When groupings become an issue

Recently it was announced that for my 3rd year hospital posting, we are to be divided into 4 groups.. And we have to choose our own groups.. And that the group must have a balance in terms of gender and race.. "Fine, that should be no problem;" so I thought.. I mean how hard could it be? Form a group of 18/19 with your friends, settle the transport issue and off we go..

How wrong could I be.. The whole grouping team has really shaken the unity of the batch.. And if there was no unity in the first place, it's going to be harder to have unity now.. The reason being so is that some people have different ways of forming groups.. And since everyone has different opinion, it leads to conflicts and problems.. One chooses people who the person wants, rejecting others; another says to a group you can all join but A cannot join; one group has a terrible miscommunication which leads to the break up of that group; another had their friendship destroyed (and restored again, thank God) and still got others who "senju" their friends to the max, may it be housemates, good friends, etc..

In addition to that, you have one person who decides to bypass everything and see the higher up.. For the good of the batch yes; but of course if discussed appropriately.. Now that's another war altogether.. And to top it all up, here is a quote from one of my friends; "In order to be equal in race, people become more racist." Speaks a lot doesn't it? How can then this choosing of groups be a good idea if it breaks heart and destroys friendship? How can it be good if one feels like the whole world is against that person while another has too many people asking that person to join their groups? Alas, not everyone is satisfied.. I did suggest we just stick to the name list or the PBL groupings but it would be very lopsided.. It wouldn't be fair for those leaving outside of campus next year..

So how do you solve an issue which has so much problems? Which actually brings out the very nature of human beings? Well, it can if everyone cooperates but sadly, that's one thing which is very hard to achieve.. Personal experience for 2 years in this course.. In the end, I pray everything will turn out alright, that the people in their respective groups will be satisfied, that those with broken hearts and friendships will be mended and healed and that no one will be affected in their finals; which is by far the most important things right now..

Disclaimer: The above rant is my own thoughts of the matter after gathering various information from people around me and may not represent the true scenario of the whole situation, which could be better or worst..