James Andrew dies in road accident

James Andrew of III EPS passed away this morning in the hospital in Rammurthy Nagar after he met with a road accident on October 21. The accident happened when James was on his way to the College to write his Semester exam.

The College has deeply mourned the sad demise of James and has conveyed condolences to the berieved family members.

Alumni honours five on Reunion Day

In a colourful event that brought together the veterans and the youngsters alike for a reunion, the St Joseph’s College Alumni/ae Association honoured five distinguished associates – three eminent alumni and two retired teachers – here on October 25. Among those who were felicitated, was a 92 year old retired army person, Colonel B. M. Chengappa, probably the oldest living alumnus, and Captain M . W. Chinnappa (84).

The two retired teachers who were honoured were Dr B D Ananthanathan and Prof. B R A Rao. The President of the Association and presently the Personal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr Lakshminarayana too was felicitated for his phenomenal achievements as a civil servant.

Speaking on the occasion, Principal, Fr Ambrose Pinto said that those who were honoured by the Alumni Association had given life to scores of students. “These five men have lived a very inspiring life and have been a source of light for many. They continue to inspire us and hence we need to draw inspiration from them.”

Speaking about the College, the Principal said that the College had always been a College of concern. “There has not been a single student in the last few years who has been denied admission because he/she had no money to pay the fees,” he said and added that the College wished to continue in the same spirit.

He congratulated the Alumni for all their support for the institution. The 1969 batch of the Alumni, he said, had given a substantial amount to the mid-day meal corpus.

In his address, Mr Lakshminarayana, the President of the Alumni, said that in the whole country in different corners one or the other Josephite played a very constructive part. He further said that St Joseph’s had always been proactive in responding to crisis situations, especially the recent floods.

It was indeed a day of camaraderie for those present. Scenes of laughter, enthusiasm, huddling together were seen aplenty in the whole campus. There were also a number of party games organised, especially tambola, which brought out the youthful spirit of the Alumni. Many were seen sharing old memories with their teachers who reminded them of their mischief they played while they were students. The spirit of the whole day was put in perspective by one of those who attended the reunion: “Once a Josephite always a Josephite.”

And then there was a flood

NSS to raise awareness on campus to abolish death penalty

An inter-collegiate essay writing competition was held by the Centre for Social Concern (CSC) and National Service Scheme (NSS) at the College in collaboration with South India Cell for Human Right and Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) here on Thursday. The competition was organised as part of the ‘World Day against Death Penalty’, which is celebrated October 10.

A total number of seven colleges participated in the competition. The results will be announced on October 10, when a series of events will take place to raise awareness against death penalty. Among other things, the events include a walk against death penalty from the Collegee to Town Hall via Kanteerva Stadium, Corporation offices and J C road. The second event is a stunt activity to raise awareness about death penalty, followed by a candle light vigil at the Town Hall at 6.oo p.m.

Sandeep, a member of Centre for Social Concern (CSC), said, “This is the first time we are organising an inter- collegiate essay event. It feels good that many colleges participated. It showed people’s interest in abolishing death penalty, as violence is not the answer.” He also asked for more volunteers to help in organising the event and requested them to join in the cause.

- Afreen I MS Com

Students donate their mite for flood victims

In a kind gesture, the students of SJC made a contribution for the flood victims of North Karnataka here on Wednesday. The lecturer in charge of the collection was Godwin D’Souza of Electronics Department.

Three groups comprising students went round classes with dumb boxes. A total of Rupees 20,000 was collected on the first day itself. In addition students also donated clothes

Mr Godwin D’Souza said that contributions by students were quite satisfactory. “The funds accumulated were less since students were busy with their practical exams. There was no much awareness brought among the students. Creating further awareness would help in raising more funds,” he added.

Fr Eric Mathias from Jesuit school of north Karnataka will be coming himself on Friday to collect the funds raised for children. The rest of the collection will be made on Thursday. Mr Godwin said that those who did not contribute could give their mite. Sandeep from III PMC will be the student in-charge.

- Afreen I MS Com

Photo exhibition showcases North-East Tibetan life

Exotic photos of high mountains, landscapes, city scapes, flowers, people and their culture were displayed at the photo exhibition organised by the North East and Tibetan Forum at the College on Wednesday. The exhibition held at the quadrangle drew a number of photo enthusiasts, including a many teachers, who were eager to know more about the aspects shown in the pictures.

Speaking about the event, Emmanuel, one of the Forum’s coordinators, said, “The main motive behind the exhibition is to show case our scenic beauty which is still unknown to many.”

Tensing Dhondup, a representative of Tibet in the Forum, said, “People only hear about the beauty of our place. So, this is an opportunity for them to experience and see the real beauty through the photos displayed.”

The sources of the photos displayed were the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) and Respective State Tourism Archives. Many individuals also had contributed their photographs for the exhibition.

- Vito I MS Com

Kannada Department creates history; launches Infomedia

September 23, 2009 made a mark in the history of St Joseph’s College, as it saw the opening of Kannada Infomedia, a website initiated by the students to propagate Kannada as a language and culture and help the non Kannada speaking community to learn the language.

The inauguration witnessed the presence of Padmashree M S Sathyu, Fr (Dr) Ambrose Pinto and Dr Vijayaraghavan (HOD of the Kannada department). The chief guest of the day was M S Sathyu, an Oscar nominated director and film maker.

M S Satyu said, “It is very important to learn Kannada language and culture if you are in Karnataka. Kannada Infomedia is a very good idea and a platform for non-Kannadigas to learn this language.”

Principal, Fr Ambrose Pinto in his speech explained the importance of Kannada and said, “Our institution has students of different countries. This website will help them communicate and facilitate education outside the college campus.”

Harshitha of III PCM, President of Kannada Sangha said, “Our main objective is to teach the students who wish to learn Kannada. The website will display four words each day and explain the meaning and pronunciation in Kannada and English.”

The team that worked to see to the launch of the website comprised of a few Kannada students from the association with the help of the Kannada department. The team was led by Vibin Varghese, III MCZ, and Aniruddha of III MCZ. The website can be accessed at www.kannadainfomedia.com

- Sijo and Moses I MS Com