The RIDGE - March-April Issue 2014 by The Ridge

mIca (p) 113/10/2012

THE RIDGE MAGA ZINE

THE RIDGE MAGAZINE - A NUSSU PUBLICATION MARCH-APRIL 2014 Find THE RIDGE on Facebook facebook.com/NussuTHERIDGE

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Reach us online studentry.sg

CONTENTS

NEWS

18 INSIGHT CHARITY GALA DINNER

ENTERTAINMENT

05 RIDENUS

19 FUNDEDBYME

30 CINEPHILE

06 NUSSU VOLUNTEER PROFILING

OPINION

31 TV JUNKIE

08 FOP 2014: AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

20 SATIRE:ONLINE STUDENT FEEDBACK SYSTEM

33 SONIC BOOM

09 COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY

22 YALE-NUS AND UTOWN

10 INTERVIEW WITH MISS EUNICE OLSEN

24 STAGNATION OF FEMINISM IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

37 MAESTRO

13 UTOWN YOGATHON

26 HAPPINESS AND MEANING

38 INTERVIEW: JUST A BAD DAY

14 PITCH IT! 2014 PRESS RELEASE

28 REDISCOVERING

39 BOOKWORM ADVENTURES

16 ARE YOU SURE OR NOT?

29 ALL IS NOT QUIET ON THE LGBT

40 TRACES

LIFESTYLE

52 STUDY ROOM ETIQUETTE

34 NUSTAGE DOUBLE BILL 36 ROCKFEST AND SHOUT 2014

SPORTS

53 AVOIDING THE ANGST OF ACNE 42 THE POST-GRADUATION SURVIVAL GUIDE

59 YANGON MARATHON

WIRED

44 COFFEE ON CAMPUS

54 FLAPPY BIRD SAGA

45 RUNDOWN OF THE BEST FOOD IN NUS

56 APP REVIEWS

60 ICG 62 MEGANEWS! ON SOCHI

58 EMBRACING YOUR GEEK IDENTITY 46 BE KIND TO YOURSELF 47 HOME AWAY FROM HOME 48 COOKING FOR ONE 50 IMPERIAL INDIA

EDITOR’S NOTE

eDITOR’S NOTE A

s this is the last note I will write on The Ridge, I would like to clarify several misconceptions you may have with regards to this magazine. First and foremost, many are not aware of our frequency. The Ridge is published bi-semesterly (twice per semester) on January, March, August and October. Besides our hardcopy, we frequently publish stories on our website, studentry.sg. We also have a team of social media managers who are the first to be in-the-know when it comes to NUS news. They will keep you updated through The Ridge’s Facebook (https:// www.facebook.com/nussutheridge) and Twitter account (@nussutheridge). Another common misconception is with regards to our recruitment cycle. Unlike most CCAs, we recruit all year long. We not only recruit writers but also layout designers, photographers, illustrators, operation managers, logistic managers and social media managers. Prior experience is a plus, but not a must. So, if you think The Ridge is just for you, send your application to theridge. chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg today and be a part of us. Many people wonder where we get the money to print 4,000 copies of this 64-page magazine every issue. We are financed from sponsors, advertisers and NUSSU. However, as this is our last

issue on this academic year, we would like to present our March issue with no advertisement or advertorial from external parties.

tough as it gets. Additionally, for all of us who spend our lives pursuing happiness, get some insight to this elusive topic at page 26.

In this issue, we would like to present you with some recent happenings in NUS. Flip to page 8 to read about the brand-new Freshmen Orientation Programme (FOP) and Rag & Flag 2014. What do you think of the new concept? Send us your thoughts. Flip to Entertainment section to find out more about the highly-anticipated NUS Arts Festival 2014. We bring you the insights of some performances in this year’s NUS Arts Festival and some interviews with the people behind the performances. If you missed UTown’s Inter-Collegiate Games 2014 (ICG 2014), flip to page 60 to read Kai Ying’s report on the matches.

Of course, how could we forget the latest craze, the Flappy Bird game. Fill yourself in on The Flappy Bird Saga on page 54. Unfortunately, this little birdie is no longer flapping its wing around the apps stores so if you have not downloaded the game, you might want to find some other addictive replacements (p. 56).

March and April are significant months of change for many of us. Some of us are graduating soon and will be moving on to another phase of life. For those graduating this semester, Yi Wen’s Post-Graduation Survival Guide on page 42 is dedicated to you. We sincerely wish you all the best for your future endeavours. For those still with a couple more years to go, we want to make sure you have a fulfilling culinary experience in NUS (p.44-45), because food feeds the soul and school is as

Last but not least, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continuous support.

Teresa Widodo Chief Editor theridge.chiefeditor@nussu.org.sg

EDITORIAL TEAM

EDITORIAL BOARD Chief Editor Teresa Widodo theridge.chiefeditor@nussu. org.sg Deputy Chief Editor Loh Kai Ying theridge.depchiefeditor@nussu. org.sg Creative Director Patricia Jonatan theridge.creative@nussu.org.sg Head Designer Karen Tan theridge.headdesigner@nussu. org.sg News Desk Editor Velda Wong theridge.news@nussu.org.sg Opinion Desk Editor Debra Chua theridge.opinion@nussu.org.sg Entertainment Desk Editor Rachel Phua theridge.entertainment@nussu. org.sg Lifestyle Desk Editor Sharifah Nursyafiqah theridge.lifestyle@nussu.org.sg Sports Desk Editor Ong Hua Han theridge.sports@nussu.org.sg Wired Desk Editor Lim Wei Di theridge.wired@nussu.org.sg Copy Editor Samantha Wong theridge.copyeditor@nussu.org. sg

CONTRIBUTORS Logistics Manager Albert Kurniawan a0088383@nus.edu.sg NUSSU Communications Secretary commsec@nussu.org.sg Social Media Managers Lim Wei Di weidi@nus.edu.sg Peiling Chua a0084185@nus.edu.sg Grace Ng ngrace@nus.edu.sg Kok Ann Ng a0071969@nus.edu.sg

News Desk Sie Min Young Jaime Leong (Contributor) Devika Garg (Contributor) Gabriel Pik

young.sie@nus.edu.sg jaimeleong@nus.edu.sg g0901060@nus.edu.sg pik@nus.edu.sg

Opinion Desk Anthony Yoong Abhinav Deshmukh Melpomene Hua Derek Wong

anthonyoong@gmail.com abhinav.deshmukh@nus.edu.sg a0100272@nus.edu.sg a0095753@nus.edu.sg

Entertainment Desk Chia Soong Ming Regina Koh Angelita Sasmita Yan Ni Tan Karluis Quek Gwen K Lim Wei Li Valerie

a0072975@nus.edu.sg regkoh1306@gmail.com angelita.sasmita@gmail.com medieval.skies@gmail.com karluisquek@nus.edu.sg incredible.gwen@gmail.com valerie_lim@nus.edu.sg

Lifestyle Desk Chan Yi Wen Gwen Koh Alice Li Wendy Wong Rea Bhalla Philip Lee Chow Aloysius

chanyiwen@nus.edu.sg koh.zhi.min@nus.edu.sg liaisi@nus.edu.sg wendy@nus.edu.sg rea@nus.edu.sg a0096915@nus.edu.sg chow.aloysius@nus.edu.sg

Wired Desk Lester Hio Angelita Sasmita Zhou Jiajia Yeo Jun Yan

lesterh@nus.edu.sg asasmita@nus.edu.sg a0115859@nus.edu.sg a0111387@nus.edu.sg

Sports Desk Yang Kaiyuan Chua Jing Zhi

yangkaiyuan@nus.edu.sg a0078758@nus.edu.sg

Designers Ye Zichen Ningxin Yang Veena Salim Cheryl Low Xue Er Colin Ng Sun Lixin

zichen@nus.edu.sg ningxin.y@gmail.com veena_salim@nus.edu.sg cheryl.low@nus.edu.sg colin.ng@nus.edu.sg victorsunlixin@gmail.com

NEWS

RIDE NUS I

nterested in avoiding the congested shuttle buses in NUS? You probably would be nodding your head rigorously now. From AY 13/14 semester one onwards, people in NUS can flag cars with the ‘RideNUS’ decal to hop on for a lift; a project called “RideNUS”, introduced by the 35th National University of Singapore Students’ Union (NUSSU). RideNUS is a carpool initiative by NUSSU to encourage carpooling within NUS by students and staff or anyone who owns a car. This gives students an alternative mode of transportation to travel within NUS. How does RideNUS works? For passengers-to-be, all you have to do is spot any car with the decal and flag it down. And you will be on your

way to your desired location (within NUS). As for the drivers-to-be, all you have to do is to sign up for the decal in the NUSSU Secretariat situated at the Yusof Ishak House of NUS. Then, stick the decal onto the front window of the car, and you will be part of the scheme. All private car owners are encouraged and welcomed to join this project simply by signing up. However, the decal does NOT represent the safety or quality of the driver’s driving skills. It only states that the driver is willing to carpool in campus. As the initiative has just started, we might not see any major changes soon. It would take continuous refinement and effort to develop a sustainable initiative. The key objective of the carpooling initiative is to help complement the

Image courtesy of NUSSU

AN INTRODUCTION TO A CARPOOLING INITIATIVE SIE MIN YOUNG

existing transport infrastructure on campus. Presently, there are already 40 signups, out of which 3 are from NUSSU with another 3 from the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). It is expected to see increases in subscription to the scheme in the coming months. “For a start, NUSSU has set target on a population of 100 cars to be in this initiative by the end of March 2014”, said a NUSSU representative Lim Kok Seng. “Eventually, NUSSU hopes to encourage all private car owners to be in this carpool movement”. This initiative comes after the annual meeting between NUSSU and the various halls’ Junior Common Room Committees (JCRCs). Although a better solution would be to increase the frequency of shuttle

Photo: Lim Kok Seng

buses, we should laud this initiative nonetheless. This initiative offers students who drive an opportunity to extend a helping hand to their fellow peers. Meanwhile, RideNUS will continue with its publicity efforts through the Union’s website and their official NUSSU Facebook page to sustain its feasibility and to increase participation. One of the tentative plans to boost the involvement in RideNUS includes raising more awareness about this campaign in the car parks of NUS. To ensure that this campaign is feasible in the long run, do flag and hop on to a car with the RideNUS decal, and let NUSSU know your feedback about this project.

NEWS

//NUssu volunteer profiling As the Council Chairperson, Zhe Wen is responsible to be the moderator of the Council. His responsibility extends beyond council meetings. “The work is not done there (in Council Meeting). The work is done behind the scene.” he explained.

NUSSU COUNCIL: LAW ZHE WEN TERESA WIDODO

any a time, we are not aware of the existence and role of student government in NUS. In this opportunity, Law Zhe Wen shared us his insights as the current NUSSU Council Chairperson. Zhe Wen explained that the student government in NUS consists of NUSSU Executive Committee (Exco) and NUSSU Council. “NUSSU Exco are the ones that most students are more familiar with. They are in charge of the events. On the other hand, the Council is actually the ones we don’t normally see. We debate about the things that pertain to student population in NUS. It can be as macro as academic and welfare or as micro as how do we want our Rag and Flag to be like. From there, we pass the resolutions of motions that eventually will be carried out by the Exco.” The council representatives come from various faculty clubs and associate bodies such as Halls and Residential Colleges.

nussu Welfare: bao lin TERESA WIDODO

hree years ago, when Bao Lin was still a freshman, she remembered queuing on Free Cone Day, “I queued a few times. It really made my day!” Having benefitted from NUSSU Welfare initiatives, Bao Lin decided to join the team of passionate people who aim to make their fellow students smile. “Our main objective is to organize events or projects that make people smile and make

At first, the Year 3 Chemical Engineering major entered the Council in the capacity of University Scholars’ Club (USC) representative. A few of his friends asked him whether he was keen to step up as the Council Chairman. “Initially, I thought, ‘Chairman? Wow, it’s quite a fanciful term.’ It must have a lot of amazing job scopes that come with it so I was quite hesitant at first because I have my own faculty to take care of.” he recalled, “So I talked to the previous chairperson, David Chen from Medicine, and he outlined the roles to me. To him, it’s really about information dissemination and managing expectations.” He talked to his faculty’s management committee to discuss the workload. After being given the permission, he finally decided to run for the position a couple of days before the election. During the first semester, most of the council members were still trying to get used to the procedures. “I don’t really like procedures but the Council is a very formal body. It’s a legislative body. There’s a need of certain procedures in

their life more enjoyable.” Bao Lin, currently the Vice Chairperson of NUSSU Welfare, explained,” For this entire year, we have about nine projects,” Some of their upcoming initiatives are Free Cone Day, Project Power Up and Exam Welfare Pack Giveaways. Bao Lin also hinted that there will be an attractive prize for those who successfully collect all NUSSU Welfare limited-edition badges from various Welfare events such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day. Of course, making more than 25,000 NUS students smile is not an easy task. “Last semester, during Exam Welfare Pack Giveaways, we had lots of things to give away. We had to distribute about 10,000 foolscap papers and food items to all the faculties.” Bao Lin recalled,” In the end, we spent the whole day to distribute the items. It was around 7 PM already when we

accordance to the constitution.” Zhe Wen said,” It was when I learnt those very formal procedures such as when one raises a certain motion, it has to be seconded by someone else.” Zhe Wen said how he saw the importance of balancing between practicality and bureaucracy so the Council did away with some of the more bureaucratic procedures. Zhe Wen believed that instead of discussing how to organize certain events, the Council should be the one questioning about the school-wide policies and the rationales behind them. “For example, the point about academic welfare. This point hasn’t been raised but there has been talks going on about it and I intend to go about it – the gradeless first year policy.” said Zhe Wen,”This will impact students a lot. This is where I think the Council needs to represent the student a bit more because in the planning of things, the school administration has a lot to take care of and they might neglect the voice of the students.” Being the Council Chairman, Zhe Wen really treasures the opportunities to meet new people from different background. “It really showed me the diverse range of perspectives present in NUS.”

reached our last location. We were so tired that when the music started playing we just sang along and laughed together.” Bao Lin explained how the challenges they faced shaped the team dynamics. “We really believe in what we did. Whenever we do our duty, we try to make it fun because, after all, it’s not a duty or a competition – it’s a passion.” Despite having to sacrifice some of her time, Bao Lin believed that joining the team was certainly an enriching experience. Through NUSSU Welfare, she made valuable friendships and learnt a lot of things such as how to deal with difficult situations, handle administrative matters and liaise with external organizers. The biggest accomplishment, however, is when the students are appreciative of what they are doing.

NEWS

//Eusoff hall VELDA WONG

lim nian deng As a second year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Nian Deng sure has many things to juggle on his plate, on top of his academic pursuits. Besides having to fulfill the responsibilities as the President of the Eusoff Hall’s Choir, he is also the Head of Eusoff Special Projects Team. His initial driving factor for wanting to live in hall stemmed from simply wanting to try out something new in university. He also had seniors who recommended a stay in hall because it will provide a true university experience; where you stay away from your family and learn to be independent without the comforts and familiarity of home. You will also learn to balance your time between different commitments which importance cannot be further emphasized in today’s fast paced society. On the reason for joining Eusoff Special Projects Team, he shares that he enjoys planning events and working with people. Being part of the team allows him to organize exciting events in Eusoff hall such as the Eusoff Pageant, as well as the Eusoff Fiesta. Through Eusoff Fiesta, the alumni and current residents are given an opportunity to interact with each other, extending their belief that hall experience is not something that ends when they leave. No matter the duration stayed in hall, one should always be able to return to Eusoff Hall and feel like its home. There was also a time when his team organized a party to celebrate the end of a semester but the turnout was poor as finals were nearing. Despite feeling disheartened, his team still went ahead to knock on doors, block by block and invited more people over to take the much-needed break before carrying on with their preparation for finals. Although the eventual attendance did not meet his desired number, he was still glad that everyone had fun and the event was positively received. Speaking about the challenges he faces, Nian Deng admits that it is difficult to balance friendship and fairness when making hard decisions as a leader because your followers are your friends as well. However, through his experiences, he has come to realize that the only way to accomplish tasks is when people come together and work in a team; he is not alone and must learn to trust in others’ capabilities and know when to ask his peers for help instead of struggling silently on his own. Ultimately, it is during times of teamwork that strengthen their bonds and Nian Deng is confident that these friendships will last an entire lifetime.

zainuddin Despite only having spent 3 semesters in hall, Zai (for short), has already accumulated a wide array of activities under his belt. The Level Head of Block C in Eusoff Hall revealed that the reason for joining so many activities is because he wants to search for his purpose in life, and to understand the meaning of happiness. He also adds that it is in his blood to be adventurous and fearless in trying out new things because this is the only one life he will ever get so it is up to him to make the most of it. His undying passion and thirst for knowledge has led him to be in various committees and roles, which includes being part of Eusoff Rag Dance in 2012, Eusoff Hall Dance Production, Chingay Performance in 2013 and Eusoff Publications among others. Outside of hall, he has also participated in an Overseas Community Involvement Project, “Big Hands Bigger Hearts 9”, to serve the under-privileged children in Bago City. “It is really a heartwarming experience and joy to see the end result of all the planned activities and events; when the beneficiaries or the people we are helping smiles and are touched by our simple gestures. These are the little things in life that puts a smile to my face and such heartening experiences remind me that the simplest pleasures in life are often free and intangible,” says Zai. “I have been very fortunate to have been bestowed with many opportunities for personal growth and by helping the community around me, it is my way of saying thank you for having benefitted from the various learning avenues. In a committee, no effort is insignificant and when things get tough, I always try to find a side of humour to it. Happiness comes from giving and sharing, and I feel honoured to be able to impact lives in small ways, because everyone is deserving of love." When asked how he manages his time between school and work since he is holding two part-time jobs, Zai responded that sacrifices such as spending less time on himself will have to be made as he is determined to lead a worthwhile and fulfilling university life. When he looks back in future, he is certain that all his efforts will be worth the while.

NEWS

FOP 2014

an experience like never before VELDA WONG

n the new academic year, students matriculating into NUS will experience a Freshman Orientation Programme (FOP) unlike previous years.

initial connection to their adopted beneficiary as this will likely be their first opportunity for meeting.

Firstly, the 35th NUSSU Executive Committee has decided to incorporate a carnival element into the annual Rag & Flag Day on 8 August 2014. With the theme titled “Carnival of Dreams”, all students are able to participate in this year’s Rag & Flag through the setting up of a carnival booth to do their part for the community. Students can expect to see not only freshmen participating, but seniors participating in the traditionally freshmen-only event as well.

Each of the Participating Bodies (PBs) is allocated a beneficiary for them to engage with. By bringing the less-privileged to a secured and barrier-free place like UTown, more students can look forward to connecting with the different beneficiaries and may feel even more compelled to help them. NUSSU also hopes this will encourage greater involvement from the senior students as their participation are deeply appreciated in the carnival where they will get to spend in the good name of charity, heightening the community spirit simultaneously.

With the implementation of the carnival held in University Town (UTown), NUSSU hopes that this initiative will bridge the chasm between the beneficiaries and the larger student body who has never gotten a chance to work closely with the recipients of the proceeds. Various beneficiaries will be coming down to UTown this year to enjoy the carnival with students to humanize the beneficiaries as part of the Beneficiary Engagement Programme. In previous years, beneficiaries were invited to be part of the performance thus students were unable to interact with them. The new platform will then allow all participants to form that

The typical flag collections will also be optional for the various faculties to decide for themselves whether to continue going out to the public to raise funds as some faculties have highlighted feelings of apathy amongst students over the years. This re-positioning of Rag & Flag comes amidst the culmination of students' feedback and is a bold move that NUSSU is willing to make in order to reinforce and sustain the spirit of altrusim. While students have expressed their concerns over the significance of Flag Day, it is imperative to remember that the collection of money from the public is beyond that of a heritage and culture, but a demonstration of the

nus.edu.sg

strong solidarity and concern for the community at large by students of NUS. As a world-class institution, we pride ourselves for being able to develop compassionate people with talent and it is fundamental that we stay true to our values and not allow flagging to be merely a transactional relationship between the PBs and the beneficiaries. Rag & Flag Day is a time where NUS students gather to contribute back to the very same society that has nurtured us. Moving forward, we can keep our eyes peeled for Rag & Flag 2015 as NUSSU is expected to hold Rag & Flag beyond school compounds in conjunction with our Nation’s very own 50th birthday celebration. Secondly, the Matriculation Fair set at July each year will no longer be held

as NUS moves towards a digitalized system and matric cards will be sent to students by post instead. To help student societies publicize their activities, NUSSU will be setting up a platform called the 'Student Life Fair' on 14-15 August 2014. This event will take place in the MultiPurpose Sports Halls at the Sports and Recreational Centre where student clubs and societies can continue to attract membership and promote their causes. The Multi-Purpose Sports Halls will be swarmed with displays from the different clubs as well as exciting activities for students to learn what NUS has to offer. The event this year is not only opened to freshmen but to all seniors as well. Students looking to add more spice and vibrancy into their varsity life are strongly encouraged to join in the fun and excitement throughout this sensational two-day event!

NEWS

A Universal Love

Affair

From a Pale Blue Dot to a littler red one

GABRIEL PIK LIANG MARINI

ast Valentine’s, professors and students alike gathered in LT27 to profess a common love for the cosmos. Jointly organized by Fox Interactive and National Geographic Channel, the Department of Physics presented a live Q&A session on the topic of science with renowned astrophysicist and science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson along with writer and producer Ann Druyan of Cosmos fame. Opened to all NUS staff and students, the two hour event held in LT27 was attended by over 800 astro-enthusiasts from the various faculties. The Dean of Science, Prof. Andrew Wee, and other representatives from the Faculty of Science were present along with prominent members of the public including astronomy blogger Gary Chee who were specially invited by the Cosmos tour organizers. Marking the highlight of the event was Dr. Tyson’s arrival on stage which was preceded by an early preview of National Geographic Channel’s upcoming documentaryseries: Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey. Hosted by radio’s Gold 90.FM DJ Tim Oh, the 45 minute Q&A allowed various fans and enthusiasts a rare chance to interact with their idol on a personal level. Live questions were also received remotely via twitter and were answered by both Dr. Tyson and Ann Druyan. The event drew to a conclusion with A/P Phil Chan inviting Prof. Wee on stage to give a token of appreciation to the guest speakers. Before departing, members of the audience were

advised to remain in the lecture theatre while a group photo of Dr. Tyson and the audience was taken. Despite the sensational reception, and to the credit of the Physics Department’s efficiency, life in NUS resumed as per normal almost immediately after the event drew to a close at 2pm. A test scheduled by Prof. Belal E Baaquie for students taking GEK1510 Great Ideas in Contemporary Physics was effectively conducted 2 hours later in the same venue without disruption.

Neil deGrasse Tyson amidst a flurry of adoring fans outside LT27; Faculty of Science, NUS image courtesy of the National Geographic Channel

After his stopover at NUS, Dr. Tyson went on to engage primary school students at a second interactive Q&A held in Jurong Regional Library. For those interested in viewing either of these sessions, unofficial recordings of both Q&A’s can be found at www. astro.sg. In spiritual succession from the critically received Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan, Dr. Tyson succeeds his mentor nearly three and a half decades later by presenting the highly-anticipated sequel to the original series. Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey premieres in Singapore on 15th March, 10pm on the National Geographic Channel.

[14 Feb 2014] On stage: Host Tim Oh with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ann Druyan during a live Q&A at LT27; Faculty of Science, NUS image courtesy of the National Geographic Channel

NEWS

Yoga Under the Sky! DEVIKA GARG

Photos: Vittal Avvari, Sindhu Vangeti & Bhaskar

he National University of Singapore (NUS) University Town (UTown) Green witnessed vibrant energy and relaxation on 15 February 2014, at the Yogathon 2014. Yogathon 2014 was organized by the NUS Chapter of the Art of Living – a student interest group dedicated to preserving “one of the most endangered species in today’s world: stress-free youth.” The Yogathon is a global initiative celebrated in many countries to encourage healthy living, and involves completing a total of 108 Sun Salutations, or as many as one’s fitness permits. It is not meant to be a competition among people, but an easy individual challenge to create awareness about the connection of yoga with healthy living. Yogathon was first organized in Singapore in 2013 on the World Health Day at two venues: NUS and East Coast Park, and endorsed by the Singapore Sports Council.

Each Sun Salutation is a sequential set of 12 powerful yoga postures that focus on controlled breathing and flexibility. Three weeks of free evening practice sessions were organized at the UTown Education Resource Center (ERC) in the run up to Yogathon 2014. These sessions were designed to help beginners learn this unique form of yoga, train for the GOLD challenge and also to help incorporate yoga into their daily routine. The lush green of UTown was splashed with colorful yoga mats and happy faces on the warm and breezy Saturday afternoon. A total of 104 NUS students, staff and alumni participated in this Yoga Marathon, and about 65 participants completed the GOLD challenge of 108 Sun Salutations! Experienced teachers Adam Fazlur, Winnie Ang and Dana Carroll conducted the yoga, and the Sun Salutations were followed by some fun laughter yoga and

smooth Zumba by Ghani. The cherry on top was relaxation under the blue skies with live soulful music: flute by Mouli, a disciple of renowned flautist Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and tabla by Raja. The challenge saw participation from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds and fostered a spirit of camaraderie in the NUS community. Participants were very enthused and one even suggested that such fun events be organized every other month! In fact the NUS Art of Living organizes YES!+ Programs for students every month, focusing on empowerment through a stressfree mind by yoga and breathing techniques. These courses are poised to help students relax, concentrate better and realize their full potential. The YES!+ program is well recognized at many universities around the world including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell and Virginia Tech and students can take it up

for credit at some of these places. Corporate heavyweights such as Google, IBM and NASA also endorse it for their employees. The Sun Salutations are easy to remember, and they combine postures, which stretch different muscles of the body to create a very compact and wholesome workout, which helps develop physique, muscle strength and reflexes. Research suggests that it is one of the best things you can do for the mind as well. The wellknown benefits include improved concentration & confidence and also lowered stress and anxiety. One thing is clear at the start of this year, and it’s a great message that the Yogathon 2014 has sent out – all you need is a yoga mat and a little time on your hands to shape up and feel amazing! Visit NUS Art of Living’s Facebook group for updates on their activities!

NEWS

Pitch It! 2014 Bringing students’ acquired skills

to solVE real life business problems VELDA WONG

he second edition of Pitch It!, an annual digital and social media advertising competition, will be held from February to April 2014, reaching out to a potential of 11,000 tertiary students. Organised by the Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) from NUS, Pitch It! is an annual learning platform to bring advertising professionals and tertiary students together. Pitch It! is a milestone for every student to apply their acquired skills into solving business problems set in a realistic business environment. Corporate sponsors include Singapore Press Holdings(SPH), Asia’s top ten advertising agency network Bates CHI&Partners and its media agency m/SIX. Pitch It! participants are challenged to raise awareness of The Straits Times digital subscriptions by delivering their strategic advertising campaign to the tertiary student market. For the first time, finalists will each be granted $5000 seed funding from SPH to execute their advertising campaign on media platforms. The campaign period will last for 12 days. Senior leaders from Bates CHI&Partners and m/SIX will

participate as mentors by sharing their expertise and wealth of experience on advertising and media effectiveness with the finalists. The finalists of Pitch It! 2014 will present their campaigns on 5 April to a jury, comprising experts from SPH, Bates CHI&Partners, m/SIX and the National University of Singapore (NUS), at University Town (UTown) in NUS. Three winners and two best speakers will be announced on the same day. The winning team will be rewarded with attractive cash prizes and internship positions, offered by involved partners, to pursue advertising aspirations.

“

FOR THE FIRST TIME, FINALISTS WILL EACH BE GRANTED $5000 SEED FUNDING FROM SPH TO EXECUTE THEIR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN ON MEDIA PLATFORMS. ”

“We recognise Pitch It! as a unique opportunity to engage the youths today. The passion we see in the CNM students has convinced us to support the competition. It is important that students are able to get access to trusted and reliable sources of news and views on topics that matter to

nus.edu.sg

them, anytime and anywhere. Our support for Pitch It! demonstrates this belief,” said Mr Eric Ng, Head of Circulation Marketing, Singapore Press Holdings. “Pitch It! is an excellent platform for emerging young talent to showcase their creative ideas and to raise the bar in innovative thinking. For us, it is a great opportunity to help shape the future stars of advertising and to help launch their careers,” said Patrick Leclercq, Regional Client Services Director. “The second edition of Pitch It!, like its predecessor gives students a taste of what it is like to be involved in an actual pitch in the advertising world. It provides them with hands-on opportunities and they will also benefit from the guidance provided by our corporate partners.

Through this competition, students will also be better equipped to excel in the advertising industry ”, said Dr Tracy Loh, Visiting Fellow at the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore.

NEWS

Contact: Alicia Chow Mobile: 9616 4294 ail.com Email: cwt.alicia@gm The Final Pitch 1pm Date: 5 April 2014, Ann Kongsi Address: The Ngee Resource Centre, ion at Auditorium, Educ of Singapore (NUS) National University 3rd floor University Town st 8 College Avenue We (S)138608

About Pitch It! 2014

About Singapore Press Holdings Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Southeast Asia’s leading media organization, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

About Bates CHI&Partners Bates CHI&Partners is Asia’s newest network startup. Formed in December 2012, this partnership brings together Bates – an Asia top ten agency by revenue with 14 offices in nine countries across Asia, and CHI, the UK’s most awarded independent agency at Cannes. With 16 offices worldwide and a creative corridor from Shanghai to London and New York, Bates CHI creates Big Ideas for Ambitious Brands. www.bateschi.com

Pitch It! is an inaugural digital and social media advertising competition that is specifically crafted to simulate the real working environment of an advertising professional for tertiary students. Organised in January 2013, this competition promises to offer a great opportunity for students to receive professional guidance while working on a realistic case scenario and a chance to win prizes.

About M/SIX Agency

About Department of Communications and New Media, NUS

We are M/SIX: a full-service media agency born into our connected age. We believe in the power of media to bring great creativity to life and deliver tangible business results for our clients. We are hybrid thinkers who are naturally digital, truly integrated, intrinsically creative and obsessed with results.

Ranked among the best Communication and Media Studies Department globally, the Department of Communications & New Media at the National University of Singapore is the only degree programme in Southeast Asia that offers media studies, interactive media design and communication management with a focus on new media. Securing high reputation ranking from the industry, CNM innovates in integrating theory with practice, fosters an interdisciplinary education that integrates social science, humanities, arts and computing, and nurtures creativity and innovation through hands-on projects.

In our increasingly networked world, media is the glue that powerfully connects people with each other and with brands. Our modern media landscape connects us all to each other: this is six degrees of separation in action.

We have a unique heritage: we were born from a union between Group M and CHI & Partners. This means that our clients receive a unique benefit, the very best media pricing in the market coupled with people who have deep empathy and understanding of the creative process. We are M/SIX: Six degree thinking

NEWS

Are you SURE D

id you know that Singapore is the only country other than the United States to run an information literacy programme at the national level? Well, do not mistake information literacy here for general literacy: information literacy refers to the ability to locate, evaluate and effectively use information. This is especially relevant today when we are facing a flood of information from the Web. Information literacy skills come in useful to tell apart fact from fiction – and the National Library Board is here to help. With greater access to the Web, mobile devices and social media, it is no wonder why some might find it progressively more difficult to navigate the avalanche of information available to them. To help ease the insipid process of filtering out information and ascertaining how credible the information is, the National Library Board of Singapore (NLB) officially launched an initiative – S.U.R.E. – to promote information literacy skills on 23 October 2013. The acronym “S.U.R.E.” stands for: “Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate” which includes four simple steps: (1) SOURCE – When reading information, check if it comes from a reliable source;

(2) UNDERSTAND - Understand the context of the information, e.g. whether it is a fact or opinion; (3) RESEARCH - Cross-check with other reliable sources before arriving at a

conclusion; and (4) EVALUATE – Look at different angles; there are at least two sides to every story. S.U.R.E. aims to promote information literacy to Singaporeans of all ages (from youths to working adults) in a fun and easy-to understand manner. NLB has been working closely with the Ministry of Education to get students to apply S.U.R.E. steps in their school work. In May 2013, NLB launched the S.U.R.E. Club as an enrichment programme for secondary school students to learn information literacy in interesting ways. There are currently S.U.R.E Clubs in 24 schools. NLB has also gone beyond schools, and engage the public in several ways, two of which are: (1) Connecting to the digital lifestyle: Lined up

NEWS

SURE or not? VELDA WONG

accessible to the people to understand information in a fun way. It is definitely a valuable skill that can be applied to many aspects of our lives.”

nlb.gov.sg

for the new S.U.R.E. website (sure.nl.sg) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sgsure) are bite-sized blog articles, videos, comic strips, infographics and self-paced e-learning courses. These can be shared with family and friends through social networks; (2) Partnerships: NLB partnered Epigram Books to feature S.U.R.E. in two of their best-selling investigative and mystery series, Sherlock Sam and Triple Nine Sleuths. The S.U.R.E. technique is also featured in Johnny Lau’s new comic based on his iconic, home-grown character Mr. Kiasu. Titled “Everything Also Make Sure”, the comic is exclusively available to participants at S.U.R.E.related events. On the significance of the S.U.R.E initiative, Mr. Wan Wee Pin, deputy director of NL Engagement, said, “Information literacy does not have to be boring. With S.U.R.E., we hope to make it more

The S.U.R.E. concept is especially pertinent and essential to university students in this day and age because of the massive amount of information we read and face every day. We need to accurately sieve out relevant information that helps us in our learning and in the projects that we do. Often, we only have a short span of 3-4 weeks of preparation for a major project report or assignment, so it is only natural of us to want immediate knowledge right at our fingertips. In our quest to cite sources in the short amount of time we have in one semester, we may tend to overlook or forget to check for the credibility of the sources of information. Some news sites may sensationalise stories that are entirely misleading and false – all for the sole reason of wanting to boost readership. It is imperative we learn how to discern facts and fabrications for ourselves. We can make this a habit even when sharing updates with our friends over social media. Certainly, none of us would want to be caught spreading rumours or false information. It is always good to verify the information and back up the quest for accurate knowledge.

NEWS

FundedByMe The FundedByMe team. Photo by Jamie Leong

JAIME LEONG

rowdfunding has been a rising phenomenon, ever since the popular US-based Kickstarter launched back in 2009. Since then, many crowdfunding platforms have emerged and a few of them have been quite successful. I first heard of crowdfunding in Stockholm, while I was on the NUS Overseas College (NOC) program. My tryst with FundedByMe was accidental, when I had to switch companies through the half-way mark of the program. But this turned out to be one of the best things that happened to me in Stockholm -- joining FundedByMe in June 2013 as an intern, and subsequently being a part of FundedByMe’s expansion to Singapore.

Why crowdfunding? Why FundedByMe? These were the common questions I got from my family and friends who knew little about crowdfunding; in addition to the fact that I am currently pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering which has very little relation to this industry. However, what attracted me to FundedByMe was the team that I had met in Stockholm during my first interview

(love at first sight!!!). The diverse mix of the Stockholm team coming from Romania, South Africa, USA, Bulgaria, and of course Sweden, consisting of former Spotify, Microsoft, Klarna and Facebook employees who augmented the vibrancy and energy of the company. Just after that meeting,

“

FUNDEDBYME SINGAPORE IS THE COMPANY’S FIRST STEP OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN BORDERS AND IT IS A GIANT ONE FOR EUROPE’S FASTESTGROWING CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM.”

I couldn’t wait to start on my first assignment. My 6-month internship with FundedByMe in Stockholm was nothing short of amazing, giving me the opportunity to work and learn alongside some truly inspiring people. As FundedByMe had plans to expand to Singapore, I got the opportunity to get on board this exciting journey to bring equity crowdfunding to Singapore. I was in for a further surprise, when I came to know that Sunil

Rajan who was being hired as the Country Manager of Singapore was also an NOC alumnus (Bio Valley, Philadelphia). With a professional background in Finance (banking and asset management), coupled with his enterprising days at NUS and NOC, Sunil believes that it is always exciting to be part of something new that has the potential to not only be a big success, but also create an impact. The ability to think BIG and not fearing to take risks have helped Sunil to shape his professional and cultural life; and FundedByMe was a step in the right direction for him. Getting to work with a young and entrepreneurial team and taking upon the challenge to introduce a new concept to an untested market, were aspects of this role that attracted Sunil to FundedByMe. Following on the success of 2013 when FundedByMe raised more than €4.2 million for European entrepreneurs from its rapidlygrowing membership base, which recently crossed 30,000 – FundedByMe has opened up an office in Singapore, adding to the existing country list that includes Finland, Denmark, Norway, Spain,

Italy and Germany. FundedByMe Singapore is the company’s first step outside the European borders and it is a giant one for Europe’s fastest-growing crowdfunding platform. “We see Singapore as the gateway to Asia,” says Daniel Daboczy, CEO and Cofounder of FundedByMe. “We will be reaching a massive new market of potential crowd investors eager to help us build on the cross-border investment motion that has made FundedByMe a popular choice for European investors looking to expand their investment portfolios.” The rise of FundedByMe since its launch in 2011 has been epic. In the past four months the company received a White Bull Bully Award, was listed as one of Wired UK’s top 100 startups and named one of the top 100 websites in Sweden by InternetWorld. Visit www.fundedbyme.com to learn more and find a campaign you can connect with!

NEWS

INSIGHT Charity Gala Dinner I

NSIGHT – to see and perceive beyond the sense of sight – is a 9-month long campaign that is dedicated to raise public awareness and empathy for the blind. The message of the campaign, help the visually handicapped help themselves, aims to serve as a reminder for the public to help the visually impaired with their integration into society.

The Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) (hyperlink: http://www. savh.org.sg/) faces a two-fold problem. Our society generally discriminates against the blind, perceiving them to be significantly less able. And possibly as a result of the latter, the visually handicapped themselves generally lack selfconfidence to contribute back to society.

Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre (www. clearvision.com.sg) in collaboration with Vinci Arts Gallery (www.vinciarts.com) is organizing the INSIGHT Charity Gala Dinner which will be held at Lawry’s The Prime Rib Singapore (www. lawrys.com.sg), our official venue and F&B sponsor. Each ticket is priced at $250, and the proceeds will go towards skills development programs and courses as well as blindness equipment to aid the visually handicapped in completing daily work tasks at SAVH. To purchase an event ticket, you may simply visit insightcampaign.com/#section-lawry or rsvp by contacting Melissa at 6100 1117 or melissa@vinciarts.com.

To provide full closure to campaign INSIGHT,

PROUDLY ORGANIZED BY

OFFICIAL PREMIUM SPONSORS

OFFICIAL VENUE AND F&B SPONSOR

IN SUPPORT OF

OPINION

Improving the Online Student Feedback System by the NUS Online Student Feedback Unit or NUSOSFU or another NUS body with a funnysounding acronym that grates.

DEREK WONG

detroitdataguru.wordpress.com

US gathers feedback from its 37,000-strong student population via the Online Student Feedback Exercise which is carried out at the end of every semester. Why do we go through the Student Feedback Exercise, time and again, semester after semester? Besides being a ritual that is gradually losing its meaning, the purpose of the exercise is also to improve on the teaching and educational experience delivered at our hallowed institution. It also allows the teaching staff to figure out what shortcomings they are clearly oblivious to. It explains why instead of attending lectures, students are engaging in intellectual pursuits such as researching on the definition of twerking. The system is indeed a sophisticated tool designed

to safeguard the intellectual discourse of the nation for years to come. The exercise is also a means for students to tell their professors that they are terrible under the cover of virtual anonymity. This exercise has seen a 52.3% increase in the cowardice of NUS students since its inception. Additionally, it has also accounted for a whopping 83.5% increase in insincere niceties NUS students have directed towards their professors in person. It is strategically conducted during the peak period of the semester, when tempers are frayed and students are desperately trying to meet essay datelines. This has resulted in extremely honest, if not brutal, assessments, by students. The survey is also usually conducted

before the examinations, such that professors are able to set killer papers thereafter without damaging opinions of them in the survey.

The following trends for student feedback response rates have been noticed in recent years: 1) Year 1 students have generally maintained a decent, healthy participation rate of 100.5%. This participation typically decreases sharply after the second year, and dies to about 0.5% by the final year. A high student response rate is generally desired because the University wants to know that its students care about it. The University does not want to feel like a jilted lover or a hapless fundraiser along the AS3 corridor selling utterly useless knick-knacks.

Students, remember the time when no one would want to do your surveys for your project work? The University has feelings too. Cold and bureaucratic as it may seem at times, there are actual living and breathing humans behind the survey questions and administrative staff eager to collate your survey responses like a child on Christmas morning receiving his presents. Be nice yo. 2) It has been observed that the most common answer given for survey questions has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;Neutralâ&#x20AC;?. The University has been duly impressed by the neutrality of most students on NUS, and believes that the diplomacy showcased in this survey bodes very well indeed for the foreign relations of Singapore in future. Well done, one and all! It is amazing how despite your time-

OPINION

pressed schedules, each and every one of you are still capable of giving such considered and well-thought answers. Bravo! 3) A noticeable trend also is the use of “NA” in open-ended questions, for instance, in questions like “What are the teacher’s strengths?” or “What improvements would you suggest to the teacher?”. Once again, the University has been blown away by the sheer brilliance of our students at keeping responses succinct and less than the 3000 characters provided. Who needs 3000 characters when one can display true character via an “NA” response? We seek to hear and understand each of our 37,000 students, because you are all uniquely special and vitally important in your own importantly unique way and each of you are multi-talented, multi-lingual, multi-tasking, multi-vitamin. As such, we have put our resources made available by Everybody Riady Foundation to good use by dispatching a 500-strong research team to decipher the meaning of “NA”. Your opinions truly matter to us. 4) Nonetheless, some feedback responses and comments could be more informative about the quality of teaching and quality of modules. While the majority of comments have been constructive, some comments are too vague and others leave remarks that are irrelevant to the content, design, or delivery of the module concerned. Some examples of feedback that are less helpful tend to be along the following lines:

a. “I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!!! You… wreck-eck-eck meeee. You… wreck-eck-eck meeee.” b. “If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put U and I together. ;) Call me at 9*** ****” c. “Derp” d. “Lol” e. “Ring-ding-ding-dingdingeringeding! Wa-pa-pa-papa-pa-pow! Hatee-hatee-hateeho!”

“

SUCH SELF-SACRIFICIAL ACTIONS ON THE PART OF OUR BEACONS OF SHINING LIGHT WILL LEAD THE STUDENT MASSES IN AN INEXORABLE MARCH TOWARDS AN UNPARALLELED GLORY”

In order to increase the participation rates for the feedback exercise, the University has instituted the following changes to the Student Feedback system 1) Instead of a mere 100 bid points as an incentive for participating in the feedback, the University will reward students with an opportunity to do more surveys as further incentive. Students will just have to pick 4 out of 8 additional surveys to do following the completion of the Online Student Feedback Survey, and these surveys range from trivial topics like “Financial Accountability in NUS” to life-changing ones that actually matter like “The Best Yo Mama Jokes”. To top it all off, there will be a final 50 question feedback about the entire survey process. There will be an estimated 300-400 survey questions in total, of which about half are open-ended ones with compulsory answers required. The estimated time taken would only be about 5 minutes. Your opinion is unique and it matters. 2) There will also be new teaching award categories opened up in order to recognise the diverse teaching techniques employed by the faculty staff. This will also ensure that lecturers cannot just rely on a sense of humour or screening funny videos in lecture to win a teaching award. Nominations will be opened for the following categories: a. The YOLO Award for the lecturer with the most swag b. The All-Rounder Award for the

lecturer with the biggest beer belly c. The Best Hair Award for the lecturer with the funkiest hairstyle/wisest-looking beard d. The Smoke Without Fire Award for the lecturer who speaks with the most conviction 3) Finally, we will be appointing a number of ambassadors to reinforce the importance of the exercise. Since NUS pageant winners have for the longest time been deprived of the attention and glamour they truly deserve, the University will enlist their help as spokespersons for the Feedback Exercise in a manner that is not self-indulgent or excessive. Even though the pageant winners might have to get used to this attention, the University believes that such self-sacrificial actions on the part of our beacons of shining light will lead the student masses in an inexorable march towards an unparalleled glory that is found in greater student participation in the Feedback Exercise. Your feedback matters to the University, to the Department, and to the faculty member. There is follow up, and follow through and followdunno-go-where. Your feedback goes a long way in shaping teaching and the standards of teaching at NUS. I would like to encourage all students to take time to leave constructive feedback for the modules you have read. We are, after all, oneNUS and unified as aNUS.

OPINION

Yale-NUS and UTown SAMANTHA WONG

n a climate where the demand for a technically trained skill set appears to be growing, especially so on the international front, it may seem odd that NUS has become engaged in a liberal arts enterprise with U.S.based Yale University known as the Yale-NUS College. Yale-NUS is a school separate from the main NUS body, in that they have a separate deanery and admissions office; however, students from Yale-NUS will be graduating with a degree awarded by NUS. Students who apply to Yale have to indicate separately their interest in Yale-NUS

as Yale-NUS also functions as an affiliated, but stand-alone college, to Yale University in New Haven. Billed as the first liberal arts college in Singapore, Yale-NUS is headed by Pericles Lewis, formerly Professor of English and comparative literature at Yale University, and now President and founding member of YaleNUS College. The approximately 50-strong faculty at Yale-NUS, expected to grow to a 100, will be supplemented by faculty from Yale who arrive at Yale-NUS for a twoweek to semester-long teaching visitation.

The school does not have traditional academic departments: instead, faculty belong to one of three broad divisions: science, social science, or the humanities. Yale-NUS comes amidst a slew of NUS-overseas university partnerships such as the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. In fact, such partnerships are reflective of the direction tertiary, and indeed secondary education is taking in Singapore - a place where

Asian sensibility can be combined with Western flair to produce a hyper breed of hybrid cross-boundary, inter-cultural, multinational graduates. Yale-NUS of course though, is the first collaboration that has extended into the undergraduate curriculum, and more poised to incorporate the â&#x20AC;&#x153;inter-disciplinaryâ&#x20AC;? into teaching than the already specialized graduate tracks. Consider the other relatively fresh undergraduate programs based in University Town (UTown): the more than a decade-old University Scholars Program (USP), an

Photo from mmoorejones.com

OPINION

“ academic programme in NUS that opened a residential component at UTown in 2011, and the UTown Colleges: Tembusu, Cinnamon and College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT). They all boast a multi-interdisciplinary educational framework. Ambitious as each school’s objectives sound, these colleges already have something concrete to show for themselves. USP had an open, albeit poorly publicized paper conference in early September, which featured, amongst other things, a paper on Laotian land politics, increasing urban food waste recycling in Singapore and the resurgence of gene therapy. The three day conference featured papers that touched on biology, sociology, literature, art and politics, amongst others. Shreyas Rao and Pek Yang Xuan had what seemed like the few engineering projects on display, alongside Muhd Nadjad’s project on lixiviant metabolic engineering from bacteria. Perhaps of most interest to the general student population would be Samdish Suri’s ‘The Causes of Gendered Behaviour in Humans”, in which he explores via literature review a variety of scientific theories that have been “advanced to explain why men and women exhibit seemingly different behaviours”. Written during his exchange programme at the Pennsylvania State University for an anthropology class called ‘Our Place in Nature’, Samdish was motivated to investigate the essentialist views that men and women are “hard-wired”

in a certain way, which have become “astonishingly” more “ubiquitous” in pop culture of late. While it is great that there is such an emphasis on academic development, and the student industry to create a platform for presentation; there are some things that could be improved on. For instance, given its inter-disciplinary nature, would the Confluence event not have been better served had it been attended by more students? Better publicity on the part of the team to the wider NUS community could have helped with attendance and participation at large. It’s fascinating that Singapore, and our university, has such a vibrant and increasingly varied education landscape. The sprouting of these facilities and schools provides incoming students with a platter of options from which to design their tertiary life. Whether it is a traditional fun-filled, freewheeling life in the halls, a low-key study life in the residences, or a structured college life in University Town - there are many options available for students. We would however entreat these newer programmes, especially Yale-NUS which has only just begun to find its footing, to think more about how to contribute to student life at large: halls have their ragand-flag extravaganzas, concerts, and donation drives. Internally they have inter-hall games. It would be nice for the UTown colleges to add their own flavour to student

A PLACE WHERE ASIAN SENSIBILITY CAN BE COMBINED WITH WESTERN FLAIR TO PRODUCE A HYPER BREED OF HYBRID CROSS-BOUNDARY, INTER-CULTURAL, MULTINATIONAL GRADUATES.”

life which showcases the unique qualities of their programmes, not a repetition of services already provided by the halls. In particular, the scholastic output of these new initiatives such as their emphasis on inter-disciplinary education, would give the larger community an added dimension. We don’t really need to see yet another blood donation drive.

“

THE SPROUTING OF THESE FACILITIES AND SCHOOLS PROVIDES INCOMING STUDENTS WITH A PLATTER OF OPTIONS FROM WHICH TO DESIGN THEIR TERTIARY LIFE. ”

Yale-NUS has much to prove, not only because of the sheer amount of resources that have been poured into the programme, but also because of its stand-alone nature: self-contained and separate from its mothering institutions and yet bearing both their names. Not only do they have to look outwardly to the global stage - they will also have to establish themselves inside the NUS community - showing what they can do with and amongst other students within the NUS space. If UTown colleges do not step out of the comfort zone of their dormitories, or aim to target students out of

the boundaries of their own social enclaves, the university runs a risk of an unseen, but heavy fog of elitism descending on the young University Town campus. The newness of its facilities, higher residence fees, and presence of lifestyle bookshops and niche eateries contribute to the perceived ‘atas-ness’ (poshness) of the UTown premise. It is all too easy to couple this perception with a perceived sense of entitlement from UTown residents, fairly or not. In general, we would like to see more campus-wide events being held at UTown, so that students realize it is a facility for all to enjoy. Better advertising of events on the part of the individual colleges to the campus-wide majority would help to counter any nascent perception of exclusivity that may shroud UTown. We wish them and the university at large all the very best, and look forward to many years of interdisciplinary partnership and growth, both on, off and between the various campuses of NUS.

OPINION

The Perceived Failings of Feminism DEBRA CHUA

n developed countries like Singapore, a certain measure of gender equality has been reached such that a significant proportion of women have grown up never having to worry about systemic and institutionalised discrimination against them enshrined in legislation. The notion that we may be living in a post-feminist society, or even that the pendulum has swung too far and that men are the ones who are in need of affirmative action in certain fields, is no longer an uncommon view to hold.

assertion is that women are discriminated and disadvantaged in society as compared to men. Secondly, the normative assertion is that this discrimination is unjustified, and that there should be equality of rights between men and women. The interpretation of what constitutes discrimination against women and the prescribed actions for eliminating discrimination, or even who should be defined as a woman, is still a matter of debate, but I believe that fundamentally these claims are what unify most of the differing strains of feminism.

Correspondingly, feminism is seen

The responses prompted by the Purple Lights debacle, in which many took to expressing their dissatisfaction that AWARE’s lobbying resulted in the banning of a portion of a popular army song that depicted rape and murder, has revealed a illuminating spectrum of attitudes and perspectives towards feminism in Singapore. Ignoring the more logic-defying arguments crafted by fine builders of strawmen, there were two main arguments against AWARE’s (Association of Women for Action and Research) advocacy of this particular feminist cause, which parallels a similar line of argumentation against feminism in general.

as superfluous and unnecessary, or if not dismissed entirely out of hand, is then seen as a movement which campaigns for trivial and inconsequential issues. In online discussions, mainstream media, and social media, modern feminists are commonly characterised as being overzealous, man-hating, highhanded, over-sensitive, humourless, and emotional. It therefore comes as no surprise that many people, even women, are hesitant in identifying themselves as feminists or supporters of the movement. The negative connotations that have been attached to it have led to many disparate notions of what feminism, as an ideology and sociopolitical movement, constitutes. Compounding this confusion is the fact that, much like any other sociopolitical movement, there are many competing schools of thought within feminism itself. However, I think feminism can, broadly speaking, be defined as comprising of two central assertions. Firstly, the empirical

1. To change the status quo in support of (Feminist Cause A) would be emasculating for men and/or an infringement of men’s rights. Since women have mostly achieved the same rights as men, and men experience discrimination in certain areas, to champion women’s issues

only, as feminism does, would be discriminatory towards men. This argument appears to be given more credibility in Singapore, where it is compulsory for men to undergo National Service, but not women. Other often cited evidence that women are given preferential treatment over men include how the Women’s Charter grants the courts the power to order men to pay maintenance to their wives during marriage or divorce, as well as how female divorcees are awarded custody of their children in the overwhelming majority of cases. It is certainly true that given the relatively high workforce participation rate for women in Singapore, it is perhaps inevitable that there may be some families where the female spouse has a higher income-earning capacity. AWARE however, is cognisant of this disparity, and in their proposal for amendments to the bill, includes a suggestion that the law be amended to one in which “in appropriate cases, where it is just and equitable, husbands should have right to seek maintenance from their wives.” With respect to the awarding of custody of children, the law is not biased towards either gender, because the “paramount consideration” in the awarding of custody is the “welfare of the child”. Certainly, in a disproportionate number of cases custody is awarded to the mother, but that is only surprising if one ignores the still widely-held stereotype that women inherently possess

the traits necessary for being caregivers, which in turn has translated into the expectation that the bulk of the child-rearing and household chores should fall upon them. This expectation is borne out in reality, with 81% of economically inactive women aged 25-54 citing family responsibilities as the main reason for not seeking employment, as compared to 9.2% of men, according to a labour force survey conducted by the Ministry of Manpower in 2013. If anything, this gender gap in the awarding of custody should augment the need to dispel gender stereotypes, one of the main concerns of most feminist movements. As for compulsory military conscription, which appears to be the most common grievance expressed against the advocacy of some feminist causes, it should be noted that insofar as AWARE can be taken to be representative of mainstream feminism in Singapore (as has been the implicit assumption of this article), feminists have proposed that NS be extended to both genders, while the nature of what constitutes as NS be broadened to include other activities like social services. I should point out here though, that the defences of feminism I have outlined above should be completely unnecessary. It is undeniable that men are negatively impacted by the imposition of social constructs defining masculinity and are judged according to how well they

OPINION

live up to these artificial ideals. To work towards rectifying these issues is a laudable cause, but it is interesting how many of those who purportedly champion men’s issues inexplicably find it almost necessary to be card-carrying anti-feminists as well. The strangely reflexive defensiveness for many of these anti-feminists could be attributed in large part I think, to the way they perceive the advocacy of particular feminist causes as an attack on their hitherto freedom to perform actions which are construed, if not as ‘direct’ misogyny, then at least facilitative of an atmosphere that is uncomfortable for women. There is a certain level of vindictiveness and spite, in that because women are seen to receive preferential treatment over men in certain areas, it is only fair that they should have to put up with being disadvantaged in other ways. This is not only childish, but absurd. The fact that one party experiences discrimination in particular fields in no way justifies their opposition to the attempt by another party to better their own cause. This is not some sort of grotesque competition to see Who Has The Most Legitimate Claim to Oppression, where the discrimination suffered by one gender in a particular field is pitted against another, and the side that earns the glory of the title of being More Oppressed should henceforth command all the focus and resources of any gender-related socio-political movement. It is perfectly acceptable if a feminist

organisation chooses to advocate for gender equality by focussing mostly on the discrimination experienced by women, much like it would be perfectly acceptable if a men’s rights organisation chose to focus on the discrimination faced by men. Trying to make a value judgment about whether women’s or men’s issues should take precedence in the advocacy for gender equality is unnecessary and counterproductive. 2. (Feminist Cause A) is trivial and inconsequential, because there are so much more important and pressing issues which feminists should concern themselves with, like (More Important Cause B). This argument is often levelled at feminists who advocate for ‘soft’ issues like misogyny and problematic representations of women in songs and mass media, the gender-based vitriol targeted at public female figures, or the underrepresentation of women in certain academic disciplines, industries, and upper tiers of management. Proponents argue that these ‘soft’ issues pale in comparison to more pressing issues that need to be addressed, like sexual harassment in the workplace and in public areas, and the lack of legislation penalising marital rape. There are a few things which proponents of this argument fail to realise. Firstly, the advocacy of ‘soft’ issues and ‘hard’ issues is not mutually exclusive. It is also not necessarily true that devoting all of the organisation’s resources

into resolving ‘hard’ issues to the neglect of ‘soft’ issues will be more beneficial in attaining gender equality in the long run. Although it is much harder to quantify the value of campaigning to resolve more ideological, less visibly tangible issues, it would be hard to deny that these issues do, in varying measures, affect the individual’s perception of social reality, and structure their interactions with other people. For instance, in a recent study of HR managers in Singapore, it was revealed that 44% of them felt that the relative lack of career advancement of women compared to men was due to societal perceptions that women were less capable at their jobs, by virtue of their gender, with the figure rising to 77% for mediumsized firms. Elsewhere, in a study published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2012, participants were unable to differentiate between derogatory quotes about women found in magazines targeted at young men like FHM, and quotes from convicted rapists, despite their belief that the content found in magazines was normal, while rapists’ views were extreme. The normalisation of misogynistic views and gender stereotypes is no idle threat. The consumption of media which perpetuates such views does have a real effect on people’s attitudes and perceptions. In group discussions during tutorial, a female student who felt that the group’s line of argument was problematic and wanted to discuss it in further detail, was brushed off by a group mate who said, “you can’t

win an argument with a woman,” and was subsequently ignored for the rest of the discussion. Another student experienced a rape cheer, complete with the accompaniment of enthusiastic pelvic thrusting and grunting during an orientation camp. There are also accounts of several women who have experienced sexual harassment in public, but do not alert the relevant authorities for various reasons. All of these minor, seemingly isolated incidents tend to get swept under the rug and go unreported, because the people who experience them are afraid that they will be labelled as being overly sensitive and easily offended, accused of being attention-seekers who are playing the victim, or even blamed for the offences committed against them because of their state of dress/inebriation/behaviour/ choice of location. Lastly, I may have argued against some of the perceived failings of feminism, but I don’t think that feminism is completely immune from criticism. Nevertheless, I believe that there are many misconceptions surrounding AWARE, the face of mainstream feminism. Public awareness of the causes which it takes up is low because the organisation has placed a larger emphasis on behind-the-scenes negotiations with policymakers rather than consciousness-raising amongst the general public. Hence, critiquing the organisation and the socio-political movement it represents without first gaining a fuller appreciation of the nature its work would be ill-advised. mitzine.wordpress.com

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NA ERN

OPINION

HAPPINESS

and meaning ANTHONY YOONG

e have various expectations of life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that it would get more exciting with every year, that we would gain more wisdom with every experience, and become one step closer to happiness with every ounce of effort we put in. In the course of our education, we developed the belief that the academic knowledge and qualifications that we would earn could help us gain access to happiness. But what is this happiness that we seek? It is difficult to set a particular definition of happiness. Utilitarianism, as formulated by

philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, claim that happiness is the most important deciding factor in judging the morality of our actions. Millâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greatest Happiness Principle states that actions are morally right in accordance to the extent to which they promote the general happiness, and immoral to the extent to which they produce pain. Therefore, we should do all we can to accumulate as much happiness as possible (for everyone), and to avoid the production of pain. photo from drbillwooten.wordpress.com

OPINION

I would say that happiness is not merely an emotion, but the sum of circumstances and factors that favours a comfortable living environment. The happiness that most of us seek is not just momentary pleasures, but the general well-being of our persons over the course of our lives. This definition is contestable, particularly by philosophers. But for the sake of argument, I would assume that this general well-being is what most people would aim to attain.

In reality, happiness includes more than just what we – consciously or subconsciously – think it is. Wealth and asset accumulation take up a significant portion of a society’s pursuit. But will it bring happiness? Will wealth alone be sufficient in securing general well-being for all lives in a society? It would appear that a certain level of wealth is vital to subsistence and consequently, personal well-being. However, the importance of other aspects of life such as interpersonal relationships, communitarian How can we attain this general bonds, social capital, pursuit of well-being? To achieve a satisfactory justice and philosophical thought is often systematically IT APPEARS THAT WE DO downplayed. Campaigns NOT SEEK BRUTE HAPPI- that promote family life NESS ALONE. “ and social programs may be genuinely intended level of well-being, one can imagine for creating healthy relationships the basic conditions we must have: in society, but they do not structure access to food and water, sanitation, society to contemplate these issues shelter, medication, clothing. The deeply, nor are they indicators of a goods required for the ‘next level’ of society centered on communities. happiness are essentially a higher These campaigns create the quality of basic-level goods: better impression that communitarian housing and amenities, easily bonds are still possible in our accessible medical care, more competitive society, when they are fashionable clothing – basically, a merely providing aesthetic cover higher quality of living. If we have for a wealth-centric system. Most the basic goods for well-being, our people are kept busy with “earning next concern would be to increase a living” and struggling for survival, our quality of living even more. without genuinely contemplating In modern capitalistic societies, about the deeper facets of society there is a great emphasis on wealth and life. But should we take a accumulation and the procuring moment to think about the nonof consumerist products. Almost economic aspects of happiness? every person wants to have luxuries After all, man is the one animal that beyond comfort, and assets beyond thinks too much – and perhaps using necessity. We have been bombarded our minds to think about issues that by the rhetoric that happiness apparently don’t matter might serve means having more, without being to put life into a clearer perspective. aware of this imposed hierarchy of To build a more complete picture desires. of happiness, we need to break out of the established notion of

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happiness that is perpetuated by the mass media and mainstream views. Modern society has lost its capacity for thoughtful critique of the status quo. German philosopher Herbert Marcuse describes this cognitive numbness as a happy consciousness – being falsely comforted by material goods and losing autonomy over our thoughts. Media and advertising moguls have painted a picture of happiness for us even before we learned how to read. I cannot suggest a foolproof plan for discovering happiness – I can only suggest that we thoroughly examine our idea of happiness and scrutinize it. We must constantly ask ourselves: according to our current life plan, what kinds of happiness are we going to experience? Our career, our family, our activities, our religious beliefs and our hobbies – will each of these things bring a meaningful and fulfilling form of happiness for us? The common things that people would generally enjoy in life today – a career of our choice, starting a family, or participating in our favourite sport– are they truly what we desire inherently or do we only desire them because society has been telling us that these things are desirable? The message that has been instilled in us since childhood is that these “add-ons” bring fulfillment to our lives. The more we have (in terms of quantity or quality) the happier we are. The people of modern societies have no qualms with this message – opting to run the rat race in order to secure more of these “add-ons”. When we scrutinize the realness of our happiness, it appears that we do not seek brute happiness alone. We also desire to have meaning in

our lives and to be part of a greater purpose. Of course, it is difficult to determine what ‘meaningful’ is. Good feelings do not necessarily equate to meaningful happiness, but are nevertheless reliable indicators of happiness. It is an instinctive reaction to work towards the material and tangible sources of happiness, regardless of whether they are genuinely inherent in us or not. Good feelings can sometimes also be found in religion because it tries to make sense of life, existence and suffering. In other cases, people develop their own secular beliefs in an attempt to justify life. These ideologies serve as our emotional and psychological anchors, rooting all our life decisions according to a set of principles which enables us to make sense of our lives. Nevertheless, regardless of which ideology we follow, we must constantly scrutinize and analyze it critically. No one can truly answer what happiness is exactly (yet). Happiness is not measurable or tangible. But we all know what would bring us good and pleasurable feelings, and we often assume them to be genuine sources of happiness. We need to critique this assumption and ask ourselves if the happiness we thought we are striving for is really what it appears to be.

OPINION

REDISCOVERING ABHINAV DESHMUKH

n the course of my elusive search for a job, running from pillar to post, I’ve had the opportunity of scouring through numerous job descriptions and interacting with recruiters across all spectrums. There are those who nod approvingly upon seeing my resume, while others treat it with disdain. While I may not necessarily meet the requirements of organisations which espouse their love for candidates who fit the “good team player, imaginative, curious, willing to learn, all-we-require-is-the-right-attitude “ mould, I seem to have discovered an ideal candidate. Granted he cannot take up a technical role which requires a skillset only acquired in the laboratories of a university; but there are plenty of organisations which value generalist qualities .This candidate also happens to be my cousin. And we just celebrated his sixth birthday. His friends are no less qualified. They grab any opportunity they can get to learn more about the world around them from adults. I was asked to explain why the neighbours’ calico cat had a multi coloured coat. Sensing it would not be wise to delve into chromosomal theory, I feigned ignorance. They persisted. Children do not give up easily; with every “why” they show their ignorance and wear it as a badge of honour. They are also highly imaginative and quick learners. Seeing them work with LEGO® blocks, I noted that they grasped the concepts of a strong foundation rather quickly. Perhaps they were left with no choice-- after spending a good half hour building a lofty tower only to watch it collapse, a strong foundation seemed to be the only logical

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WHILE EDUCATION SEEMS INTENDED TO TRAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY, IT SEEMS WOEFULLY UNPREPARED TO HANDLE THE LATEST DEMANDS OF THE SERVICE BASED SECTOR

conclusion. But they could also have given up and banished the LEGO® to the dark recesses of the cupboard, and that did not happen. “Lofty imagination grounded in the firm foundation of pragmatism”, was a friend’s self-introduction at an interview with a company that eventually hired him. His response doesn’t seem much different from the Lego-building philosophy of my six-yearold cousin. Admitting what one doesn’t know and learning through an iterative process of trial and error may well define the tried and tested toddler learning methodology. It is also a rather active methodology; one which requires the child to be proactive and seek knowledge. Strange then, that from this promising group of inquisitive knowledge-seeking kindergarteners, only a privileged few will be judged by their peers and society as having succeeded a few decades down the line. Ken Robinson, the noted British educationalist, lamented on how we were being educated out of creativity – a trait which he regards to be ‘as important as literacy’. While education seems

intended to train individuals for the industrial economy, it seems woefully unprepared to handle the latest demands of the service based sector: a sector which appears to be stressing intangible skills that are seemingly attributed as a product of character. The fact that many organisations welcome people from all majors to join their workforce, that they come up with exhaustive rotational training programmes to equip new hires with the skills of the trade, and that some stress on hiring “the person, not the position,” seems to suggest that universities may need to evolve from playing a skill-imparting role to a character honing one. And yet of the traits so desired, many are innate. Curiosity defines early childhood and we are born explorers. It’s not something that requires training; but it certainly requires nourishing. I have no doubt that my cousin and his friends, if interviewed today, would meet most of the generalist requirements in a job description. Their struggles with learning how to walk, grappling with abstract and arcane symbols in mathematics, and pursuing with relentless effort the memorisation of a string of characters which start with an apple and end with a zebra would stand testament to their effort to thrive in unfamiliar environments. The last disagreement they had over a game of football and the strange ritual which they engaged in to resolve it may satisfy concerned recruiters on a candidate’s ability to cope with disagreements in the workplace. Whether these personality traits and skills would remain after a couple of decades of brain washing; I have my doubts.

OPINION

All Is Not Quiet on thE Front MELPOMENE HUA

n 2013, the Our Singapore Conversation survey revealed that that close to half of over 4,000 respondents rejected “gay lifestyles” and “samesex marriage”. In 2014, the Institute of Policy Studies’ Survey on Race, Religion and Language reminded us – with the statistic that more than 70% view “sexual relations between two adults of the sex” or “gay marriage” as “always wrong/ almost always wrong” – that nothing seems to have changed. Even beyond Singapore, with the reversal of gay rights in India and the newly instated anti-gay laws in Russia, the battle for equality seems to be taking one step forward, two steps back.

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WHAT WE DO NEED, IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR DIFFERENCES AND LEARN TO PUT THEM ASIDE."

But the truth is, all is not quiet on the LGBT front. Just recently, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) was mired in controversy for the FAQ section on sexuality featured on their website. For providing affirmative information for individuals who may have questions about sexuality in this FAQ section, they were accused of undermining family values in Singapore by some, sparking off petitions, counter-petitions, and many heated exchanges on social media. Google’s satire of Russia’s anti-gay law with their signature Google doodle in rainbow

colours dedicated to the Olympic charter. The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion’s priceless video response (sensuously depicting the Olympic sport of luging) to Russia about keeping Olympics as they have always been – a little gay. Ellen Page coming out at Human Right Campaign’s conference. And as always, the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons put up resistance against discrimination in their own small but significant ways. Pastor Lawrence Khong wrote an opinion piece in My Paper detailing why he felt that HPB is mistaken and made a clear case against homosexuality. Speaking as only one with omnipotent gods and their eternal truths would, he argues with conviction that homosexuality “violates… moral [standards]” and that a homosexual relationship is “unnatural” as well “abnormal”. The present article is not concerned with such a task of convincing you about the right or wrongs of homosexuality (what do those words mean anyway – “right” and “wrong”?) It has become apparent that there is very little point in trying to change someone’s beliefs about homosexuality and understandably so, considering how sexuality is invariably entangled with a person’s most fundamental beliefs about life and how to live it. Such a daunting and fruitless task ought best to be left to pastors who claim to know the objective meanings of right and wrong. And ultimately, whether they fail or succeed at their task matters very little if our society were

mature enough to simply agree to disagree. This is by no means a suggestion that debates surrounding sexuality should cease. On the contrary, debate should flourish, be sustained and facilitated (as it has been in recent years, thus the title of this article). People need to present their viewpoints as well as rationales and at the same time be exposed to that of others. This process ought to rinse and repeat until we realize that sometimes it is perhaps impossible to convert another person to our cause and that, is perfectly alright. We ought to, however, be prudent in case our open-mindedness translate into indifference and the metaphorical waving of white flags in the face of legislation that discriminate against the LGBT community. The legal challenges to section 337A of the Penal Code in 2013, though rendered unconstitutional, was a political and social call to arms for continuous debate to effect legislative changes to protect each individual equally – regardless of race, religion, or sexuality. As a society we do not need to have a homogenous opinion – it is impossible, impractical, and honestly rather dull. What we do need, is to acknowledge our differences and learn to put them aside, reminding ourselves that even the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, when asked for his opinions on gays, simply said: “who am I to judge?”

ENTERTAINMENT

CINEPHILE \\THE HUNT CHIA SOONG MING

film bold enough to explore child sexual abuse would require a special kind of effort not to be intense and thought-provoking. Luckily, in the competent hands of director Thomas Vinterberg, 2012 Danish film The Hunt delivers this evocation and far more; even though its narrative unconventionally places us in the shoes of the alleged sexual predator. In the film, Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen, TV’s Hannibal) is falsely implicated as a paedophile through casual remarks made by a female student at the kindergarten where he works. As the accusation takes on weight and spreads, Lucas quickly becomes the target of the closely-knit town’s violent hysteria. The themes and story aren’t exactly fresh concepts. At times, the film

does coast on gravity of its subject matter, falling back repeatedly on the emotional injustice of Lucas’ condemnation rather than fleshing out the single-minded vigilante antagonists or the impossibly upstanding Lucas himself. Still, The Hunt’s undeniably chilling tone is a masterful construct. The first half of the film brilliantly denies us the easily understood dichotomy of proverbial pitchforks wielding villagers versus a misunderstood protagonist. Instead, we are made to seethe in discomfort and frustration as the small community quietly tries to be helpful but unwittingly allow more and more self-perpetuated rumours and accusations pass into “fact”. No one is ill-intentioned, no one is deceitful, and yet the seed of evil condemnation against Lucas subtly grows increasingly palpable in the dialogue. Vinterberg manages to strike an exquisitely haunting refrain in his depiction of malevolence born from nothing but a pool of goodwill. The film’s setting, a Christmas-

time sleepy small town filled with warm communal ties straight out of a Shirley Jackson short story, succeeds even more in crafting its eerie atmosphere. What does feel fresh about The Hunt is its socio-political stance. One could argue that most of mainstream cinema comprises of “men’s films”. With every epic explosion and unnecessary scene of female nudity shot with a male audience in mind. The Hunt is indeed a “men’s film” in itself, exploring highly masculinised themes of false vilification and the “sexual predator” label. However, the employment of a narrative structure usually reserved for female driven piece to tell Lucas’ story is exceedingly refreshing. Lucas’ character is confined within a narrative space of quiet disempowerment, and must learn to find inner fortitude where he can’t fight back. Much like female vehicles (such as 2002’s The Hours) that depict its female leads

resisting but not quite overcoming the grim reality of institutionalised patriarchy; The Hunt chronicles Lucas’ similar struggles against the paedophile stigma, an area fraught with institutionalised suspicion and condemnation of males. In addition, Lucas’ status as a non-custodial, divorced father as well as the bookend story about his son’s coming-of-age acquisition of a hunting license help frame The Hunt’s male-centric perspective. The film depicts a universe where men don’t inhabit the same, tired patriarchy of most movies but a more modern reality where gendered oppression reels its ugly head at men as well. Already the recipient of multiple awards at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, The Hunt is also in contention for Best Foreign Language Film in this year’s Academy Awards.

ENTERTAINMENT

\\CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER REGINA KOH YEE PING

Release Date: 26 March 2014 (International), 4 April 2014 (United States)

that is. Some people do, just like how many people Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. THE FIRST AVENGER gives a new appreciation t the time of writing, this film was of 40s-era culture and mores not yet released. Yet, based on the despite being a superhero film; prequel CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE THE WINTER SOLDIER is a political FIRST AVENGER, I believe we need to thriller dressed up in Kevlar and this, if The Ridge has any hope of spandex. While the Iron Man and talking about the much-hyped Thor franchises do give a form of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON next economic, scientific and religious year. For that, and the hit TV series basis towards the attitudes of many AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., some order characters in the MCU, the Captain of prognostication is in order, America films provide the MCU with a Captain America is a very different form of historic continuity that allows take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe us to comprehend the underlying (MCU) and on Marvel comics as a basis of many characters. whole. Very oddly though, the buzz of the Come to think of it, this is not bad per se film comes not from its trailer, its - if you like your heroics with politics, mascots or Chris Evans’ washboard

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie

abs, but rather its potential impact on AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.. The film promises to highlight much more of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (SHIELD) than any other film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date – with the sole possible exception of THE AVENGERS. Thus, the main draw of the film would not be Captain America, but would be the whole cast as any character could be drawn under scrutiny. Even so, cynical S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, interacting with the masterfully struggling Steve Rogers of Chris Evans promises, at the very least, more depth to a character often labelled as a symbol of American imperialism and courage.

TV JUNKIE \\THE FOSTERS T ANGELITA SASMITA

HE FOSTERS tells a story of an unorthodox family started by two women: a vice-principal named Lena Adams (Sherrie Saum) and a police officer named Stef Fosters (Teri Polo). When the show started, the family also consisted of Brandon (David Lambert), Stef’s biological son from her previous marriage, and a pair of twins, Jesus (Jake T. Austin) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez), whom they adopted from the foster system. One day Lena was approached by a social service officer about offering temporary accommodation for Callie (Maia Mitchell), a troubled orphaned teenager who has recently been released out of juvenile detention

centre. At first, she was reluctant but she changed her mind instantly the moment she saw Callie. Being passed around foster homes for years, Callie put her guard up, thinking that the Fosters’ home will not be any different. Little by little, however, the family’s genuine care and concern softened her heart. She also found a confidant in Brandon, whom she shared passion in music with. Together, they tried to rescue Callie’s little brother, Jude (Hayden Byerly) who was put into an abusive home. THE FOSTERS presents a different meaning of a family – blood does not

make a family; love does. While many would disagree on such definition or the choices the characters made, the Fosters does display the warmth and love all families should have in their homes. Being a family is much more than being related. It also means being committed to loving one another under whatever circumstances. Through the one-hour weekly drama, THE FOSTERS shows us how the unconventional family manoeuvres through family problems – conventional or otherwise – as a family. Maybe it is just like how the theme song goes “It’s not where you come from. It’s where you belong”.

ENTERTAINMENT

//THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT CHIA SOONG MING

iracles can happen! Community, the perpetual red headed stepchild of its network (NBC), has long been getting by on critical support, a cult fan following, and not much else. For the first 4 seasons, the series continued to circle the drain of cancellation; often plagued with broadcast delays, network interference and in-fighting among its troublesome cast. Perhaps the most crushing blow came when creator Dan Harmon was fired from his role as show-runner in season 4. This loss was apparent for many viewers. The resulting rudderless quality of the series’ fourth season saw its bulwarks of critical and fan support weaken. It looked like #sixseasonsandamovie would never come true. But just as fans prepared themselves to savour the final fading glow of Community’s dying embers, NBC reignited the series, renewing it for a fifth season with Dan Harmon shockingly re-hired to take the reins. The news was bittersweet as it accompanied word that Chevy Chase (Pierce) and Donald Glover (Troy), two members of the main cast, would be departing the series. The burning question remained: can Harmon save

Community with a revitalised season 5, or is it too late for this sinking ship? If the first 6 episodes are anything to go by, the outlook for Community’s latest, fifth season is entirely optimistic! Season 5 sees Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) return to Greendale Community College as a teacher following his graduation in season 4. He is appointed to head the teacherstudent committee, allowing him to once again join former study group members Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Abed (Danny Pudi), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Annie (Allison Brie) and Troy (Donald Glover) for their usual adventures in neuroses. Community’s iconic high concept episodes make a return to form after the weak documentary and puppet episodes of season 4. The David Fincher style crime thriller (episode 3) and “the floor is lava” actionadventure (episode 5) instalments are delightfully absurd but are never once allowed to turn silly. Still, this season doesn’t shy away from character depth. If anything, season 5 takes on a more sombre tone following the characters’ resolve to

turn their failing lives around in the season’s first episode. The opening 2 episodes reintroduce the characters in a new dynamic. The unsolved crime story in episode 3 is peppered with clues for attentive viewers, perfect water cooler talk. Episode 4 goes deep with an entirely character driven story and episode 5 goes big with an homage to the paintball action-epics of seasons 1 and 2. Even the fairly regular episode 6 brings in genre favourites like Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) and Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) in guest starring roles. It’s affirming to see a cult series like Community attempt to play the media pandering game, and play it well, while fully retaining its funny! Also commendable is that creator Dan Harmon entirely resists the temptation to coast, which he could easily have done following the unpopularity of season 4 (where the show was taken out of his hands). Harmon penned dialogue (Jeff notices that Britta has devolved into becoming the group’s airhead) which addressed not just the missteps made in his absence during season

4 but also those of earlier seasons under his watch. Community also avoids taking the easy way out in quickly disposing of Pierce (Chevy Chase) following Chase’s abrupt departure from the show. In fact, it actually takes considerable efforts to give Pierce a proper send-off despite having him absent onscreen. Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks steps into Pierce’s curmudgeon shoes as new character Professor Buzz Hickey, his no-nonsense exterior proves just as funny as Pierce’s farcical and offensive humour, while his dead-end life and willingness to grow easily endears us to him. It is almost taboo for a fan to declare anything to be an improvement over the “classic” phase of a show. Yet Community season 5 has somehow being able to pull off the maturation of its characters and story while still featuring its brand of humour with non-sequitur French songs and lava jousting is a feat to behold. It lends promise to theory that Community may yet soar to new heights!

ENTERTAINMENT

SONIC BOOM RACHEL PHUA

1. PHARRELL WILLIAMS G I R L [Out: 3 March] 2. ST VINCENT St Vincent [Out: 25 March] 3. REAL ESTATE Atlas [Out: 4 March] 4. WE ARE SCIENTISTS TV en Franรงais [Out: 4 March] 5. ELBOW The Take Off and Landing of Everything [Out: 10 March] 6. SISYPHUS Sisyphus [Out: 18 March] 7. TAKING BACK SUNDAY Happiness Is [Out: 18 March] 8. JOHNNY CASH Out Among the Stars [Out: 25 March] 9. TOKYO POLICE CLUB Forcefield [Out: 25 March] 10. MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA Cope [Out: 1 April]

les.

ge e

ENTERTAINMENT

PLAY OUT: A DOUBLE BILL TAN YAN NI & RACHEL PHUA

resented by NUS Stage in conjunction with NUS Arts Festival 2014, Play Out: A Double Bill features Candlelight by Joanna Hioe and Wai by Judy Au. Both plays revolve around the concept of transition and stagnation, looking into the significance of existence for those who are not constantly on the move. Candlelight was written by Joanna Hioe under the tutelage of veteran playwright Huzir Sulaiman and has since won a runner-up title in the Trinity College London International Playwriting Competition 2011. It celebrates the rituals of life and storytelling on which Singapore was built, having been inspired by Joanna’s travels around the region. Wai is Judy Au’s first play, also written under the guidance of Huzir Sulaiman. Prior to Wai, Judy has also been involved in various productions, including City Night Songs, a joint production by Checkpoint Theatre for NUS Arts Festival 2013. Play Out is the first major production by director Goh Koon Hui, who has been involved in productions with various other drama groups such as NUS Stage and NUS Thespis. With its themes of change and movement, Play Out promises to be an enlightening performance that explores the meaning of life and the human condition.

NUS Stage: Play Out Judy Au (Wai) 1. How has your experience as a performer –in acting, singing and stand-up comedy, or even just immersing yourself in the arts scene, help in developing this script? My experience in acting helps because I have to read the script thoroughly to understand the motivations and nuances of the character I play. I guess after acting in a few productions, I have a general idea of how the characters, the plot and the pacing of a play should be. Although I’ve never done stand-up comedy, Improvisation (improv in short) aids my writing process. When you do improv, there is no script, so we’re encouraged to accept ideas from teammates and build upon them to allow the skit to progress. Therefore, sometimes I would act out both characters interacting with each other to explore ways on how to further develop the dialogue. Singing doesn’t really help, though listening to music can set the right mood for writing the more emotional bits of dialogue. Somehow Mirrors by Justin Timberlake did the trick for me.

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WHEN YOU IMPROV, THERE IS NO SCRIPT, SO WE’RE ENCOURAGED TO ACCEPT IDEAS FROM TEAMMATES AND BUILD UPON THEM”

ENTERTAINMENT

2. Could you tell us more about your play, Wai, and the inspirations behind it? I wrote Wai under the guidance of veteran playwright Mr. Huzir Sulaiman from Checkpoint Theatre, in a playwriting module last year. Wai depicts the exchanges between an old Chinese couple when they tried calling their son in England after watching news coverage of the London bombings. 'Wai' is the Cantonese word for hello that you say at the beginning of a phone call, so I thought it’s a great title for the play. What inspired my play were the numerous times I missed my parents’ calls when I was interning in New York two years ago. For any parent, knowing that your daughter is staying in an unfamiliar place for three months is worrying enough. When she’s not picking up calls, there’s so little a parent can do. I imagined what could have transpired during helpless moments like that, and my play began to take shape. 3. What do you hope the audience can take back most after watching the performance? I hope audiences can better empathise with and appreciate what our parents do for us.

ENTERTAINMENT

ARE YOU READY FOR AN UPRISING? Get set for a solid heart-thumping, head-banging, fist-pumping good time at ROCKFEST! Held at the NUS UCC Courtyard on the 21st of March, RockFest is highly regarded as the most happening Combined Hall show on NUS campus. Organized by NUS Sheares Hall Cultural Management Board (CMB), Rockfest is an annual concert aimed

to showcase the hard-core rock bands from all the six halls in the National University of Singapore (NUS). When the lights go out and the music begins, prepare to experience an Uprising like never before. You can anticipate blazing LIVE performances by the bands. This is certainly a music extravaganza that is not to be missed! Featured in this year’s concert are the bands from the 6 halls:

• • • • • •

Eusoff Band, from Eusoff Hall KR Rockers and KR Inspire, from Kent Ridge Hall The Smoking Marshalls, from King Edward VII Hall, RHockerfellas, from Raffles Hall Sheares Band, from Sheares Hall Threshold, from Temasek Hall

With such stellar performances all lined up, it is no wonder one might

get hungry or thirsty. Fret not, there would light snacks and drinks available for purchase at the back of the venue. The best part about this concert? It is FREE ENTRY for ALL! FREE BEER for the FIRST 200 people at the venue! There is no reason to miss this exciting event! We will see you there at the NUS UCC Courtyard on 21th March 2014! Be a part of the UPRISING!

ROCKFEST 2014: THE UPRISING Shout 2014: Euphoria Music Festival Sheares Hall Cultural Management Board (CMB)

ALL TIED UP WITH SCHOOL WORK AND FEELING ALL STRESSED UP? Need a getaway to relax and have some fun? Come on down and SHOUT it out loud at the SHout concert happening at the Coliseum at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) on the 28th of March 2014. Highly regarded as one of the most anticipated concert events organized by the NUS Sheares Hall Cultural Management Board (CMB), SHout aims to give performing Shearites a chance to showcase their talent

beyond the comforts of Sheares Hall and put up a fantastic show for the audience. We promise a night to remember. This year, Shout would be held at the Coliseum, a large-scale venue, well-known for hosting international musical acts such as Boyce Avenue and One republic. You can expect a range of live performances put together by the cultural groups of Sheares Hall. From eclectic dance moves to perfect rock-out pieces, there is something for everyone to

enjoy! • Some acts to look forward to are: • SHacappella, performing stellar acapella mash-ups • DanSHers, renowned for captivating and enticing dance performances • Sheares Chorale, Sheares Hall’s first Show-Choir • Sheares Band, performing English tracks bound to rock hearts out! • Ge Yao, performing Mandarin songs that will knock your

socks off! Sheares Beats, the lights go down and it’s time to get your groove on!

Worried about getting hungry or thirsty halfway through the concert? Fret not! There will be delicious snacks and drinks available to provide you with an even more enjoyable experience. And the best part about this concert? It is FREE ENTRY for ALL. You do not want to miss out on this exciting event!

ENTERTAINMENT

NAF’14 Feature: NUS Piano Ensemble Maestro KARLUIS QUEK

he year was 1987 when the aspirations of countless pianists in NUS culminated in the formation of the University’s very own Piano Ensemble. Since then, it has flourished under the leadership of its Music Director Timothy Ku and generations of capable Executive Committees; it has been fêted as “one of the leading classical piano interest groups in Singapore”. This year – it’s 27th – the Ensemble presents Maestro, as part of the NUS Arts Festival. Maestro is a multidisciplinary synthesis of theatre and musical performance, telling the tale of an embittered composer who becomes progressively susceptible to the temptations of his alter ego to make a Faustian deal. Featuring an original script that confronts what it means to be human in this age, it was written by members of the Ensemble in collaboration with playwright Faith Ng, Maestro looks set on to repeat and perhaps even surpass the Ensemble’s astounding sold-out success it achieved last year with Genius or Nuts (NUS Arts Festival 2013). Hesitate no further and come and see (and hear) for yourself NUS Piano Ensemble as they attempt to answer the age-old question of whether humans are, perhaps, just puppets dancing to the mind’s unconscious tunes. How did the concept of this multidisciplinary performance come about? This concept of was partly a continuation of our seniors’ efforts. They had pioneered productions

since 2013 comprising both disciplines of music and theatre. Classical music, and specifically piano music, is unfortunately a discipline that attracts limited audiences, as you might observe. By introducing theatre, there is a context to the production, and audiences can enjoy both what they see and hear, and this can make a more exciting production. The plot sounds inspired by many real-life composers’ biography, as we read about their tumultuous years. It seems to draw comparisons to the famous film ‘Amadeus’ too. Were these your team’s inspiration, or what were some of the inspirations to creating this story? The storyboard of Maestro had gone through numerous revisions and research. Through our brainstorming sessions, we focused on one similar story, which was that great composers of the past faced personal turmoil, and created the story/script based on that. We’ve learnt a lot from the scriptwriting workshops with professional scriptwriter Faith Ng. Nevertheless, Maestro is an original work, not biographical, or an adaptation of any sort, but rather based loosely on personal experiences any human being might face. It is our hope that audiences might relate to our characters as the plot unfolds! Classical music has been said to be

forgotten by a generation in devotion to K-pop, the billboard 100s and whatever’s on their Indie shuffle list. How do you think this performance and concept can reenergize and enlighten our generation on the power and beauty of classical music? It is a reality that popular music and its culture penetrate deep into today’s society, and this is not necessarily a bad thing at all. Classical music exists alongside, and its style is likewise appealing to those who invest their time in it. We believe all genres of music can hit home with audiences who explore them. Maestro will feature an assortment of uncommon and

lesser-played works, which will hopefully delight both seasoned musicians and interested listeners! What do you hope the audience can gather from this performance? There is much to take away from watching recitals, productions, and so on, and every artist who performs for others knows this. We are no different. Audience should enjoy what they watch and be engaged, no matter what the art form may be. For Maestro, we hope audiences will relate closely and personally with the story we wish to tell.

ENTERTAINMENT

Just a bad day: naf’14 feature GWEN XU AND RACHEL PHUA

irected by Li Xie, freelance theater practitioner of House of Sins (2008)’s and vaginaLOGUE (2000)’s fame, Just a Bad Day revolves around three women experiencing different sorts of gender stereotyping and gender violence in Singapore. Created by a team of volunteers from AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research) before its premiere in June 2013, the forum theater piece showcases stories of violence, oppression and vulnerability the characters struggle with in our society. Promising to be a stimulating encounter, Just a Bad Day is touted to be thought provoking on the less tangible forms of violence against women that persist in Singapore. Performed in Mandarin with no English subtitles, audiences must be prepared for a very different sort of theater piece we are used to. 1. What were some of the stories and knowledge about abuse against women in Asia that drove your team to produce the play? From 2010 to 2013, over 10,000 men in six countries across Asia and the Pacific were interviewed using the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence household survey on men’s perpetration and experiences of violence. The regional analysis found that overall, nearly half of those men interviewed reported using physical and/or sexual violence against a female partner, ranging from 26 percent to 80 percent

across the sites. Singapore, despite its high reputation of being a safe and civilised city state, is hardly an exception on this front. We got into contact with Association of Women for Research and Action (AWARE) who shared many appalling stories that happened right here in Singapore. It turns out that violence against women doesn’t appear only in physical forms. Verbal abuses, mental restraints, gender inequalities and even unreasonable stereotypes could constitute violence against women and cause imperceivable damages to the victims.

Thereafter, any audience member may engage in rigorous discussions to explore the issues involved and how different actions may lead to varying repercussions. This process will be guided by an experienced facilitator. 3. What do you hope the audience can gather most from the performance? We would like to appeal to the audience that violence against

women may take many forms as explained earlier. Oftentimes, we tend to ignore the less physical and less tangible ones. We hope our audience could gain a better understanding of this issue and be more mindful on their words and actions. Also, we would like to advocate that violence against women is not merely a problem of the perpetrators. Everyone has a role to play, be it bystanders, friends or family members of the victims.

2. Could you describe more about the forum theatre concept? The concept of Forum Theatre was created by a Brazilian director named Augusto Boal and it has been well-received in many parts of the world since. The format of forum is a very innovative and interactive one. The cast will present the stories before the audience once and they will repeat the performance a few more times with the audience input. At any point, the audience is free to intervene and step into the performance if they disagree with the decisions made by the characters or when they want to explore another possibility of the story. photo by CFA

ENTERTAINMENT

BOOKWORM ADVENTURES C

lay Jannon was just another curious tech-savvy young man, living in New York City. His fortune changed when the bagel company, where he worked for as an IT marketing manager, went belly up. After months of unemployment during the recession, he stumbled upon a 24-hour bookstore. Intrigued by the bookstore, he applied to work there as a night-shift clerk. Mr Penumbra, the bookstore’s owner, only had one rule for his employers: they are not to open certain books in the store. At first, Jannon complied with the rule, but soon enough his curiosity got the better of him. With some help from his good friends, including his Google whiz girlfriend, he discovered a world of secret society named the Unbroken Spine full with men in hooded coat and an ancient library of hundred years. Between Google, the epitome of technology advancement, and a philosophy of old books, believed by generations of men, Jannon was torn to find the answer to of the truth and the secret to eternal life. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is an exhilarating unexpected ride through a path many writers seldom take: facing-off the modern technology we are so comfortable in with decades long ‘religion’ to find the one ultimate truth. For one, we will reconsider if hardcopy books are indeed irrelevant today and if modern technology really has all the answers we want. A former twitter executive himself, Sloan wittily combines real history with his fiction that at the end of the book you’ll find yourself googling through the story to see what’s real. This is the book our generation of iPod and Harry Potter would very much understand.

e hear of crimes almost everyday, but how often do we know what happens to the victims after the crime? Dark Places tells the story of Libby Day, the sole survivor of a mysterious massacre that left her mother and sisters dead and her brother serving a life sentence for the murders. Unlike the victims in other crime stories, Libby Day, the child victim of the violent murders, does not rise above her tragic past, empowered and strong. Instead, she lives a bitter life, surviving on welfare funds and donations.

dark placeS gillian flynn REVIEWED BY TAN YAN NI

Twenty-five years after the murders, Libby discovers that her funds have run dry. Broke, and desperate for money, Libby begins selling family memorabilia to the Kill Club, a group of crime enthusiasts who are determined to solve the Day murders. Influenced by the Kill Club’s strong belief in her brother’s innocence, Libby investigates the murders

MR. PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE ROBIN SLOAN REVIEWED BY ANGELITA SASMITA

and eventually discovers the truth behind the events on that fateful night. True to its name, Dark Places overflows with sadness and gloom in its depictions of small town life and the struggles of poverty. It intersperses the perspectives of various characters, all who face some form of despair or desperation. Every character in this book, from Libby’s runaway father to her delinquent brother, seems dysfunctional in one way or another. However, it is this dysfunctionality that results in the murders – the truth of which is revealed in an ending that leaves readers shocked and overwhelmed. Fans of the novel will also be pleased to know that it will be released as a movie this coming September, starring Charlize Theron and Chloe Grace Moretz.

ENTERTAINMENT

How is this collaboration different from other performances you have done? Jerry: This was my first time doing a full-length dance piece that requires a lot more stamina than 5 to 7 minutes concert pieces. Besides the numerous rehearsals per week, we are also required to attend the technique and ballet classes before each rehearsal. It wasn’t easy for me at the beginning because my body was not used to dancing this long with such high intensity.

NUS Arts Festival 2014 Feature: Traces VALERIE LIM

Shi Ting: In the past, I have only performed alongside other NUS Synergy members. In contrast, this experience has allowed me to work on a full-length piece together with professional dancers from RDT. What have you gained most from this experience? Jerry: Being exposed continuously to numerous technique classes and observing how the professionals execute their movements, I have gained a deeper understanding of my body and how it moves. I have certainly improved a lot through this invaluable exposure.

It is an exciting time to be a contemporary dancer in NUS. This year’s NUS Arts Festival, which will be held in March, features 3 exciting collaborations with dance professionals. photo from CFA

US Arts Festival (NAF) 2014 brings a number of exciting opportunities for NUS dancers. The opening show of NAF 2014, Overdrive, features a triple bill which showcases the works of 3 international choreographers. Two of which called for auditions by NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA) dancers: Emotional Strata, by Japanese avant-garde choreographer, Akiko Kitamura, founder of Leni-Basso contemporary dance company; and Private Dancer, by the young, award-winning Israeli-born Idan Cohen.

Shi Ting: I have gained precious insight from watching how professional dancers trained behind the scenes and the blood, sweat and tears behind each performance. My most important takeaway was the professionalism, hard work, seriousness and determination that professional dancers possess. I am inspired to push myself more having watched the RDT dancers work despite being unwell or having multiple injuries.

In addition, selected dancers from NUS Dance Synergy have the privilege to be a part of Traces —a collaboration between NUS dance synergy and professional dance company, Re:Dance Theatre (RDT), with its artistic director Mr. Albert Tiong.

What was something that surprised you the most?

Set to raise the level of dance in NUS, these opportunities engaged the dancers not only physically, in honing their dance technique, but also intellectually, by expecting dancers to mentally engaged with literature relevant to the works they are creating. For instance, Traces draws its inspiration from the script of The Other Shore, a play by Nobel Laureate playwright Gao Xing Jian. The controversial play tells of its characters’ journey of crossing the river of life to reach Nirvana (“The Other Shore”), only to find that it does not exist. The play was banned in China due to its bold anti-Communist theme. Dancers were required to read the script well before rehearsals began and reflected on excerpts. Further, a professor from the Department of Chinese Studies at the faculty of arts and social sciences was involved helping the team understand the script, giving new insights and perspectives before rehearsals began. This sort of intellectual engagement with NUS undergraduate dancers seems long overdue. Focused usually on the physicality, we often neglect the engagement of one’s mind when considering dance. Although there is still much to be done, NAF 2014 is set to change the opinion of dance as mere entertainment.

Shi Ting: I guess what surprised me the most was the kind of jovial, fun environment that we worked in. Initially, I thought the process would be a really serious one. However, the RDT dancers were really friendly and welcoming; they not only helped and joke with us during rehearsals but also invited us to their parties! It made rehearsals and working together so much fun despite the tough work we have to put in.

TRACES 走过

NUS Dance Synergy and Re:Dance Theatre with Albert Tiong (Choreographer) Sat 22 Mar | 8pm | UCC Hall

3月22日（六) 晚上8时∣国大文化中心 $29, $23 & $19 | 60 min

NUS undergraduates, Jerry Goh and Wan Shi Ting, share their experience about dancing in this collaboration with The Ridge.

LIFESTYLE

CHAN YI WEN

s this what it feels like to graduate? All those prolonged coffee chats about jobs, marriage and the economy; vrooming about campus on the A2, staring out of the windows pensively, with no absolute destination in mind; sporadically getting teary-eyed for no particular reason; the almost obsessivecompulsive senior scrambling; gearing up for the job-hunting season… I’m trying to pin down when exactly did all of that start. The time has come to say goodbye to Asia’s #1 pressure cooker, but this doesn’t feel like goodbye at all, you say. Leaving memories from the past four years behind with some loose ends that seemed to

spring out from nowhere. Strangely enough, even though you’re still a matriculated student, and staying on campus, this semester already feels distant and surreal. The past three/four years were mostly a blurry mash-up of people, places and experiences; and it all happened way too fast to properly appreciate all of those moments. Often pre-occupied with the blind pursuit of academic and social goals dictated by mainstream society, just like that, you let time fly past and now, this chapter of your life is closing. By May, the class of 2014 will no longer be students, we’ll no longer

be “protected” within the confines of the Kent Ridge campus; we’ll never get to fight the bidding war on CORS again and all our leftover bid points will go into oblivion. We can no longer solve our problems by praying to the Bell Curve God. We’re at wars with ourselves. We don’t want to leave, but we don’t want to stay here forever. Like the ending of the Samuel Beckett novel: You must go on, I can’t go on, I’ll go on. Maybe I’ll get an MBA. They call this the final semester syndrome; where intense feelings of nostalgia attack at random moments, and then the sudden appreciation for things you usually

neglect; 8am lectures; canteen coffee; the Central library... For the past four years you were in a mad rush to graduate and enter the “real world”. Forget the politicallycorrect cliché of “learning from your failures”. Suddenly, you just want to hit the pause button, then the reverse button, and time-travel right back to the start to redo the rights and undo regrets. The Chinese proverb goes: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. You thought college was supposed to equip you with tangible, marketable skills to stand out from the otherwise homogeneous

LIFESTYLE

applicant pool, mellow out your youthful inefficiencies and set you down an arrow-straight, zero-BS path to glorified success. Whatever happened to that? It almost seems like it’d taken you three/four years to jump from one crossroad to another. You might be wondering, what was the point of it all? As far as making sense of it all, I’ll tell you what everyone hates to hear, which is that, “I know how you feel”. That doesn’t solve anything, I know. So I guess here are some answers I can offer - the post-graduation survival guide:

They Shall Have Music! A stone, a leaf, an unfound door; Of a stone, a leaf, a door. And of all the forgotten faces. “Can you remember some of the same things that I do? I have forgotten the old faces. Where are they, Ben? What were their names? I forget the names of people I knew for years. I get their faces mixed. I get their heads stuck on other people’s bodies. I think one man has said what another said. And I forget -- forget. There is something I have lost and have forgotten. I can’t remember, Ben.” Music has the magical ability to transport you to a different time and place. In his memoir, Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield uses fifteen mix tapes to reminisce memories he shared with his wife. Music was what brought them together, and music was what kept them together. And music was what got him through her death when she died from a pulmonary embolism six years after they were married. Music has therapeutic effects, and allow you to occasionally return to your past and remember where

you came from - the people you have met, the lessons learned, your hopes and dreams and aspirations at a particular point in time. As a child, I remember waking up on Sunday mornings to the tantalizing smells of my mother baking blueberry muffins and frying sausages in the kitchen and my dad humming to the tune of Rainy Days and Monday Mornings by The Carpenters as he performed house chores. It reminds me of happier days and the importance of family. Once in a while, I will close my eyes and replay those songs, letting it take me back to the good ol’ days of “Auld Lang Syne”. In a way, it keeps me grounded by helping me to remember things I will otherwise forget. Even as I go on with my daily routine, from time to time the songs in my playlists allow me to remember something someone from my past had said and smile. Because in all honesty, even though we no longer keep in touch or talk like we used to, I had formed important bonds with them as people, as I am doing with new people. Why even bother remembering those ‘forgotten faces’ or things though? The first pertains to living in the moment, in that it was great, and meant something, while it lasted. And to some extent, that’s all we can really hope for in life. I think these bonds we form in college or at any stage of our lives are not necessarily cut off as left open-ended. Maybe there will be a time when you will all be in the same place. Maybe there will not. But either ways, each relationship is a learning experience - whether romantic or platonic. It teaches you how to care for someone else, how to love, how to be selfless, and frankly also tends to reveal to you certain personal flaws you need to improve upon. I think I

have come out of every relationship a better person. Music helps us to remember all that history.

Sun Tzu - The Art of War Just because college is almost over, it doesn’t mean that you have to leave the learning all behind. It’s important to always aspire to be better. If you skim through the Apple App Store or Google Play, it’s crowded with clones of top 20 apps, all trying to ride on the coattails of Instagram or Snapchat or any of those apps that got acquired by Google or Facebook for billions of dollars. But as written on a Business Insider article, you can’t beat Apple by trying to be more like Apple. The first step to staying ahead of the herd is being aware of what is happening today. This means exposing yourself to a broad range of topics and exploring subject matters out of your ‘area of interest’. You will be in a better position to develop big, innovative solutions when you can see a bigger picture.

Don’t Sit Back, But Enjoy the Ride! FOMO (fear of missing out) is oftentimes grueling and selfperpetuating, a preventive-approach rather than a positive one. The fear of missing out is what makes you cross some threshold of comfort, and miss out even more on already existing experiences. Consumed by fomo, you’ll try to do anything and everything at once so that you can fully recapture your roaring twenties and graduate “without regrets”. But you might end up spreading yourself too thin, or get overwhelmed in the process of doing a billion and one things you’re “supposed to do” - that the plan ultimately backfires. It’s important to focus on what will

create truly meaningful experiences for yourself, and value-invest for the long haul. But it’s hard to take a step back and make rational decisions when everything is speeding by you at Usain-Bolt pace. The only thing I can tell you is what my mum tells me when I panic about not fullycapturing my heydays in a way I think I’m supposed to (drugs, sex and rock & roll) and go back wondering whether or not I can do this: You are so solid, she tells me. But you are level-headed, calm, and articulate, and you’re going to be okay. You may not know it, but I do. Just because college is almost over, it doesn’t mean that the learning gets left behind. Frequent exposure to a broad range of topics and exploring subject matters out of your ‘area of interest’ will leave you in a better position to stay ahead of the herd. Just remember that changing designations does not define a person in the long run, and ultimately who you are has nothing to do with where you are (although yes, college kicks ass). On a happier note, if you are the sort of person who really loves college, not just for the superficial idea of it, but for what you found there, then as such a person, you could not undo the changes brought about you in the past few years even if you tried. Also, I have been told that you will find having your parents in for graduation to be a pretty emotionally confusing experience. Anyhow that’s all I have. Good luck, do take care, and remember to breathe.

LIFESTYLE

Coffee on Campus GWEN K

offee, a brewed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffea plant, is certainly no stranger to us here in Singapore. Coupled with the growing presence of chained coffee shops in the last decade, there has been a rapidly booming coffee culture in Singapore. On campus, this concoction can be found in many places ranging from canteens to food courts, and a variety of terms are used when ordering as below (adapted from epicureandculture.com): Kopi: the most popular mix of coffee with sweetened condensed milk, Kopi Gau: a strong brew of coffee, Kopi Poh: a weak brew of coffee, Kopi Kosong: substitutes condensed for evaporated milk, Kopi-C: coffee with evaporated milk and sugar (most, similar to a “regular” western coffee), Kopi-O: coffee with sugar but no milk, Kopi Peng: iced coffee Our caffeine addict, Gwen, goes around campus to check out some of the caffeine offerings available. Price ranges from 80 cents to a dollar, where chocolate (milo) is more expensive than tea or coffee. Served sloppily with coffee splashing out and around in a porcelain tea cup that comes with a dainty handle when one chooses to eat in, coffee at Kopitiam is fragrant, has a decently full body as it fulfils its role in playing a moderately sized perk-me-up at 200mls for hospital staff and visitors, as well as students on their way to and from school as they walk towards the MRT station.

AROMA ☺☺☺☺ ACIDITY ☺☺ BODY ☺☺☺☺ FLAVOR AND AFTER TASTE ☺☺☺

Having its franchises sprouting out country-wide, Ya Kun’s coffee and toast offerings are certainly crowd pleasers. Regular sized coffees go for $1.50 to 1.80 for 8 ounces (about 230mls). It is served in similar white porcelain cups for dine-in and paper cups with plastic lids for take-away. This untidiness aside, Ya Kun Coffeestall has been steadfast in maintaining the quality of its coffee – the coffees are always thick and fragrant, and the bitter aftertaste lingers on your tongue even when pairing the drink with other strong tasting items.

AROMA ☺☺☺☺ ACIDITY ☺☺☺ BODY ☺☺☺☺ FLAVOR AND AFTER TASTE ☺☺☺☺

Brewed coffees sold at the canteens on campus definitely are the most cost effective, priced at 40 to 50 cents for 8 ounces (~230mls). Though the taps are worn out from the many years of usage (this I assume), the modest equipment probably helps keep the coffee affordable for its patrons, mostly students and staff from faculties surrounding the canteen. Compared with the other coffees that made it to this list, the coffee here is weak and tasteless, so much so that I would honestly rather make my own 3-in-1 coffee from an instant packet.

AROMA ☺ ACIDITY ☺ BODY ☺ FLAVOR AND AFTER TASTE ☺

Kopitiam at NUH

Ya Kun Kaya Toast Coffeestall NUH Medical Centre

Science Canteen

At 90 cents to $1.10 for 8 ounces, coffee here is similarly priced with Kopitiam. Despite having a good balance of sugar within the drink, that alone could not quite save this quiet coffee from its lack of flavor. There was neither depth nor complexity, thus leaving me a little disappointed for it didn’t live up to its namesake.

Coffee @ work at YIH

This one is a homerun! For 60 to 80 one gets cents 12 ounces of a reasonably round and sweet coffee drink. Need I say more?

Flavors’ “Sip it” at University Town

AROMA ☺☺ ACIDITY ☺☺ BODY ☺ FLAVOR AND AFTER TASTE ☺ AROMA ☺☺ ACIDITY ☺☺ BODY ☺☺☺ FLAVOR AND AFTER TASTE ☺☺☺

LIFESTYLE

Rundown of the Best Food in NUS ALICE LI

Best Comfort Food When the going gets tough, toughen up and get going. As you trudge through the day with a growing list of mounting deadlines, nothing keeps you up like a plate of succulent chicken chop, topped with three mouthwatering sides of your choice. Found in Frontier (Science canteen), this dish from Salad Bar (don’t be fooled by the name, they serve some really mean Western delights) will lift your spirits and fill your tummy before you can say “hashbrown”. After done licking your plate clean, we guarantee you’ll feel much better—if not, you can always get seconds.

Best Between-Lecture Snack Feeling peckish between classes? Munch on a crispy curry puff from Dilys Creation (found in Science and Engineering), or treat yourself to a piping hot waffle (at The Deck, Arts, or The Terrace, Computing). For those who crave something more refreshing, select a couple of fruits that you fancy, and the Fresh Fruits & Juices stall at The Deck will juice them into a thirst-quenching blend on the spot.

Best Option for the Health Conscious If all those late-night snacking and weekend feastings have bestowed you a small ‘food-baby’, then make a beeline for the Yong Tau Foo & Laksa stall at The Deck for a meal minus the guilt. Its extensive range of ingredient offerings is not only fresh and tasty; they are all priced at a mere thirty cents (except the egg). So you can pile your bowl high without feeling the pinch. Being the favourite of many students, this little gem is one of the most popular stalls in NUS; so get there early to avoid the crazy queues during peak periods.

Best Asian Fare Singapore is a cosmopolitan hodgepodge of cultures and cuisines. So it’s no surprise that you can find a tempting range of Asian delicacies dotted around the campus. Tantalise your taste buds with ayam panggang, a marinated chicken thigh cooked to perfection—an Indonesia delicacy—in Frontier, Techno Edge and The Deck, or try the Kaneda Japanese Cuisine stall at Techno Edge, a store that gives Sushi Tei a run for its money. Want something soupy? The Phõ with tender beef slices at The Terrace will be your best bet. If a dining scene from your favourite Korean drama is making your stomach growl, head to Hwang’s Korean Restaurant at University Town for an authentic serving of bulgogi and topokki. For the good ole Singapore delight, the chicken rice in Koufu (University Town) never fails, ever.

Best Hangout If the academic pressure of NUS were a scorching desert, then Sapore Italiano at University Town would be its oasis of gastronomical perfection—prepare yourself for authentic Italian cuisine (not your typical Asian renditions of ‘em) by their Italian chef. Recharge your weary brain with a scoop of its fresh gelato, or unwind at the end of a long school day over loops of al dente pasta and crispy handmade pizza. For those who need a little more buzz, affordable red and white house pours are available as well. So, who said you can’t chill out in school?

LIFESTYLE

be kind to yourself VELDA WONG

re you feeling stressed out in the midst of all the impending deadlines for school?

Well if you are, fret not! In this day and age, it is understandable for people to yearn for instant gratification in almost every aspect of their life. Whether it is making new friends, getting that A grade for your assignment or seeing a project to completion… It is perhaps due to the advancements in technology that has enabled us to obtain almost any information we want in just a few clicks or taps away. This ingrained habit, after awhile, may cause us to fleetingly forget that an inordinate amount of hard work, effort and time is needed to be invested into reaching our goals. Take it easy if you feel like you still have a long way to go. After all, we are not robots and it is perfectly okay to feel overwhelmed or disoriented sometimes. In the rush to complete assignment after assignment, we may beat ourselves up for any mistakes made along the way. We may also subconsciously allow our negative emotions get the better of us. But I say, let’s roll with the punches, ride with whatever life brings to us, and maintain a positive attitude in all circumstances. It is okay to be not okay once in a while. Just remember to be kind to yourself, even when you are showing kindness to those around you. Learning and acquiring new knowledge is a never-ending process. We are learning and growing each day from all the different situations faced in school, at work, at home and even in other school activities. It may be easy to forget that people make unintentional mistakes down the road every now and then. After all, we are only humans, and humans err from time to time. There is no perfect person. We just have to accountable and responsible, then pick ourselves up and try not to repeat it again. We all sit at various places at various times on the scale, and you just have to keep your desired aim in mind, invest your time and effort and work hard for it to come to fruition.

According to some philosophers, people change their opinions and perceptions all the time because they bring with them certain historical and cultural baggage with them while they perceive an object or an event. For example, when you read a particular book again five years later, what you take away from the book (and the way you perceive the same content) may be vastly different from the very first time you read it five years ago. You might also have noticed other details that you may have overlooked previously. This is exactly why we must learn how to understand that it is normal and perfectly fine to be experiencing occasional bouts of distress and disorientation in our lives. There are valuable lessons to be learnt in every difficulty we encounter and it takes constant conscious practice to keep pushing ourselves forward, and to look straight ahead into the unknown, despite all the challenges or fears that are confronting us head-on even in the now. You may be having it hard trying to keep up and sustain your level of positivity and drive, but learn how to be kind to yourself occasionally. Take deep breaths and go for an exercise to clear your mind. Be open to new opportunities and step out of your comfort zone at your own pace, one step at a time. But above all, always be kind to yourself in all changing circumstances. “For what it’s worth, it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with different point-of-views. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again”. ― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

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LIFESTYLE

home away from home SHARIFAH NURSYAFIQAH

ith NUS being home to thousands of students who stay on campus every semester, school is quite literally a second home for those who eat, study and play in various halls and dorms across the University. This month, we give you tips on creating your own home away from home, and take a peek into how some students create a space of their own, creating a welcome reprieve from school life, whilst being in school life.

c r e at e s a s pa c e t h at r e s e m b l e s h o m e Xue Han’s cosy room in Temasek Hall is very much a reflection of her own room at home. From the hanging plants against the windows, to the plush toys piled on her bed, Xue Han has created a comforting and familiar space for herself on campus, while keeping feelings of homesickness at bay. Also reminiscent of homely comforts are the fairy lights along her room window, much like the fairy lights she has at home.

U S E Y O U R WA L L S F O R S E L F- E X P R E S S I O N

A school environment can be alien enough without semesters of experience navigating endless hallways under your belt. For campus dorm dwellers, having knick knacks or your favorite pillows can help with making your room feel like home.

Pretty obvious, isn’t it? The walls of a room instantly betray your interests – use it to put your best self on display! A quick look around Zul Hakim’s room in the College of Alice and Peter Tan reveals maps and snapshots of various travel trips he has taken. These personalized shots captured in coloured frames help to liven up the otherwise clinical white walls of the space. Applying bits of your self-expression along room walls keeps your room from looking overtly generic, whilst being a great conversation starter with new friends getting a glimpse of your passions and interests.

DIY ANYTHING Creative handmade projects are a great way to jazz up any room, at home or in school. Stick handmade frames along your walls, like history buff Ranice Tan did in her Temasek Hall room. Neat lines of historical images are hung on her room walls, with tiny wooden pegs for added effect. Need some cheeriness in your space? Cut scalloped edges of coloured paper and stick them on your shelves to create scalloped-edged shelves! Use washi tape (Japanese crafting masking tape) to line your photos before putting

them on your walls, creating interesting frames that are a bang for your buck. DIY projects are a great way to lend an artfully unique touch to your room, wherever it may be.

LIFESTYLE

Cooking for One WENDY WONG

t’s been a long day at school. You’re tired, stressed and worst of all, hungry. If you’re craving for an easy and comforting home-cooked meal, this is it: fluffy, piping-hot eggs scrambled with your favourite toppings (mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese, what-have-you), and a healthy serving of spinach and sliced red peppers stir-fried in dark soy sauce, served on a bed of fragrant rice. As you’re whipping up your dinner, take the time to unwind—plug in some relaxing classics or chill indie, and let yourself get carried

Easy scrambled egg and spinach stir-fry recipe Serves: 1 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes INGREDIENTS • 1 serving rice, cooked SCRAMBLED EGGS • 2-3 eggs* • Mushrooms, tomatoes, hot dog, etc., roughly chopped • 1 tsp milk • 2 tbsp cooking oil • Salt and pepper, to taste

away with some kitchen therapy. What I love about eggs is how nutritious they are (don’t listen to cholesterol naysayers, they’re an excellent source of nutrients such as protein and vitamin D), and how versatile they are (they can be boiled, scrambled, poached, steamed, baked, so forth). Which means you can experiment with how you like your eggs done, and it almost always guarantees you’ll never be bored with them! Scrambling eggs or cooking an omelet also allows you to toss

SPINACH STIR-FRY • 1 serving spinach • 1 small red pepper, sliced • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 tbsp cooking oil • 1 tbsp sesame oil • 1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce • 1 tsp water DIRECTIONS 1. Sauté garlic with cooking oil over medium heat till slightly golden and aromatic. Add in red peppers and stir-fry for 1 minute. 2. Add in spinach and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add in sesame

your favourite ingredients together to form a perfect combination of egg heaven. Spinach is an equally easy food to find and cook. It’s high in vitamins K and A, as well as in essential minerals such as magnesium and iron. Red peppers are nutritious as well (and they give a meal some bright colour to it, too!), but you can substitute this with other peppers as well. Cooking is an art. And just as I learnt in my political ideologies class that

oil. Continue stir-frying until liquid starts to simmer and spinach is cooked. 3. Add in the dark soy sauce and water and stir-fry for 1 minute until sauce thickens and starts to dry up. Set aside. 4. Crack and whisk eggs in a bowl, then add in your fillings (mushrooms, etc.), milk, salt and pepper and whisk well. 5. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat, and pour in egg mixture.

teaches that there are two types of knowledge in this world—technical and practical—similarly, one learns how to cook by following recipes, and, most importantly, through practice. Because ultimately, experience and knowledge can only be fully gained the more you do it. (See, who says you don’t learn anything useful in political science?) So here’s the recipe—do with it as you will, and reward yourself for a hard day’s work with an easy delicious meal for you, by you.

6. As the egg mixture solidifies, move the mixture around the pan with your spatula to prevent it from burning. 7. When there is no more liquid left in your pan, remove your eggs. 8. Serve with spinach and rice.

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“

COOKING IS AN ART... BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE CAN ONLY BE FULLY GAINED THE MORE YOU DO IT.”

photo by Wendy Wong

LIFESTYLE

TRAVEL: IMPERIAL INDIA REA BHALLA

himla is a small, idyllic hill station in The Indian Himalayas, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world. It was once the designated summer capital for The British. Now it is a charming, delightful hill station, perfect for getaways. I drove up to Shimla, from New Delhi with my friends this December. The views just get more and more fantastic as you reach a higher altitude. They go from pastel yellow mustard fields, to deep verdant fields, and dense, evergreen forests. The trees rise higher and higher and the noise of the cities die down to give way to a peaceful, almost entrancing hush. The wind is ice cold and you can see the majestic, snow capped peaks in the horizon. They seem to go on forever, merging with the cerulean sky to form a dazzling picture, the kind you only see on postcards. The houses in Shimla are iridescent and tightly packed together, and it comes across as a badly planned,

rather haphazard city. But it is this chaos and insanity that makes Shimla so unique and affable. The locals swarm around the place, red cheeked and robust, holding hands and walking gaily down the streets. They are friendly and happy, carefree individuals, content with their lives. The Mall Road is famous in Shimla. It is a long road, filled with restaurants, cafes and shops selling everything from vividly coloured woolen scarves to jewelry to handcrafted wooden artifacts. There is a famous shopTrishool, which has been there for years, and it sells the most delicious cream rolls and éclairs, freshly made everyday. It is almost a crime to visit Shimla and not eat them. Monkeys are a part of everyday life in the mountains here. They casually leap about the streets and trees as if they own the place. They wake you up at the crack of dawn, when the mist is

ice cold and the glorious orange sun is fighting its way out of the clouds to make its appearance and light up the sky. They thunder up and down the roof, and if you happen to have food in your hand, there is no way that it is yours anymore. I’ve seen monkeys cleverly steal Oreos, then perch on a branch and open the biscuits to lick the cream off. They glare at you for invading their space and then proceed to stride off like royalty. They are well respected and protected by the locals. Shimla is beautiful at night. You sit outside, near a fire and you can breathe in the fresh, cold, clean air that is so different from that of the city. You look around and see yourself surrounded by the mountains in all their resplendent glory. You gaze at the black night sky, and you have never seen so many stars in one place. The stars and moon shine down brilliantly, illuminating everything around you with a perfect silver glow. You have never

felt so peaceful or so distant from everything. It is worth visiting just for the spectacular views. They just give you a different perspective on things. You won’t ever forget it. Goa is India’s smallest state, located on the West Coast and is a major tourist attraction. I stayed there for a week this December with my family and it was my fifth time visiting. Goa is a laid back, genial and charming place, vibrant and rich with culture. It is not uncommon to see foreigners, with their blond hair tied into dreadlocks, dressed in multi coloured hippie clothing, riding on scooters and exploring the place. Goa is scorching hot in the daytime, with the sun streaming relentlessly down on you. There are famous shacks on the beach- Britto’s and Tito’s, which are always full, no matter what the season, filled with enthusiastic tourists, doing sheesha on the beach or drinking feni (the local alcohol, made with cashews).

LIFESTYLE

The food here is definitely something to rave about. The seafood is delectable- crab, lobster, fish, prawns and their famous calamari dripping in butter. The pork vindaloo and sorpotel are something they are also renowned for. Their food also has Portuguese influences due to their colonizing of Goa in the past, hence the strong amounts of chili. I actually got to eat at a small, relatively unknown shack, where I had the most delicious pork chops, Goan sausage pulao and cows tongue- which sounds rather disgusting, but is scrumptious. The streets are full of vendors selling cold coconut water and sugarcane juice to quench the thirst of travellers dealing with the searing heat.

“

EVERY PLACE IS UNIQUE AND I URGE YOU TO GO AND TRAVEL AND SEE THE SIGHTS. I GUARANTEE THEY WILL CHANGE YOU.”

Goa has acclaimed flea markets. You walk into a crowded, loud flea market at Anjuna Beach and get lost in a sea of colours, scents, nationalities, languages and haggling. There are stalls selling gorgeous silver and turquoise

jewelry, opalescent cloth bags, mirrors, brightly coloured clothes, saris and all the spices you can imagine, laid out before your eyes with their appealing aromas drawing you in. Goa also boasts beautiful architectural edifices. Its establishments have powerful Portuguese and Mughal inspirations. There are elegant looking churches and attractive temples. When you walk in, the insides are absolutely divine and calming. In the evening, when the skies are painted in hues of pink and purple, you go to the beach and indulge in the water sports offered there. My favourite has always been parasailing, where you feel like you’re on top of the world and everything seems so tiny and insignificant below you, just microscopic specks you needn’t worry about. The wind hits your face and you feel like you don’t have a care in the world. At night, Goa is cool and compelling. The beaches draw you in, to sit on the silver sand and hear the crash of the waves of the Arabian Sea against the shore. There are a lot of musicians who perform live at restaurants, bars, shacks and pubs. They tend to sing the older songs of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and The Eagles. You sit back, enjoy your drink and feel

like you have been thrown back into the past. Everyone around you is humming along and they all look pacified and content. Goa has a raging nightlife, with their numerous clubs and bars. Pretty girls and young men, enter clubs ready to dance the night away. The drinks keep coming, the music keeps playing and no one gets off their feet. You party till dawn, and then go to a shack to eat a hearty breakfast and

enjoy some nutella crepes. You finally hit the bed and close your eyes, only to wake up to the same captivating paradise. These are only two of the hundreds of wonderful marvels India has to offer. Every place is unique and I urge you to go and travel and see the sights. I guarantee they will change you.

LIFESTYLE

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Study Room Etiquette PHILIP LEE

’m sure many among us have our “Zen” study spots when it comes to studying for our exams. These are places where our productivity levels are at its optimum and we seem to be able to understand and absorb better. NUS has undoubtedly provided us with well-furnished study rooms, adequately equipped with power outlets, lighting, and tables. However, as these are all common study areas, we are all too familiar with the presence of other students and their study ‘habits’ that they bring with them. Sometimes, these little ‘habits’ can quickly disrupt the peaceful environment that we hope to bask in. Now, don’t be too quick to agree and judge. I’m sure many of us, after reading this, will probably feel a slight tinge of guilt as we realize that we are among the very people we find annoying. Perhaps this could, or should, serve as a guide to ensuring a conducive environment for all.

When I am pressed for time to rush an assignment, I normally wouldn’t want to be disturbed by students strolling in and out of study rooms. Would it be too much to ask for at least an hour of undisturbed peace? Granted that a large study room would invite plenty of students to enter and exit frequently, it is those that do so incessantly that get on my nerves. In addition, having the door swing open every few minutes to let excess noise in and excess air-con out can get pretty aggravating. Make sure that you have your study materials ready so that you don’t have to visit the photocopy shop every time you need something printed. Also, don’t drink too much liquids as you’ll find that going to the toilet too frequently breaks your concentration as well. As with any dinner table, it’s only polite that you chew your food as

though you have a secret to hide. The study room preserves a deathly silence sometimes and even a pin drop could sound like a marching band. You might want to think twice about openly chewing your food (especially crunchy ones!) in order to avoid receiving judgmental glares. A good option would be to nibble on foods like gummy bears or mints that don’t require much jaw action. Having your lunch in the library as you study might not be such a good idea as well as it will probably emanate the smells from the canteen and trust me, you wouldn’t want to be found guilty of giving the library a new scent. Lastly, and most surprisingly, I find that students that study in groups tend not to study at all. Most end up squawking away half the time. Much to my dismay, I find myself inextricably drawn to their

cacophony of chit chattering. I sigh in exasperation, as I pity the time wasted on trivial gossip. Perhaps this could be the most taboo of all things not to do in a study area. A library plagued with talking students wouldn’t be conducive for studying at all. As someone who is easily distracted, I suppose studying in large common areas might not be such a good idea after all. But I do hope that this article has provided you with an insight to some of the things that students may find irritating in study areas. Hopefully, the next time we visit the various study lounges or libraries all throughout school, we won’t be faced with such inconsiderate behavior.

LIFESTYLE

avoiding the angst of acne ALOYSIUS CHOW

hether you are 16, 26 or 36 years old, chances are you may have encountered pimples and still are trying to manage them. But there is a misunderstanding between pimples and acne, which are terms we loosely use interchangeably. Pimples are the infection of a chronic skin condition, namely acne. Though difficult, there are ways to manage acne, the most effective being a combination of good skincare and a healthy diet. Here we will share some advice from Dr. Hazel Oon who is a consultant dermatologist from the National Skin Centre, to ease your worries and give you hope for clearer skin.

1. What is Acne and what causes it? Acne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit, which comprises the sebaceous (oil) gland, hair follicle and hair. Raised androgen levels during puberty trigger an increase in oil on the skin. This fuels the growth of bacteria. Propionebacterium acnes promote skin inflammation, causing red papules, pustules and nodules. Follicles are also plugged with excess skin cells, forming comedones (i.e. blackheads and whiteheads). The face, neck, chest and back are common areas that can be affected. 2. Why is Acne so hard to treat and how can you address your problems? There are many factors that cause acne, and it is difficult to single out a particular cause. There may be a genetic predisposition; it is known that individuals with a family history of acne have earlier and more severe acne. Raised testosterone levels may persist and contribute to a roll-over of acne from the teenage years to adult acne which

can last into the 30s and beyond. It is important to recognize that while certain reasons for acne such as heredity and puberty cannot be altered, acne can be readily treated with a variety of acne medications and by avoiding factors which aggravate it such as the picking of the lesions.

non-comedogenic soap is sufficient. Avoid overzealous cleansing and drying toners. If your skin is irritated, a moisturizer can correct this.

3. Why is it important to have a good skincare regime?

I frequently use benzoyl peroxide in treating acne as it targets acne through more than one pathway. Benzoyl peroxide has comedolytic action and acts against comedones (blackheads and whiteheads), it is also antibacterial without being an antibiotic. This is important, as it does not result in antibiotic resistance. In fact, it reduces the incidence of antibiotic resistance when antibiotics are already in use and improves the effectiveness of Vitamin A derivative creams that are commonly prescribed for acne. It is recommended for use in paediatric acne due to its safety and efficacy.

When acne is treated with medicated creams and gels, it can result in a change of the skin from oily/ combination to dry/sensitive. This can be worsened by the use of harsh soaps and toners. Disruption of the skin barrier may result in bacterial colonization, redness, stinging, itch and scaling. This irritation may affect how topical acne medications are tolerated and may necessitate that topical acne preparations be temporarily stopped.

5. In your experience, how effective is Benzoyl Peroxide in combating acne?

4. What are some of the steps that we can take to take care of our face?

6. How can we avoid pimple scarring?

Generally washing your face twice daily with a mild, pH balanced,

It is important not to delay treatment for acne. Scars are permanent and

result from inflammatory acne, which damages the collagen in the skin. Studies have shown that scarring can result from comedones and even as early as 3 months after the onset of acne. 7. What are some measures to take when purchasing skincare products, especially when treating acne? Look for soap-free, noncomedogenic products from reputable brands. This applies to cleanser, toner, moisturizer and also sunscreen. 8. Does diet affect acne? This is a controversial topic. There are some studies suggesting that a diet with a high glycaemic load (i.e. high in sugar and carbohydrate) and dairy products may increase the risk of acne and its severity. Acne is due to a multitude of factors and diet alone is not the sole cause of acne. People with acne should eat a well-balanced, healthy diet.

WIRED

the

saga LESTER HIO

ebruary 2014 could very well be described as Flappy February— the month where what seemed like the whole of the nation was caught up in a frenzy of navigating a rotund, cumbersome bird through endless series of pipes. Many screenshots were taken, many hours were wasted, and doubtless many – or perhaps just a few? – phones were ruined in sheer frustration. Flappy Bird went from an unknown,

obscure app in both the iTunes App Store and Google Play before seemingly exploding in popularity towards the end of January. At the height of its popularity, Flappy Bird was seeing up to 50 million downloads. Yet, as every Flappy Bird player knows, every flap upwards has a corresponding drop, and what rocked the mobile gaming world on 9 Feb was an announcement made by Flappy Bird’s creator, Dong Nguyen, that he was pulling Flappy Bird out of all app stores.

The rise… In the beginning, it was a seemingly innocuous app which was uploaded to the iTunes app store on May 2013. Flappy Bird sat quietly for more than

half a year before it reached the top of the Free Apps chart for January, and was particularly pervasive in the two weeks of February. People started taking screenshots of their high scores and uploading them to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with each score fuelling the competitive streak amongst their friends to obtain an even higher score. What makes Flappy Bird so addictive? For one, it’s fast to boot up and load, and it functions impressively well as a time-killer app while waiting for a bus or standing in a queue. Gameplay is so intuitive as well, as you only need to tap, and wait, and tap, and wait, and… so on and forth. Each pipe you clear and

each point you get towards a new high score generates a sense of heightened excitement of beating your previous score. You actually feel yourself improving, too— when you first started, clearing up to five pipes may seem like an impossible task when you keep crashing after the first one, but with repeated playthroughs, something clicked and changed. The bird flaps slower, the holes between pipes seem smaller, the velocity of the fall doesn’t seem so steep anymore— suddenly, hitting scores of 10, 20, even 30 becomes the norm. And these little victories slowly add up, prompting you to play, and play, and play, and play, over and over again.

WIRED

“

WE CAN FLAP OUR WINGS ALL WE WANT AND BUMP INTO PIPES AND LOSE, BUT SOMETIMES, WE CAN SOAR TO A NEW HIGH SCORE.”

… and the fall It was a dark day on the Internet when Dong Ngyun announced that he was pulling Flappy Bird off the app stores. Speculation was rife: was a cease-and-desist from Nintendo, as the pipes used in the game were reminiscent of the pipes in Super Mario Bros.? (Dong later tweeted that it was not related to “legal issues”). Or was he harassed by people, in real life, after the claim that he was making US$50,000 a day in ad revenue was reported in tech website The Verge. Dong tweeted that he “cannot take this anymore”, which lead people to point out the dark side of mobile gaming, namely, self-entitled users who harassed and hurled insults (even death threats) at Dong for features of the game. The Internet was quick to capitalize on the game’s popularity after various tech and news sites picked up its high-profile takedown. Days after

Flappy Tweet

Flappy Bird was taken down from app stores, listings on Ebay popped up for pre-owned phones that came with Flappy Bird pre-installed. Auction prices showed phones being sold at ridiculous prices, at up to US$7,100, although these were later revealed to be scams aimed at creating demand on Ebay for such phones. New apps claiming to be Flappy Bird have also invaded the app stores, and security firms Sophos and Trend Micro have reported that such imposter apps carry malware for Android in particular. If Flappy Bird taught us anything, it’s that apps can go under the radar for a while and sudden storm the world by surprise. We can flap our wings all we want and bump into pipes and lose, but sometimes, we can soar to a new high score. All we need is patience— and more than a little luck.

Flappy Bird Impostor Apps

Flappy Ebay

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What should I do now that Flappy Bird is taken off the App Store?

ave you thought of playing something more challenging while tapping and swiping your phone aimlessly on the public transport? Sorry, Flappy Bird’s taken off the app store but here are some apps that will get your brain cracking as you progress through the dynamic levels of each game that require different kinds of skillsets and thinking every time!

YEO JUN YAN

Doodle Truck 2 - (Free on iOS)

Cut the Rope 2 - ($1.28 on iOS; coming soon) different load on your truck, else the truck might break or explode. The levels get harder as the terrains and weather get tougher. Driving on floating platforms on water and passing gaps between hills have never been a more difficult decision to make considering losing the load in the truck bed or the vehicle itself.

This game uses Newton’s Law of Motion. To win, the player has to drive a truck from one point to another using tap and tilt controls. In each round, the truck is loaded with different materials. You need to adjust the position of the truck at every level to accommodate the

The player can earn extra points by bringing cones to the finishing point or stopping below a helicopter for extra load. These actions require good coordination on the device as the cone can be destroyed and stopping is not easy with inertia.

Fling Theory - ($1.28 on Andriod, iOS, Steam)

The word theory might be a turnoff for some but it is an inevitable title for a game that takes place in a lab. Player must try to fling the red electrons across the map to the next level while being watched by a professor outside the machine. This game mimics science in real life, with

all images from Yeo Jun Yan

similar atoms repelling each other and neutrons turning into electrons when hit by one. Out of all the games reviewed, this game’s design is the least impressive. The colours are monotonous and the characters are ordinary. Possibly, it is because I have never seen a particle before. Nonetheless, the concept is strong. It would go far if the characters were designed better. To attract new and long-term fans, the developers definitely need to look into the character designs of the Angry Bird and Cut the Rope in order to pick up a trick or two.

Om Nom, the green main character in Cut The Rope, is back on the hunt for more candies. The latest installment of the game comes with

five new friends for Om Nom and new outdoor backgrounds. Instead of just having the candy go to him, Om Nom can now move around the maps. The new characters bring more fun to the gameplay as the puzzles become less repetitive. Like the original Cut The Rope, this is a great time killer. However, this app might be a little pricey as you would need to make some in-app purchases when you get to higher levels.

Bridge Constructor Playground - (Free on Android, iOS and Steam)

Ever wondered how magnificent bridges like Golden Gate Bridge and Tower Bridge are built? Wonder no more as this game allows the player to design, choose the material and

build a bridge. Acting as an architect, engineer and construction worker is really brain-wracking. The player has to think carefully to construct the bridge for each level or else the vehicles won’t be able to cross the bridge. Even though the player can choose different types of material to construct the steadiest bridge, the budget is limited. This will force the player to be creative and let his or her brain juice flow to complete the level.

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Music At Your Fingertips ANGELITA SASMITA

hroughout generations, music is undoubtedly a universal language with a unique ability to connect people with emotions. Today, it is more than ever so. Music - facilitated by technological innovation - is readily available to be made, heard and shared. A passenger in a train, plugged onto their headsets, is a common scene of the modern society. When our songs never seem to be up-to-date and our music players keep looping the same old tracks, it’s time for an app that understands our music. Unfortunately, many great music apps such as Pandora, Rdio, Beats Music and Google All Access are still not available in Singapore. But fret not, we still have awesome apps for your daily needs.

One of the biggest music apps SoundCloud is extremely popular especially among musicians. It allows you to follow any users and listen to the tracks they’ve uploaded. It’s great to find good originals, song covers or track samples of professional musicians for free. Some musicians even feature their full tracks there. Besides its cool sharing through tumblr, its best feature probably is it allows us to comment on the specific second of a track. Many musicians find this extremely useful to get feedback or even appreciation from fans and fellow performers.

Spotify might be the best streaming player we have for now. A ton of songs are available and you can create your own playlist, which your followers can also enjoy. Spotify also recommends songs based on what we listen to, and they are pretty spot-on. The mobile app is now available for free, but it comes with intermittent ads and you are only allowed to shuffle the songs on your playlist. If these annoys you, then feel free to upgrade to the premium version. For $10 a month, you get to listen, save the songs on your devices and listen to them offline, without all the inconveniences of the free version. They usually have a 30-day free trial so check that out if you can’t decide.

Looking for a brand new musical inspiration? Check out band of the day. This app provides a platform for new bands from across genres to be featured for a day. The app has very appealing illustration and description of each band and sample of their tracks. You can then purchase their full tracks through iTunes if you like what you hear. The app keeps each feature for 30 days, so that you can look through the features of other bands from the last 30 days.

It used to be mixed tapes. Then it was mixed CDs. Now, it is 8Tracks. You can find your favourite mix in 8Tracks based on your mood, your favourite singers or from your friends’ collection. 8Tracks have

very rich collections across genres. If you feel like making your own mix, creating your tracklist is pretty easy – you can upload from your own files or through SoundCloud. The only significant limitation is probably the skip limit due to licensing issues.

If you’re out and hear a song you like but have no idea what song that is, just turn on the listening feature in Shazam. It will automatically give you the song details, including the recommendation of other songs you might like, even though the track is only a few second long. Unfortunately, the application can only detect a proper track and not your singing or humming.

WIRED

Embracing Your Geek Identity ZHOU JIAJIA

azer mouse, Razer keyboard, Alienware…Every geek out there has his or her own ideal set of epic gear, but it is not just about the gear stats. While gear specifications are coveted by gamers to optimise the gaming experience, for some geeks, it is an identity. For every localised guru who fall through the cracks of the mainstream, there is bound to be a separate niche market out there catering to him or her. In 2012, Sharp developed a highly customised phone for the avid fans of the anime classic, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The regular Sharp phone running on the Android system is transformed with a 3D screen and an interface that takes on the

appearance of the Magi system from Evangelion. It costs about SGD 2500. And this is probably just one of the plentiful merchandise in their possession. Such expressions of an identity can only amount to a brush off the tip of the iceberg. It takes more than that to establish an identity. On this note, we bring to you an interview with a local start-up, Xmashed Gear. Materialised in 2012, Xmashed Gear offers esoteric shirt designs centered on games. As a geek himself, Xmashed Gear’s founder and designer, NUS alumni Zhou Xuanming understands a geek’s need to express one’s identity

and has therefore decided to extend his expertise out to the others who feel the same as him. Xmashed Gear – Epic Gear for the Real World What made you decide to take the leap of faith to run this business? Before I started Xmashed Gear, I used to purchase geeky tees from the States and Europe at exorbitant shipping rates. That led me to wonder why there aren’t any geek apparel stores here in Singapore or even in the region – it turns out people were afraid that the niche geek community would be hard to reach and satisfy.

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MOST IDEAS COME TO ME WHEN I LEAST EXPECT IT TO, LIKE DURING A TRAIN RIDE OR WHEN WALKING AROUND IN A MALL.”

Armed with my geekiness, drawing tablet and partners within the gaming scene in Singapore, I decided to dive into the deep end and take a chance. To what extent do you think your time in university helps you with what you are doing now? University education gave me two things. One was the people you meet there – they are often “handy” in whatever future endeavours you might pursue, so treat them well. The second would be the analytical approach to issues and problems that you are so often trained in while image from XmashedGear

attending classes. How do these ideas come to you and what happens when you are in a slump? Most ideas come to me when I least expect it to, like during a train ride or when walking around in a mall. I pen them all down in a notepad file on my desktop and refer to it whenever I’m in need of a design. What plans do you have for Xmashed Gear at the moment? In addition to coming up with more designs for t-shirts and attending all upcoming geek conventions, Xmashed Gear is launching a series of gamer laptop bags soon, so stay tuned for more news on our Facebook page. Do you have any advice to give to anyone out there who is considering a start-up? Start small, even if you have big plans. Once you have gotten your bearings and learnt the ropes of your chosen field, then expand. A lot of businesses stumble not because they have a bad business plan or product, but because they fail to foresee some hidden costs or sharp corners. Starting small allows you to make all the mistakes you need to make, without incurring too large a cost while doing so. Like Xmashed Gear’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ xmashedgear

SPORTS

Yangon Marathon: Running the Extra Mile for Charity CHUA JING ZHI

he NUS Aquathlon recently sent five of their members to Myanmar for the Yangon Marathon. Their participation, however, was not restricted to mere running alone. They also, within a short period of time, collected clothes on a small scale donation drive and presented them as gifts to the marathonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adopted charity, an orphanage for kids with HIV. It was a remarkable effort made by the team, considering the fact that it was only around two weeks before the day of the event that they decided to make the trip up to Myanmar. Their interest was piqued when all four parties involved (the organisers, the charity, the school and the team heading up) were brought to the same table for discussion. It was the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keen interest that enabled them to prepare for the trip within such a short amount of time, and to execute it successfully. I am proud to say that I was part of the five-man team. However, it was not all fun and rosy, as even up to the actual week of the event, our air tickets and accommodation were not yet booked, and we had not done any publicity for the clothes collection drive. It was only up to the few hours before the flight, when everyone got their visa settled, that we could see the trip coming to fruition. Nevertheless, even as we geared up for the trip, there was no time to let our excitement sink in. Clothes from school, our friends, and from external parties were still coming in, and there were lots of packing left to be done. At the airport the next morning, we continued to pack as we gathered clothes from friends who have already graduated from school. And with that, we easily exceeded our targeted amount of one box of clothes, and doubled our estimation of 25kg of excess baggage. Despite all these, we eventually managed to bring all the clothes over to the HIV positive orphans at Happy Haven, Yangon, Myanmar. To our delight, the gifts were well received and we were presented with a certificate as a form of gratitude for our efforts.

After this, we proceeded with our respective marathon/half-marathon the next day, which was a truly unique Yangon experience. The weather was perfect for our run at below 20 degrees Celsius. Fortunately for the runners, the temperature and weather conditions stayed that way for the most part of the run. Heaven was smiling down on us, and it made the run easier and much more enjoyable. Along the way, we passed by several places of attractions, which included Yangonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iconic golden pagoda. With the sun rising in the backdrop as we ran along the route, the views were simply breathtaking. We were also amazed by the supporters along the route. There were huge numbers of families coming out of their houses and shops to cheer runners on early in the morning. Spurred on by their enthusiastic cheers which livened up the atmosphere, all the runners pushed on harder. Even for those who were struggling, it was difficult to stop running. Along the way we also saw a sight unique to Yangon - kids running barefooted. Considering how uneven and bumpy the roads were, it was incredible that they even managed to finish the race without limping. To add to that amazement, the female marathon winner also ran the 42km barefooted. In the end, all of us thoroughly enjoyed the race, and met our respective targets. One of us even managed to break his personal best for the marathon. The entire race experience was topped off with a treat of Myanmar delight for everyone at the race site. On the whole, the trip was an eye opening, fulfilling and rewarding one. It also reminded the team of how lucky and blessed we were, and inspired us to continue doing greater good for the community. The Yangon Marathon is definitely not one I will forget so soon.

SPORTS

facebook.com/NUSICG2014/

University Town Inter-Collegiate Games 2014 : The UTown Spirit LOH KAI YING

SPORTS

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he University Scholar’s Programme’s (USP) Chua Tian Poh Hall was especially colourful on 23rd February. Residents hailing from the various UTown residential colleges were clad in their respective college colours for the Inter-Collegiate Games (ICG). Yale-NUS was in blue, USP in white, Tembusu in green, and (College of Alice and Peter Tan) CAPT in yellow. All of them waited eagerly for the exciting results from each of the ten ICG sports played, and to find out who the overall winner of the highly coveted ICG trophy was. Organised by CAPT this year, the ICG was held over two Sundays, and involved hundreds of athletes and 58 officials. Bigger in scale than its inaugural counterpart, it not only featured the new college Yale-NUS, but also hosted a wide range of sports such as Ultimate Frisbee, Dodgeball, Tchoukball, Basketball, Biathlon, Floorball, and many others. All the athletes underwent arduous and intensive trainings over the past couple of months and honed their skills to perfection in the hopes of emerging victorious in this Second ICG. As the captain of CAPT’s table tennis team and member of the basketball team myself, ICG was truly a memorable experience for me. This was my first time participating in it, and boy have I learnt a lot. The role of captains is big – we are faced

MANY OF US CALL UTOWN OUR HOME AND IF THIS IS SO, ALL OF US ARE FAMILY”

with the constant challenges of improving the skills of our teams and yet ensuring our players (most of whom do not play the sport competitively) do not get tired out, and that trainings can be balanced nicely along with our studies. With my team being created from scratch and consisting of people from different faculties who may not have played with each other before, it was difficult forming our doubles pairs, and for us to get used to each other’s playing styles. We also faced tough competition from the other colleges who had more experienced players. Nevertheless, we pulled through well as a team and proudly emerged as overall champions for table tennis ICG. As a whole, ICG was executed and concluded successfully, nevertheless with many hiccups along the way. On the first day of the Games itself, colleges were in conflict with each other over ambiguity in rules and regulations. The issue of whether IVP (InterVarsity-Polytechnic) players could play kept cropping up across the various sports. During the basketball matches, a player from Yale-NUS approached the officials and questioned them if players who trained with the IVP team (but who were not officially in the IVP team list) were allowed to be on court. This quickly escalated into a debate, and matches were put on hold as

the officials discussed this and ironed things out with the basketball captains. This also affected other sports, as several teams had IVP players. The officials had to then call for emergency meetings and make quick decisions and revisions to the rules so as to restore order to the Games. All IVP players were swiftly disqualified from playing further matches, while it was decided that those who trained informally with the IVP team or were varsity players but did not participate in IVP matches were allowed to stay on in the Games. Even though there was unhappiness regarding the disqualification of IVP players, all the athletes still pressed on, pitched their best efforts at the Games, and displayed great sportsmanship. Admittedly, the dispute over IVP players proved to be a test of the friendly relations between colleges. The issue of whether winning or the spirit of sports and friendly competition was more important repeatedly came to the fore. It was therefore on everyone’s minds to place the contentious issue aside and to focus instead on the Games. This is testament to the colleges’ ability to nurture and foster a collective UTown spirit, which is one of the objectives of the ICG. Indeed, the issue of winning takes a backseat in light of such a priceless value. As the new kid on the block, UTown, with its fresh concept of

residential living and learning, is a ground of experimentation. Not only does it make sense for everyone to maintain friendly relations with each other (as we all live together), it is this very spirit of accommodating one other and cooperating with each other that encapsulates the whole idea of building and maintaining a community, which NUS prizes, and that we, as residents, should value too. Granted, this UTown spirit is at best flimsy and unstable at the moment, looking at how new all the colleges are. It is thus commendable that events like the ICG help put things into perspective, and to remind us UTown residents, that we not only belong to our respective colleges, but also to a wider UTown community, and that it is important to respect our citizenship as UTown residents and to forge healthy relationships with one another. So as we review the Second ICG and relive the memories made, let’s look forward to the next ICG or the next big UTown event where all of us can come out of our college buildings, mingle and have fun with each other, and to play our part in building our UTown spirit. Never mind which college wins whichever competition, never mind which college has the best players. Many of us call UTown our home, and that makes us family.

SPORTS

Meganews! on

YANG KAIYUAN

or this issue, the editor Stray dogs in Sochi are the proverbial approached me to write about a ‘thorn in the flesh’, for how else can major worldwide sports event. He you explain the local Sochi officials’ literally suggested that I write about locking up of thousands of stray the 2014 World Cup. I told him, “You dogs and killing them? US media are aware that the World Cup does has really been agitated over this not happen for another three months, stray dog issue. The other day when right?” He replied that he wanted I walked past the Utown newsstand, this issue to be on something that guess what was on the International everybody cares about. Herald Tribune front page? Attention people, Russians are going after their Thinking of the hundreds of magazine stray dogs! USA Today even ran an copies left to rot on our campus article sharing with their readers newsstands, I said, “How about Sochi how to adopt a stray dog from Sochi. Winter Olympics?” Now, I am not even going to explain where Sochi Yeah, and also the ring. The is. Just know that Sochi is a name of rightmost ring had failed to a place. I know you guys don’t read illuminate during the Games’ this magazine, but you all should opening ceremony, leaving a have gone to more Geography class. snowflake shape instead. This “Sochi Olympics?” My editor blinked. ring glitch discovered the full force He looked at me blankly, “What is of the Internet, with a barrage of that?”* tweet posts taking a crack at the technical malfunction, hashtagged *My editor actually knows about Sochi. “#fail” and “#sochi2014”. Although it Really. would appear that the Russians get the last laugh by poking fun at their Safe in the knowledge that nobody opening ceremony boo-boo in the cares about a) Winter Olympics, Games’ closing ceremony, seemingly and b) this magazine, I can write mirroring that snowflake ring. about something that is fun. For those of you who don’t know it, Then Sochi is finding itself sizzled by Sochi Olympics is amazing in many gay-rights activism. In the whirlpool different ways. Off the top of my mind, of controversy, Putin sat down with I would have to say stray dogs. the Western media and told them

Look! Stray dogs in Sochi! - from nationalgeographic.om

that Russia actually welcomes gay athletes, but only if they leave the children alone. (The official antihomosexual campaign in Russia links homosexuals to pedophiles.) These juicy news sound-bites are all well and good, but you are probably wondering: where are the sports? So the next thing I want to talk about Sochi Olympics is the short-selling mentality of Western media. You can hardly find any positive coverage on this Sochi Olympics from Western journalists. The trick is if Sochi indeed flounders, then these media will celebrate by giving themselves pats on their back, and proclaim,

“See? Told you so.” But even if Sochi ends up OK to good, they can still dismiss the Russian organizers’ efforts as merely “having just done their job”. Normally not many people are genuinely interested in the Winter Games. You know what: so play with the Cold War paranoia, and add in some political angles and social commentary. Where is Sochi anyway? Doesn’t matter. News sensationalizing, that’s what it is. For the record, Sochi Winter Olympics is the biggest disaster of all time, until Euro-American countries start winning medals. Much like six years ago in Beijing.