The University of Sydney
BY DARIAN KARUNAIKUMAR
Oct 2013
First years are enjoying trading in time in the lecture theatre for the simulation clinic and have even started treating their first patients…EACH OTHER! Older years have been hard at work treating (actual) patients both at Sydney & Westmead Dental Hospitals. We’ve enjoyed an amazing social line up so far this year including the SUDA Cruise.
The Roland Bryant Cup against CSU was a great display of competition between both unis and our hosts capped it off with a crazy onesie party and bonfire. Well done to our rugb yteam who were undefeated at the annual Quad-faculty Tournament.
Other events included the Women in Dentistry cocktail function, Alumni cocktail reception, and End of Block Parties. With more events to look forward to in the near future including the Dental Ball at the exclusive Ivy, 2013 is proving to be a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding year.
The dental students of Sydney have been hard at work both adjusting to the new challenges of the year as well as on the social front. Each year group has had a brief introduction on what’s to come before getting straight into the fun.
The first year dental students were excited kids in a candy store upon their first introduction to the simulation clinic.
Second years on the other hand have been dealt tough cards with the onset of a gruelling neuroscience block, although the LA course opens up the opportunity to practice on each other; always a highlight particularly after an eventful lunch.
The third years have been thrown into the midst of a full time, 8-5pm, work-like timetable. However, they’ve unanimously discovered the clinic bays of Westmead definitely trump the lecture theatres of Camperdown. Lastly, the fourth years, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel have hit the ground running, taking over where they left off at the end of the 2012. Not to mention the spin-filled lunch-time table tennis duels against the third years…
The USyd dental students also farewelled their most recently qualified colleagues at the always joyful but tear-filled graduation ceremony. Some of the top students throughout the faculty were also rewarded for their hard work with numerous prestigious faculty awards being presented at the ceremony.
On the social front, us Sydney-siders never lose an opportunity to let our hair down. Events such as the 1st year drinks, 1st year camp, SUDA & DASUS welcome drinks, the annual dental cruise and not to mention the impressive baking that goes on after hours (check out the photos!) are just some of the things that we’ve been doing to keep our sanity intact.
Ihsan Savran
Sydney University
2013
2012 has been a huge year for the students in Sydney. We welcomed our first cohort in the new Doctor of Dental Medicine program as well as hosting ADSA’s annual Dental Student’s Convention, which I’m sure the other schools can attest, was a huge success. With over 300 delegates in attendance from around the country, they delved into stimulating lectures and discussions, an amazing race around Sydney, ‘Tour de Syd’, a Harry Potter experience at our Hogwarts-esque campus and multiple memorable social events.
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On other fronts, recently, a dental student’s sister was diagnosed with a currently incurable form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. With the traditional SUDA dental ball cancelled, two third year students, Eleni Katsaromitsos and Anh Le, decided to organise and hold a charity dental ball in place of the annual event. The Lymphoma Ball was held on Saturday September 29th at the Westside Reception Lounge in Marrickville, raising approximately $20 000. The funds raised from this event will be used to help create a new project to assist Lymphoma patients and their families understand the maize of information that surrounds clinical trials. This is imperative for the propagation of research into new treatments and medications for this cancer.
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This year USYD also hosted the yearly Roland Bryant Cup against the dental students of Charles Sturt University in Orange. Unfortunately 2012 wasn’t the year for Sydney with the country kids taking out the title 4-1, winning mixed touch, women’s football, women’s
netball and men’s basketball. USYD did however take out the
men’s football game 3-1 in a dominant performance. As always
it was a great day for all involved, particularly for Professor
Bryant whom the cup is named after.
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Finally, the dental students at Sydney created history, winning ​
the annual Sydney University Quad-Faculty Rugby series for the
first time since 1978. In an undefeated campaign, the dentistry
boys beat the students of Vet, Pharmacy and in the heated
decider, Medicine. It was a thrilling game in front of a vocal
crowd of dental students and faculty members where the boys
secured the historic trophy against the Medicine muppets in a 6-0 victory. The celebrations went off like fireworks at the final whistle and continued long through the night. The fun wasn’t just reserved for the boys though, with the girls of dentistry competing in a Tri-faculty touch competition against Medicine and Vet. The girls showed that they were a force to be reckoned with and played amazingly for a team playing together for the first time, winning one game and just losing the second, placing them 3rd overall. Great effort girls, hopefully we get them next year!
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Exams are now looming for everyone so the libraries are full of sleepless students and empty coffee cups. Good luck everyone!
