Q1. What is your motivation to participate as a Coach in Virtual O Week?

(150
words) *

Virtual O week will be a completely new experience for me as I want to be there in a

responsible manner for the incoming freshman in these testing times. When I came to
LUMS, I was confused about a lot of things and only because of my coaches were helpful
enough, I was able to get over the initial hurdle everyone faces not only in the first week but
throughout the 2 years at LUMS. People coming from different backgrounds want someone
who understands and trusts them, and I believe I can be that person for them who is
understanding and trustworthy enough. I am confident that I can make their O week
experience a memorable and comfortable one. Considering how the events have unfolded
recently and so many people came up with traumatising stories from their O week, I want to
play a part in bringing some positive change and try my best that at least the students in my
group don't go through anything of that sort.

Q2. Detail any experience/situation where you played the role of a leader (Clearly
state your post and describe how it is relevant to the position you are applying for).
(250 words)

I believe O week is about three things for the coaches; responsibility, trust and engagement.
As a leader in a group project, I arranged meetings, collected data, and coordinated with
other groups too to keep track of our speed and progress. Like O week, members were
unknown to each other and most of them were Freshmen while I was a Sophomore. Being
an SDSB student, I had been a part of many such projects, so I was able to guide them and
included everyone in discussions and made sure their input was appreciated and valued. I
ended up receiving a very positive feedback in the peer evaluations and also during a class
discussion where our instructor randomly chose students who had to comment on their
fellow members. We completed it before time and also ended up scoring above mean in the
project, so I believe I fulfilled my role in a responsible, trustworthy and engaging manner.
Moreover, in LAPS 7.0 I was the Assistant Director of Security Department. We needed a
well-coordinated team specially for the night events, and by carefully dividing the
responsibilities among the team, it went smoothly. We made sure that the participants did
not face any trouble and those who came up to us with their problems were handled
effectively as well. By personally helping out the participants (such as outstation teams
staying at the female dorms), I believe I did justice to my role and fulfilled my
responsibilities honestly. Apart from these I’ve had such experiences during my school life
too.

Q3. List three major problems that might arise in O Week'20 that may lead to a
crisis within your group and how would you handle that conflict between students?
(300 words)

1. Harassment and bullying

Handling this among a group could be challenging as many people do not open up or
sometimes don't even realise that they're being harassed. I will try my best to educate them
regarding this and ensure that kids are comfortable enough that they can reach out to me at
any time they want to. Before all of this I will, in the best of my knowledge, try to explain to
everyone how certain actions can make a person uncomfortable or traumatise them or even
make them lose their confidence, and why speaking up about it is necessary.
2. Fight between two group members
Often people get offended at jokes and reply in a rude or unethical manner which could lead
to a fight between them. At times, people lose their patience and turn to physical violence.
If I experience something similar in the group, I will listen to both sides separately and also
try to get an account from witnesses if there are any to take appropriate action. If it is a
virtual fight and happened over a call or text, then I will be as fair as possible and discuss the
matter with my co coach while ensuring we don't take a biased decision. A minor fight could
be solved by making the two parties apologise to each other. However, if it is something
huge, I will take the matter to the coordinating committee. If it still remains unsolved, we
might have to take the matter to DC.
3. Not getting along with my co-coach
During my O week, some of my friends who were in other groups told me how their coaches
didn’t get along well so they missed out on a lot of in-group activities just because the
coaches never coordinated properly and were not bothered much assuming that their co-
coach would handle it. If I feel I’m not getting along well with my coach or if his
actions/words offend me, I would talk to him privately and try to resolve the matter
peacefully, so it doesn’t affect my group. If it remains the same, I’ll try to ignore it and act
mature, in a positive way rather than resorting to the same behaviour as it would just make
matters worse.

Q4. Suggest a unique fun activity which you would like to organize for your group
within the boundaries of a virtual setup. How would you go about it and ensure that
all students feel included? (150 words)

We could play any online game every member is familiar with. One example of this could be
Ludo star. We could split the group into teams and have team up matches. During the match
we could have a zoom call where one person turns on screen sharing and whoever wishes to
see the matches can do so. This way everyone would be able to interact with other and also
talk during the matches. Moreover, there is another game called 'Psych' which I played with
my group and it actually helped in getting to know each other well. This also doesn't require
any skills, just an application to be downloaded so it is pretty easy to get everyone involved.
If anyone still doesn't feel like being a part, I would try to get them involved in other ways
like splitting the group in teams, keeping a track of the scores or becoming a judge in the
games we play etc.so they don't feel left out.
Q5. How will you ensure that the members of your group are motivated enough to
attend important information sessions throughout O-Week regarding plagiarism,
Zambeel, cyber bullying, harassment etc. (150 words) *

Information sessions usually seem boring to students but in order to keep them motivated I
will stress upon how important it is to attend them. For example, if they don’t attend the
session about Zambeel, they might not be able to enrol smoothly and not get their
preferred courses specially in this virtual set up when they won’t have friends and coaches
around for help. They will be on their own and getting through the process would be difficult
if they miss the introductory sessions. Secondly, about plagiarism for example, I would tell
them about experiences my acquaintances had because they did not have the complete
idea of what plagiarism exactly is. Others like cyber bullying, harassment have become really
important specially after the latest events and since it gained public attention too I’ll stress
upon it more and reinforce the importance of how even the smallest things could affect
someone so it is important to be as aware about them as possible.

Q6. What uncomfortable situations or instances did you experience or see a fellow
student go through during your O-Week and how differently do you think the
situation could have been handled by the coaches? (200 words)

One of my friends (not from my group) didn’t get along with any of her O week group
members. Her coaches did not try much to keep them together or make them get to know
each other. They hardly went out and only met twice or thrice as a group. Most of them got
scattered in smaller groups of 3-4 people and she felt extremely left out. She found her
coaches really uncooperative who were mostly hanging out with their own friends. On the
4th day of O week she had a really uncomfortable experience with a random boy at Khokha
and she came to us crying and we advised her to talk to her coach, but she was not sure
about it and she never did. If I was in her place, I would have definitely gone up to one of my
coaches because within 2-3 days they won my trust and made all of us comfortable with
each other. If her coaches had kept everyone together and also created a bond with them,
the situation could have been handled differently and she would have enjoyed her O week
more and would have had a memorable experience.

Q7. How do you plan to sensitize yourself and to maintain the right balance in
encouraging the first year students to open up while keeping in mind their differing
backgrounds, personalities and comfort zones? (250 words) 

I’ll take the first 2-3 days in getting to know them and also allow them to get to
know us. I will personally send each student a message where I’ll ask them every
now and then if they’re adjusting well, understanding things, or if something is
wrong. Staying in touch with them regularly will make them comfortable and they’ll
realise that they can open up to us if the connection develops. If I feel a boy is not
comfortable to talk to me, I’ll ensure my co-coach stays in contact with him.
Similarly, if a girl is not comfortable with my co-coach, I will make sure that I am
easily available to her. However, I’ll ensure that this happens only in the first few
days because eventually when they come to rest of their LUMS experiences, not
everyone will think about their comfort level, so I’ll try to get them overcome this
gender barrier. Moreover, I’ll try that everyone is comfortable with each other
regardless of their backgrounds. This could be done by often changing the groups
made for activities, games etc. Apart from this, if students are different from
backgrounds, I will try to discourage such discussions in the group which might
make an NOP student for example, feel like an outsider. I can then persuade them
to open up to their fellow group members as well so that differing backgrounds
don’t become a hindrance in smooth communication even if they have different
comfort zones.

Q8. How would you respond if a member of your O-Week Group reports to you
about harassment and/or bullying? (150 words) 

If he/she is comfortable I would ask them what exactly happened. After listening to
them, I would discuss it with my co-coach first and if I am unsure, I will just talk to the
accused person and ask them indirectly. After the discussion I’ll properly confront if the
need arises. (if they’re in my group). If they’re in another group I would first talk to their
coaches and then to the accused in the same way. I will make sure that the victim is not
falsely blaming anyone and after proper investigation from both sides, I will try my best to
take an appropriate action by taking the matter to the coordinating committee (if need be)
with the victim’s consent. If they’re not comfortable with it, I will just confront the abuser
confidently so there is no room for lying or playing the blame game. Overall, I would try to
indirectly educate everyone about bullying by telling them one of my stories so the victim
doesn’t feel like I am doing this to sympathise with them, but just to let everyone know that
these things happen and we need to fight it and open up about it.