Yogyakarta 16th of May, 2024 – The second day of Gugur Gunung 13, precisely on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, became an unforgettable moment for all residents of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM). Not without reason, because students of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program collaborated in a team called ‘Turangga Sastra Nuswantara’ to perform Jathilan Dance Drama on the peak day of Gugur Gunung 13.

The Jathilan Dance Drama performance was held at 04.00 PM –05.30 PM WIB on the stage located in Greenland. Each side of the stage was packed with members of the academic community who were interested in the Jathilan Dance Drama performance. The performance of popular art became livelier with the presence of Lala Atila as the sinden of the Jathilan Dance Drama.

Jathilan Dance Drama is a performance of Jathilan dance, an art that is closely related to the use of jaran kepang, or lumping horse, and contains drama about Javanese mythology. The legend of Javanese mythology is the legend of Ajisaka and his battle with Dewata Cengkar, a giant king in the kingdom of Medang Kamulan. The production of the Jathilan Dance Drama was led by R. Raga Budi Panuntun, a student of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program class of 2021, and directed by Yulian Kethus from the Kidung Cakrawala Art Studio.

Before the performance began, at 03.00 PM WIB, the performers and staff held a jaran bath and prayer together at Wisdom Park. Afterward, a cultural procession was carried out along the route from Wisdom Park to FIB through the north door. The folk-art performance was opened by R. Sukoco, an alumnus of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, as the narrator. There were various speeches delivered by Idharul Huda, as the chairman of Gugur Gunung 13, Dr. Daru Winarti, Head of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, and Prof. Dr. Setiadi, S.Sos., M.Si, dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The event continued with the traditional ceremony of kupat luwar or luwaran kupat, as a form of releasing all things that are not good so that the event can run smoothly. The next event was the presentation of the Jathilan Dance Drama which managed to amaze the entire audience. The audience seemed to really enjoy it, even dancing to the music of the Jathilan dance. The highlight of this presentation was the scene of the battle between Aji Saka and Dewata Cengkar. The thrilling battle and Aji Saka’s stunning victory drew thunderous applause from all directions.

The end of the Jathilan Dance Drama performance also marked the end of the 13th Gugur Gunung. Various beautiful and fun moments have occurred during Gugur Gunung 13. We would like to thank the enthusiasm and support from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, sponsors, mahadaya, and the entire academic community of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. May the culture of the archipelago be preserved and continue to live from time to time. See you at Gugur Gunung 14!

Yogyakarta, 20th of May 2024 – Wayang kulit, a traditional art recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Human Cultural Heritage, has high historical, philosophical, and artistic value. The art of puppet is considered one of the pinnacles of Javanese culture, so it is important for the younger generation to recognize, understand, and preserve this noble heritage.

In order to deepen the understanding of shadow puppets, the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program organized a field study for the Puppet Literature course on May 16, 2024. This activity was held at the Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta, giving students the opportunity to see puppets and manuscripts related to puppets.

This field study was attended by students participating in the Puppet Literature course and guided by the lecturers, namely R. Bima Slamet Raharja, S.S., M.A., and Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A. During the activity, students had direct access to observe various puppet collections and manuscripts related to wayang kulit. The enthusiasm of the students was visible throughout this activity, showing their interest in knowing more about the cultural wealth of the nation.

The output of this field study is not only a presentation of what has been learned but also an introduction and growth of love and pride for the nation’s culture. In addition, this activity is expected to add experience and become a means of developing the scientific competence of the participants. Thus, the field course is in line with the fourth point of the sustainable development goals, namely improving the quality of education within the scope of the preservation and development of the nation’s culture.

On Monday, June 3, 2024, Public Relations of Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM had the opportunity to interview one of the students of Faculty of Cultural Sciecnes UGM, Haybah Shabira, who successfully passed the Semifinal selection of Student Debate League organized by PT IDN Media on May 31, 2024. The Student Debate League competition was held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of PT IDN Times as well as an initiative to encourage students’ ability to think critically and express their opinions and aspirations as a young generation. The competition invited a number of universities such as Diponegoro University, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, Telkom University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Mataram University, Bogor Agricultural University, Padjajaran University, and others, to participate in the debate competition.

As a student of Archaeology UGM Class of 2023 from Aceh, Haybah has been involved in the world of competitive debate since the beginning of the first semester through participating in the Gadjah Mada Debating Society (GMDS) UGM and has participated in various English debate and Indonesian debate competitions. At the Student Debate League competition, he was initially interested in registering for the competition, but because the quota of representatives from the debate organization he joined was filled early, he was unable to register directly. Fortunately, one of the representatives withdrew and Haybah immediately took her place to have the opportunity to run as a representative.

As one of the representatives of the GMDS UGM organization, Haybah joined a team consisting of two different faculty students Nawfal Aulia Luthfurrahman from the Faculty of Economics and Business Class of 2023 and Meira Davina Jasmine from the Faculty of Law Class of 2023. Despite being from different faculties, they were still excited to compete together.

During the competition, they conducted research on debate motions that had been used in previous debate competitions as a learning reference. After conducting research, they will compile arguments and divide their respective work roles such as the role of the first speaker who presents the basic direction of the debate, followed by the next speaker who presents problem identification, and the last speaker who provides a solution presentation.

“So, we have a solid and clear structure for our debate and until the preparation for the final, nothing has changed, except maybe coaching from our seniors at GMDS UGM,” said Haybah explaining the preparation for the final stage.

With the final stage held on Thursday, June 6, 2024, at IDN Media Headquarters, DKI Jakarta, Haybah and members of the Student Debate League team are now representing Gadjah Mada University to compete with Bogor Agricultural University.

“I want to prove that, you know, the result of UGM’s upbringing and make UGM proud and inspire my friends, especially from my neighborhood in Aceh to encourage the courage of my friends that if you lose it’s okay, because you will reach the level that you are capable enough to reach that level.” Haybah answered about her hopes and enthusiasm to share inspiration for her friends and students to dare to try to jump into the competition.

n Sunday, May 19, 2024, the Directorate of Students Affairs UGM held an activity to develop and empower the management of student organizations of Universitas Gadjah Mada through a series of two-day activities, namely the “Leadership School of UGM Student Organization Management”. The leadership school, which was held on Saturday, May 18, 2024 and Sunday, May 19, 2024, provided an opportunity for representatives of organization administrators to gain knowledge on how to become a leader as a student and proper communication and governance of student organizations. The two-day event was held at Auditorium Mandiri 4th floor, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM.

On the second day, Sunday, a student of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM representing the Gadjah Mada Debating Society UGM, I Putu Adhimas Radiansyah Aryawan, participated in the Leadership School activities which began with the initial material, namely Event Management and Sponsorship by the two speakers, Bambang Paningron and Berchman Heroe. In this material session, both speakers explained the importance of structured and planned event management, because some of the successful events began with careful and thorough planning. In the next presentation session, the Code of Student Activities was presented by Mrs. Desi Yulianti, S.E., M.Acc., Head of Subdirectorate of Student Organizations, Facilities, and Welfare, together with Mr. Mugiyarto, S.IP., Coordinator of Student Organizations and Activities, Directorate of Student Affairs UGM. This was followed by a session on Innovation, Creativity, and Curriculum Development and a closing session on SME Internal Quality Audit.

At the end of the event, the participants were given a group quiz to answer ten questions about leadership, organizations, and UGM official institutions. As a representative of the organization, Radiansyah hoped that the Leadership School would be a place of knowledge and a new beginning for student organizations and leaders who are the originators of innovation and creativity.

On Saturday, May 18, 2024, the UGM Directorate of Student Affairs held the UGM Student Organization Administration Workshop 2024 aimed at all Faculty / School Student Institutions, Student Communities, and Student Activity Units (UKM) at Universitas Gadjah Mada UGM to be given material on student organization administration. This activity was held in Multimedia Room 1 3rd Floor, UGM Main Office, inviting a number of student affairs resource persons to provide a number of material topics. Topics discussed included correspondence, information technology services, and organizational administration management.

In this activity, one of the students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM who represented the Gadjah Mada Debating Society UGM Student Activity Unit, I Putu Adhimas Radiansyah Aryawan, as Secretary, attended the workshop agenda which began with a speech by the Head of the Subdirectorate of Organization, Facilities, and Student Welfare, Mrs. Desi Yulianti, S.E., M.Acc.. Then, it was continued with correspondence material and correspondence script in accordance with applicable language and structure rules. On the topic of this material, representatives of student organizations were given practical examples interactively through reviews of examples of correspondence scripts of several student organizations by Mrs. Martindah Hanurani Budi Sukmarhayu, S.Pd.. Followed by IT services and information systems by Aziz Hendra Atmaja, S.Kom., from the UGM Information Technology Directorate, discussing information technology services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, and others that can support the administrative work of student organizations.

After the break session, the last material agenda was the Administration of Student Organizations presented by Ahmad Yuana Putra, S.Si., Staff of the Directorate of Student Affairs UGM, who is also a former administrator of the UGM UKM Communication Forum (FORKOM) and former Chairman of BEM Biology UGM. In this agenda, Mas Yuana shared his memorable experiences about the importance of managing well-documented organizational administration when he was an active UGM student who had been involved in various committees and organizations. After the experience sharing session, the activity began to end with a random group quiz session by answering 10 quiz questions correctly.

Through the administrative workshop activities held, it is hoped that the organization administrators can understand the workflow and orderly in working on appropriate organizational files and administration and students are also closer to the UGM Directorate of Student Affairs from various facilities and infrastructure that have been provided to support student organizations.