Category: Op-Eds

Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Let’s Talk: The RP/JAE Divide

By Tan Yu You (21S03H)

On the first day of Orientation last year, I remember one of the girls in my group sharing that one of her fears coming into RI was the divide between us and the students from the Raffles Programme (RP). 

Perhaps it was an offhand remark and she did not mean for it to be taken seriously, but this fear resonated well within the small, mismatched group of five students from the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) anxiously waiting to meet the RP students for the first time.

A Google search immediately reveals that this fear is very common among hopefuls aiming to enrol into Raffles Institution after receiving their O-level results. Yet, stories shared by ex-Rafflesians on online forums and discussion threads seem to offer conflicting views on whether this so-called divide is something worth fretting over. Case in point, a previous article published in 2018 on Raffles Press claims that “the RP/JAE divide dissolves very quickly” while this post on Reddit claims the other extreme.  

So, what might be the cause of this “RP/JAE divide”? 

Continue reading “Let’s Talk: The RP/JAE Divide” →
Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Cold-calling: For Better or for Worse?

By Sara Chia (21S03G)

The class is silent, and so are you. Your hands are cold, clammy, and you sink further into your jacket, staring furtively at your worksheet, hoping that it’ll somehow make you invisible. You can feel yourself tensing with every moment that goes by, and relief hits you the instant you hear a name that’s not yours being called.

Does that sound familiar? Does that one class that you’ve come to dread come to mind because of this very experience? You’re probably thinking about cold-calling. 

Continue reading “Cold-calling: For Better or for Worse?” →
Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Should the Dean’s List Return?

By Shaun Loh (21A01A)
Cover image by Neo Xin Yuan (21A01D)

Feeling traumatised by the recent Promos or Prelims? Wondering how you fared in comparison to your peers? Fear not! At least you don’t need to know how your peers did if you don’t ask.

Yet, once upon a time, when a worldwide pandemic only existed in the realm of science-fiction books, there was a Dean’s List—an esteemed record of the top 5% of students in each subject for any test or examination. This list would be placed on the notice board outside the Students Affairs Centre after every examination for students to see. 

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Commentary, Notes from the Underground, Op-Eds, School Life, Student Issues

Let’s Talk (About Anxiety)

By Tay Jing Xuan (20S03C)
Photos courtesy of Ms Chua Kah Hwee (counsellor at RGC) and Raffles Photographic Society

When you step into the school compound, you might find that thoughts about grades, competitions and relationships start to plague you.

Let’s take it a step further. Do they already race through your mind at home, in the middle of lunch, or even out with friends? For some, the answer is most likely a yes. School brings with it tremendous amounts of stress to perform well in all aspects of our lives. Who wants to have a ‘U’ blemish their results slips, or to have a record they held broken by someone else? There is no respite from the multitude of stressors hounding us day by day, and some might find it hard to cope.

However, for some, this becomes more sinister. What seems to be a perfectly normal fear grows uncontrollable—insomnia hits out of nowhere when you were sleeping just fine the night before, or a small cry suddenly turns into a breathless, crushing panic. There can be no trigger because this fear has taken root so deeply that it is ever-present, even without you knowing.

As these worries turn into something more sinister, they change one’s behaviour along the way. Soon, the way one treats the stressors in their lives transforms into something else.

But what is this “something else”?

Continue reading “Let’s Talk (About Anxiety)” →
Commentary, Nationally Speaking, Op-Eds

Fathers, Brothers, and Sons

By Raffles Press

In our earlier article entitled A Home Away From Home, we explored how migrant communities in Little India have imbued migrant workers, both Indian and Bangladeshi, with a sense of belonging. 

From Bangla Square to Mustafa Centre, there are numerous spaces for foreign workers to mingle, enjoy food from their own culture, and buy goods to send back home to their loved ones—in other words, spaces where they can feel connected to their motherland. And foreign workers have rated Singapore as one of the best places to work: an MOM survey found that close to 90% of foreign workers say they are satisfied with working in Singapore. 

Continue reading “Fathers, Brothers, and Sons” →