The day Lee Kuan Yew lost his cool with students

The day Lee Kuan Yew lost his cool with students

One of the most memorable incidents relating to the Undergrad during my time as a student concerned then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Undergrad‘s Editor Kishore Mahbubani. The student union had invited Mr Lee to give a talk to the student body on 4 June 1969. As expected, it was a big event; the largest lecture theatre available on campus was booked, and it was packed to the brim. Students, and some lecturers, were sitting and standing in every available inch of space. Mr Lee arrived on time and seemed a little tense. That was understandable. Our closest neighbour, Malaysia, had just experienced the May 13, 1969 racial riots following a general election. Singapore was still adjusting to its exit from the Federation of Malaysia in August 1965 and the withdrawal of the British armed forces which started in phases from 1967.

During the question-and-answer session, many students and even lecturers stepped up to question Mr Lee on the hot topics of the day, namely the pushing through of the Abortion Bill, the abolition of the jury system and the issue of certificates of suitability for students intending to pursue higher education in Singapore. The essence of the Abortion Bill was to allow unwanted pregnancies to be terminated more easily at a time when the Singapore population was considered to be growing too rapidly, with birthrates significantly above replacement levels. As for the jury system, it was considered ineffective to allow ordinary citizens to decide on complicated criminal cases before the courts of law. The certificate of suitability had been introduced in 1964 by the Federal government in a bid to prevent students from agitating for causes in a way that could threaten the security and stability of the country. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, it was well—known that the socialist clubs in some schools were very strong forces that were fighting against the idea of Singapore’s merger with Malaya to form Malaysia. By the time I was applying to university, that was a done deal. The bill was passed and until the 1970s, students who wanted to apply to the University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic had to apply for and be given a certificate of suitability.

The question—and—answer session became heated as some questioners persisted with their queries to Mr Lee even after he gave brief answers. Eventually, Mr Lee got up, rolled up his shirt sleeves and pushed the chairman of the session — one of the student union leaders — off the rostrum. He took over the forum and lectured us firmly on how we were students studying on taxpayers’ money, and we should not be telling him how to run the country and resolve its problems. He seemed exasperated with the crowd and stormed out of the hall soon after admonishing us.

Of course, the outburst became the talk of the campus. Kishore Mahbubani, who was then the Editor of the Undergrad, reported the incident in a piece titled, “A question of decorum”. In his write-up, Kishore wrote that Mr Lee “committed an unfortunate act of arrogance" by physically pushing the chairman off the rostrum, and that there was no excuse for resorting to physical force. He also questioned Mr Lee’s abrupt manner in answering the questions.

The report and commentary in the Undergrad reflected, to a good extent, the relationship that young firebrands in the university had with the Prime Minister of the day. It was a love-hate relationship. Here was a young, talented leader who was grappling with the running of a small, independent state with few resources and friends. His style was decisive, with his two deputies — Goh Keng Swee, the economic czar, and S Rajaratnam, the ideologue and Foreign Minister — giving him good support. But his style was abrasive, as he suffered no fools and took a tough line on anyone who stood against him. He probably saw the university student leaders as being too big for their boots.

A few days after the incident, on 13 June, Mr Lee summoned all freshmen to a talk at the National Theatre. He also met with the Union's Executive Committee and the Freshmen Orientation Committee. At the talk, he reminded the students that they were at the university for learning and education, and said he could not and would not allow organised disorder.

What happened next has never been fully disclosed. By August, Kishore had resigned as Editor, and shorn his head. It was rumoured that his scholarship was on the line, and that his resignation was not a voluntary one. It was reported that he had said it was pointless for a student to take an office if the student union was unable to provide sufficient protection for its office holders. Was Kishore’s shorn head a sign of protest against his involuntary resignation? We never found out.

The supreme irony, if one could call it that, is that Kishore went on to become not only one of Singapore's preeminent diplomats but also Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

When I talk to younger Singaporeans about this and other political events in my student days, they are usually quite amazed at the political fervour, courage and conviction of that generation. They tell me that, sadly, campuses have become politically sterilised since. A close friend, Steven Ooi, tells me that when he was at NUS in the mid-to-late 90s, he hardly ever heard any of his varsity mates talk about politics or heard of the union actively taking on the political establishment. According to Steven, we have reached a point where most Junior College students don’t even know who their Member of Parliament is, and when you ask them what GRC (Group Representation Constituency) stands for, the most common answer is “Grass Roots Committee”!

--- Marbles, Mayhem and My Typewriter: The unfadable life of an ordinary man / Mano Sabnani


In other words, Singaporeans are lectured on being apathetic after having been actively encouraged to be so.

Dating in NUS

NUSWhispers

"#20714: With the recent discussions regarding local girls vs foreign girls, I would like to share my experience hooking up with both local and exchange students in NUS. I hope to remain as objective as possible while sharing my experiences. I graduated recently in 2015. I am a Singaporean guy, straight. I consider myself to be average looking.

When I entered uni, I found it quite difficult to hook up in Campus. I was having more luck with girls during my NS days. I stayed at PGP throughout my uni life, which was essentially a dead place. My guy friends from halls invited me frequently for drinking sessions with their friends. I recall being touchy with several girls during the drinking and clubbing after. Most Hall girls are cute and have this bubbly vibe. I found them adventurous and fun in general. Once after clubbing, this girl brought me back to her room at KR. Before entering her room, I excused myself to the bathroom to freshen up. When I stepped into her room, she had changed out of that cute dress she was wearing, into her FBTs and singlet. This unfortunately, was a turnoff for me. For me, foreplay is important as it enhances that sensual environment. We tried making out, but she was too tipsy from the way her body moved. I left shortly after tucking her into bed. That was the closest I got to hooking up the whole semester.

The following semester, I took two classes at U-town. I was surprised to see so many exchange students there. I found the girls to be friendly as they would say hi to me in Lectures and often smile casually at me. However, I always felt that Caucasian girls were not my type even though some were attractive and very good looking. One afternoon, I spotted this really cute girl at the U town Bus stop, Golden hair, petite with beautiful eyes. After contemplating for a good 5 minutes, I approached her, introduced myself and started a conversation. She was from Sweden, very friendly and spoke good English. I managed to get her number and suggested that I'd take her out for dinner that weekend. We had several drinks after dinner and ended up having sex at her U-Town residences. The sex was really awesome and she was very confident in bed. Both of us were clear that this wasn't a serious relationship and continued to remain friends till she left for her home country. We hooked up several times after that as well.

She introduced me to her circle of friends who were mostly exchange students. They often partied during the weekends which was how I managed to meet more exchange students. During a party at MBS, (not sure why exchangers love MBS so much) I met this exchange student from the US. We kept flirting and I finally brought her back to my room at PGP. She was very active during sex, especially during foreplay. I found her to be more creative in bed. We hooked many times throughout the semester and during the holidays, where we took a short trip to Hong Kong together. She has a boyfriend back in the states, but they were taking a break during her exchange I pitied my PRC neighbour at PGP, a pleasant guy who seemed studious and probably had to put up with the noise.

The following year, Tinder became popular. This app changed my life. Those who use Tinder in U-Town will know how many options are available. I was getting laid more than I had expected with both locals and exchange students, to the point where I had to turn down hook-ups. Although I must admit, girls on Tinder are always turning down hook-ups as well. I increased my circle of friends, and my sex-life got better.. My female friends from NUS, many of whom I met during sec sch and JC were also interested in my guy exchange friends. I brought them along for parties, and they brought their female friends. One of whom I hooked up with.

The Stereotype that Asian Guys are unattractive and can't get Caucasian is not entirely true. I often joked about this Stereotype with exchange students whom I've slept with. Many of them find Singaporean guys to be cute and generally well-mannered. However, very unapproachable. Most of my hook-ups told me that I am the first local guy that has approached them. An exchange friend of mine said that she once complimented a cute local guy on his jacket during lecture. He thanked her in a serious manner, blushed and looked away the whole time while his friends giggled and poked fun at him throughout the lecture. Another Swiss exchange student of Japanese descent told me that she had a huge crush on her TA and kept flirting with him after class. He did not reciprocate (probably because he was a TA). My exchange friend from Italy who was insanely hot and always getting hit on by other exchange guys, found a Singaporean guy in our tutorial class extremely attractive. He wasn't handsome in my opinion, short, skinny with that nerdy vibe.. According to her, he made intelligent comments during tutorials and it seemed like he "knows what he's doing". Many of my other female exchange friends found it difficult to approach local guys, even if it's just to make friends. This results in them hanging out with other exchange students as opposed to locals. Believe me, many exchange girls I met during parties have asked me to introduce them to my Singaporean guys friends. In short, Singaporean guys just don't approach exchange girls.

I am not saying that foreign girls are better than local girls. In fact, I find many Singaporean girls super chio and hot, and great in bed. My point is, instead of arguing over which race or nationality is better, learn to appreciate all types of people from different backgrounds. If you intend to sleep around, just make it clear from the start that you aren't into anything serious. Hurting a girls feelings is a huge no. Many exchange students are looking for serious relationships, and it's pretty unfair to them if you use them emotionally to get laid.

Working life is very different. Long hours in the office and responsibilities often leads to less sex and social interaction. So both guys and girls, enjoy it while it lasts :)"

Entertainment for the exams

Looks like someone just finished exams over at NUS Confessions:

"I'm a girl from SOC who just finished her last final exams in NUS. Looks and figure wise, I consider myself slightly above average only but not so much that I attract too much attention generally except in SOC. I would probably be nothing if I'm in FASS. Even so, let me recall dating record, 7 propositions from guys in SOC throughout my 4 years, one from FASS and one from Business. I dated 2 guys from SOC for just 6 months in total, FASS guy for 6 months and the Business guy for my final year. We are still together.

Now, this is generalisation, but I feel being in a male-dominated faculty like SOC or Engin really makes me feel like a piece of meat being mentally undressed wherever I go for classes. I seemed to get most of the attention and hence switch off from SOC guys totally. All the SOC guys who propositioned me are either ugly immature nerds or are just plain jocks who chose SOC only because it was the only course they could get with their results. There seems to be a variance between the the number of eye-candies in Business/FASS vs Computing/Engin.

I dated the 2 guys in the hope that their hearts are better than their outside appearances. Sadly, it was not the case. They are more willing to spend time understanding their video games and computers more than they spent understanding me or women in general. Come on, even though unlike most girls, I know programming and algorithms, must you discuss those topics again outside class? Women are not like logical machines, we need the emotional connection.

Dress sense in SOC is clearly no where near the league as in Business for example. Even on important presentations, most of you dress worse than a Business student in his slackest days. In fact, I got weird comments for overdressing when my group of guys chose to present in their shorts and slippers.

I find Business and FASS guys way more articulate and mature. Their command of English seems light years ahead compared to the stuttering nerds. Business guys especially, seem to have the aura of ambition that SOC students seem to lack. They can voice out their inner thoughts and emotions much better, know how to cheer me up when I'm down etc. It seems all the SOC guys are horny copies of each other whereas the non-Science guys have a more unique flavour to them. About the FASS guy, it was only because his parents didn't approve of us because of differing religions.

Fitness wise, I seem to feel that Computing guys are not as physically fit in general. I know they are exceptions so don't flame me, its just that the majority are short, skinny, nerdy dudes who seriously need more time out in the sun and on the track than behind the screen. Business guys seem to be taller, more buff and give me the feeling of protection.

Oh and finally the fun part, the sex bit. I admit my sample size is small, but from the 4 guys I had, the FASS guy was the most creative (sorry my bf, but thats true) followed by my current bf with the 2 SOC guys far behind. I chalk it up to them being inexperienced virgins and if they have, its probably from porn. I know the argument, you can't get better without more experience but seriously as a girl with modern sexual needs, I don't care about your excuse of me being your first gf. It just proves how much of a loser you are for being a virgin or having your first relationship only in Uni. Either you give me a good time or I show you the door, the fairer sex is the one that decides when to spread our legs for you so we make the rules. My rule is that you don't waste my time learning on the job, you better know how to do yours before you start. Your learning should have started on innocent girls from your JC or poly. Imagine applying for a a fresh grad job when you are in your 40s. Uni girls like me have higher expectations of sex as we climb the academic ladder and gain more sexual experience.

So as a piece of advice to girls in NUS, date FASS and business guys. They are more mature, posses greater awareness of the real world outside the land of the Matrix and communicate better with you. Poor communication in a relationship is as good as bad or no communication. Sex with SOC guys, totally cmi, feel more like an emotionless porn actress after the act.

For my final advice to my male SOC mates before I leave, watch less porn and jerk off less, it is not only bad for you, its totally inaccurate. Dress better, go to the gym more often, take up those CELC speaking and writing classes then maybe you stand a better chance with women in the dating game. Remember, computers don't propagate your genes, women do.

#from a girl who actually feels disadvantaged in the dating game in the land of nerdy guys with so few eye-candies."

" 'Victim' 'Blaming' ": Laptop Theft

“Rape is the only crime in which the victim becomes the accused.” - Freda Adler

***

NUS Confessions:

"Everyone please be careful with your laptops in the central library. My friend's got stolen last week and today I saw a guy in orange cap and a crumpled bag acting all weird around untended laptops. Fair warning."

Comments:

"You dont own what you cant protect"

"If you leave possessions in a public sphere, then it's public property for the time that you leave it unattended or unwatched. Fair game."

"btw, the whole crime prevention thing leads to warped ideas like "you don't own what you can't protect.""

"These people blaming the victims are no different from those blaming girls for "sending the wrong signal" when a rapist strikes."

"In the first place, people shouldn't leave their belongings unattended, right?"

"Do exercise some personal responsibility when it comes to your belongings.."

"Ppl please dont conflate risk with blame. People who leave their stuff lying around increases the risk of it being stolen, but ultimately the blame is on the thief. Just like how someone who dresses provocatively increases their risk at getting into bad situations, but ultimately the blame of the crime is on the perpetrator, not the assault victim/survivor."


"Giriraj Shah... writes that rape is the only crime which involves a role reversal between the accused and the accuser - thereby placing the victims on trial" - Women And Society / Rakesh Gupta

Observations - 26th March 2012

"Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the thought is staggering." - R. Buckminster Fuller

***

"People used to think illnesses were caused by devils or evil spirits. We now know they're caused by poor circulation of Qi"

[On dismissing pseudoscience without examining it] "Once we think we know in advance which effects are real and which are illusory, true scientific objectivity flies out of the window"


NTU censors their internet access, while NUS doesn't. Maybe this is why NUS is ranked higher.

Someone: "kids, never make a job out of your passion. mine is almost dead."

Love the euphemism "large scale armed immigration" for invasion.

A non-vegan who talks about animal cruelty is probably like a Confederate slaveholder talking about human rights.

I didn't know humanity had managed to make rinderpest extinct. What a tragedy for species diversity!

A lawyer pointed out to me that in Singapore, you don't need to have intent to commit rape. The specific clause is: "Any man who penetrates the vagina of a woman with his penis without her consent... shall be guilty of an offence". Actually in general the crimes involving sexual activity (excluding outrage of modesty) don't specify intention, which is interesting. Perhaps this all ties in to Victorian ideas about presumed consent which are no longer extant. I haven't yet heard of cases where the nebulous and contested concept of consent has given someone legal problems here, though.

The Cock has a book called "三个A Cup的女人". Even after finding a page listing the book I can't figure out where the Cups come in.

Interesting question: Which of the following has the biggest influence on your behavior?
Reason, Observation, Empiricism, Trial-And-Error.
Tradition, Faith, Upbringing, Heritage.
Emotion, Intuition, Instinct.

From my full-time traveller friend: "Kosovo - why would you go there? There is nothing there to see expect for the policemen everywhere. The pollution is terrible. And people smile on the surface but are truly guarded within. These are the aftereffects of war. People are tired."


"Don't mess with us Indians. We wrote the kama sutra. We can fuck you in more ways than you can count"

RT: @jaykayell_: #SignsYourSonMightBeGay He keeps bringing attractive women home and having sex with them because he is deeply in denial. [NB: This is good logic to justify anything you want]

RT: @puddiemel: It's true. Gay guys in denial are the biggest bitches.

RT @THEDAILYFUCK: Life is a lot like math. If it goes too easily, you know something is wrong.

RT: @spoonrabbit: "I passed the breast exam!" "The passing mark must be really low." D'::

RT @Glinner The Catholic Church, indifferent and lethargic in its response to the sexual abuse of children, is now energised by gay marriage. Amazing


"Aujourd'hui, mon fils m'a dit qu'il fallait que je fasse plus souvent l'amour à ma femme "parce que tu comprends, j'en ai marre de ses sautes d'humeur". VDM"

"Aujourd'hui, je travaille sur une plateforme téléphonique et je tombe sur un client mécontent : "Puisque j'ai attendu sept minutes avec cette musique ridicule, à vous d'en faire autant ! Lalalala lala la..." VDM"

RT: @Flootoutcourt: Quand je mourrai, je voudrais que quelqu'un se connecte sur mon Twitter pour faire peur aux gens :"Hey,vous saviez qu'ils ont le Wi-Fi ici?"

RT @justinbiebiere: La meilleure grève contre le chômage, c'est le travail...

RT @Joan_Larroumec Seuls les vrais hommes savent apprécier les femmes à moustache.

(A) Public Service Announcement

Left this note on someone's unlocked laptop at the NUS Central Library on Saturday:



Someone: "Someone else less public-spirited who see the note will take both the note and the laptop."

On NUS Literature students

"Bachelor's degrees make pretty good placemats if you get 'em laminated." - Jeph Jacques

***

@preius: Somehow it seems blasphemous to go into a literature tutorial and confess you read more non-fiction than fiction..

@eisen: Why not. Non-fiction is still composed of words. And don't literature students love word play? Heheh

@preius: somehow it seems less acceptable. the stereotypical lit student doesn't read nonfic? to put it plainly they now think i am boring :(

@eisen: Bah. Don't be too disturbed by them. Many lit students I took modules with were full of fluff and nothing else.
Heck, they didn't even properly read the required readings before going to tutorial. I ended up asking many of the questions.
Yes! They were lit tutorials, the lit students were largely silent, so the history major had to rescue the lesson. Pfft

@preius: that's true, I think I've held my own fairly well in my lit mods so far, mainly by doing all the (nonfiction) readings!

Me: Hee a lit student I know keeps claiming they're very smart and can tear bs apart

@preius: haha, I said I was a Geog major and consequently suffered the "what-are-you-doing-here" look

Show the world your Scientific Genius (if you're still a Teen) (Sponsored Post)

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful." - Mae West

***

One of the things you get from [American] pop culture is the idea of the Science Fair where you get to muck around and set up all sorts of funky experiments - all in the name of doing your schoolwork.

I got to do a version of this in USP in NUS, making my own carbon arc lamp from a chopping board, 2 rubbers, nails, 2 disposable chopsticks, crocodile clips, batteries and mechanical pencil lead:


This produced one of the most brilliant lights ever (sunglasses were needed to avoid eye damage)

For students aged 13-18 who didn't take Innovations in Technology / Modes of Invention (the GEM equivalent), they can take part in Google's Online Science Fair (at least if they're not from "Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country").

It's online so you don't have to worry about people walking around and poking at your exhibit.

Campaign video:


with a science-inspired Rube Goldberg machine

The submission deadline is in under 12 hours (signup has been open since 11th January but maybe you have something cool lying around - and you can reuse a submission to a recent science fair).

The finals are around 11th July at Mountain View, California and 15 finalists will be flown there! And the grand prize is a US$50,000 Scholarship from Google, a "once in a lifetime experience" from CERN, Google, LEGO or Scientific American and a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions.

More details: Google Global Science Fair 2011

(This is a sponsored post)

Crazy Jeremy makes it to Twitpic

"#NUSOddities - A PRC student wearing his VERY DIRTY LAB COAT stained with a multitude of dyes. GPGT."

This is, of course, inaccurate.

1) He's not a PRC
2) He's not an NUS student [anymore] (this bit was implied)
3) His lab coat is not dirty - it's stained on purpose (who could possibly get this sort of stain accidentally?!)

NUS: Flavours of Asia

"MA4257: Financial Mathematics II

Dr. Xia Jianming
matxj@nus.edu.cn"

On University Education in Singapore vs education abroad

A: having studied overseas, i think that education in Singapore is so inferior, so so inferior.

Me: People who have studied overseas tell me that overseas is very diverse, and even in places where it's supposed to be better isn't necessarily

And my exchange experiences lead me to a similar conclusion

A: I dunno. I had very good experience. Perhaps because I'm doing it at a graduate level and all my teachers are experienced and know what they are doing. So much so that I think my years in NUS are a waste. I only learn how to read properly overseas.

Frigid Girl: I assume if one is smart and reads widely enough like gabriel is and does, it doesn't need to be taught. You won't even need to blame the system for it.

B: i think Sg education ok wad.. I thought USP did great.. but not Bizad..

A: [Frigid Girl], you kinda explain why Gabriel is so anti-feminist.

USP modules taught by USP perm professors are great; those taught by attached professors from other faculties are not so great.

Frigid Girl: what's this got to do with feminism? clearly your vaunted foreign education sitll hasn't lifted you above the muck, you sitll exhibit the thought processes of an illogical 9 year old

C: i agree, bringing feminism into this discussion... well, can you explain the link?

also, i think my sg education is fine and i would lean towards gabe's conclusion - overseas IS diverse, may be better, may be worse, even if it's supposed to be better.

and if you only learnt how to "read" properly overseas...hmn.

D: so I've studied at usp@nus in singapore, also, grew up in singapore, but i'm doing the rest of my college education in the states and i've also studied abroad in the uk.

given these experiences, i feel that pre-tertiary education in singapore is academically really good. my brief time at usp in nus was also transformative in several ways and i was generally impressed at the level of academic engagement and rigor there. here in the states, my course work is about as challenging as that in nus, and in some ways even more because of the different grading system and criteria. but singaporean students generally do well here, although there are many reasons for this. in the one term that i was studying in the uk, however, i felt really stifled by the university's system and did not feel like i learned a lot. it reminded me very much of the jc system in singapore, which even nus seems to be moving away from.

what i really like about my school in the states, and to some extent, my time in the uk, however, is the social life and the opportunities for social and personal growth that i get here. i didn't feel like i got any of that at nus and in singapore generally. even when in london, i had a good time socially and that made up for the other aspects that i wasn't as happy about. but i'm just surprised at how little of a campus life nus had when i was there.

partly, i think it's because of the culture there that doesn't seem to emphasize social competition and interaction as much, and i think this is what makes the education in singapore 'average'. but purely academically, i think education in singapore is actually more than decent. but this just my 2 cents, i guess, and there are lots of disclaimers i should put up here but i assume you already know this.

NUS and April Fool's Day

"The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth." - Edith Sitwell

***

On 1st April, I got an email from the NUS Alumni Office, attaching a "Letter from the NUS President updating you on recent campus developments".


My reply:


Dear NUS Alumni Office,


Thank you for the letter.

Might I suggest that April Fool's Day is not the best time to send out a circular?

Unless, that is, the circular is about something like the following:

The Johns Hopkins University - We've changed our name to John Hopkins
http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/featured/naming_announcement_april01/

"The Johns Hopkins University announced today that it is bowing to the inevitable and officially changing its name to "John Hopkins."

"We give up," university President Ronald J. Daniel said. "We're fighting a losing battle here. And we strongly suspect the extra 's' was a typo in the first place.""

Yours etc.

"Humor is also a way of saying something serious." - T. S. Eliot

***

Why are 80% of the world's refugees women and dependent children? Because the men get killed.

Buddha said that a jug fills drop by drop, but that's only if the water doesn't evaporate.

On why 4 kids is perfect: "1 is too lonely.
2 is too standard and not lively enough.
3 is too political (they can't fight easily since 1 v 1 can turn into 1 v 2 easily; not good).
4 is just nice.
the oldest one must not be a guy?... don't want my kids to start killing each other."

One man's bigot is another man's moralist.


RT @acidflask Just learned that what is called barley (薏米) in Singapore is not at all barley (大麦), but something else entirely! Job's Tears - Wikipedia

RT @dweam Teach a boy how to fish and he will never go hungry again. Teach a girl photoshop and she will never look ugly again.

"sometimes i wonder if the old man and [Mahathir] are on a competition to see who says the stupidest things"

"social work papers are usually not real papers. they are magazine articles in disguise."

"When petite girls says, "good thing comes in small packages". I say, "hey, be consistent with that comment!""

"okay, i guess having bigger breasts than Stefanie Sun isn't an achievement. it's equivalent to saying that i'm not as ugly as Michael Jackson"

"if it's NSFW, it must be interesting"

"*** pointed out the other day that evian is naive spelled backwards... hahah"

Architectural insights from @vincentliu_bear on how Feng Shui is common sense:
"courtyards invite water and fresh air into the building which helps with air circulation
cities with backs towards mountains and facing seas - less chance of surprise attacks from invaders"

"[The] cost of living in Boston and Singapore are in fact quite similar. Obviously you can argue about the appropriate basket of goods and services to compare, but the stark reality is that living costs in SG have long since caught up with much of the developed world... You really ought to explore the food truck scene here... I was last back in early 2008, and before that in mid 2004. Between those two visits I noticed a uniform price increase of everything from public transport to hawker food of about 50% across the board. Some places kept their prices the same but reduced the quantity of goods by roughly that much too."

On why Tong Seng coffeeshop sells the worst hae mee I've ever eaten: "If you can't sell it to the Chinese......sell it to the Malay/Muslims who don't have much choice. Always wanted to know what a real Hainanese Chicken Rice taste like....but chances are, if it's HALAL....it isn't very good."


Anecdote about an Intercultural class [in NUS]:
"Where do you find Bangaladeshis in Singapore?" Class:" Little India"
"How about Thais" Class: "Golden Mile"
"Filipinos?" Class: "Lucky Plaza"
"China Nationals?"..........Silence from the lecture group. Then a lone voice:
"Everywhere"


On the Temasek Review:

"if i had more time i'd collect their stock phrases and create a TR machine: input current topic (HDB prices, new immigrants, democracy) and choice of leader to whack (LKY, LKY, LKY), together with current news story (ST, CNA, wires). cut and paste, insert relevant TR phrase, ta da! ;)"

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Friedrich Engels

***

From the Facebook group, Overheard at the National University of Singapore:


"Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. Who is more powerful than LEE KUAN YEW?"

"What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn't come every day." - George Bernard Shaw

***

(reposted due to a screwed up image)

Google Singapore Trends for 22nd December 2009:



1. nus exam results
2. nus results
3. myisis nus
4. nus exam results online
6. nus vpn
7. isis nus
8. nus webvpn
9. nus isis
10. nus cap calculator
11. nus singapore
12. dong zhi
16. nus email

(it was a release day for exam results and the server crashed)

My CAP Calculator appears on the first page of search results!

Picture of the NUS Alumni float taken by Kean Bon:

A nice commentary on feminism overthrowing patriarchy:



[Addendum:

psychoanalytic freudian reading: usp reclaimed the phallic shield through the act of procreation(birth of spider thing in giant vagina. The reading is particularly apt because much as the mother only has momentary and fleeting possession of the phallus, we will only have athe shield for a year.

postcolonial singapore reading: a discourse on racial harmony showing how three distinct races (elements) should band together to weather the storms and with unity defeat an unnamed dark enemy

marxist reading: abolishing class (elemental) differences and working together in an egalitaria fasion towards a shared goal brings eternal joy and happiness. can't remember how the evil bad guys fit in

feminist reading: the dance plays into gendered stereotypes, exoticising the women as graceful, colourful and desirable, while the (evil) men are associated with strength and stones and etc. Complication when the strandbeest comes in, because usually women are associated with the baser and more animalistic side of human nature]

"I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it." - Lord Brabazon

***

How Do Male and Female Students Approach Learning at NUS?

"Motive refers to the reason why students approach learning tasks and their studies, while strategy refers to the methods and habits they engage in to accomplish the task. Surface motives include fear of failure, or wanting just to obtain a paper qualification, and may drive students to employ such surface strategies as memorising learning material without first comprehending it. Deep motives, on the other hand, entail an intrinsic interest in the subject and a desire for understanding per se, which usually drives students to deep strategies like taking the initiative to find out more about a topic and seeing interrelationships among different concepts.

In addition to deep and surface approaches, Biggs also defined a third: the achieving approach. The achievement-motivated student is driven by competition with peers for the highest marks. As such, achieving strategies are engaged, such as: choosing modules that the student feels confident in, and studying material deeply insofar as it is pertinent to the examination...

On average, males scored higher than females: 3.56 (S.D.=.74) vs. 3.34 (S.D.=.67) respectively. A stepwise regression confirmed that gender is a significant predictor of CAP (adjusted-R2=.021, F=23.261, p<.001) and that gender differences in CAP are not due to differences in age (R2-change=.003, F-change=3.206, n.s.). However, it should be noted that the size of this gender effect is rather small...

Across genders, one-way ANOVAs revealed that males scored slightly higher than females on achieving motives (F=7.033, p<.01), although this effect was small. Males also scored slightly higher than females on deep strategies (F=10.362, p<.001)...

Males scored higher on the Abstract Conceptualisation scale, indicating a preference for logical thinking and rational evaluation, which are deep strategies; they were also found to excel in impersonal learning situations emphasising theory and systematic analysis (Severiens & Ten Dam, 1994). In contrast, female students using a deep approach (identified as ‘comprehension approach’) tend to look for personal connections and relevance (identified as ‘elaborative processing’) with learning material (Meyer et al., 1994).

These two findings could explain why female NUS students score lower on deep strategies, since they may find it harder to relate some course material to their personal experiences...

Finally, it is surprising to note that those who scored the highest on just deep motives or strategies performed no better than those who scored the highest on just surface motives or strategies, since deep learning is supposed to be a fundamental goal of education...

Males were more likely than females to engage the following deep strategies: thinking of real-life applications of subject material, and drawing links between previous knowledge and new information...

It was suggested earlier that female students may encounter difficulties with subjects that are not perceived as being personally relevant to them. To address this need for personal connection with subject material, instruction can be designed to create engaging experiences with course content. Examples include talks or seminars by renowned females in respective fields; role-play exercises [an example is described in Sivan et al., (2000)]; or even spending some time to introduce course material as a personal story...

The findings reported here are based on first-year students at NUS. It has been observed elsewhere that students tend to move toward a more surface approach to learning as they continue in their studies, and that gender differences become more apparent over the years at University"


Good luck role-playing an engineering problem.

Also interesting:

Learning Goals and Styles by Gender—A Study of NUS Students

"Compared with male students, female students also scored higher on socially oriented goals. It is further noted that the individually and socially based performance goals are positively correlated thus, lending support to the notion that female students obtain grades for socially oriented purposes instead of seeing grades as an achievement or an end in itself."

"The attempt to make heaven on earth invariably produces hell." - Karl Popper

***

"Dear Presidents/ Reps of Local Alumni Groups,

“Exploding Colours, Exuberating Zest!” is the theme for this year’s Rag and Flag. Do you remember the late nights frantically constructing your Hall or Faculty float? The feeling of pride at being part of a unique NUS experience on parade day? Well, the NUS Alumni Office is pleased to announce that this year will see the first ever Alumni Float in the parade! So stay connected with alma mater by being part of this adventure and for a chance to relive exciting memories.

We would like to call for alumni participation either in volunteering of time to be part of a team which will meet to come up with the concept and design of the float or by making a donation.

Please reply to this email by June 11th if you wish to come on board as part of the Alumni Float team.

If you wish to make a donation, please make out the cheque to “National University of Singapore” and send it to me at the following address

Lisa Lip
Office of Alumni Relations
Shaw Foundation Alumni House
11 Kent Ridge Drive
Singapore 119244

Rag and Flag will be held on August 8th from 9am to 1pm and we look forward to your support and seeing you on the day!"


I'd be very surprised if anyone actually took this up. Older people (not to mention working people) do not want to spend more "late nights frantically constructing" an alumni float.

There's a reason that, even among students, rag is mostly a Year 1/Year 0 thing.

"It is possible to be below flattery as well as above it." - Thomas Babington Macaulay

***

Someone: hahaha
me just looking for fun

it's fun to just date
no obligations

Me: when you say "looking for fun" people think ONS

Someone: erhm
ok
fine..i shall not say looking for fun


MFTTW: "NUS grads all look v free
the girls esp seem to do nothing but doll themselves up
they're super overdressed for students lor
like more dressed than the working people
I think cos they have nothing else to do in life
the working people don't have that much time to primp"

one of my friends who was complaining about law students who wear 5''
heels when it's totally impractical


Someone: i don't think i wanna weigh anymore

Me: Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power

Someone: i heard guys like ignorant girls, and girls like powerful guys


Me: Not many people understand "Je veux une petite fille publique"

Someone else: I see a little girl in public?!! haha


Someone on the argument that most people don't mind part-time slavery (aka Reservist) after a few cycles: Does that same logic not defeat the very purpose of NS since after a few years of occupation by a foreign power, Singaporeans would like their new governors?

That argument is flawed and unacceptable. It is a crime to the intellect that [it should be used]

There are many facets of NS that are unacceptable and indefensible, but all these years of maturation have led the SAF to develop really tricky persuasion for it. I bet that is what many officers learn in military school. Silly arguments that have been polished intensively.


Me: why do women like cars

Someone else: why do men like sex

Me: do you?

Someone else: orgasms are the best thing in the world. they make u happy. best of all, they're free.

aiya, women dont need men anymore to get their orgasms la


Someone: my friend told me he was gonna get married

estiamte at 80k cost
30k can subsidise

so u n future spouse have to pay out 50k

so get married
or lifetime geylang membership lor

Me: I think lifetime geylang membership cheaper

Someone: ok la

one time 100 dollar
u can fuck for at least 500 weeks

that's slightly less than 10 yrs

Me: 500 times
depends how often you go :P

Someone: wife sometimes won't even give u
n u gotta take more shit

Me: then 1/4 of the time menses

Someone: yea lor
hahaha


HWMNBN: do you agree that all women are whores?
just direct or indirect?

Me: about as much as all men are rapists
just direct or indirect

HWMNBN: hahahahahahahahahaahahah


TMM: the UK is a lot like Malaysia
in terms of architecture and infrastructure

but th key difference is that its not rotting and decaying
and there's little litter
if at all

and the weather is nice too


Someone who has nicer hair than me: haha
good

i am also irritated when girls ask me 'so when are you cutting your hair'
i say 'cannot leave long ah – you jealous that i have nicer hair than you right'

Me: haha
what do they say

girls get very pissed off at guys with long hair. I think jealous

Someone: yeah, or it's some sexist rule that guys must keep short hair
rubbish

they try to laugh it off, but i bet they're cursing me inside hahahaha

Me: they dont like it when people are sexist about them
but they can be sexist themselves