Op-Eds

Book Reviews, Humour, Op-Eds, Opinion

A Guide to Male Leads in Romance
Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Chen Ying (25A01C) and Ng Dawin (25A01D)

According to popular lore, your quintessential modern-day romance story goes something like this: Girl meets guy, girl and guy fall in love, girl loses guy, girl gets back together with guy. 

There may be some variations to this plotline—such as girl meets guy on a boat (Titanic), girl meets guy in a school (every teen romance) and girl meets guy who is a vampire (Twilight). 

The core story has been this way since the 1800s (or even earlier), when a revolutionary female writer wrote a book about the courtship between an intelligent lady and an aloof yet heart-meltingly affectionate nobleman. 

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Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Mugging Culture: Praised, yet Criticised
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Cao Yuhan (24S03M)

Calm down, it’s not that serious.

The mugging culture in our school has gotten out of hand. 

When you walk around the school on any weekday afternoon, you will be able to see mugging in action; students doing revision, watching lectures or completing their tutorials are scattered across the school. During exam periods especially, mugging becomes everyone’s after-school activity. 

As if mugging itself is not exhausting enough, the emergence of mugger critics has introduced new challenges to mugging culture. 

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Commentary, Humour, Op-Eds, Opinion, School Life

Orientation Couples: Is There a Formula for Love?
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Foo Le Xuan Shanice (25S03A)

Love is in the air. Under the blazing hot sun, the seeds of love begin to sprout. Amidst deafening cheers and pounding music, 2 pairs of eyes lock, their hearts finding a common beat. The surrounding fades away as you take in every moment in slow-mo [cue KDrama music]. 

We all know when we see one, the inauguration of yet another orientation couple—2 people who have gotten together during orientation. Perhaps it’s the late-night OG dinners under the oh-so-romantically dim lights at the J8 rooftop, or the electrifying brush of fingers as their hearts pulsate along to the catchy beat of the mass dance, or even being near someone of the opposite gender for the first time? 

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Commentary, Op-Eds, Opinion

Post-Vacation Blues: Causes, Symptoms, and Remedies
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Glenda Hua (24A01C)

We can all agree that plane rides are either the most exciting or most depressing experiences. The former are flights to our vacation destination–when we leave our mundane day-to-day lives behind for a blissful getaway. The latter are the flights returning home, signalling an end to our days in paradise and a return to the world of school, work and having to make our own breakfast.   

This abrupt decline in the quality of life is certainly something many people need to adjust to. We find ourselves feeling tired, lethargic, and oddly mopey during the first couple of days (or weeks) back home. In fact, this experience is so common that there is a term coined for it–Post-Vacation Blues. 

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