What would stop me from picking up a cigarette?

Open their eyes
TO GET youth to banish cigarettes from their lives, it may help to give them a personal glimpse into the mess smoking can create.
While serving in the Red Cross back in secondary school, I visited a nursing home and met an elderly resident who used to be a chain smoker but was now [...]

Let’s talk about sex – seriously

By Bryna Sim
SEX, sex, sex – yes, it seems that is all young people think about. Yet it appears we remain largely ignorant about it.
As a group, news reports have it that we are a walking contradiction.
There are those who are utterly clueless about sex – 2008 yielded news reports that young [...]

Focus on (more than just) the Family

Last month, 28-year-old local poet and playwright Ng Yi-sheng launched a Facebook group protesting DBS’s corporate support of Focus On The Family (FOTR), a pro-family group known in the US for anti-gay messages. So far, the group has garnered over 1,000 members, many of them 25 and under. Youthinkers weigh in on the issue of [...]

Bridging youth with ideas

By Bryna Sim
WITH its tagline ‘Bridging People With Ideas’, InteresThink 3: Causes And Ideas seemed like just another networking event.
The day-long event on Dec 12 at the National Library sought to encourage organisations and individuals to generate ideas and events for causes to benefit society – social entrepreneurship and [...]

When it’s my turn, how will I decide?

YouthInk writers wonder if we are ready for legalised euthanasia.
My right to die
I HAVE always been a strong proponent of euthanasia. No one person, or law, should have the right to prolong the suffering of another against his clear and unadulterated will.
If I am terminally ill, bedridden, and in a perpetually drugged state because the [...]

Could a dorm for young adults work?

With the cost of renting apartments so high, what about dorm rooms for young adults? YouthInk writers consider the proposal.
Home is where the heart is

WHEN I graduate in a few months’ time, home is where I will gravitate to from my campus hostel.
Specially built dorms for young working adults? No, thanks – I’d rather drown [...]

Encouraging people to clear up after eating

Want me to return my dirty tray? Here’s how, say YouthInk writers.
Merely following the crowd
IT IS interesting to note how naturally I return my food tray after a meal when overseas, yet not in Singapore.
When I was studying in England, it was common practice for students and faculty alike to take their trays to collection [...]

How far should discussions of religious faith go?

Why stop at tolerance? YouthInk writers call for understanding.
Understand, don’t just tolerate

EVEN though I am a decidedly non-religious person, I believe in understanding other religions rather than merely tolerating them.
‘Tolerance’ suggests passivity, while ‘understanding’ implies proactive attempts to seek comprehension.
Besides, the diversity and complexity of religious faiths demand understanding, not ignorance. Even the major Abrahamic [...]