Commentary, Compilations, Please Mind the Platform Gap

Lost and Found: The “Ulu”, Unexplored Places in RI
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Thet Hninn Zin (21A13A)

As you navigate through this inextricably large campus, roaming through the green-and-grey corridors with the prettiest willow trees (the school genuinely has amazing greenery) and lined glass windows, you might miss out on some of the more obscure places in Raffles Institution. Especially with safe-distancing measures, it may be difficult for you to go around to explore the campus, the place where you’re going to spend your last two years of pre-tertiary education at. 

Well, whether it’s because they are out of the way from your classroom-bound venues or perched in an unassuming corner, here are some of the ‘lost’ locations in school, which have now been found for you!

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Commentary, Please Mind the Platform Gap, School Life

Please Mind the Platform Gap: Food In RI
Reading Time: 10 minutes

By Coco Liu (20S06L) and Tay Jing Xuan (20S03C)

Disclaimer: All information is accurate as of time of writing, and may be subject to change.

The cheap and affordable, yet rich flavours of the canteen food may be what some of us are looking forward to when we return to school after the December holidays. Those looking for quick titbits to grab from Chill@RI in between tutorials and lectures can finally do so, too. But with so much to choose from when deciding on a meal or a snack, some of us may feel overwhelmed. After all, do you even remember all that’s sold at the school canteen? Fortunately, we have compiled a list of what is sold at the canteen, Chill@RI, and Professor Brawn Café for you to pick out the food you want!

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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, Compilations, Student Features

Behind the (CCA) Scenes: Of Motivations and Regrets
Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Sara Chia (21S03G)

At some point in our lives, all of us have to make choices, regardless of how big or how small they are. Most of the time, it lies in the small things, like picking which canteen stall to buy from every time break rolls around. Other times, it’s the much bigger things, like deciding what course you’re going to take in university or your future job. 

In JC, one of the fundamental choices we have to make shortly after stepping foot into the school would be our CCA. Everyone has something that motivated them, in one way or another, to join the CCA that they’re currently in. Whether it’s something trivial or profound, every person’s story behind joining their CCA is unique. 

So, what exactly are they? In this article, various students share their motivations to become part of the CCA that they’re currently in, and I probe a little deeper at the reasons that brought them to where they are now. From unexpected to bittersweet to hilarious, here’s a compilation of the stories shared by some students about joining their CCA, and how their journey has been so far.

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