For the Little Things of Student Life - Issue 8 (The Blue and Gold) - January 2010

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A

SMU ’

For the little things

of student lifeBy Senthil Sukumar

Additional interviews by

Ankita Prasad , Aashna,

Nasta and Fu Yingliang

Photos by Chloe Sng



13 THE BLUE AND GOLD January 20

By her own admission, second yearbusiness student Sophia Lo SingHui says that she is a people person

who is sensitive to people’s feelings. It ishardly surprising then to know that thecurrent SMUSA President was initiallygunning for the role of Welfare Secretary.

“I was initially very drawn to stuff likewelfare packages and doing visible thingsfor students. But after getting into SMUSAand before the internal elections, I got

to see the problems we have in school ...and I felt driven to lead the elected teamto solve these problems. So I ran for Presi-dent instead.”

One reason for her successful electioninto SMUSA, Sophia feels, is in her cam-paign’s platform. Instead of promisingsweeping changes for SMU students, shefocused on smaller issues such as improv-ing communication channels betweenstudents and the school administration.Indeed, her campaign’s slogan: “For thelittle things of student life” reflects a ten-dency to work from the ground up.

She also suggests that her personalitymay have helped her win votes. “I’m acheery person by nature, so I wanted tomake SMU a more vibrant place, and Ithink that helped my campaign too.”

Becoming President

Sophia is SMUSA’s third female presi-dent, and when asked if women have anadvantage in dealing with the school ad-ministration, she says, “I think as a femalepresident, I am more sensitive to people.If a problem is raised, I will go directly tothe person and talk to him/her.”

Citing her participation in dragonboatas useful experience for her new role,she says, “Dragonboating is a team sport,and there are things certain individu-als are good at. That is why I will valueevery member of my team. I will try tofigure out the strengths and weaknessesof my Exco members to see how they cancomplement each other.”

As an example, she highlights the sameamiable personality that allowed her towin over voters as a possible weaknesswhen “laying down law” among the Exco,and says that her vice-president will com-pensate for this by taking the disciplinar-ian role within the Exco.

Sophia adds that the previous SMUSAPresident had helped in her transitionto office. “She’s (Rachel) been bringingme around to meet President Hunter and

the Dean of Students to show me what itfeels like to be interacting with the schooladministration, which is something thePresident will have to do often.”

The student

“I’m not a ‘class part’ kind of person,”Sophia reveals, “and that is something Iam trying to work on.” For some students,it may be reassuring to learn that eventhe new President has to grapple with thismuch loved/hated aspect of our academicsystem. “In terms of project work, I amalways very close with my project mates. Iactually value team work a lot.”

Sophia asserts that grades are noteverything. She spends more energy on

her passions such as dragonboating andvolunteer work, which she admits, is adelicate balancing act.

“In June, instead of going for an intern-ship, I really wanted to excel in dragon-boat. People may think that it is crazyspending the summer to train; but thisyear, the girls won our first ever medal at

“She’s (Rachel) been

bringing me around tomeet President Hunter

and the Dean of Students toshow me what it feels liketo be interacting with the

school administration...”

a competition organised by the SingaporeDragon Boat Association, and that was anachievement for me.”

Sophia acknowledges that she is not aperfect student, but she reaffirms herdrive to constant improvement, especiallnow that she is President. “Being thePresident, it’s like being a role model tostudents; and I cannot let anything affectmy classroom performance. Little thingslike not handing in a part well for a group

project will affect how people view meas president.” But ultimately, Sophia saysthat, “I really enjoy SMU life a lot.”

The road ahead

The increase in the school’s parking feesis one issue that has been brought overto the new Exco’s agenda. As a studentherself, Sophia personally feels that stu-dents and faculty members should havelower rates than members of the public.However, she admits that students are nothe sole stakeholders in this issue, andthat due consideration must be offered tothe other stakeholders.

The incoming SMUSA President also re-veals plans to utilise online services suchas Facebook and Twitter to enable closercommunication with students. “On Face-book, students have come up with groupsto complain about school issues. So weare looking into launching a Facebookgroup to address these issues directly.”

Ultimately, Sophia’s aspiration for the10th SMUSA Exco is that of approach-ability. She has pledged to work hard to“allow students to really be able to findus, reach us, and talk to us.” This goal isreflected in the new Exco’s vision state-

ment; and as SMU celebrates its 10th an-niversary, one wonders what milestonesSophia will undertake, and how the newSMUSA Exco will shape this hallmarkyear.



January 2010 THE BLUE AND GOLD 14

Tell us a little about yourself

I am an international student and I have been in Singaporesince Junior College. My hobbies are reading, talking to peopleand sports. I seek a balance for everything in life.

What distinguishes you as a leader? I think it is my strong sense of commitment and initiative. Ilike to think that I probe others in possible directions and helpthem make the best of their abilities and resources.

What made you want to join SMUSA? As far back as primary school, I’ve always been very involvedin student life (can’t imagine what school would be like with-out it), and university is really the last time you can participatein student life whilst calling yourself a full fledge student.Although I’ve never fancied the campaigning process of elec-tions, this time, I took it as a test of courage. And thanks to the

support of friends, mentors, and family, here I am.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced during the elections? The attention from people around took me a while to getused to. I also had to accept that wanting to serve in SMUSAwould come with all the publicity that campaigns will bring.My gratitude goes out to friends who pushed me along, bymaintaining that sense of urgency and purpose to ramp up mycampaign.

What would you do if you found out that one of your Exco members has not been performing up to standards (i.e. missing meetings and not carrying out his/her tasks well)? Before any judgement takes place, the matter should be com-municated across the Exco. Then when it comes to evaluation,

it’ll depend on the circumstances surrounding the disparityin the person’s performance. We also have in mind preventivemeasures. For example, strict fines for those who are late formeetings. Also, we have in place a buddy system where welook after one another, to ensure that our buddies are goingalong well with their portfolios and are doing alright.

Tell us a little about yourself

I am currently a second year student at the Lee Kong ChianSchool of Business. I am an international student who hasstayed in Singapore for more than eight years and I am stayinin SMU hostel.

What are your roles and responsibilities as an Exco member? As the events secretary of the 10th SMUSA Exco, my role isto coordinate various university-wide events like FreshmenTeambuilding Camp, Vivace, SMUSA Awards Night, OpenHouse and to make sure that the events run smoothly. I amalso in charge of coordinating all the summer camp dates.

What distinguishes you as a leader? My leadership style focuses on being a role model in whatevetasks I am overseeing or in charge of. By being a committedand passionate member in the events that we are organising,

intend to set the benchmark and support the rest of the teamlike a servant.

What difference do you think you can make to SMUSA and SMU?The difference I think I can make or at least, I want to make ito increase the participation rate in various SMU student lifeactivities among international students. I wish to change theperception that SMU student life is not happening enough anthat international students are not active in student life.

What would you do if you found out that one of your Exco memberhas not been performing up to standards (i.e. missing meetings andnot carrying out his/her tasks well)? From my experience, there is no point shooting the persondown or confronting someone who has not been perform-

ing. The very first thing that I would do is to find out the rootof the problem, and act upon it. If it is due to the workload, Iwould encourage the other Exco members to help out or askthe person to recruit more people to help him/her. Whetherthe reason is valid or not, my approach towards the personwould be more passive and consistent to help him/her per-form up to the standards.

Emile Law (Honorary General Secretary) Michael Joo (Events Secretary)



15 THE BLUE AND GOLD January 20

Jack Moy, the incoming SA Business Secretary cannot wait to

serve the student population in his new position.

“SMUSA provides a wonderful platform to serve the studentpopulation, so I jumped at this chance given to me.”

He excitedly describes his past endeavours for the studentpopulation. For example, he was the man who secured the500 Star hub Pfingo pillows and the AIA lucky exam pens forSMUSA’s exam welfare package last semester.

Students can also look forward to seeing more discounts thatthey are entitled to when the new Univantage magazine is ouin January. The magazine would also include interesting ar-ticles and reviews, traditionally, the students’ favourites. Thisis one of the efforts taken to revitalise Univantage.

Another initiative would be a tie up with OCBC Bank. Plansare being made for students to flash the SMU-OCBC debit carin place of the student card to make shopping more conve-nient for everyone.

In addition, students can anticipate better bazaars in Week10 of the coming term. It would be worth to mark that weekin your calendar as Jack plans for merchants which will addvalue to the bazaar. Besides that, BIZCOM is also workingtowards “eliciting greater interest in (their) trademark event — the Freshman Bash. Something for the freshmen and theseniors to enjoy!

“We are also planning better merchandise to help produceitems which can identify students as stakeholders of the SMU

community, with the profits from these merchandise fundineven more scholarships and awards for peers,” Jack says.

Choosing Albert Einstein as someone he would emulate, Cher

Hern respects the former’s philosophical acumen in additionto his academic excellence. “He exemplified his belief thatmorality and philosophy ought to temper our pursuits in lifethrough his humility and compassion,” Cher Hern shares.

And compassion is something he would not hesitate to sharewhen a fellow team member falls short of expectations. Thecommunications secretary also credits the previous Exco formaking substantial efforts in trying to improve communica-tions between students and the administration. He aims towork to enhance “varsity-wide communications” with thefoundation laid by his predecessors.

Just like any form of communication, two way inputs areneeded. Therefore, the student body has a part to play in facili-tating better communication with the SA. “We sincerely feel

that as part of the student body, the only way we can proceedmeaningfully is when we have a concrete picture of what thegeneral student populace wants, and how they want it to beachieved,” Cher Hern says.

Thus, the new Exco would also concentrate on providingconvenient avenues for students to provide feedback and bandtogether to tackle issues. Transparency would also be ensuredby communicating the resultant feedback openly to the stu-dent body.

When unpopular decisions are made by the school adminis-tration, dialogues are particularly important as it is crucial forthe students to learn the rationale behind these decisions. Stu-dents also need to process the reasons and give their feedback.

“Students need to band together in a concerted effort to delib-erate over such issues to derive responsible feedback, and topresent them as a united front. This would undoubtedly helpto further our cause,” Cher Hern adds.

Jack Moy (Business Secretary)Lee Cher Hern (Communications Secretary)

For the Little Things of Student Life - Issue 8 (The Blue and Gold) - January 2010

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