Commentary

Wardrobe Malfunction – International Understanding Week 2018

By Asfar Alim (18S03J), Liu Enqi (19A01C), and Rachel Lee (19A01D)
Photos courtesy of Michael Chow (18A13A) and Liu Xinyu (18S05A) from Raffles Photographic Society

While running to Chill to grab a quick snack before tutorials, some of us would have seen the curious-looking blackboard located in the canteen, featuring the Earth being made out of clothes. This curious-looking display belonged to none other than “Wardrobe Malfunction”, the initiative put together by Raffles Interact to shed light on what goes on behind the scenes of the fashion industry.

Continue reading “Wardrobe Malfunction – International Understanding Week 2018” →

2018 Season, Commentary, Inter-School Season, Sports

Best Foot Forward: Track and Field Finals 2018

By Clarine See (18S03G), Shervon Lee (19S06A) and Varun Karthik (19S06A)
Photographs courtesy of Raffles Track and Field

On the afternoon of 12th April, the National Stadium came to life as crowds of student supporters streamed in steadily, buzzing with excitement and anticipation. The atmosphere was electric. Athletes on the receiving end of the rapt attention of thousands of spectators no doubt felt the pressure to perform, and a palpable tension hung in the air.  Stands were filled, coloured clappers were blown up, cheer-offs were held and the athletes took their places on the track, ready to give their all.

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Commentary

Spectrum 2018: Recognise Your Privilege

By Mabel Yet (19S03Q) and Mahima Sowrirajan (19S07A)

“Our system of meritocracy is working less well than it used to, two generations in.”

Even more than two years on, these words spoken by former Principal Mr. Chan Poh Meng still hit hard. Rafflesians take pride in their glorious, sparkling achievements, from clinching gold after gold in sports to sweeping the boards in Science Olympiads. Without thought, we applaud these outstanding individuals for their relentless strive for excellence. Yet, we often fail to consider what much of our achievements are enabled by – privilege.

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Commentary, Events

Raffles Asia Programme Symposium Shows Audiences “Why Asia”

By Joyce Lee (19S06O), Loh Lin (19A01D) and Alyssa Marie Loo (19A13A)
Photos courtesy of Ting Hou Yee (19S03S) and Jiang Jin Liang (19S06N) of Raffles Photographic Society

Twelve years since its first edition, this year’s Raffles Asia Programme Symposium involved over 100 invited students, 15 student research projects and speeches by professors from Yale-NUS College. One might consider the exclusive regional focus of the Raffles Asia Programme to be counter-intuitive: why limit research to Asia when humanities research can be broad and unbounded? Mr Gavin Swee, one of the teacher-mentors for the RAP, believes a regional scope is far from limiting: it can “help (students) develop sensitive understandings of the socio-cultural context in which they live”. Though most of us would not instinctively consider Asia a key region for research—perhaps due to a humanities curriculum often centred on the West—the RAP research projects proved this sentiment sorely misplaced. The projects showcased a variety of topics about Asia’s vibrant culture, politics, literature and more, demonstrating that Asia is just as rich as the West in its potential to be studied and explored.

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Previews

See Something, Say Something – Press Soapbox is Back!

By Abigail Ang (18S06B)

Do you have something on your mind that you are bursting to share? A cause you are passionate about? A confidential tip? An observation about school life or a phenomenon you wish someone would investigate?

Well, you can stop holding your tongue, as Press Soapbox is back in its 3rd incarnation next week. Press Soapbox is a biannual initiative by Raffles Press which aims to tap the pulse of the school community and cover issues that Rafflesians care about. Continue reading “See Something, Say Something – Press Soapbox is Back!” →