Photo credits to Madeleine Cheng, Sun Jiarui and Wong Shi Hwa (14S03O)
I begin this response to the article titled “Why I Rejected the Raffles Academy” by conceding that as a member of it myself, my attempts at a balanced viewpoint of the system might inevitably be clouded by some sort of bias. Nonetheless, while the author brings up fair points regarding “elitism”, unequal access to resources as well as what he believes to be inherent flaws with a pull-out academic system, I feel obligated, as one of those who did join the programme, to offer my alternative viewpoint on its merits.
On May 28, RI alumnus Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan, speaking about the issue of meritocracy and inequality in Parliament, ignited controversy when he called his alma mater “less of a beacon of hope”. This brought to my mind Senior Deputy Principal Mr Magendiran brandishing a copy of Christopher Hayes’ “Twilight of the Elites” in the Multi-Purpose Hall during the January Induction Programme, and discussing whether the book’s argument, of America having been consumed by a “cult of smartness” that created ever greater inequality, was applicable to our esteemed Institution.
Beyond the common debate about the enormous gulf separating Rafflesians from the rest of Singaporeans, few of us have paused to consider the question of inequality within our own school and the broad divides that exist among Rafflesian students. In particular, I believe that equality within our institution has been undermined with the Raffles Academy (RA) programme, creating a curriculum within a curriculum, and a widening academic gulf between the haves and the have-nots.
Reading Time: 3minutesBy Wahid Al Mamun (15A01A)
Photo credits to On Singapore
Over the last month or so, I have undergone the ritual of fasting as a practising Muslim – the tenth year in which I have done so. This is the period where all Muslims abstain from all food and drink from sunrise to sunset in accordance with the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. In the process, I have been asked many questions about the entire ritual, many of which are out of pure curiosity. “Can’t you even drink water when it’s too hot?” some people have asked me in exasperation. Naturally, to see a group of people voluntarily give up all food and drink for an extended period of time is bewildering to many.
One of the rare movie adaptations that follows the book almost entirely in capturing the beauty of the author’s message, The Fault in Our Stars (TFiOS) is really what A.O Scott calls an “expertly built machine for the production of tears”, with indubitable emotional power. Achieving the title of the most-liked trailer in YouTube history, TFiOS, the movie came across as severely over-hyped, with much of the charm coming from John Green’s idiosyncratic lines rather than the film itself.
Tucked away in Thomson V Two along Upper Thomson Road, November 8 Coffee & Company is a relatively new emergence into the fast-growing local café scene. Despite its obscure location, there was a waiting list when we visited late on a Saturday afternoon for a two-hour Press meeting, although we were seated relatively quickly. Wood furniture, bare concrete industrial floors and exposed coloured pipes on the ceiling made for a rugged and homey feel, though this was marred by the somewhat trashy pop music playlist.
