tbng summer guide

THE BLUE AND GOLDSummer Edition!

Summer Guide 2011:Summer Schools, Exotic Beaches, SMUX activities, and more!

That’s Not All!SMU’s Public Holidays Policy

The New OnTrac2Why The Revolution Will

Be Tweeted

Shoutouts From:SMUSA, Bizcom, Francophiles, Greenstation Movement, and SMUBE!

Credits!

Managing D

irecto

r

Deborah Li

m Hui L

i

Deputy M

anaging D

irecto

r

Shobana N

adar

aja

Editor-i

n-Chie

f (Prin

t)

Aashna N

asta

Editor-i

n-Chie

f (Onlin

e)

Senthil S

ukumar

Editors

Talis

a Kau

r Dhali

wal

Nadim

Ali Kap

adia

Tobias

Yeo Zhi Q

iang

Ankita P

rasa

d

Design Team

Melvin Ti

ong (Head

Desig

ner)

Ariel N

guyen

Angelin

e Yeo

Comm

unications S

ecreta

ry

Bryan

Lim Shi M

ing

Photogra

phers

Tham

Jun Q

uan

Hans S

teva

nus Mar

yo

Advisors

Owen Tan W

ah C

hen

Ephraim

Loy

Michae

l Ng

This is my first editor’s note since my predecessor passed the baton on to me. I have taken the leap and revamped The Blue and Gold (TBNG). Amalgamating ideas of the entire team, I’ve added colour, changed the magazine style and brought in new sections – including a blunt “confession” of the SMUSA Com-munications Secretary on page 38.

Summer has always been my favourite part of the year. The va-cation mood, the options to travel abroad, the beaches for perfect escapes, the time to chill!

Most of us spend the post mid-term period in GSRs working on group projects, presentations, reports and exams. We make sum-mer synonymous with internships and forget the vacation part of it. So TBNG decided to make your vacation planning easier by sharing with you a plethora of options that you can explore this summer. Besides the clichéd internships and community service trips, SMU offers a variety of summer options from Busi-ness Study Missions in Europe to adventure activities like trek-king and scuba diving.

The Blue and Gold brings to you the Summer Guide 2011.

xoxo, Aashna

Editor’s note!

2 Issue 13 The Blue & Gold

Comm

unications S

ecreta

ry

Bryan

Lim Shi M

ing

Photogra

phers

Tham

Jun Q

uan

Hans S

teva

nus Mar

yo

Advisors

Owen Tan W

ah C

hen

Ephraim

Loy

Michae

l Ng

TOC

44. CCA PAGES

41. LIFESTYLE

37. sMUSA PAGES

31. WORLDSCOPE

27. VIEWPOINT

17. CAMPUS NEWS

6. COVER STORY -‐ SUMMER

Summer Schools outside SMU 8Summer Plans - Local & International Students 9Ideal Places for Summer 10SMUX Summer Activities! 12BSM Scandinavia 15Work & Travel USA 16

SMU Ten Essential Stories 18Starry Nite 20SMUSA Awards Night 21OnTrac 2 - Pros & Cons 22Taking Public Holidays into Consideration 26

MLM - Making Life Miserable 28GPA Cut Off to Switch Schools in SMU 29Social Media Beyond Facebook and Twitter 30

World News in a Flash 32The Royal Wedding 35Take That, Malcolm Gladwell 35

Behind the SMUSA 38BIZCOM 39The Finance Committee 39

Summer Books & Movies 41The Lion King 42Food Reviews 43

Francophiles 44Greenstation Movement 45SMUBE 46

3The Blue & Gold Issue 13

8What did you take out from your term with The Blue and Gold?Verifying sources is the key. Being squeezed for time, I often had very little time or energy left to check everything that was supposed to be checked. I have been rapped (several times) for missing out key statistics, or simply not being accurate on some of them. It’s something that I’m not ex-actly proud of, and is definitely a learn-ing point for me.

Second would certainly be working as a team. Doing up a publication requires immense time and effort – without you guys, it would be an abso-lute nightmare. But I have managed to tide through six issues mostly because of the enthusiasm of the team.

What were the most memo-rable experiences you had throughout your term with The Blue and Gold?Having to defend my articles when they were published. I think we’ve had come up with some controversial articles over the last few issues that students have been concerned about. I’d been asked by SMUSA presidents and Communications Secretaries to explain the content of the articles.

There has also been criticism: the former Business Secretary Jack Moy wrote me a letter about my inaccurate usage of statistics with regard to the Bizcom event, which is something that I have apologised for. Being at the helm gives me the freedom to choose the direction which the magazine will go – but it also means that I am re-sponsible for whatever content I pro-duce. It was challenging and exhilarat-ing at the same time.

What got you interested in joining the publications com-mittee of The Blue and Gold at the beginning?Reading the first few issues of The Blue and Gold that got me interested. I had just matriculated and got a free copy of B&G (a newspaper format then) in my Vivace bag. I read it and I felt that it had a great deal of potential to be-come a really good magazine. Previ-ously, I had already considered doing up my own magazine, though it would have been extremely troublesome. And I just thought I could contribute, somehow. I’m the sort of person that feels that if there’s something that can be improved on, and I had an inter-est for it, I would stick my nose in and see if there was anything I can fix. And that was how it was with B&G.

What was your vision for The Blue and Gold when you first took over as Managing Direc-tor? Do you think you have achieved that vision?My vision was really simple: Make B&G a magazine that would be fa-mous throughout SMU for having great visuals and great content. We could move into the more specific stuff, but in general I think I have achieved only part of that vision. The visuals part have certainly improved, though I think we have some way to go before achieving in terms of the quality of content. But my vision at the beginning did not encompass the team that I had to build to make all this possible. I am glad to be handing over to a team of extremely capable and talented individuals that I hope will be able to work as a team and make the vision that I have laid out for B&G a reality.

From scholar to journalist to designer to webpage builder to Managing Direc-tor and Editor-In-Chief of The Blue and Gold, he is like a Swiss army knife that can do it all. Now taking on the new role of The Blue and Gold’s Advisor, ex-Managing Director Owen Tan answers some of our questions.

10 Questions


8910

What then, do you think of ‘censorship’ issues in SMU, do you think that a college pub-lication should have the free-dom to voice out what really goes on in school even though it may be controversial?I think it isn’t just limited to school, but also the entire local community, that we should be given equal opportuni-ties to express sound arguments and opinions. I think freedom of speech is crucial for any institution to develop and mature. But I must qualify myself here and say that freedom of speech also requires a smart and reasonable populace. If all we are doing is making a lot of incoherent noise, then there is no purpose in free speech.

What do you hope for The Blue and Gold to become in the near future?I want B&G to remain the premier student publication in SMU. This can be done by having better quality ar-ticles, which means we’ll need to get hold of smarter writers and journalists. I think we are on our way there. We now need to have a greater online and real-time presence to increase student participation in the writing of news and other articles.

Have you ever received any flak from the school communi-ty because of articles that you allowed to be published?Not from the school community per se, but from the leaders and specific committees within SMU. SMUSA, for instance, summoned me to their of-fices when I did not maintain the confidentiality of an individual I was not supposed to name. I’ve also been censured by the organising committee in SMU for the Freshman Bash with regards to my usage of statistics. Both criticisms were valid to some extent, though I must reiterate here that they were at most inaccurate, and not com-pletely incorrect. I think it’s part and parcel of journalism to be disagreed with, because we are sort of the pre-senters of what we feel is the truth. And everybody has a different per-spective of things.

Having interviewed, met with and worked with so many dif-ferent throughout your time with The Blue and Gold, who do you think left the greatest impact on you, or inspired you?Ah, the credits section! Well, I hope my advisors Michael Ng and Ephraim Loy are reading this, because they of-ten complain at my lack of reference for their contributions to B&G. I think Michael and Ephraim were ever-pre-sent when they were in B&G. Ephraim, I must say, was the quintessential jour-nalist who always wanted to be first on hand to report news. Michael was the MD who always wanted to be in-volved in every part of the production process. All in all I learned a lot about publication from them and I hope that I have managed to successfully pass on this knowledge to the new B&G team. The current team has also been a great pleasure to work with – Debo-rah, Shobana, Aashna, Senthil, as well as all the editors have done a wonder-ful job.

Besides managing the maga-zine, you write many articles for The Blue and Gold too, es-pecially about issues and news that affect our students. What keeps you so interested about student life and issues in SMU? And where do you get all your stories from?I try to keep myself updated with stu-dent gossip, and also to get closer to people who have (or are spreading) such gossip. Of course, gossip remains gossip until you decide to investigate on it – then it becomes interesting and credible news. To me, express-ing my opinion defines who I am. It’s something of an instinct for me. But more importantly I consider myself a sort of truth-finder, and a reporter of as accurate news as I can. I think stu-dent issues are really underreported in SMU, and it makes me doubly passion-ate when I realise that B&G can act as the primary mouthpiece of the student population.

What was the hardest part about being Managing Direc-tor for The Blue and Gold, and what was the best?I think trying to encourage talented and committed people to join B&G has been the greatest challenge. It is strange, because I think SMU is made up of some really great minds who have some wonderful opinions to express, but interestingly not many of them choose not to pen down these opinions for us, or do so only incon-sistently. It was also really tough build-ing a team together – I am glad that today the MD does not have to pick up design and learn how to edit, as I had to do in the past. But the best part of being MD was also that – at the end of the day, when I see the team that I’d assembled while I was at the helm, and see that they’ve brought the magazine to an even higher level, then it gives me an immense sense of satisfaction.


guide tosummer

summersummer school

summer living

summerideal places

smuxtremists:what’s in this summer

BSM scandinavia education

work and travel USA

Section design by Ariel Nguyen

summer schoolWritten by Devanshi Shomany

The words ‘school’ and ‘summer’ don’t necessarily have to be synonymous with Terms 3A and 3B.

While SMU’s summer terms offers us a chance to get on the fast track to graduation (or an opportunity to catch up!), it’s possible to get the same credits elsewhere as well. Many of the top colleges and universities around the world have Summer School programmes open to all undergraduates. These programs are short 3-8 week courses that cover a plethora of subjects in every imaginable stream. Some of the most popular programs are at the following institutions:

London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) – LSE is well-known for its excellent Economics and International Relations courses. Located in the heart of London, its city campus attracts students, professionals (and some-times even United Nations representatives) from over 120 countries. There are two sessions of 3 weeks each, with the first one beginning in early July.

Harvard University (USA) – Consistently ranked as the world’s top university, it offers over 300 courses in the arts, humanities, sciences, languages, business, writing and technology. Classes begin in late June, continuing till mid August, just before the beginning of SMU’s Term 1. There is limited enrolment in most classes, so it’s always a good idea of register as early as possible.

University of California, Berkeley (USA) –If it has always been your dream to have classes on the beach, Berkeley gets as close to this as is possible. Located on the Californian coast, UCB has 5 sessions of varying lengths, within end-May to mid-August, which gives students flexibility in arranging their study schedule.

University of Hong Kong (HK) – One of the top ranked Asian universities, the Chinese University of Hong Kong has an International Summer School pro-gramme spanning five weeks, from the end of June. Courses in business, engi-neering, humanities and social sciences are offered, along with an optional tour of China at the end of the course.

This by no means is a comprehensive list. You could effectively choose a country you want to go to and most probably find a summer program that suits your needs.However, the more important task is in making sure that the credit you take during your summer is approved and taken into account by SMU. Advanced preparation is needed!

Doing summer school abroad is the perfect opportunity to those looking to have some fun and to experience a new culture while studying. It is both a holiday and semester rolled into one!

Basic procedures:1. You will need to contact the in-charge of your school’s cur-riculum and inform them which program you are attending to and the period of study

2. Be prepared with the details such as the syllabus and the course code of the credits you would like to transfer, as well as the course outline of the cor responding course in SMU

3. This will be verified and sent to the Dean for approval. Once the approval has come through, you’re almost set!

4. At the end of the course after receiving your final transcript, make sure a sealed copy is given to the curriculum in-charge. This person will then ensure your re-cord in Oasis is updated.

Useful pointers:1. As a general rule, the grade you obtain is displayed in your transcript, but is not counted to-wards your GPA.

2. It isn’t possible to transfer credit for University and Major cores. It is compulsory to study them in school, so Electives and General Education courses are definitely a better choice.

3. Begin the process as early as possible -getting approval takes time!


SUMMER

Summer LivingWritten by Madhura

What’s your plan this summer?Exploring the unknown beyond SMU is normally pushed aside to Summer – whether it

is learning to play an instrument or backpacking in Europe. Madhura Chaudhuri talks

about the diversity of Summer discovery of SMU students.

Summer is finally here, and you’d think with all the travelling the exchange students amazingly manage to squeeze into their schedules, all they’d think of is their bed at home and how it would feel to lie on it. Not just them, the weeks of staying in GSRs either incredibly stuffy or incredibly cold, the assignments, the projects, the reports, and the ever important presentations have taken their toll on al-most everyone. Those sprints up or down the escala-tors then along the concourse or above it to get to a group meeting in time after another. From wanting to help out to wanting to throttle and then taking a coffee break in the middle of the meeting, just so you don’t. I guess if the whole working experience in SMU was likened to a group meeting, the summer vacation coming up soon, would be that long coffee break we desperately need at times.

Just like it isn’t a good idea to think about tak-ing a break when you’re racing against a deadline, with the finals looming large over our head, many

didn’t given much thought to how they might spend their vacation. When prodded some said they hoped to learn to play a new instrument or maybe take up a new language, while others talk of internships and summer terms. My local friend Pearlyn shared that after her CSP is over, she’d finally get to practice those piano pieces she’s soon going to be tested on next year while my Bangladeshi hostel –mate Fariha whose family now stays in Uzbekistan, plans to learn Russian and bike around Tashkent. My international friends look forward to going home once more, though many of them are staying back for the sum-mer term to clear up those course units and boost the GPA.

All the way from Netherlands, my friend on ex-change, Floris is soon going to visit Laos and Cam-bodia, then head to Hong Kong, travel to Bangkok and then return to Singapore to travel back home at the end of May. Back in Netherlands, he plans to work to earn the money he spent travelling, and then

he’s going to take off again with exactly 13 friends for 2 weeks to a location unknown to me and return home in September for his Masters at Maastricht University. All this after travelling almost every day he didn’t have a class and that is most impressive considering he had a two day week at SMU.

Summer has always been the time where you look forward to what’s coming while at the same time miss what’s been left behind. Just like the dif-ferent things we each end up buying on our breaks, the different places we go to, be it near or far, the different routes we take to go and come back, our experiences of summer will all be unique and as we tap our card to enter the GSR again, carrying what we bought, we will return to SMU once more, calmer and fresher. Except on opening the door we will face a whole new set of people and a whole new ball game will begin.


SUMMER

Life's a Beach !

The top 5 beaches to visit this summer

Pulau Dayang, MalaysiaBeautiful, clear, warm and relatively calm waters make Pulau Dayang and its surrounding islands a perfect location for absolute beginners to pick up the fantastic sport of Scuba Diving. SMU Xtremist’s Dive team regularly organ-izes its dive trips here for students!

Pulau Tioman, MalaysiaOver the years, Pulau Tioman has been a popular vacation destination for Singaporeans who enjoy water sports or relaxing by the beach. It caters to a range of budgets from high-end resorts to the more inexpensive humble accommodation. You can also indulge in Tioman’s delicious street food like Ramlee burgers and Roti Prata.


SUMMER

Life's a Beach !

The top 5 beaches to visit this summer

Tanah Lot Temple, BaliIf you want to have a taste of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Balinese experience in her book “Eat, Pray, Love”, then Kuta Beach is probably a good place to start. Another Balinese beach we highly recommend is Tanah Lot Temple- situation on a large offshore rock formation, as you will get to see a blend of Balinese beaches with Balinese mythology and culture.

ThailandWith so many beautiful beaches along the coast of Thailand, it would be hard to suggest a single beach for stunning views, so just choose any! For those seeking a bit of adventure sports however, Krabi and its striking rock formations provide exciting climbing opportunities, and for those seeking the wildest party beaches, Patong Beach in Phuket and Koh Phangnan are highly recommended.

Boracay Island, The Phillipines

This secret turquoise gem of the The Phillipines has over the years boomed into a tourist destination with busloads of tourists flooding the island to enjoy its pristine waters. Besides water sports, there are plenty of other activities on land, like visits to the Caves of the Flying Dogs of Yapak’ or Bat Caves on the other side of the island.


SUMMER

SMUxtremists

WHAT’S IN

THIS S

UMMER?


SUMMER

SMUX

BIK

ING

TEAM

WHAT’S IN

THIS S

UMMER?

SMUX Biking Team has been providing rides to places in Singapore and

beyond, both on roads like to Rengit, Desaru and Kukup and off-road

trips such as Ubin and Bukit Timah. The Team aims to cater to bikers

of all levels and this summer, we will be having exciting trips to both

Desaru and Taiwan!

Desaru 2011 is certainly not to be missed. We will be crossing the

straits of Johor via speedy bumboats and by then cyclist will be psyched

up by the thought of the open coastal roads to Desaru.

As for the Taiwan trip, Bikers will get to experience exploring the whole

of Taiwan on bicycles! Taiwan boasts of its awesome sceneries and

quiet roads that makes it a perfect destination for cyclists.

Do watch out for our emailers!

SMUX Diving Team has organized the following dives this summer!

Post Exam Dive - “Enjoy Life, Enjoy Dive”: This additional dive in Malaysia is organ-

ised just for you and it is an excellent opportunity for you to achieve 4 objectives: a

mini holiday, to get certified, forge new friendships and have fun!

Reef Alert 2011 - We will be diving and saving our fellow friends in the sea with

our very own local Mediacorp artiste Dasmond Koh! This would be a conservation

OCIP to protect the newly opened dive sites in Bintan Island by planting mooring

lines to protect corals from boat anchors and descending divers.

Summer Dive - Here’s a chance to explore waters further from Singapore! You’ll

get to see more exotic creatures in the sea that you have never seen before! And

this would be the last summer dive before school stress starts kicking in once again!

SMUX

DIV

ING

TEA

M

SMUX Kayaking Team not only provides students a platform to learn kayaking, we have also provided students with opportunities to understand the true beauty of this sport.Exam’s are over and here comes summer! You have worked hard, so now’s the time to play hard! Coming up is our summer expedition to Batam!Last year, we have held our very first overseas expedition to the beautiful, Johor Lama, Malaysia! 6 hours of journey was all worth it because we have created history- it was first in the history of Johor Lama that they received kayakers from outside of Malaysia! Come join us in creating history once again as we kayak to Batam. We will be the very first group of SMU students to kayak to Batam this time round!

SMUX

KAY

AKIN

G TE

AM


SMUX Trekking pro-

vides a platform for individuals to

challenge

themselves, in the midst o

f having fun and enjoying the spectacular view

around them. Be it to be with nature, t

o make new friends, to

try something new or different, to

seek new adventures, or simply to

accomplish personal goals, SMUX Trekking team welcomes yo

u to trek

with us!

Do join us for our tw

o upcoming summer treks!

Gunung Stong is a tre

k that will be thrillin

g – a

waterfall trek of medium difficulty.

For those

who’re searching for a more challenging trek, join

us for our Ta

han Trek this A

ugust! Do add tre

kker-

san as a facebook friend to get th

e latest trek up-

dates! Also, do visi

t our trek blog @ www.

twwk.wordpress.com

SMUX Skating Team is all about the people, passion, and love for the sport. Regardless

of one’s skating skills, the team welcomes all with open arms to ignite and spread the

love for skating!

Summer activities:

Laser Tag on Skates: This event will involve participants going

through an exciting and heart-racing thematic gameplay of la-

sertag, but done in a wholly fresh manner – on skates! Participants

will engage in lasertag on skates, competing in groups within the

compounds of the school.

Skating Expedition to Renggit: Skaters will take a ferry from

Singapore to Malaysia and start their skating journey from the ferry

terminal to a seafood restaurant in Renggit before skating back to

the ferry terminal bound for Singapore. The entire route will be

about 40km on straight roads!

SMUX

SKA

TING

TEAM

SMUX

TRE

KKIN

G TE

AMYou and Xseed are in for an exciting

summer this year! We’ll be having our signature summer combined camp lined

up. Here’s just a teaser: we’ve had wind tunneling and ATV last summer and you can

definitely expect more this summer! It just gets better every year!

Xseed will also be removing the stigma that

horse-riding is an exotic sport by bringing it closer

to you. We will be bringing horse-riding on to our

sunny red dot in the near future! Before school work hits you once again, gear up (Pity you can’t suit up on the battle field) for flying paintballs, war cries, and the uneven for-est terrains! Yes, there is paintball this summer!

SMUX XSE

ED TE

AM


SUMMER

SMU prides itself on being differ-ent from other universities; we thrive on the uniqueness of our pedagogy and curricula. And a part of this identi-ty is the BSM program that’s exclusive to SMU. Business Study Missions give us insights into real-world operations of a variety of industries in different business hubs of the world within a short span of time. The focus of one of these missions is the corporate cul-ture of Scandinavia. Denmark, Norway and Sweden – three countries in the Scandinavian region – rank among the best places for business. Singa-pore’s increasing trade and economic ties with these countries as well as Scandinavia’s dynamism present an interesting case study for students.

Every year, around 25 students from SMU have the opportunity to gain first-hand understanding every-thing Scandinavian, from business en-vironment and sustainable practices to university life and culture.

The five-week mission, organ-ized by senior lecturer Tom Estad, has two phases. During the pre-trip seg-ment, students engage in a plethora of networking events, guest lectures, projects and readings to familiarize themselves with Scandinavian busi-ness and way of life. Guest speakers such as Swedish creativity guru and founder of interesting.org, Fredrik Haren, and the Danish Ambassador to

Singapore, Vibeke Rovsing Lautitzen, have shared their perspectives on how Scandinavian businesses operate. As part of the learning process, BSMers also source for donors to alleviate travel and accommodation costs for the trip. This helps them secure impor-tant life skills, such as negotiation and pitching a project.

Phase two is an 11-day trip to Scandinavia, where they visit a num-ber of outstanding global brands such as Lego, Jajja, Vestas, Yara, BW Ship-ping and Opera Software, to name a few. For many students, the ‘green mentality’ that is etched deeply into the Scandinavian business landscape is a major takeaway, while for oth-ers, it is the Norwegian philosophy of ‘dugnad’, or the willingness to vol-unteer and contribute to the commu-nity. The importance of innovation and changing with the times, but doing so sustainably, is echoed at almost every company visit. Often, interactions with the top management of these compa-nies prove to be very insightful. Their warm and candid nature is something that generates much dialogue among the students, and has even triggered the idea of replicating a similar flat-structured organization in Asian com-panies. Students come away from this course having established valuable contacts, and sometimes having se-cured fantastic internships.

Although the main focus of the trip is company visits, BSMers holisti-cally absorb Scandinavian culture in more informal ways like sightseeing and visiting places of tourist inter-est in each of the countries. A visit to Legoland brings back childhood mem-ories, while the mountain village of Geilo presents the chance to play with snow – a first for many! From nature to history, participants get to enjoy the scenic Flam train ride in Bergen, feast their eyes on the beautiful pastures of Frolunda Aspvik and witness Norway’s Constitution Day celebrations in Oslo.

For most, the BSM experience doesn’t end here. Coming back home when the program ends is very rare among the students, most extend their stay and travel around Europe to explore the region further, France and UK being the most popular destina-tions. And considering BSM Scandina-via is usually held during the summer, it’s the perfect time to explore the continent!

The Business Study Mission rec-ognizes that learning is constant and allows participants to apply their new-found knowledge to future endeavors. As Professor Tom Estad so succinctly puts it, “The students quickly recog-nize how different thinking can be as to how best do business, and this exposure gives them much to think about once they get back home.”

BSM

Redefining educationWritten by Shreya Vora


SUMMER

Prianthi: So Mary, it’s been a year since when you went to the United States for A Work and Travel ex-perience. Would you like to share something with our readers?

Mary: Ever since I’ve come to SMU, one of my greatest ambitions was to go on a Work and Travel experience. In fact, I was all the more excited be-cause I would get an opportunity to go to America, and I have never travelled outside of Asia before!

Prianthi: How did you apply for this?

Mary: I applied through the YMCA Singapore. They send out e-mails recruiting young people keen on Work and Travel trips every year. It’s actually very easy. They check your criminal records and health status. Oh, and you need three recommendations from either peers, teachers or family friends.

Prianthi: Did you plan this out with your friends?

Mary: No. I was the only SMU student that applied that year. But I did make friends with another stu-dent from NUS. And of course, once I was in the US, I made many many more. That’s one of the benefits of the Work and Travel experience!

Prianthi: Excellent. So once you had applied what did you do?

Mary: Well, I was going to work as a staff member in a children’s summer camp in New Jersey. But I wanted to travel the West Coast first. So I flew to Los Angeles from Beijing. And I spent ten days trav-elling to San Francisco, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. Finally I flew to Washington D.C. From there I went to New York, Buffalo City where I saw the Niagra Falls. Oh I also went to Boston and had a tour around the some of the famous colleges there, such as Harvard and MIT.

Prianthi: Wow, so you actually went travelling be-fore you worked?

Mary: Yes. That’s not what most people do, but I was going to be working in New Jersey and I re-ally wanted to see the West Coast. Anyway, so then

I took a train from New York City to New Jersey. The camp-director Baron, a tall, friendly, African-Ameri-can guy was waiting for me at the station. He took us to the camp which was on a mountain that inci-dentally is home to a lot of black bears.

Prianthi: Nice, what was this experince like?

Mary: Good. Actually the bears were not very fierce. They tend to come into the camp if we leave food lying around. For the first ten days, the camp staff helped clean out the cabins and tents for the kids. Then we went to New York to pick up the chil-dren. They were all between six and twelve years old. They were very lively and friendly, I must add.

Prianthi: How long was this summer camp?

Mary: Each session was a week long. And there were four sessions. We had breaks in between. Sometime kids would stay on for all four sessions and again some kids would stay for just one or two.

Prianthi: What would you do in these sessions?

Mary: Every session had a special theme, music or sports or art. I was in charge of the art session. I taught the kids painting, origami, tie-dye t-shirt and bead-making. The camp routine was pretty regu-lar. In the morning, there would be breakfast, then a prayer ceremony followed by the American flag-hoisting. Then they’d have a fun preaching session catered for the children. After lunch we’d engage the kids in art or sports sessions. And in the even-ing we’d have camp carnivals with cotton candy and popcorn!

Prianthi: What else did you have to do as a camp staff?

Mary: Look after the kids, help them out. Make sure they had a good time. We used to go down to New York with the rest of the camp staff during the breaks between the sessions.

Prianthi: What were some of the most important things that you learnt from your time in the US doing Work and Travel Mary?

Mary: I learnt that it is not that hard to make friends, no matter where you are. Every stranger at a bus stop, in the train, even standing outside a museum in Washington can become a friend. I have made many such friends on my trip to the US. Also, when you are travelling alone, in a foreign country, be prepared. And be on time! And be careful, take responsibility for yourself. And most importantly, when I was working with the children at the camp I realised how special each and every one of them was. Some of them come from poor families and broken homes. But they were optimistic and friendly and I became very attached to all of them! They taught me that even in the most difficult of times, you can keep smiling.”

Prianthi: Anything else you might like to add for those of us who want to take up Work and Travel in the future?

Mary: I would recommend it to everyone! It is an experience you will cherish forever. YMCA is a good organisation to go through with this. There are many others. Also find a job that has some meaning to you. I wanted to mentor children so I chose to be a camp staff. My friend is interested in the restaurant business so she chose to work as a waitress. But I encourage everyone to go for Work and Travel. It is an experience you will not regret!

Mary Hu Nianbo shares her experiences in Work and Travel USA with Prianthi Roy.

Work & Travel


SUMMER

Work & TravelWe keep you up to date on the school:

SMU 10 Essential Stories

Starry Night

SMUSA Awards Night

OnTRACII

The Public Holiday Policy Section design by Angeline Yeo

campus news

At SMU, student achievement is recognized and awarded. SMU’s an-nual University Student Life Awards are the highest form of recognition for contribution to student life. This year, for the first time, SMU staff and faculty who have led and encouraged student activities were also awarded. The awards ceremony was held at the T-Junction, in the midst of the SMU community, with continuous applause and cheering for the winners.

The long awaited summer is finally here. What could be better than that long awaited vacation? To add excitement to our travel plans, SMU ICON held SMU’s very own Travel Fair, where students were given first hand information from SMU’s ‘in house’ cultural clubs by student representatives. To add colour to the event, the booths were culturally themed, complemented with exotic performances by the students.

Navarasa: The Indian Cultural Society staged its biggest ever music and dance production – ‘Navarasa’ at the Substation Theatre. The production depicted nine emotions that are associated with the Indian Arts and form an essential component of Indian culture, mythology and history. Navarasa aimed to showcase the rich and vibrant Indian culture among the SMU community. The show was a sell out and featured seven dif-ferent forms of Indian art - Classical Indian Dance, Bollywood Dance, Kathakali, Indian Melody, Classical Vocal, Bhangra, and Indian Instru-mental.

Guitarissimo exemplified the versatility of the guitar by presenting known tunes in different variations that involved the starting and stop-ping of strums. It was Guitarissimo’s attempt to break out of the club’s conventional style of playing. They explored different techniques and in-corporated them into their repertoires. The concert also featured several unique arrangements by Antoni Riady Lewa.

SMU 10 Essential Stories

Students at SMU often complain about lack of sleep, long group meetings, innumerable assignments, but they

their schedules to take SMU life beyond classrooms and presentations.

keep the college buzzing through the dreaded weeks after the mid-semester break.

1: University student life award 2011

2: Icon travel extravaganza

3: NAVARASA

4: immobile - I’m mobile by guitarissimo


CAMPUS NEWS

Connect China proudly presented their 3rd annual SMU Chinese Drama production fea-turing two classic Chinese plays with a modern twist: ‘New Butterfly Story’ and ‘Wu Lin Wai Zhuan’. This SMU Chinese drama production was an effort to promote the Chinese language and culture among the SMU community and beyond.

Spanish for ‘One Night Only’, Una Noche Solamente was truly ‘Una Noche Increíble!’ Organized once every term by Caderas Latinas, for just one night, Salsa enthusiasts from all over Singapore joined Caderas Latinas for a night of hot Salsa.

SAVA and SMU collaborated again this year for the 4th annual SAVA-SMU MR 500. It was the first such event held at the Mari-na Reservoir, a two-day competi-tion comprising both dragonboat racing and kayaking. Adrenaline levels peaked and SMU cheers echoed in the air as the SMU Dragonboat team competed with the national dragonboat teams.

Starry Nite XIII: SMU’s definitive end-of-semester rock concert, Starry Nite, reached its 13th instalment on the last day of week 13. Titled Brit-ish Invasion, Sound Foundry’s live bands paid a tribute to the great music from the British band era. (PS: Find out more about the Starry Nite buzz on page 20)

Back for its 4th instalment, Nocturne IV was a mesmerising night of ballroom dance put up for the SMU community. It was an evening of fun and dance spent with our beloved ballerinas and friends in the ACC, which had been transformed into a surreal land of fairy lights. The audience was treated to the debut of four original cho-reographies, which took them from ‘A picnic in Paris’ to the ‘Garden of Graves'. Interactive games and a progressive waltz workshop were also in store for the guests before everyone ‘so-cial danced’ the night away.

Floor the Love is part of Singapore’s street-dance festival, featuring dancers from Asia and beyond. Along with groovy beats and kick-ass dancing, the festival also included workshops and mini dance battles. SMU Eurythmix teamed up with the Korea-Singapore Dance Project to present the fifth instalment of the annual dance event.

1: University student life award 2011

8: Sava - SMU MR 500

5: Nocturne IV - Ballare

6: Una Noche Solamente

7: SMU chinese drama: connect china

9: Floor the love 2011

10: Starry nite XIII


CAMPUS NEWS

It’s that time of the semester again. The end is drawing near. Among those for whom planning isn’t their forte, projects, presentations, and as-signments are piling up and looking higher than Everest itself. Redbull and coffee are your best friends, and the next few weeks seem to be devoid of any light or hope.

Oh wait. I forgot about STARRY NIGHT! For those of you who do not know (seriously? What have you been doing with your life?), Starry Night is a concert held on the last Friday of every semester. Students gather at the Big Steps at SIS to watch, sing along with, and eventually jump around (in that order) to bands from Sound Foundry as well as other guest bands. The event has come a long way, and the 13th Starry Night is scheduled to oc-cur at the end of the semester.

With each passing semester, the crowds grow bigger as people keep coming back for more. When inter-viewed, Rais, a year 3 student who will be attending his 6th Starry Night this semester, says that what brings him back every semester is the rock music and the mosh pit. However, he also mentioned that the increased security is a bit of a downer, as the inability to freely move in and out re-ally spoils the atmosphere. That being said, we understand that it cannot be helped due to the high and ever increasing turnout. One thing he did seem eager about was having more guest bands playing as they have defi-nitely contributed to the atmosphere of the entire concert. Jonathan Tang, a year 2 student who will be performing at his 4th Starry Night this semester,

says that while the same rules apply every semester, it usually gets more competitive during the second semes-ter, as many more high quality bands pop up to audition.

So for the uninformed, you now know what goes down at Starry Night every semester. And for those who know, what could possibly be stopping you from going down again? The end of the semester is in itself an enormous cause for celebration. It would be an awesome time for everyone to blow off some of that stress accumulated over the past few weeks.

If you’ve made new friends over the semester, Starry Night is a great chance for you to bond and grow closer as friends… or maybe more (hmm)! Feeling lonely because you don’t have close like-minded friends to go with? Who cares! Grab a couple of your acquaintances, and a couple of beers later, BFFs! Alcohol is after all the universal social lubricant. Just imagine letting the pounding beats block out your problems, closing your eyes and soaking in every bit of that bass as your heart races and you let your body move to the music; and as you come to the chorus, prepare yourself to scream your lungs out with everyone. It’s one of those moments that you want to stay in forever, and no amount of work accomplished at Li Ka Shing is ever going to make up for that intense feeling of pure awe-someness!

From the top: The crowd enjoying themselves, taken by Winston Koh. Alvin from EN-X, showing off his vocals, taken by Winston Koh. Aman from the band Last Man Standing soaking in the electric atmosphere, photo by Flagship Creatives \ Shaun. Aman from Last Man Standing performing a crowd pleaser while the fans reciprocate in their own way, photo byFlagship Creatives \ Shaun. The Big Steps at the School of Information Systems starts to get filled up as the crowd warms up to the opening band, photo by Flagship Creatives \ Huazheng.

STARRY NIGHTWritten by Pyrena Chu and Shreeya Raveendran Pillai


CAMPUS NEWS

SMUSA Awards Night 2011

This foolish reporter obediently made his way down to Wavehouse, Sen-tosa at 7pm, 28th January 2011, for SMUSA Awards Night 2011 and was greeted by a handful of SMUSA Exco members looking into the final touch-es prior to the event. Plagued by rain in the afternoon, the organizers must have done something significant to please the heavens, because despite the imminent threats of showers, the event enjoyed a cool clear night under the stars.

The cordoned-off area for SMU faced the sea, with lights from the ship-ping lanes shimmering on the waves, and fireworks blasting away from the nearby attraction ‘Songs of the Sea’.

The live band Offside, from a local uni-versity, started the night at 8.30pm, performing popular songs by artistes such as Maroon 5 and Travie McCoy. The band was restricted to using sim-ple sound system such as portable amps hooked up to the guitars, key-board, and microphones, but still put up an excellent performance.

Event Organiser and Vice-President of the 10th SMUSA Executive Com-mittee, Daniel Minardi, opened with a thank you speech to all those who came and supported their friends as well as those who had voted online for the nominees. The response to the voting process was somewhat posi-tive, with over a thousand votes col-lected for the 9 categories.

Also present at the event was Presi-dent of the SMU Alumni Association (SMUAA), Mr Yeo Zhongyi, who not only served in SMUSA for 3 years but also founded the SMU Special Inter-est and Community Service Sodal-ity (SICS). When asked what Sodal-ity meant to him, he explained, “It signifies brotherhood which is one of the core principles that inspired me to found the CBD”. When invited to make a speech to the assembled guests, he asked all students to en-gage with the alumni and to explore avenues for the alumni to assist them. He also encouraged students to join the SMUAA upon graduation and give

back to the alma mater that has given them years of opportunities and ex-periences. Also present from SMUAA were Vice President (Strategy), Miss Deborah Wee, and Director (Profes-sional Development and CCA Rela-tions), Mr See Jingzhong.

Provost and Deputy President, Profes-sor Rajendra K Srivastava, was also present and encouraged students through his address, highlighting an increase in the funds directed to student life activities. He showed ap-preciation for greater involvement in student led activities and thanked the Alumni for being supportive of stu-dent achievements.

When approached by this reporter, Provost Prof Rajendra mentioned a recent meeting with the Board of Trustees, when there were discussions on how SMU is still different, and on what sets SMU apart from neighbour-ing universities. When asked what our differentiating factor is, he replied that, “other universities may copy our classrooms, they may copy our style of pedagogy, but they can never copy our student experience”. He added, “SMU students have a keen sense of own-ership over student activities, hence the increased funding for student ac-tivities”. When asked if differentiating ourselves from local universities was becoming difficult, he confidently de-clared, “SMU is looking to be the best it can be, but that is not limited to the local scene; we should set our sights higher, such as being the best in Asia”.

He also revealed that efforts to involve the Office of Student Life in document-ing student activities is in progress, and will be used to showcase our students to SMU’s stakeholders and donors. He shared his opinion that at least 10% of student development oc-curs outside the classroom, handling student activities and managing re-lationships, and this is something the administration is looking to develop. Using the analogy “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, he said that the admin-istration felt that SMU was far from broken, but there are avenues that they are looking into to make it better.

Who Got What?The Awards Ceremony began with:

1. Outstanding SMUSA Committee Award – Welfare Committee

2. SMUAA-SMUSA Events Committee Award – Convocation 2010, ac-cepted by Danial Minardi, SMUSA VP

3. Most Outstanding Contribution to SMUSA award – Bizcom

4. Outstanding ACF CCA Award – Eurhythmix

5. Outstanding SMUX CCA Award – SMUX Biking Team

6. Outstanding SICS CCA Award – SMU Red Cross

7. Outstanding SSU CCA Award – SMU Aquathlon Club

Soundfoundry’s Lydia then performed popular hits for the ebbing crowd, before certificates of appreciation were given out to:

Secretarial Committee Welfare Committee

Communications Committee Student Initiatives Committee

Assets Management Committee Finance Committee

The awards ceremony then continued with:

8. Best CBD Award – ACF

9. Best School CBD Award – ASoc

10. SMUAA-SMUSA Outstanding Individual Award

Devathas Satianathan - SMUBE Training & Development Deputy Director, SMU Ambassador, Waikiki 2010 Secretary, Swim for SMU 2010 Exco and Singa-pore Marathon 2010 6th

Kenneth Yoong Chung Hsiang - SMU Red Cross President and ASoc Sport-ing Director, Camp Head for Red Cross Journey Camp and Tri-University Camp

Jack Moy - SMUSA Business Secretary, BIZCOM President and SMUSA Spon-sorship Committee Chairperson


CAMPUS NEWS

OnTRACII: The New Kid in SchoolOnTrac is an Online system designed to facilitate

SMU students, employers, other organisations

-

tion on Training, Recruitment, Attachment and

Community Service.

Since it’s now re-launched as a better version

of its predecessor, (and not all of us are ‘techy’

who shares with us how students can make the

most of SMU’s OnTRACII.

1. Why did SMU switch from OnTrac to OnTRACII?Old OnTrac was conceived and imple-mented when SMU had its first batch of 300 students. We needed to add capacity and more features as the nas-cent university expanded its offerings and student population. Though new “patches” were added to an old sys-tem it still had limitations and capacity issues.

OCS proactively scoured the globe for best practices and a career man-agement system that will be robust enough to cater to our unique require-ments. We finally chose a system that is used by Ivy League universities in the USA and went on to customize it to suit our needs.

2. In what way does OnTRACII benefit the students? SMU students go places. OnTRACII will be accessible to them anywhere and round the clock 24/7.

With the new system students can now

a. Store multiple versions of their re-sume and various other supporting documents handy in OnTRACII. They can now apply for a job even from a transit lounge in an airport, between flights, from a public computer!

b. They can set up email alerts, and RSS feeds to keep them informed of new opportunities.

c. OnTRACII provides a variety of search functions for the students. Key-

word searches can be done for intern-ship, community service projects, em-ployment opportunities, information sessions by employers, and workshops conducted by OCS, etc.

d. The OnTRACII system consists of two inter-linked systems, namely the student interface (OnTRACII) and the ISIS module (Grading and Participa-tion Details). Both systems can be ac-cessed by students from OASIS with-out the need to input username and password (Single-Sign On).

e. The appointment scheduling system allows the students to schedule ap-pointments with career counsellor.

f. OnTRACII has the capability to send students a detailed email reminding them of their appointment details. Also, appointments can be synced with most calendar applications and smart phones.

g. Students can select the events they’d like to attend, and RSVP with a click. Reminders would be sent via emails.

h. Students will be able to create custom search agents that notify the student each time a new position that meets his/her interests is posted. Application to positions can be done in minutes by utilizing the stored re-sumes, cover letters and additional documents that students maintain in their document library.

i. Internship and community service reports have been re-structured into a web form that the students will take around 10-15 minutes to complete.


CAMPUS NEWS

OnTRACII: The New Kid in School

1. Read the FAQs on the announcements page of OnTRAC II. The FAQ could address most of your questions.

2. The student guide to the system can be found in the “document library” of OnTRAC II.

3. The OnTRAC II system consists of two inter-linked systems, namely the student interface (OnTRAC II) and the ISIS module (Grading and Participation Details). Both systems can be accessed from OASIS without the need to input your username and pass-word (Single-Sign On).

4. Students submit their internship and community service reports on the ISIS module (Grading and Participation Details) from OASIS.

5. Students can find the email address of their career counsellors from their profile page in OnTRAC II.

6. Career counsellors put up around 1-2 weeks of their availability schedule at any one time. If you are unable to book a session, email them your request.

7. Include the JobID of the position that you have queries on. This will help us respond faster.

8. If you find OnTRAC II slow, try accessing it using a browser other than Internet Explorer on your home network. (Chrome and Firefox are suggested options)

9. Students can “un-rsvp” (withdraw) on their own from events from OnTRAC II. They do not have to email the administrator to withdraw from events.

10. SMU is not able to recognise your internship or community service projects if you do not register it via the system.

10 things you should know about Ontrac II

3. One drawback of OnTRACII?For security reasons we need to perform student grading within the SMU network (ISIS). Internship and community service reports, which are critical to grading, have to be kept in the internal system. This is why the students cannot upload these reports and ePosters on OnTRACII. Students have to do it on ISIS (via OASIS). But the concerns of security over ride the inconvenience of interfacing be-tween two different systems instead of doing everything in one system.

4. Does OnTRACII improve student-employer communi-cations? Yes, it does. Employers can access the system to post job and internship opportunities and also view / down-load the resume, shortlist candidates etc. They can also communicate with the shortlisted students through the system.

5. Have there been any changes with the application policies for community service or internship through OnTRACII. If yes, then what are the changes?The most notable change is that now students can have 3 active applica-tions on OnTRACII. Previously, stu-dents could only have 2. Of course they could have many outside the system.

6. Have students provided you with any feedback about On-TRACII? Kindly share some of the feedback with us. We engaged the students even be-fore we went live. We invited students to use OnTRAC II and share with us their user experience. We fine-tuned certain functionalities based on the feedback. We continue to receive their inputs and modify whatever we can. OnTRACII is a work in progress, not an end-product. We welcome student feedback so that we can con-tinuously improve the system.


CAMPUS NEWS

During the second year of my under-graduate studies, I came to realise that by the time I graduate, there would be thousands of graduates out on the street looking for jobs. Thus, in order to be a step ahead of them, I would need to do something differ-ent, something which would give me a competitive edge.

While looking for options and ways to boost my resume, I was introduced to my current agency leader, Tim, at a networking session. Through him, I got to understand about the financial services industry, Prudential as well as the culture and support of his agency.

After the interview, I was convinced that a career as a Financial Consult-ant would benefit me in the long run. One of the main reasons on why I took up the job was the ability to plan my work schedule around my school timetable. It offered me the flexibility to juggle work and school at the same time which fitted my requirements perfectly. During the exam period, I could take the time off to fully con-centrate on my revision while over the

holidays, I could simply commit all my time in work. This was definitely the type of job that fitted my profile.

With a burning desire to succeed, I de-cide to become a Financial Consultant at Prudential, a decision which I have not regretted. With the support of Tim, I managed to achieve the Premier Financial Consultant status as well as qualify for conventions to Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Miami and Orlando.

As I will be graduating this year, I am really relishing the challenge and commitment where I can put 100% into the business. My aspiration is to move into agency management and I believe that Prudential and my agency leader will be able to support me in my goals.

Tan Chien Fong

“With thousands of graduates out on the street looking for jobs, I needed to do something which would give me a competitive edge.”

This is an advertising feature brought to you by Prudential.

Tim, on Chien Fong: “I met Chien Fong at a networking session and he came across as someone who was looking for directions in his life. Through a brief chat I managed to find out that he was looking for career opportunities, one that could offer the flexibility of time as well as competitive remunerations and most importantly something he could juggle as an under-graduate. I introduced him to the financial services industry, Prudential as well as my agency. Two interviews later, he was well on his way to becoming a Financial Consultant.”


Tim is a Financial Services Director with Prudential Assurance Company Singa-pore. He has been with the financial services industry for 5 years, holds a Bach-elor of Commerce degree from Murdoch University, Australia. Tim has also won numerous individual awards in this industry.

What goals can a Financial Consultant work towards?Financial Consultants can excel in their job if they develop good work habits that can be formed in the initial months of a new Financial Consultant’s career. Once they show conviction in the work, sustain high levels of activity and realise the value that they bring to their clients, they can develop a strong foundation which would ensure that they succeed in their business.

What are the life lessons that you have learnt with Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Limited?Determination and the desire to succeed. Prudential has always been one of the leading insurers in Singapore despite the stiff competition and the company is al-ways looking to improve in terms of customer service, products, branding etc. This has taught me that we can constantly strive to deliver better service to our clients.

What do you find most gratifying about your career?Helping clients plan for their financial matters has always been gratifying. Know-ing that I have helped them prepare financially for unforeseen circumstances in life gives me great satisfaction. In the process, some of my clients have also become personal friends. On top of this, the business has also given me great financial freedom.

What are your career aspirations?My next step in agency management would be to groom future agency leaders from my current stable of Financial Consultants. My goal is to see them grow and mature into the next generation of agency leaders.

Tim Ng

“I aspire to groom the current stable of Financial Consultants

into the next generation of agency leaders.”

This is an advertising feature brought to you by Prudential.

Tim and Chien Fong, together with their team-mates in Ho Chi Minh City.


Public Holiday Policy: SMU students want to be heard!

Atiqah Binte Alias, a year 3 economics student at SMU, felt that the school policy towards make-up lessons for ethnic holidays was not equal for all, and decided she wanted to be heard. Last year, make-up lessons for eth-nic holidays such as Hari Raya Puasa (10th September) and Deepavali (5th November), both of which fell on a Fri-day, had their make-up lessons sched-uled the very next day.

In contrast, make-up lessons for this year’s Chinese New Year holidays, which fell on the 3rd and 4th of Febru-ary, were rescheduled for 29th January and 12th February. Moreover, lessons after 3.30pm on the eve of Chinese New Year were rescheduled to 22nd January (3 weeks earlier).

Curious as to why the treatment of these ethnic holidays was different,

Atiqah circulated a petition asking like-minded students who wanted an explanation to sign. Students of all races, most of whom had never met prior to this petition, signed up and supported Atiqah’s cause and quest to be heard.

The Office of the Registrar (RO) cleared the air and quickly responded to the petition, which was also addressed to the President of SMU, Arnoud De Meyer and Provost Rajendra Srivas-tava. RO was glad to announce that this was a new policy that had been implemented this term; changes had been made based on the feedback that they had received from students about last year’s scheduling of make-up lessons. RO also pointed out that due to this new policy, there may be some inconvenience when lessons are held on two consecutive days, a lesson

on Friday and a make-up lesson on a Saturday, which may not be an ideal situation.

In addition, RO announced a spe-cial arrangement where classes after 3.15pm on the eve of an ethnic holi-day would be rescheduled to promote family bonding.

In an email correspondence with Atiqah, she expressed her pleasure at the implementation of these policies, but felt that new policies should be clearly stated to avoid any mislead-ing interpretations in the future. RO agreed and since then the new poli-cies with regards to make-up lessons have been clearly stated on OASIS for students to refer to.

The Blue and Gold has published this article not only to make students

aware of these new policies, but also to demonstrate the importance of developing a student voice and rais-ing concerns in a proactive manner. Atiqah has cleared the air for other SMU students and brought to RO’s attention the importance of reflecting policy changes on OASIS.

The Blue and Gold would like to en-courage SMU students to write in to us, to practice your rights as a student, and to be heard by the school authori-ties.

We would like to thank Atiqah for giv-ing us the permission to print her arti-cle in this issue of The Blue and Gold.

Shobana Nadaraja reports the voices of SMU students.


CAMPUS NEWS

vi e

wp

oi n

tWhere opinions get heard.

Pieces on:

MLMs

What’s Beyond Facebook & Twitter Section design by Angeline Yeo

In a relatively secular land whose citizens subscribe to the moral phi-losophy of pragmatism by paranoia, the recent years has seen a boom – and bust – of people pursuing their dreams through the semi-legal meth-od of multi-level marketing (MLM).

MLMsGenerally speaking, MLM firms offer members the potential to make com-mission through the sale of products for the company, as well as a commis-sion from products sold by other other members that one manages to recruit.

This writer’s two-year stint, when he was 19, at an MLM was an experience at being in a pseudo-cult.

The Beginning I was given a survey form at the Na-tional Library to complete about the infamous Robert Kiyosaki and his “fi-nancial board game” Cashflow 101 (a board game, which apart from being a slightly deviant version of Monopoly, is recreational and nothing else).

Subsequently, the person who sur-veyed me asked me to attend a “workshop” where the board game was to be played. I was hooked. Even-tually, after attending many of these “workshops”, I was shocked to re-alise that almost every person in the room with me that day was part of the same MLM – from “organisers”, “volunteers”, to the special guest for the night. Though I was angry that I had been fooled, I was open-minded enough to give myself a chance to “understand” more about it – but what I was unaware that behind the scenes somebody was thinking of vari-ous ways of fooling me into a trap.

Rath(not his real name) was the pio-neer of the MLM network and, alleg-edly, the most successful leader in the company. According to his acolytes he became a millionaire before the age of 30, had his own luxury car, and had a semi-detached terrace house, as well as a thriving MLM distributor network in Myanmar.

He was, in truth, a cunning but char-ismatic man who operated a cult of personality not unlike the infamous James Phang of Sunshine Empire,

exaggerating his success to make his acolytes believe he was much greater than he was. He also built an intricate system of lying to achieve success (which he claimed was for us more than for him), including deceiving your prospects, friends, and family.

Of course, I had no knowledge at all about all these until I officially invest-ed my money and time into the “busi-ness”, as they liked to call it. For the next two years I spent close to every night in discussions with Rath and his acolytes which were nothing more than what they termed an “adjust-ment in mindset” – which I now call, more succinctly, brainwashing.

Home and friends became defined as the MLM network that I had. Rath became a sort of fatherly figure to me. From Mondays to Fridays, I spent every evening discussing and calling my friends and acquaintances, trying to get them to meet up for “no par-ticular reason”.

On Saturdays and Sundays, we had a less formal ritual called the Home Party, which included song and dance between all the “associates” (aco-lytes, really), an impassioned speech by a random associate that might cause some of us to be moved to tears, and sometimes a test on the history of the company and its “star products” (which, ironically, seemed to change every few months).

Associates recognised each other from a special handshake that resembled the stance of one attempting to arm wrestle. We also bade each other a good morning regardless of the time; the morning, the leaders claimed, was the “brightest part of the day”. On Monday nights we read Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad and attempted to memorise some of his passages as though they were Bible verses.

Built on LiesThe toughest part was the deception that was part of the network. Engag-ing in active lying required huge emo-tional labour on my part, something I was incapable of achieving without bearing guilt, a weakness, which I mistakenly confided in Rath that he manipulated to his advantage.

Rath kept saying that I must have

done something that was not part of the instructions that he gave me. Desperate, I took voice recordings of every conversation I had with him and listened to his voice along the way home as well as before my meetings with friends, hoping to get some in-spiration.

The charisma of the man was unques-tionable. He had stories of his family, his army life, and his work life – every-thing he said at the right time to keep the listener thinking of how he wished he could be as successful as he was.

The cunning, however, was unexpect-ed – and certainly not as easily spot-ted. When I left, mostly because of my inability to reconcile the elaborate ly-ing with my conscience, an exodus of the associates formerly loyal to Rath followed.

What remained were the untruths that he had claimed: The semi-detached house he bought at the age of 30 was only rented; the condominium at Har-bourfront did not belong to him; the Mercedes Benz coupe he drove was on unkept installments; and worst of all, his position in the business was not earned by his merit, but from borrowing (or, in his case, cheating?) from others to buy his way to become a leader.

Rath, “the millionaire before the age of 30”, now operates an art gallery in a small shopping centre close to the city, from what a former acolyte said, a far cry from his demagogic days as the successful business leader that people hoped to emulate.

The True DamageMLMs should be banned – because it is a tool providing people with false hopes, contributes nothing significant to the economy, and is based on a web of psychological and emotional deception and burden. That is the extent of the damage caused by such companies – and we should hence measure damage caused by MLMs not in terms of money alone.

MLM - Making Life MiserableWritten by Owen Tan


viewpoint

Every lesson is drudgery and every project brings suffering- there’s no joy left in learning. Imagine how you would feel about school if that were the case for you. This is the reality for quite a few of our schoolmates, a reality they unfortunately are unable to change. One main reason is the school policy. If you consider pursing a degree from another faculty, the road ahead of you is long, treacher-ous and you may or may not reach your destination. Not reaching your destination is highly more likely as shared by those who have attempted to do so.

SMU states that a student has to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.4 and to maintain certain grade require-ments for specified courses related to the school if one would like to trans-fer to another program. The latter might be a justifiable requirement, as it allows the school to affirm whether one has the aptitude for studying un-der the new program. However, the former seems to be an obstacle to switching in most cases.

GPA Cutoff to Switch Schools in

SMUMost students looking to switch do not find their current area of study particularly engaging, and are prob-ably not doing very well in their cours-es. And that’s not surprising- if you do not like what you’re studying, the motivation for scoring well is never as strong. As a result, due to one’s low grades, one is prevented from switch-ing to a program which offers subjects that are of interest and in which they believe they that can excel in. Isn’t there a flaw somewhere in this pro-cess?

What needs to be understood is that switching schools has an impact not only on the university experience of students, but it also creates long-lasting harmful consequences in the future. Some are unable to pursue the careers that they wish to and would have, if they had they been able to transfer to another faculty. Some go on to pursue another undergraduate degree in their desired area of study, after having squandered four impor-tant years of their life. Lost possibili-ties and opportunities at this stage can propel individuals to very different directions in life.

“After studying Economics for a se-mester, I realized it wasn’t the right subject for me. I ceaselessly tried to

switch to a different school, went from office to office but to no avail. After a year, I just gave up. I suppose the next best option is to pursue another de-gree after I graduate next year”, says a student who wanted to their identity to be anonymous.

An institution as progressive as SMU must understand that such rigidity in rules and policies can only hinder the holistic education of students. In-corporating flexibility into the system such that one can opt for a program which they believe is more suited to them can help them gain the knowl-edge that will help them build suc-cessful careers and lives.

“Most students looking to switch

study particularly engaging, and are probably not doing very well in their courses.”

Written by Chhavi Kotwani


Viewpoint

Could be considered the third biggest site, coming right after Facebook and Twitter but it still has not reached the celebrity status neither does it plan to. Tumblr is an easier and quick way to look at the personal blog and make interaction easier

Tumblr doesn’t network users; it net-works users’ creative efforts. These are likely to be perpetual, freshly en-gaging, and always cross-pollinating, while many of my connections on Fa-cebook were one-time phenomena; I don’t keep checking XYZ’s profile to see if he added a new band, or log in to see who’s posted new photos of themselves getting drunk.

But I can’t go a day without checking in on Tumblr to see what people have posted, what they’re disputing, what they’re mocking, what they’ve filmed or photographed or quoted. In other words, rather than being a social net-work, Tumblr is a creativity-network, and the fact is that people’s creative efforts (even if they’re just linking with a short comment) are more interesting than their “Favorite Books” listed in paragraph form.

9gag.com/43 Things/explosm.net/grooveshark/Vimeo -Just for trolling around the internet (You will understand soon if you start follow-ing such sites)

The world’s largest social network-ing site for artist to share and dis-cuss artworks. Are you more artisti-cally inclined? Photographers, Anime/Manga artists, Fan artists etc can all be found through deviantArt. It is the perfect forum to showcase all types of art forms to large audiences that can help an individual to gain recognition around the online world. Join groups, comment on art you find inspiring and find people with whom are you are more likely to have a more meaningful relationship.

A niche social networking sites aimed to create bonds among people over their musical tastes. It helps you find friends based on musical tastes and helps you find new music through your friends. A great indicator of com-patibility between friends is music, so why not make it one of the first fac-tors when meeting new people. Last.fm is the best because it makes music the first part of your social networking experience and can link people with similar tastes as well as help you find new acts.

Where the community aspect of Last.fm is more better developed is in its Groups, which existed well before Facebook’s introduction of a simi-lar feature. There’s a wide range of user-created groups covering all gen-res and musical interests, and this is where much of the interaction among Last.fm’s users can be found.

Democratic dialogue, the discussion of ideas, the rational processes through which we individually and collectively make decisions, the expansion of our own horizons have grown richer by the explosion of social networking sites.

But it’s hard to look beyond stereotypical sites like Facebook or Twitter. These sites give a convenient social content summary but doesn’t give you the full enriching experience. Social networking has another side based on niche interests which is far more rewarding.

Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.Tired of refreshing the same social networking website page over and over again? Hoping for new activity? It’s time for you to explore the world wide web.

The online world beyond Facebook and Twitter

Nothing on the internet suits you right now? Well, create your own social networking site catering to any specif-ic needs that you have. Many organi-zations and individuals have made widely popular sites that have taken gained success over the world. Who knows? If you have a good enough idea, you could become the next Mark Zuckerberg!

Written by Saniya Gupta


viewpoint

WORLDSCOPEWhat’s happening beyond Singapore nowadays?

The Blue And Gold fills you in on:

Section Design by Melvin Tiong

World News in a Flash The Royal Wedding Take That, Malcolm Gladwell

A bloody raid by Ivory Coast security forces was ordered by Laurent Gbagbo, the strongman who till now refuses to step down, despite losing last year’s presidential election.

Inspired by revolutions in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, the impoverished east of Libya started its own string of protests against the 42-year rule of Col. Gaddafi.

On 19th Feb 2011, Libyan Special Forc-es launched a dawn attack on Saturday against hundreds of protesters, includ-ing lawyers and judges, camped in front of the courthouse in Benghazi, resulting in many dead.

UCLA Student Alexandra Wallace posted a three-minute rant on YouTube titled “Asians in the Library”, where she criti-cized the school for accepting “hordes of Asian people”, whom she claims have no manners and are prone to inviting their entire extended family to visit on the weekends. The UCLA political sci-ence student also faulted Asian students for disrupting her studies in the library while they were supposedly calling family members in the wake of the tsunami.

News In A Flash


WORLDSCOPE

A 10-metre tsunami slammed into the coast off the city of Sendai in northeast Japan on Friday after an 8.9-magnitude quake struck offshore around 1.46pm (Singapore time) on Friday, 11th March.

Thousands of households have been devastated by this catastrophic event. Japan faces the likeli-hood of a catastrophic nuclear accident after an explosion further damaged one of the crippled reactors, and a fire at another spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air.

At least 25 people were killed and 250 injured in an earthquake that struck a remote area of south-west China near its border with Myanmar on Thursday 10th March 2011. The tremor re-duced hundreds of houses to rubble, left some residents trapped under buildings, and triggered power cuts in the surrounding area of China, though no casualties were reported in Myanmar.

Bahrain experienced protests aimed at achiev-ing greater political freedom and equality for the Shia population, expanding into a call to end the monarchy. A deadly night raid occured on 17 February against protesters at Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops into Bah-rain underscores the delicate position of its rul-ing class, and creates a challenge for the Obama administration.

Severe floods in Western Australia’s East Kim-berley region have forced evacuations and de-stroyed 45 homes, while 20 homes remain unin-habitable. People in Warmun were first moved to Argyle diamond mine by helicopter, and then to Kununurra by bus.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into a report claiming that two Italian men tried to bribe a Moroccan official to falsify the birth records of a teenager linked with Prime Min-ister Silvio Berlusconi. Mr. Berlusconi has been charged with paying Karima el-Mahroug for sex last year when she was under 18 years of age, as well as with collaborating with the police to cover up his connection with her.


Worldscope

Come April 29, we will witness the royal marriage of Prince William and his wife-to-be Catherine Middleton, less formally known as Kate.

Royal institutions like the British mon-archy receive much media attention in the world. It is thus no surprise that the media has eagerly pounced on Kate. The world looks on to see how Kate can step into the shoes of the late Princess Diana, who heavily glam-orized the royal image.

It is clear that Kate has no inten-tion of replacing the void left by Princess Diana. Poised, elegant and well-grounded, Kate has sought to establish an image vastly different from the late princess.

At 28, Kate has weathered through eight years of being a public figure due to her court-ship with Prince William, and handles immense paparazzi scrutiny with aplomb, unlike the late Princess Diana, who was relatively inexperienced at dealing with media at-tention. Her maturity is exemplified in the way that she calmly faced the harsh criticisms targeted at her “middle-class” commoner family of self-made millionaires. Excessive efforts by the media to find an unglamorous picture of her were futile as she was said to have no “past”. Her good upbringing has proved a strong shield against the media’s persis-tent efforts to scandalize her.

Will this marriage be a fairytale for Kate? Snagging a dashing prince is no guaranteed fantasy, particularly for commoners who marry royals in this age. A prominent example to illustrate would be Crown Princess Masako of Japan. An educated Harvard gradu-ate, Princess Masako was plagued by depression as a result of pressure to bear a male heir and, more impor-tantly, the stripping of any sense of

a personal life. Highly educated and intelligent commoners like Kate and Princess Masako stand to lose their privacy and independence as they ful-fill obligations for the sake of public duty. Time will tell whether or not Kate suffocates from the many demands expected of her.

Economical ImpactThe Royal Wedding is said to be a booster that will inject vitality into the English economy, which has been sluggish ever since the European cri-

sis. There are high hopes that the

w e d d i n g will attract throngs of spending tourists to Britain, much like what happened when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married. This year’s wedding also serves as an ex-cellent prelude to the 2012 Olympics in London.

It is estimated that the royal wed-

ding will bring in an additional one million tourists and $2 billion for the British economy. Closer to home, the recent travel fairs in Singapore have also capitalized on the wedding by offering “London Royal Wedding” tours for fantasy-loving travelers. The wedding has also propelled manufac-turers worldwide to produce related paraphernalia - anything from tea cups and saucers imprinted with the couple’s faces, to comic books narrat-ing the whole courtship. Minutes after the announcement of their engage-ment, jewelers were overwhelmed with orders to replicate the signature blue sapphire engagement ring given by William to Kate. Replica rings are

available in China for as low as 59 Yuan.

On the flip side, crit-ics have lambasted the monarchy as one which breeds elitism and ex-cessive spending. The Queen and Prince Charles are footing most of the wedding bill out of their own pockets; however, sec-ondary costs can swell up to the millions, and this comes mainly from the pockets of Britain’s taxpayers.

For example, the British police have set up an independent taskforce to protect the the cou-ple from dejected and dangerous admirers who might have morbid intentions of eliminating their “love rival”. Such security does not come free. Tight security checks and traffic controls will cause dis-ruption to the public. And businesses have been predicted to face up to bil-lions in productivity losses .

It is inevitable that the wedding will be watched closely all over the world. Royalty astounds, and the monarchy commands the respect of both Britons and the rest of the world. In closing, let us not forget that weddings are a time of joy and celebration of love. May Prince William and the new Prin-cess Catherine have a blissful wed-ding, and a life happily ever after.

THE ROYAL WEDDINGWritten by Fu Yingliang


WORLDSCOPE

Take That, Malcolm Gladwell.

“There’s something happening here,” Prof Alex Mutebi, a former professor of political science in Singapore Man-agement University who is now based in Tunisia, said on his Facebook pro-file on the 12th of January. “What it is isn’t exactly clear… feels like a fin de siècle.”

If Malcolm Gladwell’s October article in The New Yorker is anything to go by, then surely, “the revolution will not be tweeted”, like his sub-headline claims. But in almost every country since January that has seen revolutionary protests, governments have moved to

crack down on social media websites, and only because the political lead-ers of these countries have witnessed the fall of Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

In a little more than three months, Af-rican politics have experienced an up-heaval of epic proportions – starting off from the self-immolation of Mo-hamed Bouazizi, a former fruit seller with a university degree in Tunisia, and culminating into protests that eventu-ally led to the overthrow of Ben Ali, as well as protests in Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya, among others.

In November last year, the author of The Tipping Point and Outli-ers talked about how social media and its power to organise and create change was massively overrated. Looks like he is wrong – at least in the case of Tunisia.

Written by Owen Tan


Worldscope

For years the rulers of these countries had thought of ways to ban commu-nity gatherings; even as recent as last year, protests were a rarity in Tunisia - a police state where the government could revoke employment permits at will, as happened to Bouazizi. Already living life in poverty as a fruit seller, his frustration and desperation led him to commit suicide in the most horrific and painful of ways.

But while formal communication chan-nels have always been encumbered by difficulties – dissidence was clamped down in a civil space filled with giant Ben Ali posters – social media has al-lowed an informal, but powerful, form of disseminating information.

Lina Ben Mhenni, an activist and blogger, was one of several citizens travelling across the country to take photos and videos and later upload-ing them either on her Facebook ac-count or her blog, A Tunisian Girl. The fate of Bouazizi, in the meantime, has also been morbidly retold in the form of graphic images of his body being spread through – you guessed it –

Facebook and other social networking sites.

Apart from getting hold of reliable information, social media has also provided the impetus for disillusioned youth to rise up in protest. People who had access to WikiLeaks discov-ered the extent of Ben Ali’s excesses through those cables, and got angry enough to get out to the streets.

Social media, it seems, has also made people realise that support is in great-er amount than they initially thought so. It almost seems that people think that those expressing their thoughts online about the revolution are those who truly want to make a difference, and are more trustworthy than inter-actions with people offline who might as well be cronies of the state.

“On the ground people are gathering friends who trust each other,” said Sami Ben Gharbia, a Tunisian exile in Berlin who runs Nawaat.org, to News-week. “And online people trust each other.”

What social media has done for Tuni-sia was to enable a civic space that was previously not accessible. Apart from merely being a channel of com-munication, it has become a channel where courage is spread to one anoth-er, justified through facts about how abject their living conditions are and how much it can be better.

Gladwell, of course, thought the pow-er of social media was really an over-estimate: “Even revolutionary actions that look spontaneous,” he said in his article, “are, at core, strong-tie phe-nomena,” referring to Mark Granovet-ter’s famous article that distinguished between strong and weak ties and how each type could be activated for one’s benefit.

The demonstrations in East Germany that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, he states as an example, are because of the “critical friends” turning up –

people who had the ability to influ-ence a greater number of friends to participate.

But Gladwell might find the Tunisian case a little harder to explain. The majority of the people on Facebook or Twitter barely know one another. There was no leader of the revolution, just a mass of people who felt out-raged by the atrocities that were listed online one by one.

While social media has no ability to force a person into marching on the streets in protest, it certainly has the ability to make one feel that he or she is not alone in fighting the war against dictatorship.

Dozens of Tunisians and, subsequent-ly, Egyptians, were putting their live-lihood (and lives, really) on the line by tweeting or posting on the events that were occurring. And for what?

If it was only just about friends, then surely there would have been no need to do so.

Tweets – and retweets – gives a per-son courage and assurance that what he is writing is correct, and is some-thing worth pursuing. Reason, not friendship, is the new determinant of revolution. In the world of social me-dia, trust is almost taken for granted, but what people need is a good enough reason to get moving and that was what happened in Tunisia.

One of the first decisions by Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian presi-dent, in attempting to stem the pro-tests was to shut down all Internet ac-cess in the country. He may have failed to keep his seat, but he is no fool; in an age where the angry masses can congregate in a newfound online space, dictators have every reason to worry indeed.

Justifying and Multiplying Courage

While social media has no ability to force a person into marching on the streets in pro-test, it certainly has the ability to make one feel that he or she is not alone in fighting the war against dictatorship.


WORLDSCOPE

THE sMUSA PAGES


A good look at our friends in school:

Behind SMUSA’s doorsBIZCOM’s ImageThe Finance Committee

What goes on behind the closed doors of SMUSA?SMUSA Communications Secretary Bryan Lim (our boss, really) gives us the most honest, straight-up opinion ever on SMUSA and the work it does.

Officially speaking, the SMUSA ExCo is a representation and active voice of all students. We do recognize that such a definition is superficial, and may appear hypocritical. After all, it is easy to suspect that the ExCo mem-bers ran for office for self-centered purposes, rather than to serve the school body at large. Truth be told – that purpose resides in each and every ExCo member to varying degrees. That said, it does not mean that in cater-ing to our egos, we are neglecting the school. In fact, it is with complete ob-jectivity that I say that the more we fulfill our self-esteem by excelling on the job, the more the school benefits! It makes sense – does it not?

Yes – we are like politicians, and it can be extremely cliché when we say (with a beaming smile), “Yes, this is for the school”, “Of course! We’d love to help your club!” or “No problem! We’re always here for you!” (sub-sequently exclaiming “oh **** that student wasted my time” once you leave the room). However, at the end of the day, one would be hard-pressed to disprove that our work adds value to the school.

So cynics (and we know there are plenty of them here in SMU) might then ask what aforementioned work we do. Simply put, the SMUSA ExCo acts as the middleman between stu-dents (who posess informal power) and offices (who posess constitutional power). As such, all communication goes through our processing, and it is this very processing that results in weekly 3-hour meetings and 40 new emails daily (no exaggeration). Isn’t this work for the school?

Understandably, this is work that isn’t seen by you, because the general population only sees tangible value additions to the school, such as wel-fare drives and SRs for exam periods. Do you care that a finance policy has been revised tremendously, or that the asset-loaning procedure has been streamlined immensely? My guess is no, hence leading to the perception

that we tent ourselves in our ExCo room and stone all day long. This is why we have a website which docu-ments the changes that we feel matter to you.

However, when you do see the “changes that matter to you” under the Revisions column of the website, you then realize how pathetically short the list is. And this correlates to the point that much of the work we do is invisible to your eyes. Of course, one can be utilitarian and declare that the ExCo is ineffective simply by looking at the bottom-line and seeing how lit-tle ‘revisions’ have been documented on the website. But my point is that the bottom-line you see is not always the most relevant one . I hope we can take a step back to contemplate the big picture, and see that there is at least some sense in this admittedly bold statement.

At the end of the day, the SMUSA ExCo can easily be perceived as inef-fective and flawed by some. Of course, we deserve to be crucified as such when we truly err. But all things con-sidered, if we all shift our paradigms just a bit right now, and look at the ExCo through a different (and dare I say, more relevant) lens, that percep-tion might just justifiably change for the better. That said, I am not sug-gesting that the ExCo is flawless and has no need for improvement. While we do have a robust team, we are continuously seeking to create posi-tive change that matters to you and we are ever ready to share any good news.

These are my transparent thoughts and I do hope you at least sensed some honesty and directness from this confession. I am quite certain that my views will draw very polarized responses. I would love to hear from you, but at the same time I hope I am not spammed with too many views so that my mailbox isn’t too flooded (transparency has been a theme in this article, hasn’t it?).


SMUSA PAGES

I was lazily queuing up for my Mon-day morning coffee when I heard the conversation. My fellow SMU students were discussing the merits of attend-ing BIZCOM’s latest post-exam party, BLACK OUT It was quite a thought provoking conversation – on one hand I was pleased to see the market-ing team’s efforts paying off.

On the other hand - this really got me thinking. Was this the perception that the general school population had of BIZCOM? Were we seen as just a “Party Club”, who threw bashes? BIZ-COM is much more than that and that is the primary reason for me sharing my insights with The Blue and Gold.

The official role of BIZCOM is to func-tion as the financial arm of the Stu-dents Association. In short we are a mini version of Singapore’s Temasek or GIC. We raise money through many means such as bazaars, parties and ty-ing up sponsorship deals with external merchants.

BIZCOM’s Events wing handles the parties and bazaars while the UniVan-tage wing is tasked with bringing in more discounts for students. Currently UniVantage has over 100 merchants under its privilege card scheme and a culmination of UniVantage’s work is showcased at the beginning of Sep-tember at a mega bazaar called Uni-Vanzaar. BIZCOM also channels funds to scholarships for needy students though the SMUSA-BIZCOM Scholar-ship and the SMUSA-BIZCOM Student Life Awards.

Going back to our favourite topic of money. The BIZCOM batch of 2010

raised over $100,000 during their year of service. So where does all this money go?

Here’s the answer: The number of SMU clubs have been increasing every year and all clubs require capital to func-tion. While the majority of this funding comes from the Office of Student Life and the student activities fee, there is a shrinking pool of funds to utilise. This is where we step in and provide a lifeline. We provide relevant injections of cash to sustain other CCA’s pursuit of excellence for the academic year. In essence this allows CCAs to focus on their own specialisations while we worry about where the cash comes from.

Despite this, many people continue to view BIZCOM as a party club who spam the student population with needless emails. What the general population has not realised is that we have streamlined the sending of email blasts and actually charge external vendors a certain fee for blasting. As the only committee with the power to send such email blasts (no other CCA is allowed to do so) we obviously will be perceived to be “spamming” the students. But in retrospect, we are raising cash for students as well as cutting down on external vendors who want to send mails for free.

As the largest standing committee under SMUSA, we engage in a lot of activities that the normal student is not privy off. Hopefully, after this in-terview, students will be better able to understand the work that BIZCOM puts in pushing student life forward.

SMU BIZCOM: BEYOND A PARTY CLUB

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY“Give me more money, please!”, “Stop cutting my budget!” Fellow SMUSA friends and CCA Finance Di-rectors have been telling me this ever since I stepped into the position of the SA finance secretary, and my answer to them has always been, “I really wish I could.”

The SAC Finance Committee consists of the finance secretaries from the 10 Constituent Bodies (CBds), the SMU-SA deputy finance secretary, and I, the finance secretary.

One of my main duties is to chair the bi-annual budgeting exercises. Along with the SAC Finance Commit-tee, the total budget for the 10 CBds are reviewed and endorsed during a 1-2month process. All clubs are re-quired to submit their club budget proposals to their CBd finance secre-tary. We first review these proposals together and then re-review them in-dividually before the budget endorse-ment meeting.

The reduction in budget injection has been a nagging problem; an issue which unfortunately is beyond the SMUSA exco’s power to control. Ma-jority of our funding comes from the Office of Student Life and the Students Activity Fee. Funds raised by BIZCOM are also pumped into the budget allo-cation. In this term’s budgeting alone, we experienced a significant 30% re-duction in the budget allocated to us. Yet, each year, the demand for fund-ing from clubs is constantly increas-ing. The rising demand and a reducing supply impies that we cannot satisfy all budget demands.

The SMUSA exco’s primary func-tion of supporting student life has guided the SAC Finance Committee’s decisions throughout the budgeting exercise. Such decisions include the justifications for the proposals’ review process, the implementation of new budget standards, and the contribu-tion rate that clubs made.

While the SMUSA exco really wants to fulfil every club’s budget requests, we face stringent resources with the reduced funding, along with the deci-sion to introduce a contribution rate of the clubs’ funds to finance the budget requsted. The contribution made by the each club is used solely for their own club expenditure, and never to fund any other club. This is simply a reallocation of the funding request from SMUSA to their individual clubs’ funds. After the gruelling hours of the budget endorsement meeting where the SAC Finance Committee reviewed every single club’s budget to ensure consistency and transparency, there was no alternative but to introduce the contribution rate measure, a deci-sion which the SAC Finance Commit-tee grudgingly agreed to. We plan to look into this policy of contribution rate in the next budgeting term.

Going back to the 2 questions posed to me all the time, the only answer I can give, is I wish I could maximise every club’s requests. But given the tight constraints and the need to in-troduce new measures to combat this reduced funding, the SAC Finance Committee can provide to SMUSA is to ensure that every club’s budget has been fairly allocated in a justifiable and transparent setting.

Bizcom President, Nikhil Antony Jonas talks about Bizcom’s real role in SMUSA

Written by SMUSA Finance Secretary Gary Tan

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SMUSA PAGES

1) Is saving for a rainy day important? Am I saving too little? How much is enough?Saving is very important. At a minimum, one should put aside enough cash to cover 3-6 months worth of expenses. This is in case one has to stop work for whatever reason. With an emergency fund in place, we can make basic risk management provisions, such as for hospitalisation, ma-jor illness, disability etc. Such catastrophes, if they occur, can wipe out one's hard earned savings, unless one is protected with some form of basic insurance. Only when such coverage is in place, then can our savings be directed towards our goals of wealth accumulation, property own-ership, retirement, etc. It is important to have a budget for monthly expenses. By planning and tracking spending, you will know where all your money is going, and be able to manage your money better to avoid "going broke".

2) What are the key things that students should look out for when buying insurance?Needs. What are the financial gaps that will need to be filled in the event of a catastrophe?

Budget. Based on one's current financial ability, one has to choose the needs to prioritise cover.

Risk & Return. As many insurance products have an ele-ment of value accumulation, one should decide on a risk-return mix that is comfortable for the long term.

3) What qualities or qualifications are helpful in joining the insurance industry?They need to have the 3 Es:

Education - Beyond the regulatory licensing requirements, professional certifications such as ChFC or CFP will give you the financial training to offer better advice to your cli-ents.

Energy - The most successful people are enthusiastic about their business and about building a profitable enterprise.

Empathy - At the end of the day, this is a business about people. To thoroughly understand clients’ needs, and to ef-fectively communicate financial advice to them, one must have the empathy to connect with clients.

4) I want to retire before the age of 50. What is the most important thing I need to do now to set myself along this path?The most important thing is to start early by planning with a good Financial Consultant.

Nicholas Goh is a Senior Financial Services Director with

Prudential Assurance Company Singapore, and has close to 17

Chartered Life Underwriter.

a feature brought to you by Prudential.

ask the


Because there can never be too much entertainment.

Section design by Ariel Nguyen

Summer TOP 5 songs, books and movies

Make way for the King

summer top 51 (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock

Bill Haley, summer 1955

What better ways to kick start the list than to give you one of America’s first rock and roll musicians? This swing-inspired number screams rebel-lion against time and gave the 1950s youths much to rave about. Trans-pose it to modern era, and youths of today ‘rock around the clock’ by hitting the clubs and letting loose amidst a high-velocity, roiling mass of humans on the dance floor.

2 Wouldn’t It Be Nice The Beach Boys, summer 1966

The slightly off-key jingle at the start of the song is irresistibly charm-ing. ‘The Beach Boys’, with their summer-oozing alias, breezily belt out lovey-dovey, almost polite, rhetorical requests of ‘wouldn’t it be nice?’ to their listeners. When The Beach Boys paint such a utopia of love in the summer, even the quickest of cynics would weaken at their knees.

3 (They Long To Be) Close To You The Carpenters, summer 1970

Let’s slow things down a little with this 70s chart-topper. A personal bias of mine, this song by ‘The Carpenters’ is truly a gift for the sum-mer- silken vocals like fine wrapping paper, with a heartfelt melody tucked inside.

4 Sweet Child o’ Mine Guns N’ Roses, summer 1986

1980s saw the emergence of rock bands with many different experi-mental sounds. It also marked the death of one of the greatest musi-cians ever lived- John Lennon. The journey of rock and roll was further lived out by successful bands like Guns N’ Roses, whose explosion into the music scene with brazen abandonment, indulgent guitar solos, and hit singles like this one can only be branded as classic, timeless, and absolutely alluring to the after-school rebel in all of us.

5 Wannabe Spice Girls, summer 1996

If the hippie movement brought flower power to the 60s, then the Spice Girls brought girl power to the 90s. An emblem of the rise in bub-blegum pop in the mainstream music industry of the 90s, Wannabe injects a blithe, diva-like shout-out to all females for the sunny season, “Either he accepts your girlfriends for who they are, or he’s soooo last summer”.

1 Have a Little Faith Mitch Albom

With his markedly succinct, clear way of writing, Albom is an author who puts depth into his sentences with as little words as possible. In this book, the precious question of faith calls to us unabashedly from between the lines, beckoning us to place our convictions in something, anything- people, social causes, or even a supreme being. A singing rabbi, a hoodlum-turned-pastor, and an author increasingly forced to confront the closets of his beliefs- Have a Little Faith is a real-life tale that breathes soul, soul, and soul.

2 Monday’s Child Louise Bagshawe

Summer is never complete without a fresh, cool Piña Colada of British wit. Think of this fictional piece as The Devil Wears Prada’s English cousin. Bagshawe dresses up as a chick lit in whirlwind romance, catty competition, and aspirations of work life glitz in fast-paced London, throwing us readers a bone that we can’t help but gobble up. Doesn’t our university seem like a dead ringer as the Singaporean equivalent?

3 The Time Traveler’s WifeAudrey Niffenegger

Niffenegger’s ability to place love at the heart of science fiction reminds us all that prose knows no bounds. A poignant resurrection of the classic love story, this novel is determined to whisk you through the heaven and hell of raw, unfettered emotion.

Summer is never complete without a fresh, cool Piña Colada of British wit. Think of this fictional piece as The Devil Wears Prada’s English cousin. Bagshawe dresses up as a chick lit in whirlwind romance, catty competition, and aspirations of work life glitz in fast-paced London, throwing us readers a bone that we can’t help but gobble up. Doesn’t our university seem like a dead ringer as the Singaporean equivalent?

Stephanie Yow gives us suggestions on Music, Books and Movies that will be perfect accompaniments to your summer vacation.

4 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night TimeMark Haddon

The holidays are a great time for self-development. Sharma’s international bestseller imparts to us a novel concept- anyone can be a leader, having a paper status is secondary. If you want to achieve excellence at what you do, operate at a peak, win people over, and produce wow results. Seize the summertime to pick up a copy of this book and learn how simple it is to have the professional and personal success you’ve always yearned for.

5 The Leader Who Had No TitleRobin Sharma


LIFESTYLE

1 Mary Poppinssummer 1964

Imagine if we had nannies that sang about cough syr-ups, danced away on chimneys, or transported us into pretty chalk-drawn pavements. Wouldn’t that be simply entertaining? Mary Poppins endures the test of time and critics’ tongues, not only because it has the late Walt Dis-ney’s imagination written all over it, but also because of its musicality and certain tenderness that draws us in. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

2 Greasesummer 1978

Think of this as the 1970s version of Glee, completed with high school drama and theatrical, colourful bursts of songs. The only differences are the drive-in movies, hideously tight men-pants, soda pop, jukebox swing, and vavavoom vintage cars. Pretty much your good ol’ disco era summer smash hit.

3 E.T. the Extra Terrestrialsummer 1982

A Spielberg brainchild, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial explores volumes of friendship that cuts across space and earth (in this case, alien and boy). With the main protagonists played by children, the film adds a refreshing zing to summer by reminding us of the essence of true camara-derie- trust, laughter, and sacrifice.

4 Forrest Gumpsummer 1994

This award-winning summer film gives us a glimpse into 30 years of tumultuous American history, and dismisses the widely believed notion that intelligence is a critical factor for success. Tom Hanks portrays Forrest Gump, a simpleton whose sincerity, honesty, loyalty and foolhardy bravery earns him meetings with the President, a Medal of Honor, a celebrity, and a reputable shrimping com-pany. Gump may be dumb, but he certainly isn’t a fool.

5 Avatarsummer 2009

The director of Titanic took 12 years to return to Hol-lywood, but when he did, he unleashed a film which crushed several box office records which became the highest-grossing film worldwide. And the secret to his ac-claim? Combine spectacular visuals, forbidden romance and utterly convincing science fiction in the same movie, and you’ll be able to spot these signature James Cam-eron moves even when light years away on Pandora.

The Kingmake way for

The box-office record breaking Broadway musi-cal ‘The Lion King’ has made its South-East Asian premier in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Recently I had the opportunity to experience the live per-formance of Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Disney’s timeless classic that has won the hearts of audi-ences all around the globe.

The Lion King musical debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 8, 1997 and soon hit Broad-way, the same year. Directed by the acclaimed Julie Taymor, music by Elton john, lyrics by Tim Rice and a background score by Hans Zimmer leaves little surprise for the success of this Broad-way musical.

Produced by Disney Theatrical, the musical fea-tures actors in animal costumes, breathtaking sets as well as giant, hollow puppets.. The South-East Asian premier production is said to be a duplicate of other international versions of this musical including the ones playing in London and New York. It does however feature a new cast and crew auditioned from all around the world.

Act I opens with Rafiki the baboon, introducing King Mufasa, Queen Sarabi and their little cub, Prince Simba to the rest of the animal kingdom from Pride Rock against the timeless ‘Circle of Life’. Mufasa’s younger brother, the embittered Scar, decides to act to remove the ‘little hairball’ from his path to becoming king.

The first act explores the adventures of little Sim-ba (played by Jonathan Andrew Hume) and his best friend Nala (played by Puleng March) under the watchful eye of Mufasa’s faithful hornbill ad-visor, the comical Zazu. It also explores the loving and wholesome father-son relation between Mu-fasa and Simba as the former teaches the young cub the ropes of becoming a good lion king. Scar in the meantime, with the help of his three hy-ena stooges plans the death of his brother and nephew.

He succeeds in disposing off Mufasa and relies on the hyenas to take care of Simba. The hyenas chase the little cub out of the pride lands and tell Scar that he is dead. Simba is eventually rescued by Timon and Pumbaa, an outcast meerkat and warthog who act as surrogate parents to the lost cub and raise him with their philosophy, ‘Hakuna Matata’ (‘no worries’!).

Act II opens into the rule of Scar and shows the degradation of the once fertile pride lands into nothing but waste. Simba continues to enjoy his carefree life with Timon and Pumbaa but is tormented by his past from time to time. One

night Rafiki hears Simba’s mournful song on the wind and realises that he is still alive. Nala in the meantime and Elton John’s masterpiece, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ plays in the back-ground as they develop feelings for each other.

Nala and Rafiki convince Simba to return to Pride Rock and challenge Scar. As Rafiki elo-quently puts it, ‘’the thing about the past, is that either you can run from it, or you can learn from it.” Simba returns to Pride Rock, much to the shock of Scar and the lionesses who thought he was dead. Scar evenutally tells Simba the truth that it was indeed he who killed the lion king Mufasa. An enraged Simba fights back and a bat-tle ensues in which Scar is defeated and killed by the hyenas, his former allies.

Simba is re-instated as the rightful lion king of Pride Rock and the musical ends with him tak-ing charge along of the new era with his mother Sarabi, Queen Nala and their newborn cub by his side.

The sets, the props, the animal puppets, the mov-ing Pride Rock and the starry night sky are a treat to watch. Stealing the show is the ‘He Live in You (Reprise)’ as Rafiki sings to Simba and the sky comes together to form a heavenly vision of Mu-fasa. Other background scenes that leave an im-pact are the scenes where Mufasa dies trying to save Simba from the wildebeest stampede; and as Timon precariously hangs above a river trying to escape the crocodiles.

The colourful rendition of the Serengeti plains and evocative rhythms and dance forms of Africa leave the audience enchanted. Topical references, jokes catering to the local humour and a few dia-logues interspersed with Singlish (yes, including the famous ‘lah’!) successfully engages the audi-ence and leave them wanting for more.

Book your tickets soon. This Tony-Award winning Broadway musical is a definite not to be missed!

Reviewed by Prianthi Roy


LIFESTYLE

Did you know that French was the offi-cial language of England for over 600 years? And did you know that if you laid out the cables used in the lifts of the Eiffel Tower end to end, it wouldl stretch to a whopping 16 kilometers? In our club’s efforts to reach out to the student population, we have discov-ered the above, and so many more in-teresting facts, articles, songs and his-torical information about the French! All of these fun facts are frequently posted on our Francophiles Facebook page, which is open for everyone to view and “like”.

The Francophiles club, formed last year, was initiated by a group of friends who shared a passion for France and its rich culture. Since our club started, we have actively promot-ed our interests to SMU students by organizing and supporting events in school. In October 2010, a mini Mardi Gras event was held in conjunction with SMU’s world peace day celebra-tions, complete with mask paintings and word games to teach some basic French words to others. Talk about fun!

We also eat French. Our first club lunch was at French bistro Choupinette. We organized this event in response to the numerous requests we received from members to arrange a French food tasting session. The turnout at the quaint French bistro was great and everyone who attended was able to enjoy delicious French cuisine and desserts. Because it was so successful, we plan to similar events in the future.

To prepare ourselves for the end-of-term-horrors, Francophiles held a movie marathon in week 10, inclusive

of couches to sink into, food to munch on, and even tissues to wipe tears (for the emotional types). We screened a wide selection of French films span-ning comedy, romance, and action. At-tendees feasted on food from Colours, popcorn from Cornery and crepes from Saybons. With everyone enjoying the good food and good shows, the night ended on an excellent note.

Enough said, Francophiles – c’est la nouvelle!

THE CCA PAGES


La France, Le Français, Les Francophiles

Our CCAs can bring you to good places. Like France.

Featuring:The FrancophilesGreenstation MovementSMUBE


‘The GreenStation Movement’, a pilot project initiated by a group of SMU students undertaking the Leader-ship and Teambuilding (LTB) module, aims to promote the adoption of eco-friendly practices. This group educates institutions on how they can imple-ment energy-saving features on porta-ble workstations and the benefits that can be gained from these features. The inspiration behind the group was sparked by an observation that the us-age of laptops plays an integral part

your Laptop

1. Adjust Screen Brightness in accordance to

needs.

2. Clean laptop vents regularly .

3. Clean the battery and laptop contacts(i.e.

metallic connectors) on a regular basis.

4. Charge the battery once its power reaches

25% and lower (applicable to Lithium based

batteries only).

:

Longer operating life, resulting in less need to

bring bulky chargers.

More processing memory, resulting in faster

loading and a smoother experience.

Reduced frequency of recharging battery,

resulting in longer battery lifespan.

For a comprehensive list of energy-saving tips, visit www.thegreenstationmovement.com.

THE GREENSTATION MOVEMENT

of an SMU student’s curriculum. Their website serves to provide a compre-hensive list of energy-saving tips for both PC and MAC users as well as the benefits, ranging to positive en-vironmental impacts to personal con-venience that one can enjoy from a commitment to green practices. With SMU Verts as the proud adopter of the project, this techno-green movement is currently being promoted by envi-ronmental groups from all three local universities.


CCA PAGES

Consisting of a team of excellent speakers and entertainers, AMT trains and provides emcees for events both within and outside of SMU. AMT has provided support for key events such as Convocation, SMU Patron’s Day and the Singapore Street Festival, among many others.

They are always on the lookout for those who possess the voice, but most importantly, the drive and pas-sion needed to learn and improve. Individuals with a keen interest in the hosting of shows are always welcome. No prior experience needed and train-ing provided.

With their pop-friendly covers and tunes, Campus Radio is the perfect radio buddy while you’re studying late into the night. Their DJ’s cover a wide range of topics that everyone can re-late to, from delicious food places to relationship issues. Campus Radio also does events like Live Radio every semester, as well as cover exciting concerts and parties in town.

SMU Campus Radio provides an out-let for budding DJs to have a taste of the excitement and rigor of what it takes to be a real DJ. Field trips to visit radio stations such as 88.3FM and trainings by established radio person-alities such as Paul Carr are all part of the deal. For students with a real passion and zest for music, Campus Radio is definitely the place to be seen (and heard).

If you’re interested in filming, video editing and generally just being on camera, SMU Campus TV is the place for you.

Besides covering SMU-related events such as the Freshmen Team Building (FTB) Video, Campus TV also does their own productions such as short films and even documentaries on stu-dent life like class participation. Right now, they are currently working on a production with AMT artistes starring SMU’s very own professors such as Mark Nowacki.

SMU Campus TV is on the lookout for new members for our summer produc-tions. So be it budding actors, script-writers, cameramen or directors, all are welcome.

With Events & Backstage, SMUBE always makes sure the right kind of technical support is in place. From major university events such as Con-vocation to school-held events like Vi-vace, Events & Backstage ensures that events goes smoothly.

They also provide plenty of opportuni-ties for members and crew to pick up skills such as proficiency in audio-en-gineering and improving stage light-ing for performances.

For aspiring event managers or those who simply want to be part of a very close-knit group, do not hesitate! No prior experience is needed.

Vibrant, dynamic and the largest CCA body in school, SMU Broadcast and Entertainment (SMUBE) has longed established itself as the leading media club. Since its inception in 2004, SMUBE has grown in strength. It currently has over 200 active members spanning four operational departments and seven executive wings.

Of course, SMUBE would not be complete without the support of its 8 executive wings: Finance, Marketing, Audio, Visual & Technical Support, Training & Development, Welfare and Recruitment (WAR), Public Relations & Sponsorship, Legal, and Administration.

If you think you are the right fit for SMUBE, hesitate no more! Simply email us at [email protected], with the department you’re interested in as the subject title. (eg, Recruitment: AMT for operational wings or Recruitment: Finance for the executive wings)

In the meantime, be sure find out more about SMUBE at http://www.smube.com and join our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2259073892 .

“Personally, my experience in BE can be summed up in one word - family. I can honestly say that BE is the best thing that has happened to me in SMU, and I never regretted joining. You will make plenty of great friends in BE, and the studio opposite Koufu is a great place to hang out and chill in between lessons or even after school! It's almost never empty, so you can just swing by and we will open the door for you. I have always thought that being in the studio is an integral part of the BE experience, and I urge you to just come in and say hi whenever you're free. The studio is a place where fun and random things happen, from makeshift karaoke sessions, to mass koi bubble tea orders, to brief bouts of mugging time, and there's sure to be people to go out for dinner with every day. We are a crazy and colourful bunch of characters, and you'll mostly likely be able to find some-one here who shares any of your interests.”

– Gerard Ong, Year 1 Accountacy & Business

SMUBE

Artiste Management Team (AMT) Campus Radio Campus TV

Events & Backstage


CCA PAGES

Hey, The blue and gold wants

you.PhotojournalistsPrint Layout/Graphic Designers Web DesignersPhotographersJournalists/Contributors

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Financial Consultant

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Senior Financial Consultant

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tbng summer guide

Documents

t smube

t francophiles

t bizcom

t ontrac

t smux summer activities

t greenstation movement

t summer books movies

t starry nite