Students of SCMC have begun to embody the socially and politically aware media professionals upon whose shoulders the task of passing on information to the masses has been trusted. The students take a genuine interest in keeping up with recent affairs and are very socially aware. SCMC culture is very welcoming to every individual irrespective of their religion, region, caste, appearance, and gender identity. Being unique is applauded rather than frowned upon. The students and faculty of SCMC are very supportive of causes such as LGBTQ+ awareness, women empowerment, and stand strongly against racism, orthodox or backward thinking, stereotyping etc.
Students and faculty of SCMC even share similar political leanings. They collectively believe that, being well educated and informed citizens, their political ideas are suited for the very best of the country. Despite this, diverse opinions which can be rationally justified are welcomed and respected. Free speech, approaching professors for concerns, sharing of different viewpoints is encouraged. Nobody is afraid to speak up as they know that their opinion will be respected and their concerns will be addressed. Direct student-professor interactions are also prevalent.
Last but definitely not the least, SCMC culture encourages having fun. Students are given a lot of freedom in conducting activities and events that ensure that they will have a good time. With professors often attempting to add elements to the lectures which make them enjoyable, the various events conducted, activities and clubs offered, jokes cracked and excellent movies screened, SCMC ensures that students will look back to their college days as some of the most fun days of their lives.
Shreya Chowdhary
(Batch 2021)
