The Blue and Gold - Issue 7 - October 2008

THE BLUE AND GOLDThe student’s voice • MICA (P) 200/03/2009 Issue 7 • October 2009

heartwarein SMU

Nurturing the

Views on the 80 hours of compulsory community involvement projects

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2 THE BLUE AND GOLD October 2009

THE BLUE AND GOLD

THE BLUE AND GOLD is a fully student-run publication of the Singapore Management University Students’ Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced without the prior permission of the authors concerned and The Blue and Gold. Printed by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd.

The Blue and Gold81 Victoria StreetSingapore [email protected]

Editor’s note

This is an extraordinary time for The Blue and Gold. We launched our new look just this year and many other initiatives will roll out over the next few weeks. We have also formed a new team of student editors since our last issue.

Early in the term, The Blue and Gold launched a model search for our new series of print ads which you will see around campus. The response for this search was heartwarming and I would like to extend my thanks to those who had applied.

We are also very priviliged to partner Trilympics 2009 as their official student publication and look forward to future partnerships with student related events in SMU.

This issue hopes to focus on the pulse of student life - from issues close to students’ hearts like the Delight issue to events featuring our very own SMU students such as the Freshmen Bash. Look out for the exclusive interview with our newly crowned Mr and Ms SMU.

For the Viewpoint section, we have a wide array of critical feedback on policies that could affect students. And we hope that the school management would take these views seriously.

We also feature several insightful talks - one of which is on the rise of China - in the Higher Learning section which we hope would give our readers knowledge beyond the seminar room.

Taiwan takes centrestage in our Travel section. In this feature, we also managed to have a short chat with pop idol Jolin Tsai.

We hope you will enjoy this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting this issue together. As you read this, work on our next issue has already begun. Let’s continue to make the student’s voice heard!

Ephraim LoyEditor-in-Chief, The Blue and [email protected]

You know you’re important when The Straits Times acknowledges your presence. All right, we

made a mistake with our spelling in the SMU 200 poster, which some of you — including

our national newspaper — spotted and made known to us (right). We sincerely apologise for the spelling error — and this time, we promise you we’ll get it right. It was a good experience.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Michael Ng

ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR

Owen Tan

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ephraim Loy

ACTING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alexandria Neo

SENIOR EDITORS

Esther YeoTalisa Kaur Dhaliwal

EDITORS

Bharath RaganathanSuren RastogiTruong Thi Ngoc AnhPranav BackliwalPang Hui Qing

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Chloe Sng

ILLUSTRATOR

Alexandria Neo

BAG7(new).indd 2 10/9/09 8:09 AM

October 2009 THE BLUE AND GOLD 3

Viewpoint4 Reviewing pre-assigned modules:

A wise move?Unpredictability the key to LTB

5 Falling attendance at Vivace?It seems like a sign of apathy amongst

students says Owen Tan6 Communication is key in student

engagement8 SA replies to “Students, take

action if you want change”

Cover Story10 Nurturing the heartware in SMU

Views on the 80 hours of compulsory

community involvement projects

School Events16 Sports Fiesta reveals new trend

of student participation18 Eight questions for Freshmen

Bash 2009 winners Sean Wong and Natalie Pua

20 Delight-ful issues: Tripartite gap within SMU?

Higher Learning22 In writing, there’s No Looking

BackOwen Tan listens to the stories, the

past and the hopes of writer Robert

Shearman

27 Copenhagen: Unavoidable management?

28 China will rule the world — a Western insight into China’s riseOwen Tan finds out more at the

Foreign Correspondents Association’s

Morning Talk

Worldscope30 Obama’s healthcare plan 101

Esther Yeo gives a summary of what

you should know

32 Human rights in ASEAN: An economic perspective

Travel34 Taiwan: An often overlooked gemCampus Arts36 Love two be part of art

Emile Law has a sneak peek of art in

the heart of SMU

CCA Pages38 Adding colour to Noah’s Ark III

Leandra Chee reports on the recent

painting overseas community service

project by the SMU People for Animal

Welfare

40 Friendship redefinedEugene Tan Jia Rong questions the

notion of being a friend

42 Reflections from the 14th APEC WLN Meeting

44 Q.E.D. is about passion and zeal for Quantitative Finance

46 Literati: We are novel

October 2009 • Issue 7

Contents

THE BLUE AND GOLD

16

18

34

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Viewpoint

A freshman acquaintance of mine was asking me for advice regarding BOSS bidding. Knowing how dif-

ficult it had been when I was a freshman doing first-time bidding, I gladly helped. However, one of his perfectly innocent questions caught me totally off guard.

“Hey Putra, how much did you bid for Financial Accounting?”

I was trying to recall how many e$ I paid for FA when it suddenly dawned on me that I never paid any e$ for it. It was pre-assigned, two terms ago. I tried to remain helpful and told him to check the past biddings in OASIS, but then I remembered that FA had always been pre-assigned, at least in recent times. I told him to bid somewhere around e$18, just to be safe. (For the record, he eventually got the class.)

Apparently, that’s not all. In this new academic year, with the exception of SIS modules, there are only three that are pre-assigned: Calculus, Academic Writing, and Introductory Econom-ics. Unless exempted, those who are in block A will get Calculus and Academic Writing, while those in block B will get Calculus and Introductory Economics. This is a huge change from the previous academic year. A total of seven modules were pre-assigned; joining the aforementioned three are Business Law; Leadership and Teambuilding (LTB); Business, Government, and Society (BGS); and, of course, Financial Accounting (FA).

Delisting Business Law and FA from the pre-assignment roster is quite sensible. After all, both modules are not meant to be taken by all SMU students. Business Law is compulsory only for students from LKCSB, SOA, and SOL, while FA is compulsory only for students from

LKCSB and SOA. The other two, however, is a wholly different story. LTB and BGS are both compulsory for all students, no matter which school they are from. Therefore, pre-assigning them would prove to be less of a headache for everyone: From students who don’t have to worry about failing their bidding, to professors who don’t have to worry about students drop-ping their classes.

That being said, even though the reasons behind these changes are not obvious for us students, surely the school acts in everyone’s best interests. With students being one of the key components of the very existence of the school, no policy change would be made without taking into consideration our welfare and interests.

Unpredictability the key to LTB

By Putra Muskita

Reviewing pre-assigned modules: A wise move?

The Leadership and Team Building (LTB) course, compulsory for all SMU students, is a class that “offers

an opportunity for students to learn by do-ing in giving them hands-on experiences that facilitate the learning of leadership and team dynamics in real-life situations”, as mentioned in the course description.

For years this course had been pre-assigned to all students in either their first or second terms of school. This year, however, citing the changing school dynamics of increas-ing attendance, the university decided for the first time in its history to not pre-assign the LTB course to students.

The contradiction to the course descrip-tion, however, leaves something for the students (and academic offices) to wonder. How can a course that expects to “facilitate

the learning of leadership and team dynam-ics” be a class that you can possibly bid with friends that you know? The fact that LTB is un-predictable — that you are able to meet people whom you have not met, possibly people from different schools and backgrounds — makes the course intensely educational, since we need to learn how to react and build rapport with a group of strangers.

While the workload is immense in pre-assign-ment of course units — the Office of Regis-trar, apparently, needs to manually enter the names of every single freshman into the class databases, which becomes more of a hassle every year with exploding attendances — the surprise in meeting another group of individu-als that are not immediately in your first-de-gree network of friends (and then spending 13 weeks together grinding out a decent project notwithstanding) is a worthwhile benefit.

Pre-assignment of courses, in my opinion, can reduce the formation of cliques, and help to establish networks with people whom you might not necessarily have met.

The benefits of having a pre-assigned LTB course may not be immediately apparent — but are significant, if one is to consider what the course description is all about. In “real-life situations”, you are limited in the choices of who you can work with. Could bidding for course units that teach teamwork (to a group of friends) possibly be as educational than teaching teamwork to a group of strangers? I wonder.

By Owen Tan

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Year on year, SMU admits a record number of freshmen into its cam-puses, and class sizes have conspicu-

ously grown larger. Interestingly, there has been no corresponding increase to the following: the attendances at Vivace, the subsequent attendances of most CCAs, and the number of chairs in seminar rooms. It may not be as worrying to run out of chairs in school — but it certainly is to run out of passion.

Taking into account once more the year-on-year increase in enrolment, we have not matched that to the number of people looking to get elected into constituent bodies (CBds). Fewer people are looking to be elected into the Students’ Association Executive Committee (SA Exco) than the previous year.

Are we not caring enough to join associations and organisations anymore? I look back at myself as a freshman in 2008 and wonder if I had ever thought I would write an article like this. Students who do not participate in these civic activities probably cite “priorities” as a reason, but do “priorities” ultimately matter most?

External pursuits matter as much as the textbook theories — and I am not talking about sports. Meeting people, talking to them, stimulates your intellect and in the long term, builds relationships that you may never have the chance when you go to work next time.

Think about something that you’ve always wanted to do — and it is likely that it would be the pursuit of something apart from

It seems like a sign of apathy amongst students says Owen Tan

Falling attendance at Vivace?Viewpoint

academic achievement, or “priorities”. Learn something different, it has been said in psychology, and you’ll find it easier to learn something new in the future. Join a society, says sociology, and it is likely that you will benefit from the “strength of weak ties”, or what others term as “networking”.

In short, do something — and the world, including you, benefits from your participation. Don’t neglect your studies just yet, but never forget to broaden your horizons.

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Viewpoint

By Elvin Ong

Communication is key in student engagement

“Because the students need to know” –— that is the tagline adopted by The Blue and Gold.

This author recommends that it should be the tagline adopted by all elected student representatives, namely — the SMUSA Exco, the Excos of constituent bodies (CBds) and in particular, the Students’ Association Council (SAC), which is the highest student body representing student interests.

Currently, there is an endemic lack of transparency and accountability at all lev-els in our elected student bodies. Except for the commendable emailers from SMUSA President Rachel Kok publicising what SMUSA has been doing, the rest of our student representatives have been silent throughout their terms.

No minutes of any of the general meetings are uploaded for access and scrutiny. No emails providing information about what is happening behind the scenes of negotia-tion with the school administration. Little publicity on what new initiatives are being considered — except for the one-time SMUSA Students’ Feedback Survey. In a nutshell there has been little sustained ef-fort in using other avenues in the solicita-tion of feedback.

Future Excos might want to channel their energies into addressing this serious prob-lem that has been left unaddressed by their predecessors. It is serious not only because nothing has been done about it thus far, but because of the resulting consequences.

CommunicationFirstly, increasing transparency and widen-ing the different forms of communication channels can help generate new solu-tions, initiatives and help improve overall student life.

No one person or group can monopolise creative thinking. A plurality of differ-ent views and opinions should be sought

from the rest of the student population when approaching problems in school that everyone shares.

Instead, after asking for our votes during elec-tion and after the relationship is sealed with their successful election, our elected student representatives seem to lose interest very quickly in communicating with the constitu-ents who gave them the mandate in the very first place.

It seems that they would rather hibernate in their respective rooms, planning and organis-ing for the next big event that is along the way. The communication in the relationship is lost.

One does not need a marriage counsellor to remind us that while planning and organising for beautiful anniversaries are important and definitely much appreciated, communication within a marriage is crucial.

Secondly, increased communication can allow constituents to better understand the func-tions of elected student bodies/organisations and generate more interest amongst compe-tent people to stand for elections when the time comes.

In this author’s view, when one takes office, there are two immediate concerns: How to do your job well and, how to nurture a talent pool to take over you to ensure continuity and suc-cess. After all, we do not want our hard work to go to waste.

Over the long term, when people know what is being done and how things function, transpar-ency can breed support and even appreciation from fellow school mates about the tough realities of the job. Non-transparency can only create harm and distrust.

At the end of the day, transparency and suf-ficient communication between students and their elected student representatives can only be a good thing. If done properly, active and enthusiastic communication channels can improve student life and generate understand-ing and appreciation for the job.

AccountabilityBut, most importantly, transparency of infor-mation allows us to hold our elected student representatives accountable for their actions or inactions.

How do we know who is actually really doing something and who is not?

Perhaps it is time for a reminder that student leaders are ultimately responsible to the entire student population. Elected student repre-sentatives hold a mandate for office and are vested with power from the electorate to carry out functions in their respective offices. Any lack of communication with the electorate ultimately undermines its own legitimacy and will erode the trust that fellow students have in student bodies/organisations. It might also explain the apathy that many students have with our elected student bodies.

There is no need for any marketing campaign to sell our own choices back to us. Just tell us the truth.

Read more student viewpoints on The Blue and Gold blog at theblueandgold.wordpress.com.

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Viewpoint

I refer to Kenny Tan’s commentary (“Students, take action if you want change”) that was published in the 6th

issue (August 2009) of The Blue and Gold and would like to offer the views of the 5th SMU Students’ Association Council (SAC) and the 9th SMU Students’ Association Exco (SA Exco).

First of all, on behalf of the 5th SAC (which constitutes the members of the 9th SA Exco and the Presidents of the 10 CBds), I would like to thank Kenny for sharing his views and opinions on student life and rights in SMU. It is heartening to know that our students have such deep concerns for the well-being of their fellow students. Through this reply I hope to address some of the issues that Kenny raised in his let-ter, and hopefully help him and the rest of the student population obtain a better understanding.

Regarding Kenny’s concern that the SAC is co-opted by the offices to help enforce and communicate to students the decisions of the administration, I would like to assure all students that is not the case. It is impor-tant for me, and I believe for all students, to highlight that the SAC is elected solely by the student population, be it through the various elections for the six school Constituent Bodies (CBds), the four CCA CBds or the SA Exco. There are various opportunities such as the public dialogue session conducted during the SMUSA Elections or through interactions with the candidates via face-to-face chats or through online media, for students, to converse with candidates regarding their campaign, visions, and objectives of running that will help you make an informed decision be-fore you cast a vote. However, although we are not puppets of the administration, we do strive to work closely with them as well as various other stakeholders, to better and more efficiently advocate your rights and to ensure that the quality of student life is constantly improving.

I would also like to thank Kenny for his suggestion on how we can better commu-nicate with the students. This is an area in

which we have been, and will continue to try to improve on. However we seek the student population’s understanding that although we are constantly engaged in various endeav-ours, seeking benefit for students, we may not always be able to communicate every step in the progress we make (we also hope not to be perceived as bragging). However you may like to know that the SA Exco has tried to constant-ly update and engage the student population on various issues of immediate concern, and perhaps this would be a good opportunity to highlight to you some key areas we have worked on with the relevant stakeholders for improvement:

(1) GSR issue — We heard the students’ concerns and negotiated a compromise

that would see the system maintained generally at a status quo. The only change made was the need for a second student to confirm the booking of the GSR.

(2) Grade breakdown — Based on the re-sults of the most recent SMU Students Sur-vey conducted in early 2009, we worked with the various schools and offices to ensure that from Term 1 of Academic Year 2009/2010, it is mandatory for all profes-sors to give a complete grade breakdown to all students for each module, thereby increasing the transparency of the grading system.

(3) Revision of hostel fees — Working together with the Hostel Management Committee made up of a group of students staying in the SMU Residences @ Prinsep, the SA Exco had numerous dialogues with the Vice President, Finance and Adminis-

tration and the Leasing Business Unit to share the concerns of the affected students stemming from the significant increase in hostel rates. Taking into consideration that the hostel is located on prime land and a booming property market at that time, we successfully negotiated a deal that saw a minimum increase in hostel rates. We are also currently working with the various of-fices and the hostel management commit-tee to ensure that any decision regarding the hostel is discussed with us before any form of implementation takes place. We are also seeking ways to improve the secu-rity of the residences at Havelock Road.

(4) Lack of classes for Term 1, Academic Year 2009/2010 — The SAC and SA Exco engaged Professor Pang Yang Hoong, Vice Provost (Undergraduate) and Dean, School of Accountancy as well as the Registrar’s Office (RO) to address the pressing issues that drew more than 500 emails into the SMUSA inbox in this fairly recent issue. Although it was too late into BOSS Bidding to invoke 180 degree changes, we managed to get the various schools to open up ad-ditional classes for more than 10 modules to help alleviate the situation. We are currently working with the administration to further rectify the issue before the next round of BOSS Bidding.

(5) H1N1 situation — The SAC and SA Exco worked with the various offices to en-sure that every possible safety precaution was deployed to protect the students while simultaneously ensuring that student life is not affected and that camps and other events were allowed to carry on.

Apart from working on such issues and fulfill-

SA replies to “Students, take action if you want change”

I would also like to thank Kenny for his suggestion on how we

can better communicate with the students. This is an area in which we have been, and will continue to try to improve on.

Write to us if you have something interesting about school or school life you would like to share with us. Your article should preferably be less than 1000 words. Send us an email at [email protected].

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Viewpoint

ing our usual duties, we have also endeav-oured to identify and implement new initia-tives and projects with the aim of bringing the quality of student life and rights to a higher level. Some of these initiatives and projects include:

(1) Formation of an Environmental Sustainability Workgroup consisting of students and admin staff

(2) IT initiatives such as SMUeets, Wiki @ SMUSA, revamping of the SMUSA website to eventually become a one-stop centre for student life and the free hosting of club websites on the SMUSA server

(3) Establishment of SMU Wall where students can publicly raise their con-cerns and views on various issues (to be launched by late September/early October)

(4) Launch of SMU Merchandise (Janu-ary 2009)

(5) Freshmen Quiz to educate the fresh-men on various facts related to SMU and student life

(6) Finance initiatives such as the implementation of the Direct GIRO Claims System, Student Manual on SMUSA Financial Procedures , SMUSA-CBd Finance Dialogue Sessions and the SMUSA Online Claims System (which will be in operation in January 2010)

Once again we apologise if communica-tion of our work has been insufficient and I hope that by listing some of the issues we have worked on, it will help paint a clearer picture for all students.

The suggestions made by Kenny with respect to the workings of the SAC and the SA Exco are indeed significant. The SA Exco and the SAC have established formal and informal channels of communication with the various schools and offices such as the Office of Facilities Management, Office of Finance and the Office of Student Life. Six

monthly and quarterly dialogue sessions are held with the various offices to discuss and resolve pertinent issues relevant to the various stakeholders. In addition, quar-terly meetings are also held with Professor Howard Hunter. Aside from these pre-ar-ranged regular meetings, we also constantly (and quite often) engage them on various issues as and when these issues come up.

To address the suggestion to increase the number of sub-committee members for the various standing committees, the SAC and SA Exco have always looked forward to and strongly encourage students to step up and join the various committees under the various CBds or the SA Exco. We implore students to join these sub-committees to

Once again we apologise if communication

of our work has been insufficient and I hope that by listing some of the issues we have worked on, it will help paint a clearer picture for all students.

not only contribute to student life activities but also to exercise your rights to shape and influence the direction that student life is heading towards. We strongly believe that, together, we can work towards making the life of all students in SMU better.

The SAC would like to extend its apprecia-tion to students who have given us their feedback. However, there is still more room for support. As Kenny has aptly stated in the title of his commentary, only with the actions and support of the students will the SAC and SA Exco be able to invoke change. Therefore, the SAC and SA Exco strongly urge all students to participate and respond to the various surveys, information sessions and dialogue sessions conducted where ample opportunities are available for students to share their honest feedback

and opinions. Without you highlighting issues or concerns to us, we will never be able to cover as much ground as we can. While some students have a concept that “banging tables” is the only method the SAC and SA Exco should employ to improve student life, I take this opportu-nity to highlight the fact that diplomacy and open dialogue should always be the first steps to creating change.

The SAC continuously attempts to make the best use of all the networks and connections that we have to reach out to all students in SMU. Communication within the SAC is free-flowing, hence students can always contact any of the SA Exco or CBd Exco members to air your grievances, be it through email or stopping us along the concourse. It does not matter who you raise your issues to as the strong relationship and network of communication would see your concerns being channeled to the appro-priate person responsible. In addition, students can email the SA Exco at our generic email address at [email protected] which is maintained by Rachel Seah (Honorary General Secretary, SMUSA). If you have any initiatives or projects that are beneficial to the SMU community as a whole, do contact our Student Initiatives Secretary, Tan Yin Yin at [email protected].

Once again, we assure you that the SAC and the SA Exco will always remain committed and will strive towards improving student rights and life. It is crucial however, that all students and stakeholders maintain a solid symbiotic relationship in order to move forward.

Humbly yours,Avnish DesaiHonorary Finance SecretaryFor and on behalf of the 5th SAC and 9th SA Exco

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Some say the 80 hours of compulsory community

service differentiates SMU from the

other local universities. Nine years on, we see how much

heartware we have gathered.

By Fu Yingliang and Kate Lim

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Nurturing the heartware in SMU

Views on the 80 hours of compulsory community involvement projects

Additional reporting by Hu Nian Bo, Ephraim Loy, Shobana Nadaraja, Alexandria Neo, Ankita Prasad, Senthil Sukumar,

Owen Tan and Wang Sha.

Third-year social science sTudenT ashley liew, who has clocked 353 hours of community service amidst a flurry of commitments every, sees community projects in support of disability sports as a platform that weaves together his passion for endurance sports with a personal conviction to serve.

He is one of 3,443 students who have done more than 90 hours of community service hours to date.

“The notion of community service imposed through ‘compulsory CIP hours’ during our earlier years of education has to change,” said Ashley.

Community service in schoolSince its inception in 2000, SMU has implemented

a community service program for its students. Mod-elled after the American system, SMU highly regards the community service program as an avenue for students to attain a holistic education. As part of the program requirement students have to complete at least 80 hours of community service before they are allowed to graduate. While most will gladly do it, OCS notes that there will always be a certain 5% to 10% who will hate it.

Cover Story

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One common reason cited by OCS Man-ager Emily Hogan is failure. When plans fall through due to the lack of experience, students are disappointed. Rejection from public or dull response also leads to students feeling deeply disheartened and sometimes even insulted.

“But students have to learn from it and move on. It makes you a better person only if you learn from it and have a teachable spirit,” she emphasised.

Added Tan Gek Cheng, Assistant Manager, Office of Career Services: “It doesn’t matter if they fail or pass. This is after all a training ground.”

It is hoped that from failures, students can learn to humble themselves and learn from their experience. Only then, can they emerge as a stronger person.

SMU has been promoting this program as a way to encourage the practice of CIRCLE values and at the same time, connect students to their emotional side. Often caught up in the rat race, a strong focus on academic achievements can take a toll on students’ emotional health.

The OCS has realised that it is equally important for students to be equipped with ‘heartware’ as a preparation to face challenges in the working world.

“(Students) will crumble if they are not emotionally strong,” said Ms Hogan.

She added: “People do not want to admit that this is the differentiating factor of our students. But this shows that our students have a heart and have compassion for the people around them — not being metal-like or devoid of feeling.”

Nine years after the implementation of the program, reception from students have been increasingly positive. There has been a steady rise in the number of hours contributed by the student population. As at May last year a total of 4,629 SMU students have given 370,320 hours in community service according to a report in the SMU Hub. In fact recent statistics from the Office of Career Services (OCS) show that more than 40% of students do more than 80 hours of community service.

Local or overseas?Community service projects are usually divided into local or overseas projects. Some students have shown much passion by initiat-ing projects to champion their own causes. The vast scope of community service projects targeting social issues like teen pregnancy, gambling and the underprivileged shows students’ engagement to the society. It also highlights awareness of social issues (see other report on awareness of problem gambling).

Students who have taken part in or initiated

community service projects say such contribu-tions have helped them in more ways than one.

“I have learnt that there are things more important than academic work and mak-ing money. Trips overseas have opened my eyes to the inequalities in existence, making school-related stress insignificant. I have seen parents begging incessantly for their children to be entered into our 10-day educational camp, Indian children as young as three years old memorising alphabets and English nursery rhymes repeatedly to us. To them, we were their only hope. How can I go back to getting focusing only on that GPA of mine? If we were willing, there are many things that we can do to help,” said Denise Lim, leader of Project Kolkata 2008.

Third-year social science student Winnie Su, also thinks that the experience working and learning in a high-performance team is invalu-able.

“SMU promotes group projects and most of us probably think that we already have so much teamwork experience. But liv-ing with each other for three weeks and running the whole show on our own in a foreign land was vastly different.”

In a straw poll of 40 students on community service some felt that a different approach was

Number of students doing local and overseas community service projects (2005 to 2009)

* Note: Statistics as at September 2009A student can do more than one project

Should SMU have 80 hours of compulsory community service?

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necessary instead of making it compulsory.

Said final-year business student Lin Tingwei: “Although it is a win-win situ-ation, it is like putting up a show. The notion of compulsory volunteer work is an oxymoron. It goes against the mean-ing of volunteerism. Volunteer work (such as community service) should be something that is done at one’s own will and not by force.”

Third-year social science student Pearlyn Yap feels that if community service is made compulsory, the heart would not be present most of the time.

“It gets irritating when people just rush through things just to clear their 80 hours. The good thing is that at least the work gets done. With all these CSP hours, it breeds in students the whole idea that “if I serve you, I will get something back” kind of mentality. But I guess it has to start from somewhere,” she explained.

Encouraging community service within CCA groupsThe latest move by OCS is to introduce a new initiative for office bearers in commu-nity service centered Co-circular Activities (CCAs). In the past, members of such CCAs

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could not include their hours contributed in their clubs towards the community service requirement. This was because hours con-tributed could only be use either for CCA requirements or for the community service programs and not both.

Now, with a new rule implemented, office bearers can gain recognition for their contri-butions from their 81st hour onwards. This means, the first 80 hours of contribution would be excluded as it is the expected re-sponsibility of an office bearer. After which, contributions would be recognised.

“We hear students’ feedback for im-provement but we too, need time to act on them,” said Ms Tan.

The OCS welcomes students’ views and assures that everyone would be given due consideration. Despite this, OCS stands by the policy that they would not compromise on fixed rules. This is to ensure fairness in the system.

Community service makes education in SMU holistic. And that is probably why the American system of university education is built upon that.

Learning to play it right — community service with a difference Page 14 >>

Community service with a splash Page 15 >>

BAG7(new).indd 13 10/9/09 8:09 AM


Gambling on occasion can be a stress-reducing pastime — but, without control, getting cards dealt to you

can become a painful addiction. This was the reason why Tee Wei Jie, the co-founder of the Recreational Gaming Club (RGC), decided to organise Project Play It Right (PIR), to educate the public on the dangers of problem gam-bling.

Wei Jie had a friend who was an avid gambler, betting amounts of up to $1,000 for one soccer game. “Initially, he was quite lucky,” he said, “But as his luck grew out, he started losing and started to owe amounts of up to $50,000.” Fortunately, but with much difficulty, his friend worked part-time and had the financial support of close friends to pay off the debt.

The symptoms of problem gambling are “colourless” and “odourless” — unlike alcohol or smoking abuse. This makes it dangerous explained Wei Jie. He reasoned that gambling addiction does not destroy one’s social life since it does not typically affect a person’s ap-pearance with bloodshot eyes or bad breath.

Loh Shu Yi, the vice-chairperson of PIR and also a member of the RGC, also believes that the rise of the integrated resorts in the next few years can impact gambling habits on the youth. “The tendency for youths to ‘try out’ gambling will be higher especially if the ca-sino is so close to you,” she noted. “Therefore, PIR is targeted to generate awareness amongst youths.”

The first phase of PIR was held from 19 to 21 August outside the Li Ka Shing Library, and

this awareness exercise was also held at the other varsities (such as NUS and NTU). PIR, also endorsed by the National Council of Prob-lem Gambling (NCPG), successfully reached out to more than 12,000 undergraduates. The people who participated in and supported the project, called “Cause Champions”, were mostly recruited during freshmen matricula-tion.

Asked about how successful the project has become, Wei Jie takes a modest stance. He feels that the pilot run was “good, but not great”, but believed that closer ties with the NCPG have been forged. This would be a larger platform for the RGC to increase awareness of problem gambling. Shu Yi added that a better spread of booths across different campuses, instead of a central area, would better “capture the student population”, especially for the big-ger varsities like NUS and NTU.

The key agenda of the second phase of PIR, Wei Jie said, would be to “spread the message”. He explained that taking “small baby steps and achieving PIR’s objectives” would be better than being overly ambitious.

Finally, Shu Yi maintained that PIR is not “against gambling per se”, but it is important to know the difference between social and problem gambling. The RGC, after all, still organises weekly gambling sessions for recre-ation. As the tagline of PIR goes, know the dif-ference, know the signs, and most importantly, know your limits.

Cover Story

Learning to play it right — community service with a difference Recreational Gaming Club tackles gambling addiction

By Owen Tan

“The symptoms of problem gambling are ‘colourless’ and ‘odourless’ — unlike alcohol or smoking abuse.”

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Community service with a splash: SMU Aquatic Sharks Club has raised approximately $1,000 for a community service project, Race to

Raise, to teach underpriviliged children how to swim in December.Photo by Ephraim Loy

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School EventsSports Fiesta reveals new trend of student participationBy Elvin Ong

“Putting participants first” — that was the overarching mantra adopted by the Sports Fiesta Organising

Committee throughout their planning and implementation phases for the annual event held at Campus Green.

As Chairperson of the Organising Committee, third-year accountancy student, Jacintha Tan said, “From the very first meeting, our committee decided that we wanted to have an inclusive, family, carnival atmosphere to allow as many people to participate, sportsmen and non-sportsmen alike.”

To achieve that, this year’s Sports Fiesta held on 4 September 2009, included many fringe games such as jousting, sumo wresting and bungee running, in addition to the usual competitive games such as dodgeball and floorball.

To satisfy hungry stomachs, there were also many food stalls offering goodies such as snacks from Cedele, ice cream from Icekimo, and the students’ favourite — Ramly burgers. Students were further pampered with free popcorn, free donuts, and free 7UP Revive isotonic drinks sponsored by Pepsi Co. At last count, more than 700 cans of 7UP Revive were distributed free by the sponsors.

One wonders whether the overall calorie intake by students was more than the energy expended by participating in the games.

Furthermore, there were also generous cash and kind sponsorships from the Automobile Association of Singapore and KIA Motors.

Both Jacintha and the Vice-Chairperson,

third-year business student, Fu Shu Qi, agreed that their success in gathering so many more games, food vendors and sponsors, despite a budget cut, could be attributed to the fact that planning for the event started extremely early — way back last semester.

Shu Qi said, “Starting early is the key. It gave us enough time to take everything into consideration, foresee problems and plan for contingencies.”

It is also worthwhile to note that most members in the organising committee had to juggle the organisation of Sports Fiesta along with their internships throughout the entire summer vacation.

When asked for her opinions about the organisation of the event, fourth-year business student Michelle Goh, whose team successfully defended their title as Dodgeball champions, noted, “Overall it is ok. It really depends on the individual CCAs that are in charge of each game. I can see that they are trying to make it a more carnival atmosphere as opposed to last year.”

Karen Chong, a third-year business student said, “This year there seems to be much less participation from the year 1s as compared to previous years. Most of the students participating are year 2s, 3s and 4s. I think it is a trend that we can see from the low enthusiasm in Convocation to the low sign-up rate for CCAs in Vivace.”

Indeed, the low participation rate of the year 1s in the many activities outside of classrooms has been a point of concern for many senior students.

Shu Qi concurred, “This year’s Sports Fiesta is definitely an anomaly. For previous years, the majority of teams participating would be year

1 teams. This year’s teams were dominated by year 2s, 3s, and 4s.”

Whether this will remain a persistent trend remains to be seen over the next few months, but future organising committees for other school events may want to take this into con-sideration and devise more innovative market-ing tactics to tap on this seemingly dormant section of the school population.

For now, Jacintha, Shu Qi and the rest of their organising committee are still basking in the after-effects of a successfully concluded Sports Fiesta. Not only did they have a worthwhile experience learning many things while organising the event, they also managed to preserve and spread the importance of sports in the overall, wholesome student life of an SMU student.

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This year’s Sports Fiesta is definitely an anomaly. For previous years, the

majority of teams participating would be year 1 teams. This

year’s teams were dominated by year 2s, 3s, and 4s.”

Fu Shu Qi, Vice-Chairperson, Sports Fiesta

Organising Committee

“

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School Events

Eight questions for Freshmen Bash 2009 winners Sean Wong and Natalie PuaBy Shobana Nadaraja

1. What was your most unforgettable experi-ence during the bash period?

Sean Wong: It was the photo shoot with my partner Nathalie Tan. We were sup-posed to have a tango pose in which we took the longest time to finish our photo shoot as compared to the other pairs. We kept having awkward pauses which we later laughed about. The whole photo shoot lasted for one whole day.

Natalie Pua: I agree with Sean. Both my partner and I are very shy in nature. We only spoke a little during the shoot. We wanted minimal body contact. Besides, he was not feeling well on that day. If I am not wrong, I think we stood back to back in the photo sent out as emailers. However, I liked the informal shot even more. The funniest part was when Jonathan being a quiet person had to keep saying “big money, big money” while rolling the dice in a casino setting whilst I was standing there with an evil grin.

2. Were there any behind the scenes drama during your preparation for the bash or on the day itself?

Sean: Honestly, there was no drama from the guys’ side. Everything went on smoothly.

Natalie: I will not really call it drama but more of a hassle on the girls’ side. We had to wear our dresses and run outside the car park before entering the entrance of Zouk. After which we had to run back into the dressing room through the car park to change into our next dress. We were pretty

much on the move on that day while the guys had no such hassle.

Sean: Well, that’s true. The guys stayed around the same area as we had curtain dividers for changing. Thus, the guys could remain put while the girls were running around.

3. What is the most vivid thing that you can remember on the day of the bash?

Sean: I remember vividly when the emcee introduced me as “Mr Sean, the 16 packs guy”. I was too shocked to say anything. Even now, my friends would sometimes teasingly refer to me as “16 packs guy”.

Natalie: The emcee teased me too. The emcee asked me, “What are the things you will not do someone you love?” After answering the question, the emcee asked me if my special someone was in the crowd. My friends started chanting my boyfriend’s name. He came onto the stage to say “Do your best” and passed me a bouquet of flowers.

4. What do you think made you stand out com-pared to the other competitors in winning the title?

Sean: I think I showed much showmanship. I was spontaneous and most of all I had fun while performing for SMU students. This was especially evident while performing the rehearsed dance.

Natalie: I enjoyed the rehearsed dance too. Frankly speaking, I am still shocked that I won the competition. The other girls were really very good.

Sean: She is just being modest. She won three

titles. She won “Ms Photogenic”, “Ms Hot Body” and “Ms SMU”.

Natalie: Sean did too! He won both “Mr. Hot body” and “Mr. SMU”.

5. How are you like during normal school hours?

Sean: I used to be quieter. However, now I am a bit more outgoing. I am pretty much the same guy that people perceive me to be in SMU bash. Nevertheless, I still treasure my own space. Furthermore I think the SMU bash fiasco would die out very soon as the new school term has kicked in with people rushing to complete their projects and assignments.

Natalie: I am generally quieter in real life. I tend to stick to my comfort zone. I will not just go to a stranger and say “Hey, what’s your name?” More likely than not, I will just crawl back into my own hermit shell. Not forgetting that I am like any other SMU student. Stress has kicked in and now I am more focused on academic work.

6. What are your outside interests?

Sean: I like dancing. I have joined Eurythmix, a hip hop dance CCA in school.

Natalie: Me too! I have joined SMU Samba Masala. I feel that dancing is a good avenue to express myself.

7. How is school generally for you? Have you become more confident after the whole SMU bash experience (for example during class participa-tion?)

Sean: School has been generally ok. For class

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participation, I am participating as much as I can. It is alright as long as people genuinely contribute to the learning of the whole class as opposed to saying something unrelated for the sake of marks.

Natalie: I am terrible at class participation. I will take time to get used to it.

Sean: However, we still get the attention in class because of our friends. My friend introduced me as “Mr SMU”.

Natalie: My friend did the same thing. She called me “Ms SMU” while I was introducing myself to my group members. That was embarrassing.

8. Any last comments?

Sean: Deep inside, everyone is a pageant winner in their own ways. I would like to end by sharing this FTB quote. “Always remember there are no strangers here — only friends, whom we have not met.”

Natalie: We are like any other SMU student with or without the title. Remember to enjoy the process of reaching somewhere as it is the journey that matters and not very much the destination.

Newly crowned: Ms SMU Natalie Pua (left) and Mr SMU Sean Wong (right).

Photos by Edwin Chong

School Events

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School Events

Delight-ful issues: Tripartite gap within SMU?

What started off as an issue between a tenant and the Leasing Business Unit (LBU)

quickly turned into a student petition, coupled with a PR nightmare thrown in for good measure. If anything, the Delight saga was a proof of the breakdown in communication between the school management, students, and the student bodies — a tripartite system.

Delight is the only food and beverage tenant at the School of Accountancy and School of Law building. It sells snacks and drinks to the students at affordable prices, and it is a popular outlet among students. It is not unusual to see long queues at the stall during the breaks throughout the day.

Hence, it was natural that students were upset when they found out that Delight’s lease was under the threat of not being renewed after it expires in November.

The allegations against Delight are the sale of stale food, long queues, and fire safety issues. Students were understandably upset at the non-logic of two allegations cited, mainly that of long queues and stale food. This led to the circulation of an email among students and a strong response online — a “Save Our Beloved Delight @ SOA/SOL!” group on Facebook was started by student Nicole Oh. The group has 248 members to date.

Wrote Ronald Lan: “Who’s gonna make my “teh bing” or “kopi-o” in the morning? The food is not stale, and the drinks are value for money. The reason why there are long queues is because of the fact that students come in waves. How do you expect them to handle 50 plus students going for break when their break lasts only 20-30 minutes?”

Responsibility lies with you, or you?In an interview with the Office of Facilities Management (OFM), it was interesting to note that the LBU who is in charge of this matter was not present. OFM was quick to point out that no official statement in black and white was issued to Delight from LBU on the allegations cited. Investigations found that Delight had some fire safety issues. The stall had received a summons from the Singapore Civil Defence Force for violating fire safety regulations.

However, when pressed further, it was clear that OFM had little or no say on this issue, simply because this was not under their scope. There was suggestion that the allegations made against Delight were baseless and groundless, but what is mystifying is that if such accusations made had no truth, why would they even be circulated in the first place? It is difficult to imagine that Delight or any student would come up with accusations against the school from nowhere. Such allegations could potentially damage the reputation of Delight as well.

What The Blue and Gold did find out was that these allegations cited came from LBU itself and were delivered verbally to Delight. While it is commendable that OFM dared to take a step forward to be interviewed on a potentially explosive issue, it must be noted that the responsible unit involved has yet to comment on the situation.

Are appropriate feedback channels appropriate?While this issue was a small one, it exploded in the faces of parties involved as it signalled the growing undercurrent of unhappiness among students with the respective student bodies as well as the school management.

The first question and possibly the biggest

question that the school management has and rightfully should have asked was why the discontent had not been reflected through the appropriate feedback channels instead. The most high-profile feedback channel would appropriately be through the SMU Students’ Association (SMUSA).

Unfortunately, the Delight saga has exposed the lack of use of these feedback channels. A student involved in the petition to save Delight shared that it seemed like SMUSA was unable to respond quickly to feedback, which led to a decision to bypass SMUSA.

When contacted, SMUSA President Rachel Kok had acknowledged that she was aware of the issue. She had hoped that LBU and Delight would solve the issue privately. In addition, Rachel said that she was “waiting for an appropriate time to discuss the issue.”

“The students need to understand that the SA may at times have other pressing issues on hand. In this instance, we wanted to let LBU and Delight resolve their differences.” She said that she could have responded to the email on Delight that was circulating on hindsight but added that no formal email was sent to the SA regarding this matter. She added that ASOC President Athena Wang had emailed LBU regarding the issue.

By Esther Yeo

“The students need to understand that the SA may at times have other

pressing issues on hand. In this instance, we wanted to let LBU and Delight resolve their differences.”

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School Events

It is acknowledged that SMUSA is an active organisation, having organised the various Freshmen Team Building (FTB) Camps as well as numerous student initiatives. However, one could not help but question whether SMUSA should step up on its efforts to promote the welfare of students.

Another student argued that SMUSA should follow the Singapore political system of Member of Parliaments listening to constituents’ views and raising such views to the authorities, rather than take on the role of a school event organiser. The student further proposed strengthening the links of this privileged feedback channel to ensure student views are aired via SMUSA to the school management.

Of course, it is not entirely fair to pin the responsibility on SMUSA alone, seeing that it is not easy to manage and filter out petty complaints from real issues.

The focus then turns on the other supporting Constituent Bodies (CBds). These faculty associations are well-positioned to help SMUSA since they would be able to raise issues pertinent to the interests of their respective faculties. This would probably explain the presence of their Presidents in the Students’ Association Council. Unfortunately, efforts from these groups have seemingly accumulated to little more than faculty camps and bashes, which once again begets the question of whether these CBds are devoting resources to the less important areas.

However, it must be acknowledged that SMUSA has a track record of resolving pertinent issues. The most recent effort was the negotiations between SMUSA and OFM on the sharing of the Group Study Rooms (GSRs). Response to the issue was swift and

a stream of updates from SMUSA reassured the students that their welfare was being looked into.

This is the kind of action that students want, and it must be remembered that student associations did indeed deliver when needed.

Two sides to the coin, both hands need to clapFor such feedback channels to work, the school management has to be equally receptive to hearing out what the student bodies have to say. Unfortunately, what the Delight saga has only showed was that not the entire school management has been primed to be in such a position. It is unfortunate that such an incident has caused a fracture in this necessary system despite the excellent track record of the majority of the school management.

What is needed from the school management is a commitment to hear the voices of the students through SMUSA and the various CBds, as well as a concrete timeline to be set in stone for resolution of issues. Putting a workflow in place to ensure that issues raised will eventually get to the discussion tables of the respective departments at their periodic meetings, and finally a decision is made and then announced will restore confidence in students that the school management is determined to make such a system work to improve their welfare. There is little use for SMUSA and other student bodies to spend time and effort on gathering student views if the school management makes little effort to act upon issues raised.

How now brown cow?The Delight saga is but a small represen-tation of the fundamental problems of

appropriate communication between students, student bodies and the school management. Whatever the outcome of the saga is with regard to whether Delight gets its lease renewed. One thing is certain — more of such Delight-ful issues will arise if the fundamental problem of the breakdown in commu-nication of the tripartite system is not resolved quickly.

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A man whose wife suddenly dies on his wedding day is asked to make a heroic trip to Hell’s gate to rescue

his damsel in distress. Hades agrees to return his wife to him when he hears of his tragic tale, even though the husband himself doesn’t feel it was that tragic. He tells the man that he must walk out of Hell without looking back — or he will lose his wife forever.

Throughout this journey, however, the man does so, and often more than once — Robert Shearman read to the ironic laughs of the audience of about 50 students and staff at the Li Ka Shing Library. Robert Shearman certainly hides his credentials well behind his self-effacing self. An established scriptwriter for over 10 years in theatre — including having a play produced by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola — before switching to writing scripts for television, he currently writes fiction as well for leisure. One of the stories in his first book, “No Looking Back”, was selected for the READ! Singapore campaign this year and printed in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Not many will know, however, that he struggled with stuttering as a child.

Yet, despite this obstacle, he still wanted be an actor — so he signed up for drama in school. But, he admitted, he never had much talent for acting. “Some people over-act, and some people under-act, but I was never quite in the middle,” he deadpanned. But it was in drama where he discovered that he had another calling — scriptwriting. This was where he spent a majority of his writing career, and continues to do so.

In spite of a successful career in theatre scriptwriting, he decided to “branch out”

after a decade to different genres of writing. This was how he ended up writing an episode of the hugely popular BBC science fiction series, Doctor Who, which was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2006.

“Lucky”Robert Shearman admits that he was “very, very lucky”. He said that he took for granted the opportunities that were presented to him. By the time he graduated, he recalled, he was accepted as a dramatist. On hindsight, he realised, his case was not a norm of the writing industry, but really the exception.

But at the end of the day, he says that the most important reason he writes is because he enjoys it. “(The story is) for me, and even if no one likes it, I like it. And I win,” he paused. “I think.”

His delve into fiction was almost accidental, and he had never thought of himself as a bestselling author. While scriptwriting to him seemed like work, “I have to stop myself from writing fiction. It was fun.”

Finding “the way back”Students had an opportunity to ask the author about writing — and he debunked some myths while providing solid advice for aspiring writers.

“Once I start writing, I try not to think of my audience,” he said. The important thing about a story is about having the basic theme and the emotions, rather than the story itself. “And,” he said half-seriously, “avoid being bored when you’re writing.”

Unlike some authors, he does not start with a particular agenda when he writes, preferring instead to start with an “image”. “Sometimes I’ll think of a really funny paragraph, but that’s it — I might only continue with it a year later,”

he said. Also, he believed it was important in fiction to give readers “space to interpret” the story, not merely to present it to them directly.

He also admits that there have been low points in his career, where he suffered from writers’ block, something he thought never existed when he was a younger scriptwriter. “I thought I could just pick up a pen,” he said with typical British wit.

Perhaps, in line with the story that he read to us at the beginning of the talk, he told us how he overcame the obstacle of a lack of inspiration: “You will find your way back,” he smiled, “when you have a reason to find your way back.”

In writing, there’s No Looking Back

Owen Tan listens to stories, the past and the hopes of writer Robert Shearman

Higher Learning

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Copenhagen: Unavoidable management?

Higher Learning

Like a disheveled doomsayer that everyone avoids, climate change activists have been trying for decades to get people to wake up to the fact that we are slowly but surely destroying our planet. There has been overwhelming evidence that rocketing carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to unnatural alterations in Earth’s climate, the most prominent of which is global warming.

Everyone knows that a cut in emissions is essential for future sustainability. But when you are rushing to finish a report at 2am, do you honestly care that it took 420kg (a vol-ume equivalent to 650,000 green tea bottles) of carbon dioxide to produce your beloved MacBook Pro?

To many of us here in Singapore, the concept of global warming is as alien as a free GSR in SMU on a weekday. A common belief is that climate change rests solely in the jurisdiction of the government, which has the power to impose environmental mandates. However, this complacency may have severe repercussions.

A report published by the Institute of Public Policy Research stated that the rationing of carbon emissions among individuals may become necessary if present policies fail to curb the rising carbon levels. Can you imagine if your electricity and gas usage is rationed like food? It is improbable, but not impossible.

As the risk of abrupt and irreversible shifts in climate increases, every minute spent ar-guing over saving the planet raises the cost and ambition of contingency actions. Since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, international cli-mate change negotiations have often been stormy and fraught with deadlocks. A lack of trust between developed and developing

countries, the wide range of greenhouse-gas emitting activities and the unanswered question over who should bear the largest cost of climate maintenance provide ample ground for stalemates.

The difficulty of regulating climate change lies in the fact that it is a global public good. Long-term commitment of all nations is required, but as the benefits are uncertain, it is difficult to attain an adequate level of commitment to address climate change. International agreements begin to unravel when countries refuse to participate, and emission production gets shifted to these countries leading to carbon leakage.

As scientists increase their demands for greater emission cuts under the mantra that “inaction is inexcusable”, there is an increased pressure on the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Co-penhagen to deliver a concrete and effective response to the threat of climate change. With tensions mounting over whether a viable plan will emerge from a decade of in-effective plans as well as increasing pressure on the Obama’s administration to show its

By Alexandria Neo

To many of us here in Singapore, the concept of global

warming is as alien as a free GSR in SMU on a weekday. A common belief is that climate change rests solely in the jurisdiction of the government, which has the power to impose environmental mandates.

seriousness and commitment in combat-ing climate change.

So what exactly will go on behind the scenes at this critical conference? As a youth delegate to Copenhagen, I will be bringing you live updates from the conference. Not only will there be key insights as to what goes on in global ne-gotiations, there is even a daily humili-ation ritual called the “Fossil of the day award”, which is given to the top three countries that hinder the progress of climate change policy.

As time is quickly running short, simply burying our heads in the sand and ignor-ing the state of carbon emissions spells disaster. It is time for us to shape up and act, before personal carbon rationing becomes an irreversible part of our lives.

Read live updates by Alexandria Neo from Copenhagen on The Blue and Gold blog at theblueand-gold.wordpress.com.

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China will rule the world — a Western insight into China’s rise

In recent years, the media has spoken so often about the rise of China that any news about it seems almost cli-

chéd. But Martin Jacques, a journalist and an academic, has added a fresh perspective to the projections and asserts in his new book, When China Rules the World, that the world’s most populous country is on a more prosperous route as compared to the Western countries.

Statistics that provide an insight into China’s rise are not unfamiliar to a regular news reader: China is quickly catching up with the rest of the world in terms of economic prosperity, and by 2025 the world’s biggest country will become only second to the United States in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, claimed Mr Jacques. By 2050, China will have become the most prosperous country in the world in terms of the same measure.

But Mr Jacques also noticed that “hitherto, books about China have always been about the economy”. Although the route to modernisation for China might have similarities to the one that the Western countries followed there will be significant differences according to Mr Jacques. He provides a lesson on history to back up this claim during the Foreign Correspondents Association Morning Talk on 18 September.

The civilisation stateWhen the Soviet Union was founded in 1917, the state was made up of people of diverse cultures. China, he maintained, is a “civilisation-state”: a country where people identify themselves more as a race than as a state — 92% of Chinese people regard themselves as Han Chinese. He also cited the thousands of years of the assimilation of the Han Chinese as a cause.

“Race is really a cultural, not biological con-cept,” Mr Jacques said. Yet, the idea of unifor-mity of race means that the Chinese people — and especially the ruling party — have a “weak concept” of race and racial differences. He gave the recent uprisings in Xinjiang and Tibet as examples and suggested that the “lack of recognition of (racial) differences” is something that will certainly impact China’s development.

Democracy?One question that inevitably comes up once China is discussed is in its political system. Does the opening up of China in the last 20

years towards more transparency suggest, for instance, that the Marxist ideology was gradually being shed in favour of a monetarist approach, à la Milton Friedman?

Mr Jacques applauded the efforts of China towards this transparency, but also said that there is “a lot of way to go” before they start to look like democratic system. He believes, how-ever, given enough time, China might look like a democracy, though he doubts that it will ever behave like a Western democracy.

The Chinese people treat their political rulers more than the rulers of the state, but also as the guardians of their civilisation. This

provides legitimacy to rule — sovereignty lies with the state and not with its people. And coupled with the fact that there is no competi-tion for power in the state, there are practically no boundaries by which the Chinese Commu-nist Party can operate.

China’s modernisation: A good thing?Can China’s “ruling” of the world be a good thing to the other states? For sure, economies around the world will benefit from China’s increased consumption over the next few decades — it is already the biggest consumer for almost every country around the world.

And it is a good thing that China is growing to become a global superpower. Mr Jacques implicitly stated that the modernising of China is a sign of globalisation — and he believes that globalisation is advantageous to all other countries. He ended the talk in an optimistic fashion: with a picture of Columbus’ ship, the Santa Maria, in comparison to (and dwarfed by) Admiral Zheng He’s Chinese junk that sailed south in the Ming Dynasty. Even for the cynics of the boon in China’s growth, the picture sums up the inevitability in which China is going to change — and, as Martin Jacques proclaimed, rule — the world.

The Singapore political system and Chinese hegemonyAt the question and answer session after the talk, Mr Jacques brushed off the idea of China developing into a model which is similar to Singapore’s political system.

“It really isn’t fair to compare Singapore with China, since Singapore is such a small city-state that it can be run like a company, by a very powerful family. I think it’s a tricky question — I don’t think it can be a model for China. But, I think there are characteristics of Singapore than can potentially be beneficial

Owen Tan finds out more at the Foreign Correspondents Association’s Morning Talk

The Chinese people treat their political rulers more than the rulers

of the state, but also as the guardians of their civilisation. This provides legitimacy to rule — sovereignty lies with the state and not with its people.

Higher Learning

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Higher Learning

to be part of China’s. Of course, there is the question of the nature of democracy we have to talk about. I’m not fool enough to say that the European democracy is applicable to every country in the world,” he added.

Speaking to The Blue and Gold after the talk Mr Jacques shed light about the title of his book When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World and also talked about a possible Chinese hegemony when asked about the optimism of how the West could benefit from China’s rise.

“The West has dominated the world for over 200 years. But recently there has been a shift in the relative power of countries and China has risen from this to become a superpower.

Of course, there is a profound sense of loss for the West – after all, there are advantages to dominating the world. We are not saying that the Western world will end, but rather that China will displace the West from its position of power”, he said.

Mr Jacques added that the book is about China’s future and its possible hegemony but not in a negative way. Still because of the nature of China, there is a possibility that they could ignore other countries, or get people to accept their terms.

When asked about the obstacles that could stop China from developing into the global superpower in 2050 Mr Jacques qualified that it would be a likely reality.

“The only obstacle I foresee is if there is a

In conversation at the FCA Morning Talk: Juergen Kremb (left) and Martin Jacques

(right).

great convulsion. Over the centuries these convulsions or implosions within China have caused it to fall. Whenever there was divided governance, given the size of the country, it just became fractured. But, I suspect that even if it will happen, it will probably not happen within this century. It is not likely that it will happen, but we cannot exclude this possibility,” he explained.

BAG7(new).indd 31 10/9/09 8:11 AM


Worldscope

When Obama was first swept into office, one of the first few pledges he made was to come up with

a comprehensive healthcare plan and to ensure that all Americans are protected adequately.

The proposed healthcare bill has been a messy process, thwarted by vetted inter-ests, a lot of arguing and shouting between Democrats and Republicans, a ballooning trillion dollar government deficit and oc-casionally a heckler or two.

Healthcare — The factsThe costs of healthcare in America are by far one of the most expensive in the world, with an estimated expenditure of US$6,096 per capita in 2004 according to a 2007/2008 UNDP Human Development Report. Comparatively, Singapore spends US$1,118 instead.

There is no specific reason as to why healthcare costs are sky-high; rather, the reasons are many and inexplicably linked. But one of the largest reason is that health-care is an industry owned by the private sector, with little intervention from the government. In other words, there is no nation-wide healthcare plan available to the general public from the government. Thinking in terms of the Singapore con-text, there is no American equivalent of our Medishield plan, or polyclinics for that matter. Ineveitably, without subsidies from the government, the cost of healthcare would be much higher.

One of the main reasons the government took so long to respond to the rising costs of healthcare was because the health-care insurance industry took care of the problem. Insured Americans were able to afford such healthcare because they were

backed up by insurers. Slightly more than half of American citizens are insured by their em-ployers, a reminder of the strong power unions and employees had over employers. But that is something that seems to be fading quickly into the past. Increasingly, more employers are reluctant to pay for health insurance due to rising premiums and wage inflation. Unfor-tunately, the average American is unable to afford to purchase their own insurance, with the figure standing at 9%.

What is clear is that the system of the non-reg-ulated healthcare industry has led to Ameri-cans having to pay more for their healthcare which worked previously due to employers purchasing insurance is breaking down slowly.

Obama’s super healthcare plan — The principlesA key part of Obama’s healthcare plan is to create a public-insurance plan by using the foundations of the current Medicare plan. Medicare only covers certain demographics of the population, namely the young and the elderly, war veterans, disabled and the poor.

The idea is for to use Medicare as a platform for the government to set premiums and services, effectively meaning that the gov-ernment now becomes a health insurance provider. This is meant to compete with the private insurance companies to force them to offer competitive rates.

However, what both the Democrats and Republicans are in favour of is that the gov-ernment will clamp down hard on existing private insurance providers, ensuring that premiums are not raised excessively and mandating that no one with a pre-existing illness or medical condition be turned away from getting insurance. In short, existing insurance providers will be monitored closely and regulations will be drafted to ensure that

insurance companies provide affordable and adequate coverage.

In addition, Obama has proposed setting up an insurance exchange, a marketplace of sorts where people who are not insured are able to compare existing prices and plans insurers provide, and purchase health insurance at competitive plans.

Yet another critical part of the plan involves cutting costs in the industry through an inde-pendent Commission set up by doctors and medical experts to identify wastage, fraud and abuse in the healthcare system, almost like an audit committee of the healthcare system. This committee will be given teeth to cut costs where they deem fit (at least in the govern-ment hospitals and schemes such as Medicare), bypassing the problem of the endless bicker-ing from Congress. Additionally, Obama has pledged in his speech to Congress on 9 Septem-ber that the healthcare reform plan will cost US$900 billion, but the money comes not from raising taxes but from cost-savings measures put in place by the independent Commission. It is a bold step forward to decentralise deci-sion making from Congress, which is good for the healthcare system which cannot afford to wait for people to stop fighting.

The key players (And no, Obama is not one of them)The main group responsible for drafting the healthcare bill is known as the ‘Gang of Six’. The Senate’s Finance Committee is a bipar-tisan committee, yet another of Obama’s promise to be as bipartisan as possible, is split evenly between the Democrats and Republi-cans. The Chairman of the committee Max Bacus (you should do well to remember his name), a Democrat has tried hard to ensure talks are continued despite the deep ideologi-cal differences between the two parties on the issue.

Obama’s healthcare plan 101

Esther Yeo gives a summary of what you should know

BAG7(new).indd 32 10/9/09 8:11 AM


Opinions on the effectiveness of the ‘Gang of Six’ are highly varied, tending to be on the negative unfortunately. The Repub-licans are seen mainly to be the culprits to stall the progress of any deal being cut, particularly Charles Grassley and Mike Enzi. The Democrats have signaled their exasperation by stating they are ready to go ahead with their proposal with Ms Olym-pian Snowe, the only Republican who has shown support for proposals put forward so far.

The main deadlock on the bipartisan healthcare plan is over the public option, to which the Democrats have signaled their willingness to compromise. In other words, the public option will be dropped. The American public is undoubtedly angry that such a win-win scheme is not being consid-ered and the question many have been ask-ing are why the Democrats are pandering to the whims of the Republicans. If anything,

the Democrats actually have the power to pass any bill they want in Senate with the 60 votes they have, (51 votes are required to pass a bill in Senate currently). In theory, they could pass healthcare legislation through the Senate without the Republi-cans’ support.

Healthcare muddled with politicsThe Republicans have been doing noth-ing but throwing cold water on the reform plan, with accusations of Obama’s proposed independent commission turning into death panels, who decide who gets priority treatment in an effort to cut costs. While such accusations may have some truth, one cannot help but wonder if the Republicans are just trying to stop Obama from cham-pioning the change he promised to the American voters.

If anything, the words of the deceased Senator Edward Kennedy who championed

Worldscope

healthcare reform tirelessly for years are a stark reminder to all who are caught up in the politicking to step back and reflect, “At stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.”

Obama has stated very plainly that he wants, and needs healthcare reform to be pushed through soon and with the topic at a fever pitch among Americans, this space is certainly worth watching.

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Worldscope

Human rights in ASEAN: An economic perspectiveBy Cheong En Min

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was inaugurated in 1967, during an era of regional

conflict and political irascibility, when re-lations between the pre-nascent member-states were strained. Aside from the internal discord, extraneous forces such as the Cold War and China’s Cultural Revolu-tion created instability and threatened the security of Southeast Asia.

With the diminishing strength of diplo-matic ties between the countries in South-east Asia, the region became even more exposed and vulnerable to the effects of ex-ternal developments. The establishment of ASEAN addressed this quandary by galva-nising its first members around the shared objective of achieving economic strength in hopes of encouraging integration and further cooperation in other areas.

Since its inception, ASEAN, now ten member-states strong, has progressed to a point where the sustainability of cohesion in Southeast Asia is significantly influ-enced by its activities. Through multilat-eral collaboration within the bloc as well as engagement with other international organisations and countries, ASEAN has augmented its authority and credibility within the international community.

Unfortunately, its long-standing policy of non-intervention has affected the ability of member-states to agree upon sensitive issues such as the pooling of sovereignty and human rights. Also, the lack of con-stitutional emphasis upon these concerns in the Bangkok Declaration (the founding deed of ASEAN) accounted for the lack of political will in defining concrete terms of reference, particularly in the aspect of human rights.

Despite constant pressure from the interna-tional community to accord legal recognition to human rights, resistance remained high because the hierarchy of rights was con-structed disparately within Asia. Most ASEAN leaders considered economic rights to be the most fundamental, while political and civil rights a privilege only to be taken into account when society had satisfactory access to the former. Nation-building was prioritised above individualism, and there appeared no need to change a formula that was fuelling rapid eco-nomic progress and improving the standards of living, which ASEAN governments believed was their core duty of care.

However, as ASEAN member-states continued to grow and develop economically, the bloc became a focal area for investments. Naturally, an increase in critical attention was expected to be paid to governance as well as treatment of citizens within the region. ASEAN coun-tries could no longer ignore the fact that it was a constituent of the global commune and needed to strategically juxtapose its traditional ideals against moulding a diplomatic profile acceptable to the international community. This revelation led to the tacit acknowledge-ment among ASEAN member-state that steps towards demonstrating a heightened willing-ness to share international concerns needed to be taken.

This commitment culminated in the draft-ing of the ASEAN Charter, following the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, which aimed to delineate the much anticipated human rights mechanism, among other clauses in the document, thereby signal-ling the formal accordance of importance to the issue. The objective of the Charter was to address the difficulties faced by ASEAN member-states in handling human rights violations that had manifested in Cambodia

and Myanmar, given the bloc’s policy of non-intervention.

Regrettably, even with the Charter, ASEAN still has no concrete working mechanisms that can guarantee that all its agreements are strictly adhered to; punitive measures for non-compli-ance do not exist.

The only mention of possible disciplinary ac-tion is embodied within the statement, “In the case of a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance, the matter shall be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision”. Yet, another clause presents an opposing stance, clearly premised upon the concept of non-interven-tion; “As a basic principle, decision-making in ASEAN shall be based on consultation and consensus.” Therefore, if a member-state dis-agreed with any recommendation, an impasse would likely occur, impeding the ability of ASEAN to respond appropriately to infrac-tions.

Such a dilemma has resulted in the unrelent-ing insubmission of Myanmar, which regular-ly breaches the norms of human rights; most recently in August 2009, when the military junta government extended the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi by another 18 months, effec-tively preventing her from participating in the proposed democratic elections of 2010.

Interestingly, as much as it was the obstacle to moving forward on human rights, the key to resolving the moral inconsonance is economic in nature. With increased and sustained eco-nomic cooperation, the rich-poor gap among and within ASEAN member-states will narrow, leading to the emergence of a larger, educated and more politically-sentient middle-class, which would rise up against socio-political injustices, compelling governments to act responsibly.

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Worldscope

Also, growing economic interdependency could well encourage a more rules-based en-vironment within which to operate, spilling over into other areas such as human rights, thus reinforcing positive developments in that area which might already have been set in motion by grassroots movements and eventually shifting political attention to human rights as an issue to focus on inde-pendently.

Of course, human rights must not be entirely neglected during this process. It is imperative that access to basic resources such as food, shelter and education is unfet-tered because sustainability in development

is contingent upon the fulfilment of those provisions to society. However, the imposi-tion of a certain human rights ideal on any particular entity should be discouraged; adoption has to be left to occur in a manner best suited to the socio-economic environ-ment of that country or region.

Essentially, ASEAN will indeed reach a juncture in its progress where human rights will no longer be considered insignificant or tangential to the lives of its regional citizenry, so long as efforts to enhance economic integration persist. That is after all, the foundation of social stability and advancement.

BAG7(new).indd 35 10/9/09 8:11 AM


TravelTaiwan: An often overlooked gem

Taiwan is appallingly underrated. As the world’s interest in Hong Kong and Macau surged, it stayed under

the radar for the most part of this decade. Nicknamed Formosa (“beautiful island”) by the Portuguese, Taiwan’s charm is its combination of a vibrant metropolis and natural beauty, all in an island that is only 34,507km2 — or almost 300 times smaller than mainland China. While it doesn’t offer Macau-like casinos, its shopping destinations have prices that rival those of Hong Kong. Mountains and hot springs are also easily reached from Taipei; trains to the hot spring town of Jiaoshi, for example, leave every half hour and generally take only one-and-a-half to two hours.

This lack of publicity, however, will soon be erased with internationally-renowned pop star Jolin Tsai (below, centre) and director Wu Nien-Jen (below, right) now serving as Taiwan tourism ambassadors.

The capital city of Taipei is the epitome of modern Taiwan, with the usual skyscrap-ers dotting the city centre. However, the Taipei 101 is a sight to behold. Holder of the prestigious tallest building in the world title until the Burj Dubai finishes construction in December 2009, its presence garnered international attention, and it remains the most popular tourist attraction in the country. With 101 stories spanning a whop-ping 509.2 meters, it houses the offices of several international firms, such as ABN-Amro Bank, KPMG, and Jones Lang LaSalle, among others, and also a mall. The Indoor Observatory on the 89th floor and the 91st floor Outdoor Observatory offer stunning 360-degree views of the city of Taipei, with tickets costing NT$400 or S$18.

The Shilin district of Taipei houses the renowned Shilin Night Market, another popular attraction for visitors and natives alike. It is known for its variety of fashion-

By Putra Muskita

BAG7(new).indd 36 10/9/09 8:11 AM


able goods, from bags to shoes to hats; the typical games that you normally see in night markets; and, of course, food.

The night market is famous for its sautéed crabs, grass jelly soup, congealed pig blood, and especially the recognisable stinky tofu. For those of you who have never heard of it before, the stinky tofu is basically tofu that has been marinated in brine that is made from meat, vegetables, and fermented milk, and then either fried, grilled, or added into a soup. The smell of the stinky tofu permeates the whole night market, so be prepared.

For bargain shopping, pop star Jolin Tsai recommends Wu Fen Pu, an area located in the Hsinyi district. It is well known for its shopping street, a place like Singapore’s own Bugis Street, in which small shops sell fashionable outfits, shoes, bags, accessories, and others at cheap prices. More upscale boutiques can be found in the Taipei 101, but of course those boutiques are also present in most other large cities in Asia, including Singapore. The other main tourist attraction in Taiwan would be its natural beauty.

Director Wu Nien-Jen recommends the Yushan National Park, the site of Yushan, or Jade Mountain, which happens to be one of the highest mountains in East Asia with a height of 3,952 meters. Its sheer height, its pristine beauty, and the stunning views attract not only hiking enthusiasts, but also the general public. The routes are in good shape, with strategic camping grounds, wa-ter sources, and signs to ensure no one gets lost. To do all five peaks of Yushan, however, would take about five days. Organised hikes are also available twice a month from Octo-ber to December, costing NT5000 or S$200.

Abundant hot springs, with therapeutic effects, are also very popular and located in almost every part of the country. The small town of Jiaoshi, located just off the coast and also well known for its three-layered waterfall, has hot springs producing salty, odourless water at 60 degrees Celcius. The springs in Taian, located in a remote corner of southeastern Miaoli County, produce alkaloid carbonic water at a temperature of about 47 degrees Celcius. These are said to be good for arthritis. However, Taian suffers frequent landslides and thus should be

avoided after heavy rains or earthquakes.

Taipei spoils its visitors with numerous accommodation choices; from home-stays and B&Bs to upscale hotels like the Sheraton and the Grand Hyatt, Taipei has it all. Mountains or hot spring towns also offer numerous types of lodging, in-cluding camping and small lodges. The MRT is a cheap and convenient way to get around Taipei, and trains or buses are always available to shuttle visitors from Taipei to the outlying areas of the island.

Travel

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Campus ArtsLove two be part of art

It is normal to find art installations lining the galleries of schools and museums. But what has a business

school like SMU got to do with hosting a group of resident artists? The answer lies in the two studios that have been set aside for this purpose — SMU’s pioneer artist residency programme.

Kai Lam, a performance artist, thinks that SMU offers a fresh perspective towards the world of art. And that in itself is a unique opportunity.

He says: “It’s interesting that it’s happening outside of the art context. Unlike when you go to art school and people all have preconceived notions, I think the mentality is very different (in SMU).”

The SMU-ASEAN Artist Residency Programme is organised by SMU’s Office of Student Life (OSL) in partnership with The Substation to give students better insights and get them involved the world of visual arts. It also aims to expose students at SMU to a wider array of experiences outside of the school curriculum.

While the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the National Youth Council are also helping to fund the event, the residency programme also runs parallel to SMU’s upcoming 10th anniversary which features an arts festival. Both events will help bring out the vibrant culture of SMU.

The programme started on July 13 this year and will continue until January 2010. During this span of time, SMU will showcase nine contemporary artists and Kai is one of the nine artists participating in this ongoing artist residency programme.

For the past 10 years in Singapore’s art industry, Kai Lam has travelled extensively as a performing artist. One of his notable works includes a performance at the Singapore Art Museum where he placed Vietnamese and Singaporean art books into a washing machine, blending them into a pulp. The laundering of the art books was to symbolise the fusion of Singaporean and Vietnamese art, as well as the harmonious relations between the countries. Indeed his works border on being politically-charged at times.

This time round, while deciding on what he would produce during his residency programme, Kai Lam kick-started his residency with a sound walk. As part of his effort to involve others with his art, he conducted a procession for participants to walk in total silence, where they had the opportunity to observe the sights and sounds from their surroundings. While not being sure of the kind of effect his work will bring to the participants, he describes it as “a way to explore our senses”.

For all of the nine artists who will be part of the artist residency programme, their experience in SMU is going to be a challenging one. Being in a business-oriented school like SMU, the artists will find themselves void of many art facilities familiar to them. The nine artists will churn out and explore ideas from two studios that have been prepared for them as their art space.

But according to OSL Manager Khairuddin Bin Hori, there’s no real pressure on the artists.

“The idea is just for them to hang out (at their studios).” By design, this programme is itself unique enough, as students won’t just get to see art work all the time, but instead the people who produced them. “It’s for people to

have real relationships with the artist, not just to see their artwork and not know who they are,” he adds.

Kai Lam believes that his residency in SMU will be a good process for him to see what he can do as an artist. He adds that it would be “nice to have some students working with him in the near future”.

For students interested to get to know Kai Lam or the rest of the artists, they can check out the two studios where the artists will hang out which are located next to the dry cab (opposite CIT), and next to the clinic at the T-Junction. Artists from other regional countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia will be involved in this initiative as well.

Among the ideas in the pipeline is to have artists become mentors to students who are interested to participate in next year’s arts fest. Conceptual artist Zack Razak is planning to collaborate with some students for his work.

For those who are interested in the art industry, the artist residency programme is a great way of getting up close and personal with contemporary artists right in the heart of the SMU Concourse.

Emile Law has a sneak peek of art in the heart of SMU


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“Being in a business-oriented school like SMU, the artists will find themselves void of many art facilities familiar to them. The nine artists will churn out and explore ideas from two studios that have been prepared for them as their art space.

Art takes flight: “Sticks and strings and plastic bags too” from this year’s SMU Visual Arts Festival. The work made from recycled

materials was an installation by artist Kai Lam and SMU student Ephraim Loy. Kai Lam is one of the nine artists involved in the SMU-

ASEAN Artist Residency Programme.

BAG7(new).indd 39 10/9/09 8:12 AM


CCA Pages

On 25 July, SMU People for Animal Welfare (PAW) went down to Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary in

Johor. This was our third trip but this time, we were armed with 25 volunteers, paint brushes, newspapers and paints; all ready to give Noah’s Ark a well-deserved new coat of paint.

For the uninformed, Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary is an animal shelter based in Pekan Nanas, Johor Bahru (Malaysia). It is home to more than 1000 animals; dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses and even monkeys — most of them abandoned by their previous

owners or found as unwanted strays. Noah’s Ark does not euthanise the animals but lets them live out the rest of their lives in happiness and eventually, pass on with dignity.

With so many lively animals at Noah’s Ark, it’s no wonder the shelter needed a new coat of paint! We started the day early, leaving for Johor at 9am from SMU and reaching just in time for a short introduction of the sanctuary and its history by the Noah’s Ark volunteers. Mr Raymond Wee, founder of Noah’s Ark, shared with us some funny anecdotes about the animals there and some sad stories of abandonment as well.

Adding colour to Noah’s Ark III

Leandra Chee reports on the recent painting overseas community service project by the SMU People for Animal Welfare

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After the informative session, we were split into three main groups in charge of three different areas – the main house, the new rabbit sanctuary and the horse stables. I was tasked to paint the horse stables with six other volunteers. The stable area was tucked in the lush green space near the end of Noah’s Ark, at the bottom of a gentle slope. Some of us had walked there before and knew the way. For others, it was all new to them but we soaked up the beautiful scenery all the same.

One of the Noah’s Ark resident helper was already at the stables waiting for us. When he saw us approaching, he started preparing the paint for us by mixing a portion of the thickened paint with some water. Then he slowly stirred everything together.

It was finally time to do our jobs; painting! Each of us took a brush of our pick; rollers looked the easiest to use compared to the smaller brushes. But when I tried and compared the walls, the part done by the

brush looked cleaner and clearer. Some of us even splattered paint all over the floor!

So it was clear that most of us had never painted before but we did manage to learn on the job. Knowing that we were doing this for the animals made us work even harder. But what made the trip just so much fun? The energetic dogs that kept running around us while we were busy re-coating the walls! Every now and then, a few mischievous ones would dip their noses in the paint or smear their bodies with wet paint, so at the end of it, not only were the shelters painted, the dogs were too!

My group managed to finish the horse stables early, so we took a stroll around the sanctuary. We visited the various dog areas, the two-storey indoor cattery and outdoor cattery, as well as the new rabbit sanctuary the second group was assigned to paint. Being a cat lover, I naturally spent most of my time at the catteries. The cats are allowed to roam freely and given an abundance of scratch poles and cute toys to play with, although most of them preferred lazing around.

At about 5pm, we gathered everyone back to the Main House, took a few group shots together with the PAW banner and said our thank yous and goodbyes to the kind people at Noah’s Ark. As we left the compound, the dogs came bounding over to say their goodbyes too. The cats were too busy cleaning themselves.

The trip was definitely a fun and fulfilling experience for all of us. We had a chance to meet the animals, play with them and we managed to help make their sanctuary a nicer place. And if there was one thing we learnt, it was that no matter how cruel their past owners might be or how much pain they caused the animals before, whenever people visit them at Noah’s Ark, they are always so loving and welcoming to them.

Indeed, to err is human, to forgive, canine.

CCA Pages

Photos by Noah’s Ark CARES

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Friendship redefined

Eugene Tan Jia Rong questions the notion of being a friend

As a fourth-year student, I often find myself in the following situation:Random Familiar-looking Person

(RFP): Hey! Long time no see! How are you?

Me (sees RFP but struggles to remember her name): Hi! I am fine! As usual, I have been very busy with school work and proj-ect meetings. I have to look for job now too. How about you? (I try very hard not to mention RFP’s name in my conversation)

RFP: Same here. The job market is so bad now. I am going for many career talks. Say, are you going for the talk later...

Me (thinking to myself): (Where have I seen her before? Was it at FTB? Economet-rics class? Oh man, what is her name?)RFP: … and I will be graduating next semes-ter. Ok got to go now, see you around! Bye!

Me (still have not figured out RFP’s name): Ok! Great to have seen you. Hope to catch up with you soon! Bye!

What is the probability that I will intention-ally meet up with RFP? Almost zero, given that I have forgotten RFP, and her name is lost somewhere in my mobile phone’s memory card, MSN contact list or Facebook ‘Friends’ list. The person may have been in my project group or class eons ago but, unless I am able to familiarise myself with the person on a future occasion and at a deeper level, it is unlikely that the person will become more than an acquaintance to me. While I do confess that I have a bad head for names (especially for non-English names), it is not an issue that I want to dwell on here. Rather, I wish to raise a

reality that most of us often neglect or rather, not face.

The uncomfortable truth is that many of us assume that we have many friends; when in reality, many of these ‘friends’ are but mere acquaintances. Yet, in our society where polite-ness and public etiquette is highly valued, we often introduce and regard everyone and any-one we barely know as ‘friends’. Even if this person was from an orientation camp group three years ago whom we have never spoken to again, most of us would choose to call him or her a ‘friend’ for our mental comfort.

CCA Pages

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CCA PagesGenerally, most like the idea of having many friends. Many of us would like to see our Facebook ‘Friends’ list hit 1,000 contacts and have as many people in school to know us. We want to be accepted by everyone. This can probably be traced back to our younger days, when as children and teenagers, we felt happy when we had many ‘friends’. Personally, as the chairman of my Primary 3 class, I liked to believe that everyone in my class was my friend (I was the teacher’s pet after all). Projecting this mentality into adulthood, we may have unfortunately taken the idea of ‘friendship’ too loosely and miss out on what authentic friendship is.

While knowing people and networking is good (we never know who the next CEO will be), I would like to challenge us to re-think what a ‘friend’ means, and to take pro-active steps to cultivate these friendships. If a friend is someone that is trustworthy, reli-able, unafraid to antagonise the relationship to correct you and, as the proverbial saying goes, “helps you when you fall down”, we may realise that we may not have that many friends. “Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him.” As such, I would rather just have three close buddies than have a thousand ‘friends’ whom I just have a “hi-bye” relationship with.

I am thankful that I have managed to cultivate a few meaningful friendships in my last few years of school. As a member of SMU Campus Crusade for Christ, I have

formed firm friendships with at least three other like-minded Christian men who have journeyed with me through many of life’s ups and downs. They have rejoiced with me in my triumphs, stood with me in my fail-ures, comforted me in times of heartbreak and corrected me when I was in the wrong. These are the kinds of friendship that I have learnt to cherish over the years.

Friendship takes time to cultivate and grow. It will also take a lot of courage as it would mean being vulnerable to one another, let-ting him or her see our ‘not so friendly’ side. However, as I have shared, these friendships are worth the while and make life more pur-poseful. As the saying goes, “no man is an island’. As such, all of us have been created to want to intimately connect with others.

So, let’s do ourselves a favour and look for people whom we know will become friends, and not just mere acquaintances. These people may not be the most like-minded and agree with everything we do.

However, they should be able to speak truth into our lives and help us when we fail. While such friendships take time and effort to cultivate, the payoffs are far greater than having a full contact list of names of people that we don’t really know.

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Reflections from the14th APEC WLN MeetingBy Sruthi Boppana

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women Leaders’ Network Meeting. Saying that in one breath

was definitely a challenge but I guess it started to roll of all our tongues with much ease by the time the conference had started.

Before we got to the conference however was a series of training that all of us went through. While I assumed introducing people to each other or taking them from place to place would be commonsensical, the trainings we were put through showed me that common sense as always is not as common, and that there were certain pro-cedures and etiquette we needed to famil-iarise ourselves with. By day one however, we were all eager, with our best suits on, ready to impress as liaison officers, or in short LOs.

Was it easy standing in court shoes for hours at hand for four days in a row? This is a pointless question to ask I am sure, the women reading this would have gone “ouch”, and the men, well, you get the idea. If you had asked me at some point during the holidays, when we were going through training sessions — whether I thought this was going to be worth it, my answer would have been a “no”. But I stand here, two months on from the conference, and this is one experience I am grateful for.

The conference itself was an opportunity to see women in action. Women who were representing their nations at the forum and women who were gathered to effect some form of positive change in the world and lives of fellow women in the Asia Pacific region. I had the opportunity to be a liaison officer for the most amazing del-egate one could ask for. The word amazing

probably does not do her justice. How about cool, or maybe even awesome?

Why the use of all these colloquial terms, because she was that down to earth with me despite having achieved so much in life. She was a living example as to how one should carry oneself, with dignity and poise and at the same time holding on to the ability to relate to anyone no matter how young or old, regardless of background. The highlight of the confer-ence for me personally would have to be the time spent with my delegate, discussing her interest in classical music and the conversa-tion somehow leading to us talking about Maroon 5 and singing “This Love” at the top of our voices, dangling 70m above sea-level, in a cable car. That moment made all the blisters on the feet worth it.

My delegate was a 48-year-old mother of three, who somehow managed to balance travelling across three continents every month and time with her children. She was a role model and certainly an inspiration to this 20-year-old who is not always certain about her direction in life.

The other aspect of this experience that has left an impact on me would definitely have to be the time spent in the LO room. Resting the achy feet and discussing dealing with the delegates with fellow LOs created this weird bond between all of us strangers. We barely knew each other before this and the only com-mon thread binding us was the fact that we were all from SMU. As clichéd as what I say is going to be — this common experience shared certainly formed the foundation of new friend-ships for some of us and for the rest a chance to spend more time with old friends.

So I stand at the end of this journey, grateful for the people I got to interact with and the little lessons and memories I take from each of them.

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Li Bo shares 10 excerpts from his APEC WLN experience

Effective communication is crucial in situations that require coordination with different parties.

Learn from mistakes and never let bad mood affect our job. We need to prepare ourselves

both mentally and physically to be more credible and profes-sional (through training courses and role-plays).

This experience is also very interesting because we directly get ourselves involved in the real corporate environment. As a stu-dent, I find it really refreshing

It is a great honour for me to be a liaison officer who is responsible for the first impression the delegates have on Singapore and SMU. I always treasure this chance and motivate myself in my heart.

It’s very important to take the initiative since waiting for others to give instructions is dangerous.

No matter how limited the time is we should always think about contingency plans so that we can still keep things under control when a sudden change takes place.

I really enjoyed my experience of meeting and accompany-ing my head of delegates even though he was also the only delegate (Peruvian Ambassador). He made me feel less nervous by telling me jokes. Although the experience was very short as he only stayed for three hours, it was still an unforgettable experi-ence.

I was also touched by the video in the opening ceremony. I learnt from it that we need to address women’s rights in the world and also look up to those women leaders.

Besides being a liaison officer, I also had ushering duties. Ushers are the heroes behind the cur-tain. The guests may not feel so welcomed without the ushers’ smile.

1.2. 3.

4.5.

6.

7. 8.9.

10.

Left: SMU Ambassador Li Bo (first row, centre) at the 14th APEC WLN Meeting.

Facing page: SMU Ambassador Sruthi Boppana (centre).

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Q.E.D. is about passion and zeal for Quantitative Finance

The Q.E.D. Quantitative Finance Society is the first student society dedicated to serving a major-related

discipline.

A major event organised by Q.E.D. is the DBS-SMU QF Challenge, which is a competition open to students from SMU, NUS, NTU and SIM. Participants will be put through two rounds of rigorous as-sessment of their quantitative ability by a panel of judges from DBS Bank. Problems

posed in the competition include the pric-ing and hedging aspects of exotic options, and students will then carry out quantitative investigations using cutting-edge numerical techniques and derivative pricing models and present their solutions. This year, Q.E.D. plans to make this challenge even bigger by expand-ing the competition to include students from universities all around Asia.

Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “Quod Erat Demonstrandum”, which literally means “that which was to be demonstrated”. It is commonly written at the end of mathemati-cal proofs to indicate that a proposition has been definitely proven. It also best demon-strates the passion and zeal with which the members of the society pursue quantitative finance not only as a challenge of demonstrat-ing their capabilities but to spread the knowl-

edge of this fascinating industry. It is this passion for acquiring and sharing knowledge that makes our society stand out.

The Q.E.D. Quantitative Finance Society is the first student society dedicated to serving a major-related discipline, and was formed in August 2006 under the auspices of the

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Quantitative Finance Unit of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business. Our main objectives include the inculcation of a sense of belonging among Quantitative Finance majors, as well as the promotion of knowledge within the fields of financial engineering and computational fi-nance to interested members of the University.

In addition to emphasising the highly techni-cal nature of quantitative finance, Q.E.D. also indicates a conviction to execute, which we, as a young student society, adopt as our ethos. Our core business lies in organising seminars and talks by industry professionals, special projects that seek to raise the aware-ness of Quantitative Finance, and networking sessions that offer opportunities for students to meet up with industry leaders. We believe that through these avenues, we will allow the students to discover the inherent opportuni-

Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “Quod Erat

Demonstrandum”, which literally means “that which was to be demonstrated”. It is commonly written at the end of mathematical proofs to indicate that a proposition has been definitely proven.

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ties in the industry for every major. Be it risk management or trading, quantitative finance is influencing every aspect of the financial services industry.

To date, we have hosted seminars by Dr Paul Wilmott, world-renowned author of the Wilmott series of Quantitative Finance books, and risk management workshops and seminars to enrich students majoring in quantitative finance as well as interested students from other schools. We have also hosted industry leaders from companies such as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Other planned initiatives include computer workshops aimed at promoting knowledge of basic programming with financial applications to all students, as well as possible collabo-

ration opportunities with the Office and Career Services to offer placement support for graduating QF students.

All these activities provide a real value-add for all Quantitative Finance students. Seminars complement course work at SMU and allow students a glimpse into how theoretical financial mathematics and numerical methods taught in the classroom are applied to areas like risk management and derivatives structuring.

Moreover, the opportunity to meet up with industry professionals allows students a breadth of options for internships and jobs, thereby enhancing the information flow for employment opportunities. In addition, in doing our part as a student society to spread

knowledge and understanding of what has traditionally been as esoteric field, Q.E.D. undertakes the responsibility of exposing members of the SMU commu-nity to Quantitative Finance by encour-aging participation in our events.

Quantitative Finance, as an academic discipline, is a burgeoning field with exciting opportunities. We hope that as a young student society promoting the spread of this new field of study, we can provide an enriching, refreshing and rewarding experience for all interested students.

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Literati: We are novel

A dedication to Michael Jackson, a book drive with Project Namaste and another with Project Kiron are

just some of the activities that Literati has lined up for the year. They also have sev-eral interesting plans to be drawn up.

That includes events and forums soon that are being planned out in collabora-tion with the National Library Board of Singapore (NLB). In addition, there will be several interactions with international and Singaporean authors who are famous around the world (we have talked, in the past year, with prominent literary figures such as Anita Desai, Ted Buzan and Rob Shearman) as well as forums and discus-sions with SMU professors. Script writing workshops, poetry writing and performing workshops are in the pipeline.

Literati means “The Literary Intelligen-tsia”. As one of SMU’s multitudinous CCA’s, Literati made its humble beginning in 2008. Literati was formed by a group of passionate and dedicated readers who sought an outlet for their creativity and love for literature. As the year progressed, they began to formulate bigger plans. Lite-rati decided to hold events that proved that literature can be expressed and appreciated in countless ways — including perfor-mances, publications, and contributions to good causes.

Although its logo resembles the wings of a bird, the metaphor goes deeper: it symbol-ises an open book, where each stroke of colour represents a page.

Literati goes beyond pages and words. The first event organised by Literati was a “Po-etry Slam!” in association with Wordfor-ward (a literary organisation in Singapore.

A runaway success, the Poetry Slam! was greeted with acclaim by SMU students and faculty alike. This event was attended by a high energy audience and featured three elimination rounds — to add a page to bring out a competitive element as well. Partici-pants performed a poem in every round, and judges from the audience inked a score of their performance on a scale of 1 to 10 (like in the Olympics). The performances varied in type and degree – loud, soft, dramatic, poetic, stoic, fast, slow, interactive, soliloquy, American, Asian and global. It also featured participants from outside SMU as well.

Literati will be working closely with Project Namaste (a team of students who go to Nepal to work with underprivileged children) by holding a book drive this year. This book drive has now become an annual event. Through it, Literati and Project Namaste raise funds, com-passion and support to help the project grow to its full potential.

In early 2009, a new executive committee took over the helm of Literati. They look forward to doing even more to promote a literary culture; one that is not centred around the textbooks.

Literati is also attempting to bring back the culture of reading for pleasure - something which they feel many have stopped doing with the onset of university life. No one denies that life gets busy when there is so much to juggle. But like the famous saying goes, we can never find time for things that are important to us, we can only make time. If reading (and thereby growing your knowledge and growing as a person) is important enough to you, then you will most certainly make the time for it.

You can reach Literati at [email protected] for any questions regarding joining the club.

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The Blue and Gold - Issue 7 - October 2008

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Transcript of The Blue and Gold - Issue 7 - October 2008