How well is your Hall Orientation named?

Since I’m not directly involved in any orientations, I guess I have the privileged position of observing Hall Orientations, including my own. But as a Malaysian student in Singapore, I’ve never really bought into the idea of orientations here. They’re can be pretty childish, but all in all, good fun — the question is, how ridiculous can the themes be?

I remember when I was in Temasek Junior College doing my A levels, and orientation had this backstory of warring tribes and how they would unite. I thought it was completely unnecessary, and perhaps, something done to try to make some sort of conflict in order to unite students.

So lets have a cursory look at Hall orientation programmes in NUS this academic year. We’ll start with my hall first — Temasek Hall!

Temasek Hall doesn’t have anything on its website on orientation yet — TUT TUT! What a shame, my own hall. I guess they like to do everything on email instead. But the title is ASPERO. Its on the banner on the side of Block D which was put up yesterday.

I initially thought it was ASPERA, as in ad astra per aspera — “to the stars through difficulties”. I wonder how they would pronounce the name: AS-pe-ro, ASP-ero, a-SPER-o? I think the first would be the most likely, since Singlish likes to put emphasis on every single syllable.

I’ll get to a camera and insert the picture of the banner here as an update.

Next, Eusoff Hall‘s orientation is named INCANDESCENCE. Like “the emission of visible light by a body, caused by its high temperature”. They’ve got their web presence here, and has revealed quite a bit about the story that binds the orientation thematically.

In the world of Incandescia, we tell a tale of the existence of a precious artefact known as the Khai Emerald. The Khai Emerald engulfed our cold, dark world in light and warmth. It was the symbol of unity and peace that we once had.

The Khai Emerald allowed Incandescia to thrive, and the endless prosperity saw the emergence of the six ruling tribes of The New Providence – Estora, Udeiya, Osiris, Sequeia, Forseti, Freyr.

…disaster soon befell Incandescia. As wonderful as Incandescia was, greed began to poison minds, and cultural clashes soured relations. No longer content with leaving the Khai Emerald in the hands of a neutral party, the tribes conspired to execute the Keepers. They succeeded in their merciless act.

… Elders seem to have an unusual hope for this new generation, The Sixth Rebirth; as the decendents of the Keepers promised to return and secretly spread their teachings once more. These young minds are open to the binding powers of the Khai Emerald. What seems like a fabled myth might be our only route to salvation. [accessed 23July2007]

Okay, so we have a mythical country, and it has six tribes with “awesome” names (which will eventually be the orientation groups), and the country has a magical gem that provides heat and light. Or was the “light and warmth” metaphorical? Apparently the gem also provides economic bonuses.

Kent Ridge Hall, on the other hand, is DAS VELOREN. A quick web translation shows that it means “Lost” in German, although “Das Velorene” gets “The Lost”. Check it out for yourself.

From their home page, they seem to have a pretty funny backstory to it. Its written like a letter discovered on an implied Island, presumably named Das Veloren. How any shipwreck would know its previous name, I have no idea.

By the time you get this, I would have been inducted to a place far beyond the mystical reaches of your imagination. No word can describe the bond I feel within this new home I have found and no one could ever understand this emotion that stirs through me as I take my time to marvel at the amazing achievements of this new place I call “home”

…It is not only just the serenading songs of the mermaids, the graceful performances by the nymphs … neither is it only just the burst of energy from the sturdy gladiators that inhabit this island that makes it unique. It is the synergy of its culture and sporting talent that makes you stand in awe at the balance of this island. No one is left out, there is a place for each and everyone of us here. Our potentials have been explored and with the guardians’ assistance, we reached the peak of it. [accessed 23July2007]

Sure, whatever you say. Gladiators that inhabit the island which give bursts of energies. Right. “No one is left out” — *gasp*, is that a hint of left-wing tendencies? I thought we’re supposed to be meritocratic, and for anyone to truly survive, we have to be dynamic and entrepreneural? I am awed, by the balance of the island.

They’re clearly drawing on the hit TV show, Lost, with a bit of influence from Shakespeare’s The Tempest so that they can draw upon the sense of shared survival and bonding amongst shipwrecks exploring an uncivilized island.

King Edward VII Hall hasn’t released its Orientation name on its website yet, although it does say “Orientation – Unleashed” in the navigation bar. [accessed 23July2007]

Raffles Hall has its orientation titled PROMETHEUS: REIGN OF FIRE. Check it out here. “Reign of Fire” is a rather old phrase, with at least three other copyrighted items already named such. But I like Prometheus, even though its not an original mythical story, and not even in the Asian tradition, but there’s a whole group of qualities and ideas that are already associated with Prometheus.

From their website, “To this day, the term promethean refers to events or people of great creativity, intellect, and boldness.”. Dictionary.com defines it as “creative; boldly original.”

They asked themselves, “How is it related to us [Raffles Hall]?” and gave the answer:

In [the] Raffles Hall emblem, a double-headed Phoenix can be seen. The Phoenix reduces to ashes when she dies and a new Phoenix is born from the ashes and therefore, the Phoenix is said to be a symbol of fire. Fire means passion and as long as we have this passion, Raffles Hall will remain united as one. We chose “Prometheus : Reign of Fire” as our theme this year because we feel that we can be likened to the fire that Prometheus stole. We are the fire and we will continue burning majestically, just as Raffles Hall will continue to thrive and excel… [accessed 23July2007]

Well, a simple theme. Works for me. It doesn’t use any bombastic-fantastic words. The last ellipses aren’t mine, and I think that’s all it should have dropped off.

Finally, lets take a look at Sheares Hall, which is so damn SHUAI. Yeap, their orientation is titled SHUAI. I think its Hokkien for good-looking, but correct me if I’m wrong. SHUAI is supposed to stand for Sheares Hall yoU And I, and if you don’t believe me, here is the orientation website.

They’ve embedded a video as a splash page for the orientation website, which doesn’t say much about any thematic backstory. Good for them if they don’t have a backstory. Despite sounding a bit presumptious, I don’t think you can write a mythical island-nation-warring tribe fable for something called “handsome”.

Wait! It seems that they have a backstory. “The warriors have gathered. Which side will you be on?” Apparently, freshmen will compulsorily be made to be on Sheares side. The video says, “This summer / evil is near / terror spreads / one last hope / [picture of Sheares Hall] / Are you ready? / Sheares Hall orientation”. There’s some pointing at chinese characters, but I can’t read them. Its made in a very ‘good vs. evil’ movie theme. Crikes.

Okay, that’s all for the post. If I see the orientation banners, I’ll take a picture and post them up here. If anybody can document NTU orientation for me, I’ll be very grateful.

Confluence 2007: I Endured It

Confluence 2007 is self-described as a “an annual global students’ symposium, ministerial dialogue session and corporate networking fair“, which actually does attract a lot of attendance from Singaporean students who are studying overseas. It was held at Shangri-La, Singapore, which is somewhere near Orchard road but generally inaccessible from the station.

Be warned though, I only arrived at 1pm, during lunch since I was making my way down from KL to Singapore and checking in to my room. So I missed half the symposium. Sorry, but that was unavoidable.

In a nutshell, here’s what I did. I arrived to see lunch being served in the form of fingerfood, and hundreds of young people, students, Singaporeans, milling around the banquet foyer, chatting and grabbing some food. I saw a few NUS students, Nursyafizah from TJ Climbing Club and, and Hurul whom I met during Matriculation. Also found the PSSOC dudes hanging around as well.

A few minutes later, got into the banquet hall with seating for about 300-400 people. Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Manpower and 2nd Minister of Defence, spoke on “Globalization – Can Singapore Endure”. In sum, he took the PAP stance on things without much surprise. Q&A session wasn’t unpredictable either; same old topic got questioned over again. Apathy, Home in Singapore, Welfare state, Youth, etc.

I talked to some people after the end of the Q&A session, walked around the not-too-impressive corporate fair half filled with public sector reps and then got on with my merry life.

General impressions.

Personally, I felt gratified that nearly everybody was in formal wear and it felt good for once. I’m quite annoyed at how people dress in university. Although I did see someone in a T-shirt, I guess the front desk must have been too kind to not let him in.

Something tells me that what Singapore doesn’t have is a sensible iconoclast. I thought I saw Asian values exposing themselves. Right now, those Asian values are manifesting in the form of generally not speaking up and being docile. Its as though they were already practising what the minister was speaking: “…Not to equate strident views with political apathy… if you can’t convince now, wait for another time.”

I think that most were waiting for somebody to say something worthwhile. The person I was sitting next to, I think his name was Jeremy, said that the Q&A sessions were a waste of time, the questions that were asked had already been addressed and debated in public as well. Another person was just here to see what the government wanted to say.
Therefore it seems pretty clear to me that “strident views” which are original, but yet not too idealistic, would be highly appreciated by the crowd of intelligent Singaporean students. They need someone who can articulate issues, and make better sense of them than the regular person without sounding too academic or doesn’t know what he’s doing. I’ve heard of the ardent anti-government delegate at other conferences before; Singapore needs someone in between that and the passive Asian leave-for-another-day way.

The Minister Speaking

With respect to the main speaker, Minister of Manpower Dr. Ng, I could basically pick out two points on why Singapore would endure — and flourish, he said — amidst few one-liners that he drops here and there for the crowd to humour. First, was history, and that they have built comparative advantage through policies that continually give a headstart, like through ISI, privatization, and that the world looks on Singapore as an example.

Secondly, Singapore will prosper because they have built brand equity. Singaporean companies have the expertise to stay afloat,relevant, and wanted in the global market. They can “capitalize on a strategic position between the East and the West.”

From what I can interpret of his speech, it gives me the impression that Singapore government has largely posited itself towards doing whatever that was economically necessity in order to stay “relevant” and “competitive”, with social issues possibly taking a lower priority. “The welfare state doesn’t work,” is the cry of the government. Minimum wage drives aways foreign investment.

Although at least he does say that the government is committed to building a good living environment, and providing a sound education for everybody, it feels as though they’ve been subverted for the sake of being commercially sound.

All in all, I think Singapore will endure. But it will endure because the ruling government is willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of survival. “If we need to change anything, we will,” a clarion call for the instrumental logic of survival, is the tune that everybody in Singapore will have to dance to. Now that we’ve established that, I think Singaporeans will have to ask themselves: What do I survive for? Are the five C’s of the Singapore Dream my only dream?

800 words.

Writing Laundry List

Alright, finally! Okay, I’m back in Singapore, and I’m getting into my work mode again, which means that this blog will be up to regular updates which means 2-3 posts per week. Holiday mood has really taken the writing off; I really am uncomfortable writing in Malaysia, its just the work environment and easy-going mood that I get in Malaysia (thanks to the television being there) that gets my word count down.

Anyway, a list of things to write in the coming week(s).

1. Three nights, Three Dialogues. In the last week before I left Singapore, I met three interesting people and try to find out how they tick, and how they affected me.
2. Confluence 2007: I Endured. First day I was in Singapore again, I went to Confluence, a conference for Singaporean students, with the theme, “Globalization: Can Singapore Endure?”
3. Malaysian Student Leaders Summit. This one is like Confluence, but over a period of three days and for Malaysians. I’m really excited for this one.
4. Classmanship Revisited. A year or two ago, I wrote a piece titled “Undergraduate Academia and the Way Forward”. I feel like revisiting it for the new academic year.

Anyway, in other news, running’s been crap since I think I came down with iliotibial band friction syndrome. Gotta see somebody at YIH for it.

And a new resolution, I will try to reduce my writing length to 500-700 words, instead of the 1000-2000 word posts, although those should come out every once in a while.