Over a three-month period from June to August, NUS Law engages in a long-held tradition of welcoming new freshmen into the school through a series of Orientation programs. This series aims to cover the highlights of this year’s Orientation.

Law Camp

Law Camp was held between 17 June 2019 to 20 June 2019. Aside from the well-loved staple games of Orientation every batch passing through the welcoming doors of the faculty have experienced, this year’s iteration of Law Camp boasted new activities implemented to promote greater bonding within both the Orientation Groups (OGs) and throughout the entire batch.

Photo: Siddartha Bodi, the Chairperson of Law Camp this year, shared his goals for Law Camp: “I wanted Law Camp to be a place of bonding. Not just intra-OG bonding, but also inter-OG bonding. Thus, new initiatives like the House System, Carnival Night and Barbecue Night were introduced so freshmen can interact freely.”

Day 1: The start of something new

On the first day of camp, the excitement around Block B was palpable. As the freshmen streamed in, they were ushered to their respective OG rooms where they played icebreakers. Sounds of conversation filled the hallway as the freshmen eased into camp and gradually warmed up to each other.

Subsequently, the freshmen gathered for an official welcome by Professor Eleanor Wong. On this high note, the 4 house heads belonging to Solaris, Emerald, Vermillion, and Azura made their house introductions.

Photo: Vermillion House welcoming the incoming freshmen with their cheer.

Following this, the freshmen embarked on a series of station games aimed at encouraging freshmen to get to know each other.

Photo: Freshmen having fun at a game of Spy Escape, a game focused on encouraging active communication among freshmen.

Day 2: Beach Games and Carnival Night

Held at Sentosa’s Tanjung Beach, this year’s beach games followed a round-robin system with OGs competing with each other for points. While fierce, the games were a great avenue for making friends. As the freshmen got more comfortable with each other, the beach took on a livelier atmosphere, with sounds of hearty banter and peals of laughter enveloping the beach.

Photo: Freshmen competing in a friendly game of good ol’ Tug of War.

Photo: House Captains cheering their houses on at the beach!

After a tiring day at the beach, the exhausted freshmen returned to BTC, where the inaugural Carnival Night was held at the Upper Quad. As night fell, the glow of fairy lights lit the area up and a series of performances were put up. The field became a hub of activity, some freshmen choosing to sit on picnic mats for dinner while others choosing to play the games. Aside from classic carnival games like Peer Pong (a play on Beer Pong), Arcade Basketball and Balloon Darts, Carnival Night also boasted two large bouncy castles and a dunk tank.

Photo: The self-made banner by the Law Camp committee featuring the theme of Carnival Night.

Photo: OG 5 having dinner at the Upper Quad while listening to performances.

Photo: Freshmen engaging in a friendly Gladiator challenge.

As the night drew to a close, reluctant freshmen headed back to the Prince George’s Park Residences to rest, eagerly awaiting the next day.

Day 3: War Games, House Event and Barbecue Night

War Games was held on the third day of the camp. While these games have been traditionally held as part of Law Camp, this year boasted a new element. Freshmen were told they were fighting for special portions of food (lies!) for Barbecue Night. The competitive spirit was strong, each OG fighting fiercely for their dinner. Eventually, the committee announced that all OGs were getting food, leading to tremendous applause from the freshmen.

Photo: Freshmen enthusiastically fighting for their food in the War Games.

After a hot, sweaty and tiring morning, the freshmen went back to BTC for the House Event. Basking in the cold air spewed out by the air-conditioning, the freshmen went about playing numerous games aimed at improving house spirit. Eventually, this culminated in a performance by each of the houses’ mascots.

Photo: Azura house’s mascot performing a short skit.

Photo: At the end of the house event, everyone gathered for a Law photo.

The day ended at West Coast Park. It was a magical evening — watching the sun set while barbecuing food and chatting with new friends.

Photo: Freshmen barbecuing at dusk.

Day 4: Wet Games and Finale Night

As the roosters started crowing in the Botanic Gardens, the freshmen made their way to CCAB to kickstart their final day of Law Camp. With a remarkable show of energy that is hard to observe for law students at such early hours, the freshmen energetically jumped into the wet games planned for them.

Photo: Freshmen playing Slippery Slope, an ever-popular classic of Law Camp.

Photo: Tired but happy students enjoying the games.

Photo: Before the camp ended, the freshmen gathered for a quick batch photo.

After a long and fulfilling four days, what better way to end off than at Hopheads, where the freshmen were entertained by a plethora of performances by seniors, fellow freshmen and this year’s Law Bash finalists.