Sunday June 18, 2023 – Khon Kaen University held the “Tum Home Hub” event to welcome new class of students to Mo Din Daeng. The ceremony is officially called the “60th Kalaphruek Decoration” Ceremony. Asst. Prof. Tala Thammaroj, M.D., Vice President for Administration presided over the ceremony, with Assoc. Prof. Piansak Pakdee, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relation and KKU administrators. Over 5,000 freshmen joined the event, which was held at the 50th Anniversary Sports Center, Khon Kaen University.
The ceremony began with the ceremony Chairman delivered the opening address, followed by Khon Kaen University songs performed with cheerleaders. The next activity was a stage drama, and the procession of Student Union including all of the 22 clubs entered the Sports Center for the Kalaphruek Decoration Ceremony. The Kalaphruek bouquet entered the venue in the procession along with the 60th Class Flag. The ceremony was then concluded with a mini-concert.
Asst. Prof. Tala Thammaroj, M.D., Vice President for Administration explained that the “KKU WEEK OF 2023 FRESHMEN WELCOMING” was organized by the Student Union. It was aimed to impress the freshmen and to make them feel proud of the University. New and necessary skills were also trained to the new students by the senior giving advices and assistance for the newcomers to be able to adjust to the University environment. The activities have been ongoing since June 10, 2023.
The Tum Home Hub – Freshmen Welcoming to Mo Din Daeng, or the Kalaphruek Decoration ceremony today was the activity for presentation of the class flag and decorating the 60th Kalaphruek bouquet on the Suwan Kalaphruek tree. This was the symbolic activity to demonstrate that the freshmen have united their love, their unity in order to become part of the seeds of the beautiful and graceful Kalaphruek tree of Khon Kaen University. This year is a special occasion, for KKU is entering its 60th year of foundation. It is therefore another point to mark students’ pride.
Mr. Kavin Pradabchat, the 2023 Chairman of the Student Union revealed that the stage performance of the drama was the highlight of the activity today. The drama was performed for a number of reasons including presentation of the central cheering activity in the past, the relation of the stories related to life in the University, and presentation of outstanding work in drama production of KKU students.
“For every year that past, KKU had the SOTUS system. However, with the COvid-19 situation, the SOTUS welcoming ceremony could not be organized and it was changed to the Kalaphruek decoration ceremony. The Student Union had an idea that one outstanding point of KKU is production of stage drama, for there are many good and clever drama producing teams. So this is why there is the stage show this year to welcome the new students.”
“When generation changes, many things have vanished. We therefore bring the stories and relate them in the form of drama. I myself like the scene of the central cheering where we add the cast to make the scene real but also fun to watch. This lessens the seriousness. The newcomers will then be able to see what the past freshmen welcoming activities look like. We learned from the past what people do not like and we avoid that. We make the best of the present. To sum up, the bouquet decoration is the show of the identity of KKU. The activity shows the love of the seniors, and it is not compulsory, so it is truly creating good feeling among freshmen to the University,” said Kavin.
Miss Chatchadaporn Wongkhamkoon, a first year student in social science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences said that she had joined many freshmen welcoming activities of the University such as tying the wrist with sacred thread and the orientation. She was very impressed with this activity today and liked the drama that presented fun and lovely stories of the seniors.
“I like the High-Speed Grandma story. We laughed and laughed and took video clips of it. Moreover, I like the effectiveness of the seniors who led the cheerleading. They must have rehearsed a lot. I know that the seniors had strong intention in doing so.”
The 2023 KKU WEEK OF FRESHMEN WELCOMING began on June 12, 2023 with the wrist tying with sacred thread. The activities that followed were: June 13 – Relationship Building event; June 15 – the official freshmen welcoming ceremony; June 17 – Paying respect to Chao Po Mo Din Daeng; June 18 – Tum Home Hub – Freshmen Welcoming to Mo Din Daeng. There is one day left on June 29, which will be the activity opening day where different clubs will present their interesting activities for the new students. The event will end with a concert.
News: Rawiporn Saisaenthong
