Thursday, August 27, 2009
Clean Fun or Crude Act?
Social Commentary (2)
When I first came across this article with the suggestive picture on the internet, my mother was the first to respond with a gasp, flabbergasted look on her face and an exclamation, “What are you watching?” Quick! Explain to your parents that this was in the straight times and is just part of a newspaper article! A girl eating a banana held at a man’s crotch as part of the orientation activities at Nanyang Technological University, a reputable university. This is absolutely unacceptable. Furthermore, this suggestive picture was made public on Facebook. Don’t they have any shame or humility? This picture should not make anybody proud of themselves, put me in their shoes and I will want to vanish from the face of the earth. This kind of lewd activities should not be in our community, much less in our reputable universities, due to a couple of reasons. For those delving for the first time into such sensitive areas such as sex among the teenagers of today, brace yourself as I explain why lewd activities like this should not be introduced into our society.
Firstly, this manner of introducing such lewd activities in our society might promote casual sex among the teenagers. After years of provocative headlines and breathless stories based mostly on anecdote about the sex life of teenagers, a nationwide survey conducted by The National Centre for Health Statistics on a total of 12571 teenagers revealed that 49 percent of the boys and 53 percent of the girls have had intercourse. When such lewd activities are present in orientation camps in universities, students are led to believe that sexual activities are perfectly normal and common at their age. This will lead to the increase in the number of teenagers having casual sex with various partners. Diseases such as AIDS will spread among the students. More youngsters are reported to be experimenting with casual sex than they did five years ago, according to a survey commissioned by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) on 40,000 people between the ages of 15 and 24. It was found that 8.4 per cent youngsters are snuggling up for pre- and post-marital sex. It can clearly be observed that sexual activities between youngsters are gradually increasing, so why should we exacerbate the situation? Universities are for academics, not for sex!
Secondly, the students forced to play the lewd games in the orientation camps may feel uncomfortable. Those reluctant to play might succumb to peer pressure and play the lewd games. For example, my sister attended the orientation camp in NTU last year. It made her feel uncomfortable but she had to play so as to not be a “party pooper”. The students who do not want to play should be respected and lewd games like these should be erased.
Believe me, lewd activities like this will definitely not help in our country’s image. When universities implant in the youngsters the erroneous way of thinking that casual sex is perfectly fine, casual sex between teenagers will increase. People from other countries will think that Singapore has no discipline or control over her people. The government will seem helpless or apathetic to the situation too! For example, in March 2009, there were many riots and protests in Thailand to force the Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down. The government has no control over its people, so no country will want to create ties with Thailand. We cannot make the same mistake as Thailand and we must stop this situation.
Perhaps many of you might think that lewd activities like this are just in the name of fun and are pretty much amusing. No! It is unacceptable for a man and woman to behave like this in public just for fun! It is morally wrong and should not be allowed. There are many other ways to have fun without including the subject of sex, for example sports. Games like this are also not delightful to our eyes.
In conclusion, lewd activities should not be allowed in our society or universities as it ruins our country’s image, promotes casual sex and forces unwilling students to play. They should not do this just for fun as it is wrong for a man and woman to act this way in public and is certainly not interesting to see. To drive home the point, examine the picture again! There goes my appetite...
Social Commentary (2)
When I first came across this article with the suggestive picture on the internet, my mother was the first to respond with a gasp, flabbergasted look on her face and an exclamation, “What are you watching?” Quick! Explain to your parents that this was in the straight times and is just part of a newspaper article! A girl eating a banana held at a man’s crotch as part of the orientation activities at Nanyang Technological University, a reputable university. This is absolutely unacceptable. Furthermore, this suggestive picture was made public on Facebook. Don’t they have any shame or humility? This picture should not make anybody proud of themselves, put me in their shoes and I will want to vanish from the face of the earth. This kind of lewd activities should not be in our community, much less in our reputable universities, due to a couple of reasons. For those delving for the first time into such sensitive areas such as sex among the teenagers of today, brace yourself as I explain why lewd activities like this should not be introduced into our society.
Firstly, this manner of introducing such lewd activities in our society might promote casual sex among the teenagers. After years of provocative headlines and breathless stories based mostly on anecdote about the sex life of teenagers, a nationwide survey conducted by The National Centre for Health Statistics on a total of 12571 teenagers revealed that 49 percent of the boys and 53 percent of the girls have had intercourse. When such lewd activities are present in orientation camps in universities, students are led to believe that sexual activities are perfectly normal and common at their age. This will lead to the increase in the number of teenagers having casual sex with various partners. Diseases such as AIDS will spread among the students. More youngsters are reported to be experimenting with casual sex than they did five years ago, according to a survey commissioned by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) on 40,000 people between the ages of 15 and 24. It was found that 8.4 per cent youngsters are snuggling up for pre- and post-marital sex. It can clearly be observed that sexual activities between youngsters are gradually increasing, so why should we exacerbate the situation? Universities are for academics, not for sex!
Secondly, the students forced to play the lewd games in the orientation camps may feel uncomfortable. Those reluctant to play might succumb to peer pressure and play the lewd games. For example, my sister attended the orientation camp in NTU last year. It made her feel uncomfortable but she had to play so as to not be a “party pooper”. The students who do not want to play should be respected and lewd games like these should be erased.
Believe me, lewd activities like this will definitely not help in our country’s image. When universities implant in the youngsters the erroneous way of thinking that casual sex is perfectly fine, casual sex between teenagers will increase. People from other countries will think that Singapore has no discipline or control over her people. The government will seem helpless or apathetic to the situation too! For example, in March 2009, there were many riots and protests in Thailand to force the Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down. The government has no control over its people, so no country will want to create ties with Thailand. We cannot make the same mistake as Thailand and we must stop this situation.
Perhaps many of you might think that lewd activities like this are just in the name of fun and are pretty much amusing. No! It is unacceptable for a man and woman to behave like this in public just for fun! It is morally wrong and should not be allowed. There are many other ways to have fun without including the subject of sex, for example sports. Games like this are also not delightful to our eyes.
In conclusion, lewd activities should not be allowed in our society or universities as it ruins our country’s image, promotes casual sex and forces unwilling students to play. They should not do this just for fun as it is wrong for a man and woman to act this way in public and is certainly not interesting to see. To drive home the point, examine the picture again! There goes my appetite...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Chua Yu Xuan (8)
SCRAP THE CCTs!!!
SCRAP THE CCTs!!!
Have you ever noticed that there is a significant increase in the number of students who look haggard and listless before the CCTs? Or have you noticed that there are always disgruntled students after the CCTs, no matter how easy or simple the paper might seem? Well, I have, and I usually see an exact description of what I had just stated in myself. “Scrap the CCTs!” I am pretty sure that is what most of the students want and I absolutely believe it is a judicious choice to a large extent. There are two words to describe what I feel just before a CCT, “Stressed out!” I believe many students would agree with me vehemently.
Firstly, CCTs produce stress! Now, some of you may be thinking that the CCTs are to gauge the ability of the students, but think of it this way. The ability of the students can be gauged through everyday classes by the teachers. Therefore, CCTs unnecessarily produces stress and more stress. As the students get pressurized, they ignore their basic needs like sleep and nutrition, making them even more lethargic. Stress is present even after the CCTs. After retrieving your results, do you realize there is a miasma of failure hanging over the school? Well, you should, because it is called “disappointment” which will cause even more stress for the next CCTs. Dr. Samir Parikh, an eminent psychiatrist, states that as students feel pressurized to study, they do not want to waste study time in eating proper food and prefer to snack without giving due regard to the negative consequences it might have for their health. Stress is a definite “no good”!
Furthermore, there is the fear of failure. Many are afraid of the mortification to find out about their poor results and being humiliated. Even those with the most retentive memory have the fear of failure. This fear results in silly and harmful acts. In a study conducted in 20 schools across Delhi, As many as 76 percent of girls and 74 percent of boys said their parents and teachers pressurize them to work harder and longer than they do, and 20 to 30 percent of students in the study said they are so worried about their exam scores that they feel tempted to cheat. It is postulated that the temptations are due to the fear of failure, which resulted from the dreaded CCTs.
On the contrary, CCTs do have a purpose – to motivate students to study. As students dream of entering a fairly good college and having a successful career with a stable income, they are motivated to study as having good results is the key to a good college. However, the stress, fear and disappointment which come as a “package” are not worth it.
The solutions to this? Just try your best or you can…..scrap the CCTs! With the stress and disappointment created by the CCTs, we could even sue the person who created CCTs for fomenting discord among students!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
100-word Argument: A WOMAN"S PLACE
IS IN THE HOME.
Did you know that Census bureau statistics show a 15 percent increase in the number of stay-at-home moms in less than 10 years? You might start to ask yourself why is it that more and more mothers are staying at home instead of establishing a career outside? The answer is simple.
Women have to stay at home for their children! They have to raise and be a role model for their children. Furthermore, money can be saved as the family will save on child care costs. For example, Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen used to work for a top law firm, and she clerked at the Supreme Court for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. However, after she had her first baby seven years ago, she left, and never went back. She said "I was afraid that if I was working, there would be no parent there with the children. And I wanted to experience getting to know my children, being there in a consistent way."
Imagine a world where only women work while men stay at home to look after the children. Children around the world would starve and run around without their fathers. If you got robbed, do not bother calling the police,because the policewomen would take 15 minutes just to choose which police uniform to wear.
IS IN THE HOME.
Did you know that Census bureau statistics show a 15 percent increase in the number of stay-at-home moms in less than 10 years? You might start to ask yourself why is it that more and more mothers are staying at home instead of establishing a career outside? The answer is simple.
Women have to stay at home for their children! They have to raise and be a role model for their children. Furthermore, money can be saved as the family will save on child care costs. For example, Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen used to work for a top law firm, and she clerked at the Supreme Court for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. However, after she had her first baby seven years ago, she left, and never went back. She said "I was afraid that if I was working, there would be no parent there with the children. And I wanted to experience getting to know my children, being there in a consistent way."
Imagine a world where only women work while men stay at home to look after the children. Children around the world would starve and run around without their fathers. If you got robbed, do not bother calling the police,because the policewomen would take 15 minutes just to choose which police uniform to wear.
WHAT IS AN EXPOSITION?
An Exposition is a literary technique in which undepicted plot elements are conveyed in dialogue, description, flashback or narrative. It provides the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the protagonist, the antagonist, the basic conflict, and the setting. In short, an exposition informs or conveys to the reader about the plot, character, setting, and theme of the essay/story, explaining and defining unfamiliar parts to the reader.
An Exposition is a literary technique in which undepicted plot elements are conveyed in dialogue, description, flashback or narrative. It provides the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the protagonist, the antagonist, the basic conflict, and the setting. In short, an exposition informs or conveys to the reader about the plot, character, setting, and theme of the essay/story, explaining and defining unfamiliar parts to the reader.
