Friendship is a great human value. Like other values-love altruism, parental and filial love and patriotism Friendship is to be cultivated at the various stages of life. It removes the gloom of life and makes it bright and joyful. It teaches the lessons of mutual respect, co-operation, tolerance. It develops the spirit of giving and takes.
School is the place where students sow the seeds of character. School life is full of innocence and simplicity. It is free from mutual rivalries and ill will. College is a bigger assembly of students belonging to the different walks of life, social classes. Old friendship is further cemented. One makes new friends at college. New faces come into ones life. Some are showy and shallow; some are honest and sincere. It requires greater insight and understanding into human behavior and psychology at the college level.
There are many who are fair-weather friends. Political inclinations, regional associations, factions and cliques play a very important part in college friendship. Students become more class conscious. The saying: ‘Birds of the same feather, flock together, applies more in college friendship. Ideas and views play a dominant role in college friendship. Experience shows that students coming from upper class and rich families develop closer relationship. Quite a large number of students are in services. They are not very interested in making friends. Many are married persons and their centre of interest is the family. [the_ad id=”17141″]
College functions, social gatherings, sports, union elections and inter-collegiate competitions, play a great part in bringing the students together and closer. But in the present context, all these activities have given birth to bitter rivalry and unpleasantness. Students have become more politically minded. Instead of working together and pulling together in the best interest of the college, they try to create disturbances; use firearms and create law and order situation. The student’s leaders behave in the most insulting and haughty manner.
They do not care for the honor of their teachers and the reputation of the college. Such factional friendship is determined both for the students and the nation.
College friendship is based on maturity, foresightedness .. and wise selection. If it is real and honest, it is lasting and enduring. It also helps one-another in future life. There is free-mixing of the juniors and the seniors. The seniors ought to be a model for the juniors, and the juniors must respect their seniors. Then only college friendship brings name and fame for the college. Cooperation and collaboration of friends for the sake of selfish aims and use of unfair means, is a slur, on college friendship. Friendship to be real, must be free from narrow aims, shallowness and party interests.