the blue and gold - issue 12 - february 2011

8/4/2019 The Blue and Gold - Issue 12 - February 2011

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TheBLUeANDGOLDIssue 12 February 2011 MICA 254/07/2010

Lovethe issue of

NOT JUST ROMANTIC LOVE!

- School and students

- The environment

- And a whole lot more!


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nthil Sukumar

puty Managingector

Nadim Ali

Kapadia

Editor

Ankita Prasad

Managing Editor

Owen Tan

Managing Director

Deborah Lim

Deputy Managing

Director

Tobias Yeo

Editor

Shobana Na

Deputy Edito

TheBLUeANDGOLD

other credits

CommuniCations seCretary

Bryan Lim

Deputy eDitor-in-Chief

Aashna Nasta

aDVisors

Michael NgEphraim Loy

eDitor

Talisa Kaur Dhaliwal

Editors note

This issue coincides with Valentines Day - what is knownas a festival for romantics - but while our issue is namLove issue it almost certainly does not focus on the rtic type of love. Instead, we try to explore the different dimeof what constitutes love and hopefully provide some good thpoints as well.

We talk about love for many things - for students, for the en

ment, and for the school. In the meantime, January has beventful month for both the school and for us: Patrons Day, thdue Bash, and SMUSAs Awards Night and Annual General Mall happened, and are all covered by us (not all of them appearissue but will be available online).

Cover story photography has been kindly and excellently put er by the amazingly talented Mr Chen Junyang and team. Enjissue!

Owen Tan, Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief

DesiGn & Layout

Melvin TiongAngeline TeoNikita SinhalOwen Tan

photoGraphers

Chen JunyangBenjamin NgLeonard NeoCarol Lee

moDeLs for CoVer

Grace Marcia HadiputriDhanny Ruslie Lie

Another issue proudly sponsored by Prudential

The BLUe AND GOLD2


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00contents

COVER STORY

ON CAMPUS

PERSPECTIVES

36AND...&

LOVE An exceptional case?Exchange studentsChinese New YearThe environment Movies, books, songs Campus arts

Patrons DayCandylicious - The Bondue Bash Nachle - the Indian Dance Club Professor Kirpal Singh Analytical Skills, anybody?To earn or not to earn?

Global Entrepolis 2010 ASEAN Chair 2010 The Wharton experience

Behind the scenes for our photo shoot Thumbsup! - Soup Broth Asia

The BLUe AND GO


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LOVEFor this is Saint Valentines Day, where every

bird cometh there to choose his mate, wrote the

poet Geoffrey Chaucer in the early 13th century.

We all know the Valentines period to be a time

for the expression of romantic love. Prior to his

words, however, Valentines Day was not known

to be romantic, much less about love. In this is-

sue ofThe BLUe AND GOLD, we try to nd out what are

the other loves of SMU and its students. We

nd some interesting answers - but, perhaps t-

tingly, we also nd some questions about that

love that students might nd interesting.

the issue about

Love for community service? Acts of kindness in SMULove for students? An exceptional case

Love for Chinese New Year? The Chinese students escape from solitude

Love for Singapore and SMU? Exchange students share their views

Love for the environment? Verts share their story

Love for the arts? Showcasing Caderas Latinas Nueva Vida in pictures

And more!

COVER STORY

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The Challenge ofBeing Challenged

SMU Challenge was first es-tablished in 2008 under theSpecial Interest and Communi-ty Service Solidarity(SICS). The missionof SICS, combinedwith the effort of Stu-dents AssociationCouncil (SAC), was tofoster stronger com-

munity bonds and toprovide a platformwhere all communityservice groups couldcome together.

Irene explains thatin 2009, there wereconfusion as to who(SICS or SAC) should take chargeof the respective activities. Wehad to work harder on this proj-ect and brand ourselves, but attimes what we thought was inconflict with the agenda of high-er authorities.

There were altogether threephases to this project. In thefirst phase, fundraising activi-ties were held in heartland ar-eas where food and money weredonated. In the second, partici-pants walked a total of 6.88 kmfrom SMU campus to the Gey-lang East Home for the Aged,carrying food and items raised inthe fundraising activities. Final-

ly, in the third, the project endedwith SMU participants and eventhe members of the public enter-

taining the elderly by giving per-formances and interacting withthem.

Citing a survey conducted inSingapore, Irene mentions thatusually only retired people arewilling to volunteer their ser-vices. The commonly given rea-son by students as to why theydo not volunteer is because oftime constraints. But time is notan excuse, said the passionatecommunity service leader, whohas served as the Vice-Presidentof the Balloon of Bliss Projectand is engaged in external or-ganizations such as the PeoplesAssociation.

The trio has often volunteeredfor community service withoutcounting it towards the schoolsCSP requirement. We are lazyto do reports. There is no needto document everything. Somethings we do for the experienceand to simply be inspired bythe small ways that we can con-tribute back to the society said

Wen Ting. Pei En, in charge ofoperations, felt that projectsthat are being marketed in a wayto clear 80 CSP hours should beavoided. Irene added, we wouldgladly wash toilets for the elder-ly if the need arises. Now that Ithink about it, we may have noteven have done that in our ownhomes.

Irene concludes, at the end ofthe finale, the sweat and tearsthat the team of SMU challengehave shed seemed nothing whencompared to the knowledgethat not only have we broughtsmiles to the elderly but also tothe volunteers who felt pleasedwith their contribution back tothe society. Irene felt glad of theoverwhelming response fromthe faculty, staff, members of thepublic, and SMU students. Sheis confident that they had livedup to their tagline, there arenot many institutions that carryweight like SMU does.

participants walkeda total of 6.88 km

... carrying food anditems raised in thefundraising activities

Shobana Nadaraja interviews the person behind 2010 SMU challenge - Irene Ong (President of SMU challenge) with additionalinsights from Wen Ting (Marketing Director) and Pei En (Operations in-charge)

Love for community service?

COVER STORY

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An Exceptional Case

Damien Lee (not his real name) had the worst two days of his lifejust before the much awaited and celebrated New Year. An ac-countancy student who is interning at the time of writing, he waspreparing to go for his exchange programme in February.

Then, in the wee hours of Friday morning, his father suffered a heartattack, and passed away on New Years Day.

Nothing in life prepared me for this, Damien said in a phone in-terview with The Blue and Gold, on the condition that he remainedanonymous. The only thought I had was to make sure that my mumwas okay. He cancelled his exchange, and subsequently decidedagainst applying for a leave of absence. My father wouldnt havewanted me to do that, he said simply. Against the advice of friends,he applied for Modified Term 2, which starts on 21 February and isspecially tailored for accountancy students for them to completetheir internships.

Bidding

Every semester, each student goes through the challenge of bidding,which quantifies in e-dollars how much you really desire to enrol ina particular course. Courses are bided for through a system known asthe Bidding Online System, or BOSS.

Everybody is supposed to bid, said Mr Tan Lee Chuan, Director ofthe Office of Registrar, during an interview with The Blue and Gold.The current and former presidents of SMUSA, Ryan Tan and SophiaLo, were also present. No student should be exempt from bidding,except in very special circumstances, he said.

The first phase for bidding of courses, called BOSS 1, closed on 22

November last year. In order to secure his courses for next semester,Damien had to request for courses to enrol in from the Registrar. Un-der the guidelines stipulated in the BOSS Handbook, students whoneed to enrol off-line - meaning, not going through BOSS needto have their respective schools approve the students request beforeRegistrar can proceed with enrolling him in the particular class. Hesent an email to Prof Themin Suwardy, the Associate Dean of theSchool of Accountancy, to assist with his request.

Damien mentioned that the School of Accountancys adminiscontacted him a few days after his request to inform him threquest to enrol in three courses - all advanced accountancyes - had been approved, with a total e-dollar cost of $153.10.then when he learnt that there was a university-wide poli

states that any student who successfully enrols for any class is charged an e-dollar amount equivalent to the highest bid, asan administrative levy equivalent to 20% of that bid. (As of thof this writing, however, this guideline was not found on OAstudents online portal, but is still available in the BOSS Hanwhich is available for download.)

Even with extenuating circumstances, a special

bidding policy applies to students who enrol for

courses out of the bidding window. Owen Tan re-

ports.

Love for students?

COVER STORY

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Dr Gillian Phua, his cous-in - also a medical doc-tor who was on duty thenight his father was ad-mitted to hospital - be-lieved that he had beenunfairly treated. She thenwrote a letter to the StraitsTimes forum, criticis-ing the schools strict ad-herence to a set of rulesthat showed the studentno compassion. We canunderstand if the [20%]

penalty was imposed onsomeone who procrasti-nated till the last minuteto arrange for module se-lection, she wrote, butmy cousins circumstanc-es were entirely unfore-seen.

Although the Straits Times did not publish the letter in its print edi-tion, it was published in the online edition. Since then, it has beenshared by over 400 people on their Facebook walls, as of the time ofwriting.

The letter also triggered Akesh Abhilash, a law student, to write aletter to President Arnoud de Meyer, requesting him to look into thematter. Prof de Meyer replied that there was clearly a need for [theuniversity] to improve its service level, and that they would lookinto the matter.

The levy and how it works

The 20% extra in e-dollars that has to be paid in the basket of eventsclassified as exceptional circumstances is officially called the admin-istrative levy. Every student has to go through the bidding system,even in exceptional circumstances, in order to enrol for the class.The 20%, in fact, is based on the historical trend of bidding data that

we have, said Mr Tan, the Director of Office of Registrar.

He clarified that the levy is not a penalty, but more like a fail-safe toensure that the student gets the bid for the class which he intends toenrol in. Since every student must go through the bidding system toensure that he can get his courses, the administrative levy is like theexpected e-dollar extra that a student has to pay to ensure that he suc-cessfully gets the course in the next bidding window.

There is no way to tell, at the end of BOSS 2 [the next bidding win-dow] if you will be able to successfully enrol in the course, saidMr Tan. So, the levy is to guarantee that he will be able to get the

course. In fact, thlevy is an arbitrary in some courses, stin these exceptioncumstances may hhigher levy, he said

In one of the emarespondences to Dsaid Mr Tan, the lemistakenly interas a penalty, when this was not the cas

The reason for such a policy, he simple: there is traency and accountAll enrolments are ed clearly in the BOresults database.

Since all students must go through the bidding system to enroclass, this is fair to the rest of the students, since his enrollingclass is through orthodox means and does not deprive anothson of a seat unfairly.

Resolution

Damien subsequently met with Registrar, and after some discuwas refunded the administrative levy that had been imposed owhich was e$22.55.

This may not seem like a lot of [e-dollars], he said, But it cial to me, especially because I am approaching my final year acourses are only going to become harder to bid for.

When asked if he was happy with the situation, Damien bethat the refund given to him was a fair result, but wondered icould have been an alternative to the bidding system for stuwho might find themselves in such circumstances.

It wont be fair if I had been slotted into a class in SMU ansequently deprived another student of their rightful slot, Dsaid. But is it necessarily fair that I have to pay an extra 20% course as well as paying the highest bid, when I might have that same course for a lower price if I had bid for it in the firsdow?

For Damien, the answer to that question makes scant differethe fact that his father had passed on. You have no idea, hhow much I would rather be on exchange and be happy, rathtalk about e-dollars right now.

e$

Special case bidding

To guarantee enrolment in a particular class in special circumstances,

Registrar places a bid on your behalf into the system equal to:

This means that all bidding records, whether normal or exceptional, are

recorded in the BOSS system, for transparency and accountability.

+Highest bid of

previous window Administrativelevy of 20%

COVER STORY

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Love for Singapore and SMU?

When having lunch with afellow Singaporean stu-dent, our conversations wouldusually be lamenting about thedisgustingly hot and humid sin-

gapore weather; (especially howour makeup melts away as soonas we step out of the house), andcomplaining about the challeng-es of school life with our com-petitive fellow SMU students.Mostly, the little complaints thatwe have, may not put Singaporein the best light.

A recent lunch with my ex-change Buddy, Cecilia Virolifrom Bocconi University in Mi-lan, however, made me realisethat our little island does havesome things that we should beappreciative of.

The Singaporean weather, forone, is actually adored by manyexchange students, especiallythose who experience severewinters almost six months ofthe year. In Singapore, bBeingblessed by the sun all year roundallows one to go for a run in thepark or go swimming in thewarm waters of the beach any-time one feels like it. Such an

option would not be possible inother countries with their coldsnowy winters. In Europe forexample, students who wish toswim would either have to takea plane to another island far-away or make do with a coupleof hours in the heated swim-ming pool.

The Singaporean beaches, mayneither be as pristine nort tur-

quoise as we wish it to be, butthey add to the beauty of the is-land and are very accessible tous. They are the exotic venues forof fantastic beach parties such

as the Siloso Beach Party on NewYears Eve or the music concertsthat take place throughouth outthe year. Cecilia attended theNYE party this year; iIt was her

first time at a countdown partyat the beach, unlike back in Ita-ly, where the cold wouldnt per-mit it.she usually spends it withher friends in their apartments,drinking wine, before a hot fire.As recounted by Cecilia , Theonly moment in which we tryto get out from a closed environ-ment is probably when we makefireworks, but in half an hourthe cold is really unbearable.Spending the New Years at the

Beach was really sensational forme, I still cannot believe that itis January and I am going out inShorts and T-Shirts. In Italy, nowits time to wear fashionableboots, skirts, coats and woollenjackets.

The Singaporean students. Thecompetiveness among Singapor-ean students has frankly beenquite a turn-off among fellow

Singaporean students, for someof my friends and me at least. ForCecilia however, she was reallyimpressed by how focussed eachand every student was, in semi-

nars and in doing assignments.,In her home university whereclasses are bigger,only a hand-ful of students are really focusedon what they are studying, while

many seem to only want to havefun. Learning in such smallclasses facilitates paying atten-tion and keeping up to date withthe subject. Nobody wants tolag behind or feel less preparedthan the others. Thats what isstimulating me in studying ev-ery day, doing my best, being cu-rious, asking, reading more andmore. Being competitive stimu-lates efficient studying, and also,because you know that you are

dealing with other students whoare very prepared, working ingroups becomes a pleasure, saysCecilia, about her experiencestudying in SMU thus far.

The Singaporean safety. WhenCecilia first came to SMU, shewas very surprised to see stu-dents leave their bags and lap-tops in the seminar rooms orlibrary while they go grab some-

thing to eat. In Italy or othropean countries , one guarantee that when youback your stuff will still beAs Cecilia admits Maybe

be, but if I were you I wilmy laptop and wallet weven if only going to thefor five minutes. This rand safety which we ta

granted gapore, us to our alone out a piworry,or home at 4am morninga great

of clubbing. However, it haps one of the most impyet underappreciated aspSingaporean life.

Were accustomed at lookthe glass as half empty;.Thjust some of the many aspSingaporean life which Iinteresting when seen fromferent perspective, and I heven touched on the toSingaporean food yet. Fo

of us, having lived in Sinall our lives, we perhaphave a skewed view of whSingaporean life is like: hmid, stressful. However, pwhen we choose to look half full or from the perspfrom an exchange studewill be able to better appSingapore for all that it is.

In Singapore, Being blessed by the sun all year

round allows one to go for a run in the park or

go swimming in the warm waters of the beach

anytime one feels like it.

Singapore: In the eyes of anexchange studentBy Deborah Lim

COVER STORY

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Last semester, I was very luckyto have become friends withSerena, an exchange studentfrom Berlin. Since we both didnot know anyone in the class wewere in, we ended up sitting nextto each other. We began talkingduring the break and I casuallyasked her how her experience

in Singapore had been so far. Itfeels wonderful! said Serena,This is actually my first trip toAsia. Im so excited! Ive read somuch about the rich and diverseculture of this continent, that Iknew from the very beginningthat this is where I wanted to gofor my exchange program. AndSingapore is an awesome placeto start exploring Asia.

So what do you like most aboutSingapore so far? I asked.

Lets see, paused Serena, Chan-gi airport, the beaches, the tropi-cal weather. She began tickingoff points from her fingers. Doyou know what a change it isfrom the cold and the snow ofCentral Europe? she said grin-ning from ear to ear. Also, thepeople here seem really friendly,everyone from the airport staffto the random stranger on thestreet who I ask for directions.

What do you think about

SMU?

Its nice. Its really modern! Thefaculty here is quite impressive.I mean, I have an Italian prof, aJapanese prof, an Indian prof anda Chinese prof! Its nice to seethat SMU has professors of suchdifferent nationalities, and itsvery interesting to get to knowtheir perspectives. Plus, its sucha relief to be taught by actual

professors and not TAs like someof the universities back at home.The classes here are quite big! Imean in my home university inMaastricht, Netherlands, thereare never more than 10-12 peo-ple in one class.

What? I said, I thought SMU

was famous for its low student-teacher ratio.

Maybe as compared to oth-er Asian universities. Oh, youknow what I like best about theclasses here? The professors ac-tually allow you to eat here!

The semester progressed. Serenaand I became very good friends.We always helped each otherwherever we could for the classwe were taking together. Westudied for pop quizzes and mid-terms and even for the finals to-gether. Not to mention, we hadtwo sets of group presentationswhich we had to work on to-gether.

Before we knew it, the fall semes-ter came to an end.

Remember how I asked youhow you liked Singapore in ourvery first class together, Serena?I asked.

Yeah.

So has your opinion of thecountry changed, now thatyouve been here for nearly sixmonths?

Well, I still love Singapore. Ithink its a really lively and vi-brant city due to its ethnic diver-sity, and it has a good mix of tra-dition and technology. But the

people here seem so stressed out.So far as SMU is concerned, I amvery glad I had an opportunityto study here for a semester. In-teracting with so many studentsfrom different racial and ethnicbackgrounds was quite an ex-perience. From the outside, thestudents seem equally stressed

and fiercely competitive. Noone seems to want to help oneanother and for some exchangestudents, it was really hard mak-ing friends with Singaporeans inthe beginning. But once you getto know them, theyre so nice! Ilike how they dont let the stressof university get to them andend up dancing in the concourseor playing the drums or gettingtogether for a game of floorball!I made some really good friendshere. And I had many unforget-table experiences here. In fact,Im thinking of coming backnext summer...

I hope Serena had a good timein Singapore and at SMU, andI hope shell consider comingback again. Well be more thanhappy to welcome her back!

Reections of SMU and SingaporeBy Prianthi Roy

COVER STORY

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no idea, he said, how much Iwould rather be on exchangeand be happy, rather than talkabout e-dollars right now.

Our Secret Mission: Escaping From Solitud

By Wang Sha

The topic on how to spend Chinese New Years Eve is not common.Renren, a social networking site, was created by Chinese overseasstudents. An updated status in that social networking site is as fol-lows,

Attention to those who will spend New Years Eve at home: pleasebehave yourself! Dont show off the gourmet food you enjoy, dontupload the photos describing the crazy night you spent. Couples,dont flaunt the honeyed words your conjugal felicity. At this pointof the time, on the other side of the ocean, frontline fighters like us---aging, lonely, miserable--- are striving for something.

This reflects the yearning of International Chinese students to spendChinese New Year back in China. Singapores New Year traditions aredifferent from ours. Examples of such differences include servingYusheng as a symbol of good luck, the presence of brown Niangao(usually white in China) and so on.

I had never heard of it [Chingay parade] till my friend invitedhelp distribute rice to the spectators said Hu Nianbo, a yeardent.

However, there are always some students who are ready for thsion to combat this solitude. Ren Yu has just made a booking laysia with two of her friends. I need to force myself to escasuffering, she said. They are going to visit the Twin Toweshop to their hearts content.

Similarly, Li Zhen and Hu Nianbo have made plans to go to kwith their other friends. Sun Ya joked that she would love t

Marina Bay Sands so that she could have the swimming pooherself.

Some others choose to participate in festivals where they meer international students. In a Chinese Scholars and Students Festival held in NUS on 16th January 2011, Xu Zhaoxi, perfGuzheng as a member of the ensemble of traditional instruand mentioned that it was tough preparing for the show. Despchallenge, she says, This is my first time joining such an evSingapore. I have always been seeking for an opportunity to dmy knowledge on Guzheng, and thus performing during thwas a very meaningful celebration to me. However, Lanlan,3 scholar, preferred a quiet celebration by watching the spritival at home.

When I woke up the other day, I could not help but feeling ling back to my home town to celebrate New Year with m

ily. When searching for air tickets, the cheapest singleto my hometown Nanjing was nearly 2000 dollars,

heng sighed. However, some fortunate ones like Duwould be flying back to their hometown.

Despite the many options of how we could cto spend the New Year, including circums

when international students such as Cheare invited to their distant relatives hou

Singapore, it is simply not the same whefamily is not beside you. Without having

made dumplings, the noise of firecrack

New Years Eve and getting our red packetnese New Year does not feel the same.

Love for Chinese New Year?

COVER STORY

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By Phoebe Luo (SMU Verts)

Every day, we get inundated with campaign messagesabout what we should do to save the Earth. Take thepublic transport instead of drive; Bring your own baginstead of using plastic bag, and some less conventionalones like Dont eat the sharks fin served at Chinese wed-dings. Pick any random person on the streets and he ismost likely to be an expert on environmental awareness.

But has the increase in awareness translated into more ac-tions taken by Singaporeans? Two local activists, OliviaChoong from Green Drinks Singapore and Wilson Angfrom ECO Singapore, feel that despite the surge of green

hype, Singaporeans are still not doing enough.

Speaking at SMUs inaugural Green Roundtable last Fri-day, Wilson argues that Singaporeans are still stuck inthe broken escalator mentality. The broken escalatoris an anecdote about two people who were on an escala-tor when it suddenly stopped working. They waited, notmoving an inch, for someone to fix the broken escalator.All they had to do was to walk up the escalator.

This simple anecdote neatly encapsulated the mentalityof most Singaporeans towards environmental activism.We think that environmental problems are too big forus to solve, but really, all it takes is simple actions suchas changing your own consumption behaviors, says Wil-son.

According to Olivia, Singaporeans are enthusiastic inwanting to do something for the environment but usuallythe enthusiasm fizzles out after some time. She says, Of-ten, I get people telling me that they love what Im doingand that they want to get involved, but after a while thesepeople get busy and I dont hear from them.

She believes that the problem lies with people thinkingthat being environmental activists involves too muchsacrificing for ones art. But Olivia insists that suchthinking cannot be further from the truth. As a founderof Green Drinks, all she needed was to find a rental-free space to host

her events and publicize them for free through social media. Only ona few occasions did she have to pay out of her own pockets. She sayslight-heartedly if a lazy person like me can do something, anyonecan do the same.

The speakers also fielded questions about whether the Singaporegovernment is doing enough to support the environmental groupsand their causes. Having collaborated with government agencies onseveral projects, Wilson offered a few interesting insights about thegovernments modus operandi and how NGOs can convince the gov-ernment to do more.

Singapore government likes to play it safe. They prefer to promise and over-deliver. When they see that something is su

ful, they would want to join in the action. If not, they will await-and-see attitude. His advice was then to prove that youwill benefit Singaporeans, such as helping them to save costsyou will have a higher chance of getting the government to syour cause.

The SMU Green Roundtable is an informal forum where local envirtal leaders are invited to speak on pertinent, and sometimes controenvironmental issues. It is jointly organized by SMU Verts and indactivist-students. The next Green Roundtable will be held at the enterm.

Are Singaporeans doing enough?Love for the environment?

Photo: Chen Jun

COVER STORY

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5. Pretty WomanShe walked off the street, into his life and stole his heart.

Pretty Woman is a 1990 film of a man in a legal, but hurtful, business who needs an escortsocial events. He ends up hiring a beautiful prostitute he bumps into along the street... onlycrazily in love with her.

Best quote -Vivian: I want the fairy tale.

4. Sleepless in SeaWhat if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only one

A recently-widowed mans (Sam) son calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a pThousands of miles away, a reporter, Annie, hears the talk show and immediately falls in lov

Sam. She subsequently sets out for Seattle to find h

Best quote -Annies mother: ...then he held my hand...at one point I looked down and couldwhich fingers were his and which were mine. And I knew. Ya know? Magic. It was magic...

wed be together forever and that everything would be won

3. The GraduateThis is Benjamin. Hes a little worried about his future.

The Graduate is a 1967 film about a young and talented college graduate who embarks on awith the wife of his fathers business partner. Along the way, he becomes increasingly disilluwith the adult world and the future his parents have planned for him, and finds himself fallhis lovers daughter.

Best quote - Benjamin: Mrs. Robinson, youre trying to seduce me... arent you?

2. Jerry MagEverybody loved him... Everybody disapp

Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise, about a sports agent who has a moral epiphais fired for expressing it. He then decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an indep

with the only athlete who stays wi

Best quote -Dorothy: Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at

1. Love ActuallyThe ultimate romantic comedy.

Love Actually is a 2003 film that follows the story of eight very different couples. It deals witlove lives in various loosely and interrelated tales, all set during a frantic month before Chrin London, England.

Best quote -Judy: All I want for Christmas is you.

Looking to spend a quiet evening with your better half? Bored, or looking to take a break from schoolwork? Manmath

our movie writer at The BLUe AND GOLD, presents ve of the most popular romantic movies of all time.

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Favourite Love SongsLove songs have been flooding the airwaves ever since we could remember, and many of them are the backdrop to an epic love story wonce had or that special memory we still cherish. However, not all of them are particularly pleasant to the ears, and some are just dowright cheesy.

Being the self-proclaimed experts that we are, TheBLUeANDGOLD presents to you (in convenient Venn diagram format) which songs are rtic winners, which songs ply their romance with a bit too much cheese, and which songs should just stay out of the picture altogethe

Closerby Travis

Closer is a song that embodiesthat sweet warm feeling you get

when youre with the person youlove. The lyrics are not overboard

to the point of being tacky andoverall melody is smooth,

pleasant and, in a word,SWEET. Stolen

by DashboardConfessional

Dashboard Confessionals did a goodjob blending alternative rock and indiemusic to produce a beautiful love songthat should be popular among young

hearts. A perfectly sweet way toexpress your feelings to that

special someone. Heroby Enrique

IglesiasEnrique huskily whispering Let me beyour hero at the beginning of the song

unleashes a wave of cheesy goose bumpsdown your spine. Overall though, its a pretty

good. The arrangement is well thought outto include all the hallmarks of a good

love song a soft, gentle melody; and alatino hombre like Enrique Iglesias

serenading it to you.

Youre

Beautifulby James Blunt

This song is one we all would love to hate, butits on every playlist. Despite the unimaginative

lyrics, Yourre Beautiful still manages to captivatelisteners with its dreamy, romantic, and addictiveguitar melody of guitar strings accompanied by

James Blunt. Although we would never didfigure out what his plan was to attract thebeautiful creature he saw on subway, we

dont care, and continue to play it atour weddings.

Eternal

Flameby The Bangles

Some say this is a classic, but EternalFlame does not seem to burn with quite

as much passion as before, perhapsbecause our generation generally

appreciates gentler vocals.

Best

In Meby Blue

The lyrics say it all. Backed up bygood vocals from the boys of BLUE,Best In Me could easily be used as a

statement to the great friendshipand relationship that you share

with that special person.

This I

Promise Youby N Sync

One of the few boy band love

es that can actually stand the testtime and tackiness. The musicalompaniment to the song is verymantic and its lyrics also tell ofmmitment and everlasting love.

A popular song choice forweddings these days.

TheMan WhoCant Be Moved

by The ScriptWhat could be more romantic tha

who continuously pines on a sidewagirl he broke up with? As absurd as t

notion may be, its the way Danny ODbrings out the exasperation of his l

wanting to reunite with his belovedwillingness to stay at the same sp

another chance to meet. Definitugs right at your heartstring

Total

Eclipse ofThe Heart

by Bonnie TylerGreat for a karaoke session with your

best mates, but its perhaps a good ideato steer away from this song if you are

planning to serenade a loved one. Ifthe music arrangement isnt scary

enough, try watching themusic video.

AintGonna Lose

Youby Brett Dennen

Blessed with a unique voice, BrettDennen masterfully expresses feelings of

longing and determination. The beautiful,slightly emotional melody is a greatcomplement to entire arrangement. Aslightly bittersweet song that would

be a perfect accompaniment tosnuggle in on a rainy day.

MyHeart Will

Go Onby Celine Dion

Few will fail to recognize the sisong from Titanic, and the tra

story between two lovers. Probthe ideal end for a relationship

lyrics are romantic and powedelivered by the ever excel

Celine Dion..

By Deborah Lim

Design by Melvin Tiong

COVER STORY

The BLUe AND GO


14/40

Is your Valentine a bookworm? Wondering what to give her this February? Dont know what books

read or buy during the season of love? The BLUe AND GOLDs Prianthi Roy gives some recommendations.

Daddy Long LegsDaddy-Long-legs by Jean Webster is a must read. Written in 1912,

Webster traces the story of the blossoming of first love between an

orphaned college student and the man who changed her life through

a series of letters.

Jerusha Judy Abbott was raised in the John Grier Home. At the age

of eighteen, one of the orphanages trustees decides to pay for her

college. In return, Judy must write monthly letters to her anony-

mous benefactor who she affectionately addresses as Daddy-Long-

Legs. Judy narrates all her experiences in college, in the hostel, and

during the holidays, which she spends at Lock Willow Farm, where

she meets the charming Master Jervie.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeares most celebrat-ed tragedies. The play revolves around two young, star-crossd lov-

ers determined to be united in love and fight a world determined to

keep them apart.

Romeo Montague and young Juliet Capulet belong to two feuding

families of Verona. Forbidden as their love is, the young couple re-

solve to overcome the many obstacles in the way of their love. Unfor-

tunately, things dont go accordingly to plan, culminating in a tragic

climax. The Montague-Capulet feud is finally resolved, but at a ter-

rible price. If Shakespeares original play is too heavy for you, we rec-

ommend the simplified version by Charles and Mary Lamb.

Love StoryLove means never having to say youre sorry.

Erich Segals short novel will forever hold a special place in our

hearts. Published in 1970 on Valentines Day, Love Story is the touch-

ing tale of Oliver Barrett IV, a boy from a rich and influential family,

and Jennifer Cavilleri, the daughter of an Italian-American pastry-

maker. The couple fall in love and get married without the approval

of Olivers father. Shortly afterwards, Jenny is diagnosed to be

nally ill, and the two struggle financially and emotionally t

with her impending death. The story concludes emotionally

iver and his father are reconciled over Jennys death. This o

tear-jerker, whether you are fifteen or fifty. It is a short nov

speaks volumes in every line. We also recommend the sequ

vers Story.

Gone With the WindThis 1937 Pulitzer Prize Winner needs no introduction. A ti

classic by Margaret Mitchell, the story revolves around the

Scarlett O Hara, tracing her tumultuous relationship with

er-charming Rhett Butler and her undying, unrequited love fo

ley Wilkes, all against the background of turbulent times dur

Civil War in America. Scarlett is portrayed as a strong, wilful

woman unafraid to take drastic steps to preserve her beloveplantations. The complex and layered character of Rhett Bu

sure to leave the reader baffled and wanting more, as will the

istry and growing romance between Rhett and Scarlett.

To Sir, With LoveWhat better way to experience a romance than through E.R. B

waites autobiographical novel about a black teacher gaining

tance in a white-dominated school in Londons East End?

Written in 1959, To Sir, With Love tells the touching tale o

Ricky Braithwaite, a young black RAF pilot takes up a job a

ondary school teacher. His innovative teaching methods are in

rejected by students and staff alike, but soon prove to be popu

develops a strong filial bond with many of his students as w

a romantic relationship with one of the teachers, Gillian. Th

has a surprising feel-good effect, and explores the multiple co

of love beyond race, love between a man and a woman, and, m

portantly, the love between a teacher and his students.

COVER STORY

The BLUe AND GOLD14


15/40

Simply Se7en-sational

Originating on the street corners and byways of New York and Cal-ifornia during the 1970s, Hip-hop has taken the main world bystorm, growing into the global dance phenomenon it is today

Here at SMU, Eurhythmix gives us a taste of all the excitement Hip-hop has to offer, including a sensational performance in their latestproduction, Se7en. We convinced a few performers to give us an ex-clusive behind-the-scenes peek into the making of Se7en.

Melvin TionA 3rd year double degree sin Social Science and BuMelvin Tiong is a memEurhythmix, previous Murector for Samba Masala,designer for SMUSAICsroom, and a designer for th& Gold! Aside from CCsuits, the Arts veteran stiltime to pursue freelance gdesign, video editing, aning and producing dance

For anyone out there in nthat extra creative edge, bto contact him!

1) You clearly have a passionArts. What draws you to it?Ive always found joy in eemotions making the ausay wow!. Both creativityand performance-based arme to do that. Having beefor so long now, Im certafound my calling in life.

2) Any future dance aspiratiNo, because honestly, Ispectacularly fantastic atBut I definitely want to wsome kind of artiste. Sincelikely include musical or tcal performing, the dancerience will really come in

3) A question just for fun: Wproving stage presence a cotory reason for your bleacheImproving life presence woverarching reason for bing my hair.

Nicholas PhuaThe outgoing President of the8th Eurhythmix executive com-mittee, year 3 Economics stu-dent Nicholas Phua played therole of pseudo emcee in Se7en.The audience will recall hiswacky appearances betweenscenes and nifty dance moves,gamely donning various outra-geous costumes including afros,

dreadlocks, and cowboy hats.

1) The concept for se7en was different what we would expect fromHip-hop concerts. What was the in-spiration behind it?We wanted to put up a Hip HopDance musical instead of justdance performances. So we triedsomething fresh, and challengedourselves by adapting the SnowWhite and the Seven Dwarvesfairy tale into a modern setting.

We also believe that danceshould be something that is en-joyed, so we injected humorouselements into our production.

2) You wore a couple of pretty loud& interesting outfits during theshow! Which was your favorite?Any apprehensions on your part?My favorite outfit was definitelythe first one, the gold top withthe afro. Nope, I did not have anyapprehension, nor did I feel awk-ward. On stage, I am a performerand entertainer regardless of myrole, and I felt happy that peoplefound it comical. I received goodfeedback after the show, and Iwas more than happy to bringmy afro around to take pictureswith my friends after the show,and strangers were still laugh-ing!

Cheryl HoCheryl Ho is a 3rd year Accoun-tancy student and the outgoingFinance Secretary of Eurhyth-mix. She has been with the clubsince her freshman year, andagreed to share her thoughts onse7en with us.

1) This is your 3rd dance productionwith E-mix. How does se7en com-pare to the previous 2 (intersect10n& RAW!)?The concept behind Se7en wasquite different from the rest,where we worked the itemsaround the story instead of theother way round, like we didwith Intersect10n, and RAW didnot have a storyline at all. Therewas a lot more acting and char-acterization involved, whichwas quite a novel experience,and it was pretty fun seeing thedancers taking on their variousroles.

Although Se7en was shorter inlength than the other produc-tions, I think it made up for it interms of entertainment value!

2) Se7en was more of a dance mu-sical (or dance-ical) adapted fromDisneys famous Snow White, asopposed to the usual dance concertsweve seen. What was your favoritepart of the performance?

Pretty sure some of the acting bythe dwarves, Queen, and Princewas quite epic, but one particu-lar scene that stands out for meis the shoes scene, because of theawesome shoe costumes thatthe dancers wore (made fromscratch!) and the hanging shoedisplay. The music was also real-ly amusing (I dont know muchabout clothes, but my shoes arefierce!).

Melvin

Nicholas

Che

By Lydia Toh

Photos: Chen Jinfu/Julian Ong

The BLUe AND GO


16/40

Love for the arts

Nueva Vida - picturesAbove, and bottom Caderas Latinas wdance performances.

Far left, top: SMU Prdent Arnoud de Mer with Amanda KhSMU alumnus

Left: Stephanie Chen, year student, dances wSim Chin Ta, recen

graduated from SMU.

All photos are courtesyHans Stevanus Maryo

COVER STORY

The BLUe AND GOLD16


17/40

What better way to con-clude the Love Issuethan with the insights of ourresident love guru, Mr Vadi. Letme attempt to summarize theaccomplishments this extraordi-nary individual has managed toachieve thus far.

Mr Vadi, who used to be a full-time economics lecturer in Raf-fles Junior College, is now purs-ing his Juris Doctorate in SMU.Not only has he ignited his lovefor learning, but he also remainsa prominent figure in the artsscene, where he has acted, script-ed, and hosted numerous shows.Some of you may remember thefamous line from his M1 ad-vertisement that won the Gold

Award for viewers choice in2007 Dei! Mumbai da! India!

He recalled, I always wantedto pursue law during my under-graduate years in National Uni-versity of Singapore. However, Iwas rejected, probably becauseI spoke too much during the in-terview, he joked. He explainedthat practicing law has alwaysbeen a childhood dream for him,

Shobana Nadaraja discovers more about the love guruin SMU.

and his role model, lawyer KalaMohan, inspired him to one daybecome a lawyer who wouldmake the law accessible for thecommon man.

When asked on the differenceof being a student and a teach-er, he replied that teaching iseasy; you give students advice.Its the learning which is harderbecause you have to follow theadvice that you previously gaveto students, such as doing their

work consistently.

However, it was mere coinci-dence that he became involvedin drama groups such as Ravin-dran Drama Group, Blue River,and Pictures Mirror Theatre. At

a young age, Mr Vadi agreed totake up a role in his elder broth-ers play, but only after a castmember had fallen ill prior to

the actual play. It was that fortu-itous introduction which turnedout to be an enlightenment pro-cess leading him to realize hislove for the arts. His passion hasalso inspired him to organizeand execute a charity drama, anevent that may help him to clearhis 80 CSP hours in SMU.

However, he does concede thechallenges of being a full time

actor, jobs in the arts are usu-ally on a contractual basis, andother talents like directing andwriting are necessary to supple-ment ones income. At the end ofthe day, arts can be a passion butwe must always have that oneother job.

Growing up with 6 siblings, MrVadi is a family-oriented per-son. Besides teaching, learning,and being involved in the artsscene, he has one other greatlove his wife Ms Vikneshwari.He was constantly praising hiswife during the interview, andwe learned that she is also in-volved in the arts scene as a clas-sical dancer, singer, and Indianorchestra conductor.

When did he fall for his wife?He relates an incident whenhe needed to convince his wife(then friend) to act in a play thathe had directed and scripted.She relented to his request, andhe proudly tells us how the play

was saved after she cleverered up for a professionaltor who had forgotten hiI decided to direct her

also after directing her iplay, he says, but laugadds, but it is more like shrecting me!

He is also contemplatibringing his wife to Sentsorts World or Marina Bayfor Valentines day this yhow he usually plans for tines Day I like to briwife to places that we hav

been to before he replied siastically.

With so much on his plafeel it must be difficult toage his time so efficientVadi, however, takes aphilosophical approach manages me rather thamanaging time. Somthere are so many thingin a day, and I wonder hogoing to handle them. I jtime take its course and will fall into place. Somthere will be hiccups hethere, but I feel that someare predestined

As we conclude the intervleaves us with a favorite Dont take life too secause you arent going to of it alive anyway. To thstudents who are out therplaining about all theirlems with school, let us rber Mr. Vadi, teacher, sartiste, loving husband,

man who lives his life oprinciple.

Dont take life too seriously,

cause you arent going to get out

of it alive anyway.

Teaching is easy; you give students

advice. Its the learning which is

harder because you have to follow

the advice that you previously gave,such as doing work consistently.

LoveWisely!

COVER STORY

The BLUe AND GO


18/40

Pros:- Spacious and clean, unlike yourapartment.

- Great climate control and light-ing. Lighting is adjustable forthose romantic situations, or ifyou arent too proud of the per-son you are making out with.

- Cheap date location becauseyou can turn it into a temporarymovie hall. Warning: Doing thistoo many times will induce mur-derous rage in partner.

- Scientifically proven to in-crease your confidence for classparticipation in that very sem-inar room for a period of 24hours.

- As long you check the classschedule, chances are low thatsomeone is going to see you and

upload a video of you and yoursignificant other engaging inbaby talk.

- This has to be on the list of ev-ery college student around theworld: Make out in a collegeseminar room, possibly to get ridof bad memories created there -like the time you flunked a finalexam, or farted just as the Profmuted the video.

Seminar Room

GRADE: A-Just to make that moment truly a class apart.

Cons:- Only third on the list of WorstPlaces for a Romantic Date afterMcDonalds and of course, yourapartment.

- Cant always be accessed dur-ing the day due to the numberof classes, and it is closed by 12PM. You can try and squeezein 15-minute sessions betweenclasses if you want though.

- Partner might be reminded ofthe meeting / class / graduationceremony they are missing in or-der to make out. This may lead tosecond thoughts or worse, thatlong talk about OMG-what-am-I-doing-with-my-life-you-have-ruined-me-[Insert sobs here].

- You need at least 3 people tobook the seminar room. Makesure youre comfortable with the

third person, or its just going tobe awkward. Plus, what do youfill in for the reason?

Pros:- Great natural environment andamazing climate control. Youcan feel all outdoorsy and oldschool romantic without thepneumonia and hypothermia.

- Always accessible. Great forthose late-night secret romances(whether said romance is alco-hol-induced or not).

- Musicians are always practic-

ing here, so you might just havea solid background score to yourremake of that 80s college movieyou always wanted to live out.

- A lot of space. Even the bench-es are mammoth sized, so youwont feel guilty about eatingthe last meal of every month atMcDonalds.

- At night, the lighting looks and

Big StepsGRADE: A

Have your own starry night here, anytime you want.

Campus GreenGRADE: B

Your feelings are only natural,so why shouldnt your sur-

roundings be?

Pros:- Great natural environment.Works really well if your signif-icant other is one of those out-doorsy tree-hugger types (Rare,but they do exist in SMU)

- Can be accessed at anytime. [Iwas going to say Just like yourGirlfriend/Boyfriend but I real-ized that this is a nice newspa-

per and that would be inappro-priate].

- The closest thing that you willget to those romantic outdoorpicnic dates you plan whicheventually end up being a mov-ie at a seedy theatre followed byMcDonalds.

Cons:- No privacy. You mightyoure into PDA now, butill that video hits YouTugoes viral. And YouTubeing optimistic, if you knowI mean.

- Extremely dangerous student rush hour. You hidea how much moment

SMU student late for clabuild up, and you dont wbe at the receiving end of i

- No climate control. Youwant your partner gettinat least not because of the

feels amazing. Sorry guys,castic joke or sexual innhere.

Cons:- Can make you feel reallyin comparison. Trust me, nof you want certain partsfeeling small in this situat

- Not exactly the most coable place. I mean, its w

benches and stairs (but how still better than yourment.) Not the best plwake up the morning ather, in case things go furt

- Not much privacy and itat the SIS building: mthat the videos going toon YouTube before you cwait-a-minute-is-that-dueo-taping-us?

By Sukanto Lakson Chanda with additional reporting by Shikhar S

COVER STORY

Grading SMUs Makeout Spot

The BLUe AND GOLD18


19/40

SwimmingPoolGRADE: B+

Getting a little hot and heavy?Heres the way to cool of.

GSRGRADE: A+

When people in SMU tell youto get a room, this is the onetheyre talking about.

Pros:- You only need two people to

book it, and trust me; two is themagic number here. Its alsoaccessible after midnight. (NoYour Girlfriend/Boyfriend jokeshere.)

- A lot of privacy. TIP: Place yourlaptop in a manner such thatpeople can see it through theGSR window. Have it open to apage containing a lot of math-ematical equations. No one willdisturb you, ever.

- You can use the TV and set upa cozy and cheap movie date.Please refer to Seminar room forhazards in doing so.

Sofas in theLibraryGRADE: C+

Add your story to the cotion.

Pros:- Really comfortable. I gbest sleep of my life in thweeks when the libraropen 24 hours. Just makyou dont go to sleep whi

girlfriend/boyfriend is wfor you to compliment kissing skills.

Cons:- No privacy WHATER. People dont exactly front row seat to two peospecting each others oraties with their tongues. Ifriends tell you otherwisneed to find new friendfile a restraining order.

- Get ready for a lot of judtal looks, snickers (not tholate, you idiots), wonoises, unplanned highpeople whispering slut their breath (Note the standard here), and/or cflashes.

- People who are regularlylibrary are also the ones wry 4.0 GPAs. As a result, ththe ones who are going toate and bag a salary with

zeroes on it. Im not sayinyour partner is a gold-diggjust saying they could that they can do better.

Photos are courtesy of Hannus

- Great view (through the win-dow, you pervert), dependingon which GSR you book. My rec-ommendation? PR 4.15 in the li-brary.

- Pretty comfortable. Ive heardsome GSR rooms in the SIS evenhave couches. Now Ill forgiveyou if you stop reading this andspeed-dial your loved one to

meet you there ASAP.

Cons:- Some GSR rooms arent com-pletely soundproof. And somepeople are actually trying tostudy. And study pressure in

SMU often leads to pent up rage.And on average, there are about2.7 sharp objects on a college stu-dent at any time. You know theimplications.

- Most GSR rooms are prettysmall, and as close as youll getto your apartment when youreon college grounds. In this case,home away from home probably

isnt a good thing.

Pros:- The Cool Factor. Its a pool, andyoure making out. If you everhad the secret dream of becom-ing a rapper, this is the closestyoull get without the exagger-ated accent, unregistered hand-guns and tax evasion.

- As long as the weathers nice,youve got the perfect make-outenvironment. Plus, the chairsaround the pool are pretty com-fy and inclined at just the perfectangle.

- If anyone sees you, you can al-ways say you were performingmouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

- If you can sneak your otherhalf into the same locker roomas you, youll be happy to knowthat the shower cubicles can ac-commodate two people.

Cons:- Not the best place to come ifyou arent exactly fit. Its prettytough to impress your partnerwith your beer belly when thereare guys around who bench-press Volvos and girls who havean hourglass figure you losetrack of time with.

- No climate control whatsoever.If it rains, your day is done.

- Poor accessibility. Cant be ac-cessed after 6 PM on most days,

and closed on weekends. Your 5x 3 bathtub is not a substitute.

- Very little privacy, unless youcome at some weird hour. Andcalling your better half at 7 AMin the morning to come to theAdmin Building to make out willlead to you crying yourself tosleep over Ben & Jerrys for abouta month or so after the break up.

When people in SMU tell you

to get a room, this is the

one theyre talking about.

COVER STORY

The BLUe AND GO


20/40JANUARY 2011 AUGUST

Special Feature: PrU

The Human Face ofFinancial Consulting

Its not all numbers for Tan Shao Pin, its about heart

Yo ms hv hd sd mbfo: by nsn wh yo

n b of hh. and h

son fo h; s sndd

fo nsn omns o x

y odng on -xsng ondo

nfon f s h mos o h

h noon of byng nsn h

No f pdns tn Sho pn n

ths s mn who nd down n

ovss nng wd wh h Sng

amd Fos, nd nsd jond h

ndsy o fnd hs nvsy do

bomng nn onsn s no hnn fo hm o h o n h

nd m h nn gos; s so

hng hmsf o hv hs fs

Som nn onsns don n

mo omx nsn ss whh m

m nd ddon hks o om

i njoy hm fo wo sons. Fsy,

dvso n fom d dgn nd

o b ssss ns md ov

o msson. ths n n ds o my s

sson: odng h qd nfom

o ndws o nb my ns o

h nsn oon h hy nmy ns, hvng h ssn h

dqy ovd s . to m, k

h i hv hd hm n h oss

job mnngf.

tn onns, i mk h o o

my ns n nd s md s

y of md mn h s ndg

sh hs ondon, nd h bd

g hm h nssy nsn ov

Fnn onsns sh s tn,

mk o s hs ofsson n d

gh s h gos h x m o do hs

s fng on.

Ys, s wdng job, tn sys,

f yo n m nd o fo yo

Som ns hv bom my good f

im gd i y n ng o n h

ms. iv nv gd my ds

n nsn ofsson nd i ook fo

kng my o h nx v s i m

mngmn o n h omng y.

looks k 16 ys of yng fow

ny d fo tn Sho pn.

Source: AUGUST MAN SingaporeThe BLUe AND GOLD20


21/40

Q&

A

1) How did you get to know about Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte)Limited and why did you choose to join it?

Prudential has always been one o the leading insurers in Singapore. It has always beenon the oreront when it comes to innovative new products and has a young, vibrant andproessional agency orce. Aer narrowing down on the choice o industry that I had de-cided to go into, Prudential was the natural choice as I believe that it is the best insureraround.

2) Any advice to provide to the SMU graduates?

It is a ullling career as it enables me to provide nancial planning or people who arelooking or nancial solutions to meet their liestage needs. Te career has also broughtme to many places all over the world via the conventions qualied or and rewards basedon perormance. For graduates who are enterprising, this is one o the ew businessesthat they should consider embarking on as the start-up capital is very low.

3) Any pressure from peers and family members in terms of income stability?

When I rst graduated, my amily (especially my mother) oen questioned my choice ocareer as they elt that I should have a relatively stable income with my computer sciencedegree. It was only when they saw that I was doing well or mysel and regularly going on

convention trips that they eventually set their mind at ease. I am glad that I had remainedsteadast in my decision, as I am now enjoying the ruits o my labour.

4) What is your career aspiration?

Earlier in my career, I had always been mentoring ellow consultants and I nd it veryrewarding when I see them fourish and do better. Now that I am in agency management,my immediate aspiration is to recruit another 50 new nancial consultants, impart tothem my success ormula and to have at least hal my consultants be more successul thanme. Tis is what keeps me going.

Profle o FC Tan Shao Pin

Shao Pin is a Premier FinanConsultant with Prudential Assance Singapore and has won numous awards within the company. joined the nancial services induswhilst still an undergraduate puring a Bachelor o Science (Comper Science) degree rom the NatioUniversity o Singapore.

With more than 16 years in the dustry, Shao Pin has vast experiein providing nancial planning sotions to both individual and corrate clients.

Tan Shao Pin

SPECIAL ADVERTISING

The BLUe AND GO


22/40

By Lim Yi Hui

When I attended PatronsDay 2011, students cer-ainly seemed to be enjoying

hemselves. There were queuesof students trying their luck athe various games booths, or

waiting to grab their free foodand drinks (more so for the food).

The various competitions werealso a big draw, as students pithemselves against each oth-

er in fear factor, tug of war, andousting. The competitive events

were clearly a favourite amongtudents, and I was quickly im-

mersed in the excitement and

quite bloodthirsty) atmosphere.Who says competition isnt agood thing?

As the sun set, the nocturnalevents of Patrons Day began tounfold. As we headed towardsArts and Cultural Centre, I wasawed by the spectacular arrayof lightings, couches, and gameshat had been set up along thetretch of the concourse. Theights created a festive atmo-phere in the concourse, so dif-

ferent from its usual mood. Asneared the Arts and Cultural

Centre, I could hear the bandplaying, adding a new dimen-ion to the festive atmosphere.

Food booths (always a gooddea) were also set up, filling the

air with the aroma of roastingamb, and predictably attract-ng crowds of students, myself

Patrons Day:A Students Perspective

included. It is an established factthat great food and awesomemusic is the best way to chill

from all that studying, and therewas plenty of both. I asked thestudents around me, but theywere too busy attempting to eatand dance at the same time, so Iam forced to assume they agreewith me.

It is unfortunate that PatronsDay 2011 was not as crowded asit should have been, given its sig-nificance to SMU. A quick sur-vey led me to conclude the mainreasons for this were due to the

lack of publicity and the busyschedules of students (bah).

Besides greater publicity, manyactually suggested that PatronsDay 2012 should be held on Sat-urday, when students are free,which is sadly impossible on aweekday. To further increase theturnout for Patrons day, therewere further suggestions suchas having more booths, moreevents, having faculty join in thefun, and activities that teach usmore about the history of SMU.

I was especially intrigued at thelast suggestion. I admit that al-though I have been an SMUstudent for almost two years, Idont know anything about ourschools history. Perhaps teach-ing students about our historywill indeed foster a greater senseof belonging and pride.

ON CAMPUS

The BLUe AND GOLD22


23/40

Wilfred Lau, Day Events I/C

How does the carnival tie in with Patrons Day?Carnivals are associated with a younger self. The carnival symbolisesthe reinvention of ourselves at the start of SMUs new year and sets aprecursor for the rest of our schooling year.

What experience did you want to create for the school population?I didnt actually place that much emphasis on the Presidents arrival,because he would only be around for two hours or so. I had to spendmost of the day making sure that students stay around for his arrival,so I had to make the event as student-centric as possible. Thats why Ihad all these challenges, activities and, of course, free food. Free foodis always a crowd puller? (laughs)

What about the President and other VIPs?

The President and VIPs coming down all just want to feel like theyrea part of the school. Because theyre separated from the students themajority of their time, having all these events make them feel liketheyre part of the student community as well. It makes them feelyoung again.

What was your personal experience in organising this event?Personally, organising Patrons Day has helped me understand thestudent body better. Basically, the biggest take was that free food isgood. Despite the fact that I didnt want to formalise everything, stillsome things had to be cast in stone, unfortunately.

Any words for the future organisers of Patrons Day?We try to do new things every year, but in the end it always goes backto being a carnival. For future organisers, they can think about tak-ing a whole new direction on it. Honestly, if Im the Patron and I seethe same thing for ten years straight I will get quite bored. (laughs)

Night or Day, Its Fun AnywaySMU recently celebrated its 11th Patrons Day, with festivities stretching from noon till night. The BLUe A

GOLDinterviewed the Day Events I/C Wilfred Lau, Night Events I/C Haja Mohaideen & 2I/C Crystal Chua

By Clayton Chong

Haja Mohaideen & Crystal Chua, Night

Events I/C & 2I/C

Whats the difference between the day and night event?The day part is really just the formal part of it all; its where thand the Patron come down to see how much we have grown the one year since he came over to see us. The night part is puwe dont care whether you are student or staff, we just want enjoy yourselves!

So the night segment is just an excuse to have fun? What relevance dnight segment have to Patrons Day?I find, when were celebrating our own birthday, the cake-cis the formal part and the part we start to drink and party is formal part. So its the same thing here, when the President thats the formal part; we have to show him a serious side. Iyou cant let him see people drinking and getting drunk.

What did you consider when planning this event?When I started planning for this, I wanted every kind of studcome down. Thats why I didnt limit it to food and live musalso a variety of games.

You wanted to make this event more accessible to a range of studentsYes, thats right. A lot of school events organised by students ahey, lets go to the club and enjoy. I mean, how many studenly enjoy going to a club. So you have to give them variety. At tof the day, Patrons Day is for the students and everyone shouldnot just the group of people who like to party.

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By Janarthanan Krishnasamy

Organized by Bondue, SMUs Schoolof Business Student Society, thethird Bondue Bash since 2008, was heldin Zouk on the 13th January. The orga-nizing committee, which toiled hard dayand night for this event, was especiallyelated over the sudden surge of ticketsales at the door, close to midnight .

It feels surreal to know that all the

months of hard work and preparation forthis one night has come to such a fulfill-ing end gushed Jasmine Liao, the ever-diligent Events Director of the BondueExecutive Committee who was responsi-ble for spearheading this show to its dra-matic success. Says Jasmine, At first wewere facing a situation of not being ableto break even, but eventually we over-came all odds and raised a total of $6,456(ticket sales) and $6,200 (bar sales). The

Candylicious The sweet success of BonduesCandy Bash

proceeds of this party go to the StraitsTimes Pocket Money Fund.

The Candy bash was centered almostsolely on the pageant itself, where therewere nearly two hours of stage gamesfrom around 10 plus to midnight. Theten pageant contestants themselves dis-played great talent and showmanship,delighting the audience with their per-formances. Ruth Chee Min Yi, the win-ner of the Miss Bondue title and JoshuaSamuel Arokiyasamy, who grabbed bothMr. Popular and Mr. Candylicious de-serve special mention for their concertitem, performing the mellifluous Pach-elbels Canon in D major, a fusion ofthe violin and the electric guitar. Nich-olas, another pageant contestant, im-pressed the crowd with his bass, throatyrendition of Bruno Mars Just the Way

you are impressively while playing theguitar.

The pageant winners were Ruth andDesmond Lau Jiahao, who were chosenby a panel consisting of the local celebri-ty singer Nathan Hartono, Bondue pres-ident Glenn Ang, faculty member Mr.Ang Ser Keng and the previous winnersof the Bondue Pageant, Kwan Li Jia andChan Choon Kai.

On the whole, there was an astoucrowd size of 656 ( compared to tvious Bash last year which had a mturnout of 170) and many came cmidnight and after, when the pwas drawing to a close and thewas about to start. The fun-filledthe screams and cheers were colargely to the people who knew thtestants. Many, who did not knocontestants personally, expressethe very idea of a pageant was cand has grown insipid over manparties following this practice. Yparticular pageant was unique inof its continual engagement wiaudience, instead of being the ususive spectacle, along with the ctants visible commitment to mthis event a success.

The hosts of the events, Julia BensDevathas Satianathan invaluabbellished the Candy Bash pageantheir usual wit, liveliness and that was relished by the audiencevent is certainly a milestone for Band promises much for the qualitture events organized by them.

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Over 20 ideas were presented

by a group of mostly fresh-man students during the inau-gural Innovation Symposiumlast year, an event organised byProfessor Soon Loo and his teamfor his Technology and WorldChange class last semester.

For us, this is only the begin-ning, says Tompang Taxi, ateam looking to create the firsttaxi-sharing app that will beavailable for download on theApple App Store as early as next

year.

Some groups were exceptionallyeloquent, while some have theoccasional stumble, as with typi-cal pitching sessions; the judgessitting in the middle of the halllisten, and then provide feed-back about their product, whileover a hundred students look on.But it was the innovations thatthese groups came up with thatimpressed me the most: the factthat most of them had limited re-sources and just seven weeks tobring these ideas into being.

Guns, Germs and Steel takes abackseat in this course: the em-phasis is on the Boy Scout-likeapproach of learning by doing,not theoretical ideas of technol-ogy.

Ms Chew Mok Lee, the GroupDirector of Entrepreneurshipand Innovation at SPRING Sin-gapore; Mdm Lillian Tang, theRegional Marketing Director of

Motorola; Prof A. Desai Narasim-halu, the Director of the Insti-tute of Innovation & Entrepre-neurship at SMU; and AssociateDean Francis Koh, of the LeeKong Chian School of Businesswere present.

Ideas

The beginning of a business sto-ry seems imminent for some of

the teams: Triumph Internation-

al contacted the group who de-signed the Le Luscious, a size-adjustable bra that is customisedfor fluctuating breast sizes es-pecially at different ends of themenstrual cycle.

Other ideas arose from tradi-tional customs: Kimzhuatiam,which translates to incensepaper shop in Hokkien dia-lect, wants to establish itself asthe first (and possibly only) on-line supplier of incense paper,

through creating an online com-munity of people who will giveadvice on how and when to burnthese papers.

Prof Soons classes have a trackrecord of producing winningideas: some of the groups thatwere under his guidance havealready clinched funding of over$30,000, won business plan com-petitions and started their ownbusinesses. This does not mean,however, that every team thatProf Soon guides will eventuallyhave million dollar ideas.

Lee Jun Kiat, part of the teachingteam under Prof Soon, as well asthe mastermind behind the In-novation Symposium, agreed.Instead of waiting till the endof the semester to showcasethese ideas, we decided to cre-ate a platform that would allowthem to present them, not just infront of the other project groups,but also in front of a whole au-dience. Jun Kiat is also a TWC

alumnus under Prof Soon.

Prof Soon is cautiously optimis-tic that some of his TWC classgraduates will eventually strikegold with their ideas. At the endof the day, said Prof Soon, if justone of the teams here make it tobecoming successful, this coursewill be considered successful.

(From top to bottom)

THE TRIUMPH OF A

BRA: the team that cre-

ated Le Luscious, a

bra that with adjustable

cup sizes, is in contact

with Triumph Interna-

tional.

THE START OF THE

WIPEOUT: Prof Low

Aik Meng, Dean of Stu-

dents, looks at the

Wipeout mop that is

customised to use foreasy cleaning of win-

dows.

BE W.O.W.ED: The

W.O.W. Modular Table

is a clutter-free, conve-

nient solution for clean-

liness freaks.

BURNING IT RIGHT:

Kimzhuatiam is an on-

line retailer of incense

paper and supplies.

Looking for a million-dollar ideaOwen Tan nds out how Prof Soon Loos TWC classes have

transformed students.

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By Aashna Nasta

Bollywood in SMU!

Bollywood has penetratedthrough the boundaries of othercountries and Singapore is no ex-ception. From Bollywood awardshows to musical concerts, it has

filled the streets of Singaporewith much exuberance. Tarang,

Singapores tri-university Indiancultural fest, encompasses bothBollywood music and dance.

SMU however lacked a solidbase where students could pur-sue their interest in Bollywooddance. This was reflected in thepreparation for Tarang. Therewere so many problems carry-

ing out the performance: lackof participation, lack of funds,no discipline in terms of atten-dance, last minute practices andsong mixes. We realized the needof putting together a proper sys-tem, so that we have enough par-ticipants, professional training,and are prepared beforehandexplained Sweta Jain, NachLe Di-rector and co-founder.

What is NachLe?

NachLe, a wing of the IndianCultural Society, was establishedin August 2010 by Priya Panseand Sweta Jain. Their passion forBollywood, along with the sup-port from friends, enabled themto create a platform for studentsto explore this dance genre andto display their talents. Despitethe enthusiasm, they were ap-

prehensive about getting mem-bers to enroll. Their booth atVivace reduced their worries,where they got plenty of signups even from non-Indians.

Bollywood dancing is meantfor those want to enjoy, let downtheir hair and to have a funtime, commented Priya Panse,co-founder of NachLe and VicePresident of Indian Cultural So-ciety (ICS) enthusiastically.

The Journey so Far

But the road to success wasnt aneasy one for them; they faced alot of administrative and finan-cial troubles. The budget wastight which conflicted with thehigh choreography and costumefees.

To a certain extent, the excoforked out their money to pro-

vide for the members welfare.They wanted to set up this clubas a separate club but due to ad-ministration issues it is current-ly a sub club under ICS.

Nevertheless, commitment andperseverance drove the way andNach Le successfully staged anumber of performances in term

NACHLE!Lets keep grooving as theBollywood dance inundates

SMU with this new CCA

Bollywood dancing is meantfor those want to enjoy, letdown their hair and to have afun time.

1 at SMU Challenge, Night and Eve 2010 wherdanced to songs like PumHaddippa, Paisa, Salaamean Salsa), Khwaab Dekhe Nach Ley.

Coming Soon

NachLe has lined up somjor performances for this ter. Under the guidance Prabhudeva Dance Acthey plan to put up somBollywood pieces like MaMauja hi Mauja and DiBaji Guitar at Arts FestTarang11.

Future highlights

NachLe aims to spread tture of bollywood dancinstudents of SMU and takLe to the next level whercan compete in competit

inter-university level. Nhopes to have a good reputhat is looked up to not oSMU, but also by other itions in Singapore. In thrun, Nach Le aims to be bto a level where it can cointernationally and showperformances abroad.

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To most of the older genera-tion, especially in the eyesof parents, university under-graduates are considered to beunpredictable. Those whose

whole life revolves around giv-ing their beloved children thebest education possible (even ifit means costing them four pros-thetic arms and legs) never seemto understand why their bright,intelligent young nestlings havesprouted a mind of their own towant to pursue degrees like Fo-rensic Science, Philosophy, orsome form of unorthodox edu-cation. Why couldnt they pur-sue degrees with seeminglybrighter prospects, such as Ac-

counting, Banking and Finance,or Biotechnology?

As a SMU undergraduate withextremely pragmatic and tradi-tional parents, my parents andI had very different ideals. Myparents are the complete antith-esis of normal Singaporean par-ents; they expect me to finishmy degree in economics, havea respectable (read: stable upperincome) status and climb thecorporate ladder without manyhiccups along the way. Whatthey do not say is how they arepraying fervently that my sin-gularly opinionated mind willnot get me into deep troubleand mess up my life by going ina completely different directionthan what the toothless fortuneteller with the unibrow toldthem.

Do any of these sound familiarto you? List of things to love:Money, Brands, Condominiumsand Mansions, Exotic luxury

vacations, High-flying lifestyle.List of things to fear: Salary Me-diocrity, Failure, Rejection. Aremost of us doing what we aredoing because we genuinelylove status and wealth, or sim-ply because we are trying toavoid being failures in the eyesof our social circle, friends andfamily included? Are we doingwhat we want for our careers, orwhat this society wants? Some-

how, we have been taught tobelieve that only by being eco-nomically efficient units can weattain happiness, and we neveronce questioned that premise.

The best professors Ive hadwere not simply the ones fromwhom I achieved a great finalgrade, but the ones who weregenuinely great teachers andmentors by getting me to ques-tion what I thought was rightand wrong. Many of us do nothave the courage to look deepwithin our hearts and ask our-selves what we truly love, forfear of what it entails. Some ofus have already resigned to fate

and repeat what everyone tellsus about pursuing our passions;they are not practical, mean-ing, lucrative and financiallyrewarding. Those are the careerchoices that will not give usthat country club membershipor gala premier advantages. It isbetter to continue studying tobecome a lawyer than to thinkabout playing football profes-sionally.

Yes, practicality is important. Tomeet ones primary needs, onehas to find something that paysthe bill. But when choosing be-tween ones ability to pay thebill (a degree usually helps withthat) and getting that private jet,a whole universe of sacrificeslies ahead. Are those sacrificesreally worth it in the pursuit ofwealth?

Just a statistic for you to thinkover: In Singapore, the highestnumber of graduates in 2009belongs to the engineering sci-

ences and business administra-tion for men, and the humani-ties and social sciences andengineering sciences for wom-en. One can argue that it is sim-ply because those are boomingindustries with more employ-ment prospects, but are there re-ally as limited opportunities inother areas as people think thereare? Since when have we startedrapidly losing faith in our abili-

ties and readily accepting whatothers define as an easier, saf-er life, instead of questioningwhats out there, like educatedindividuals?

I propose a new list of thingsto love: Laughter, MeaningfulRelationships and Simplicity. Ialso propose a new list of thingsto fear: Blindness, Indifferenceand Losing yourself. The fact is,when you are truly happy, youneed less. Material possessions,most of the time, are used as re-placements to fill an emotionalvoid, whether it is the lack ofquality relationships, or innerhollowness. They exist to con-

vince you into believing thatall those sacrifices are worth it;spending more hours with yourdiabolic boss than your hys-terical wife, being on-call 25/7,being at a job which you havezero passion for. And all of thatmakes perfect sense, becauseyour Rolex watch and Paris villawill give you the greatest com-fort on your deathbed, not yourloved ones holding your hand.Maybe one day we would final-ly realize, that when it comesto running after money, thereis only lust, no love. And we allknow what lust leads to.

To Earn or Not to Earn?Ng Wei Lin revisits the love for success in an increasingly capitalistic world.

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The November 2010 issue of Blue and Gold

reported that AS/CT modules were con-sistently ranked as the Worst 5 first impres-sions that students have in SMU. The arti-cle explained that many students thoughtthese subjects were a waste of time and didnot contribute to their learning. This analy-sis extends beyond freshman subjects likeAS/CT but to other, less conventionally aca-demic subjects, not directly contributing totheir chosen discipline. For instance, Workand Family (compulsory for law students),counselling skills or even LTB.

I felt this issue warrants a deeper look. What

causes this animosity for subjects that dontcontribute directly to our chosen degrees? Isour contempt misplaced or justified? If so,what steps can the school authorities takesteps to make these subjects more useful toher students?

Why the animosity?

We need to uncover the real issue behindour begrudging attitudes. Perhaps it is thenotion that university should teach chal-lenging academic subjects- those that willgo a long way in securing for one the keysto an executive suite. However we knowthat SMU promises a different, more well-rounded experience and thus the variety ofmandatory courses are an integral part ofthe different experience promised.

Perhaps a more valid concern is that thebroader subjects are not at the time expenseof those that provide tangible qualifications.Otherwise the broad scope of our curricu-lum is a major bonus/privilege, as even topuniversities in Europe and UK have highlyrestricted curriculums that allow only thestudy of courses related to the students de-grees.

What the Alumni Think

A survey of working graduates on theusefulness of the less academic courses inwork/life presented a broad spectrum ofresponses. The perceived usefulness seemedto be linked closely to the career of thegraduate. Jasmine Neubronner, a financialconsultant, shared how taking CounsellingSkills under career skills complemented herinterests and personality and led to her tak-

Analytical Skills, anybody?Nikita Sinhal believes more improvement is needed for Core courses to be fully appreciated.

ing up a career in financial planning. While

her economics degree helped her under-stand investment and markets, it was theinterpersonal skills honed in the counsel-ling skills module that aids her in her workof helping others. These skills have furthermade her more approachable to her friendswhen they have problems.

Analytical skills received a seal of approvalfrom most alumni as being helpful in theworkplace as it enables deeper and morelogical thought. However, creative think-ing did not score as well. While creativityis important in business development and

managerial contexts, a CT professor sharedan example of how even lawyers need to ap-ply creative thinking. In cases with unprec-edented situations and thus no records to re-fer to, lawyers have to think of creative waysto argue their case. Creative thinking, whenused diligently and deliberately can addressmany problems and enhance processes. Cre-ativity was also declared as the The MostImportant Leadership Quality for CEOs byFast Company magazine.

Many law students might feel compelledto study Work and Family, and feel thatthey cannot appreciate the lessons, beingstudents. Ironically, many lawyers and pro-fessionals end up attending such similarcourses outside lives years into their profes-sions, when they face problems managingwork and personal lives.

In my own experience, CT offered a chanceto work with a real company in their mar-keting efforts and learn and apply eclecticprinciples of creativity. Specifically, I canbe more confident that instead of relyingon mind-numbing PowerPoint slides, I canuse vivid stories and more dynamic formsof presentation to get the point across more

successfully.

A survey of working alumni revealed thatAS was deemed useful in work/life context.Other respondents also appreciated theknowledge of making ethical decisions indifficult situations and the interpersonaland leadership training acquired from LTB.One respondent shared that these skills gaveSMU graduates an edge over those frommany top universities with more traditionalcurriculums.

Making Non-Major Related More R

evant and Appealing

The school administration could explthe option of offering more subjects osubjects with pass or fail criteria, simito the Counselling Skills course. To requality in learning however, the passiteria would require a fair amount of e

Furthermore, work done from this basof courses could contribute to ones pofolio. Everything from our LTB projectCreative creations could be documentand shared with potential. The effort a

achievements involved in these coursmight be better reflected than throughIn a pass/fail grading setting, a specialtion could be awarded from the facultextraordinary, (A+ worthy) work. Thismotivate those who are passionate abthe subject to work harder and not stothe work level of a pass grade.

Designing and CT and other careercourses for final year students

By the final years, many students havepleted the challenging degree related es and thus face less pressure academiThey might appreciate certain courseas CT and career skills more as they mapplicable to work/life than academia

Finally, we could also look into better ing the courses to each other and the sdents own courses of study. Similar tocourse content intersects and builds ueach other in our chosen majors, the uversity core and others could also be limore tightly such that they do not feediscrete.

In a twist, there are students who plac

value on career skills electives and hadone many more than the required nu

Many of the contentious courses that offers under like these cannot be readand absorbed from books, and are molearned in a group setting and interacwith the instructor. Both the school andents have to work in tandem to makas meaningful as they can be.

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Because we arent just the students voice.We are the students.

Were a student publication intent on making a difference to sdents by providing them with the right channels to express thopinions and for them to nd out what they need to know. If y

are looking for opportunities to master critical thinking, ask qu tions on your feet, and write clearly, The BLUe AND GOLD is the riplace to be.

Drop us an email: [email protected]

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We should pay our student leaders

The words sounded ominous,even prophetic.I believe the time has come forthis thing Id like to call paidstudents employment, Profes-sor Kirpal Singh, one of the mostrecognisable academics in SMU,started off in an exclusive inter-view with The Blue and Gold.

Prof Kirpal, who was one of thefirst professors to join SMU, re-marked that in some of the topunivers

the blue and gold - issue 12 - february 2011

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