The student association in our faculty, known as Lembaga Mahasiswa (LM) has finished organizing and executing the celebrated event known as SPARTA, the annual Sports and Arts Fiesta. SPARTA is one of the biggest programs of the Department of Interests and Talents (Departemen Minat Bakat). According to Fahri (2016) the Head of that department for this period, said that SPARTA is not only an event for people interested in competing in sports and arts, but is also a way to embed a sense of closeness and bonding between the students regardless of their intake year, and also an opportunity that involves the academic staff as well to participate and have fun with students.
The list of sports events held was table tennis, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s futsal, soccer, relay, and badminton. Lecturers and staff played as a team in volleyball and table tennis, competing with the students. For the arts events, there were three events that students can compete and participate in: Missing Lyrics, Photography, and Era Dance. The competitions in the arts department such as Missing Lyric and Era Dance were quite innovative and never done before, while photography has been a long-standing contest held in each SPARTA.
On Saturday (4/21) we had a chance to cover one of the futsal competitions held in Kedai Futsal. Ira, a sophomore who competed in this competition said that this event was a chance to gather and have fun through competing, although not all students were enthusiastic. Arinda (2015), the previous Head of the Department of Interests and Talent, also watched the game. She said that she really hopes SPARTA can continue to last and still be an annual event for the years to come. Students should be more aware about events like this, as it really is an opportunity for students to get involved and develop their talents.
2018’s SPARTA came to an end the night of May 4th, with the announcement of the winners of this year’s events. The Champion of SPARTA this year is Year 2015, the juniors, winning in the categories of table tennis, women’s basketball, soccer, relay, and Era Dance. The seniors, Year 2014 won volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s futsal, badminton, and photography. Year 2016 won the Missing Lyrics competition. The existence of these types of competitions, students can gather together and spend time with friends, even if they are not really the sporty or artsy type. Hopefully, SPARTA and LM can continue to get even better and facilitate even more of our students’ interests and talents. Good job, guys and girls! (H).