Student Issues

Commentary, Op-Eds, School Life, Student Issues

Of (CCA) Trials and Tribulations: Dealing with Rejection
Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Neo Xin Yuan (21A01D)

Trial Outcome: Unsuccessful. 

A year ago, I was staring at these words printed innocuously on the webpage, thinking it must be a mistake.

Both CCAs that I’d tried for had rejected me. Both of which I would’ve loved to get into as they aligned with two of my biggest passions: art and writing. I tried to smile it off in front of my friends, but inadvertently, I fell in a bad mood for the next few days that slipped by. 

A friend asked me which CCA she should choose between two that had accepted her. She had more than two CCAs to choose from. It’s hard not to feel anything less than jealous when both the CCAs I’d applied for had accepted her—the same CCAs that rejected me. Later, I was notified that I was accepted because of a vacancy, but the damage had been done—for a long time, I felt like I didn’t truly belong in my club as I had been a ‘second choice’.  

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Commentary, Compilations, Op-Eds, School Life, Student Issues

Let’s Talk: The RP/JAE Divide
Reading Time: 6 minutes

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”? 

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Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Cold-calling: For Better or for Worse?
Reading Time: 4 minutes

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. 

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Commentary, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Should the Dean’s List Return?

Reading Time: 5 minutesBy 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, Op-Eds, Student Issues

Of TikToks and I.G. Stories: the EJ-RI Perspective
Reading Time: 8 minutes

By Shaun Loh (21A01A; RI), Tan Yu You (21S03H; RI), Jace Bong (20-E1; EJC), Leia Ong (20-U1; EJC), Nicole Chao (20-U5; EJC)
Cover image by Clarice Tan (21A01C)

This was written in collaboration with EJC Press as part of Cross Island Impressions, an inter-JC Press collaboration.

A common scenario earlier this year: walking about in school, the voice of a woman chanting “Renegade” would pierce our ears, prompting all listeners within earshot to break into jocular gyrating and dancing.  

Yes, earlier this year, when we could still interact with our friends without masks muffling our voices, when we could make TikToks during breaks, when we could hang out after school at Junction 8 in groups larger than five. Sadly, after the implementation of the circuit breaker measures, many of us feel robbed of these little joys of life. Even though school has resumed, there is still a sense of longing for things to go back to normal.

This is where social media comes into play. For the past three months or so, school culture has been reduced to student council Instagram accounts and online interactions with teachers. We are also relying on social media even more for personal interactions. Furthermore, this state of crisis has led us to increasingly use such platforms to keep abreast of current affairs. 

Yet, do we give too much credit to social media? Ultimately, what exactly is the extent of influence that social media wields over us?

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