What makes us ready for a Singapore beyond Lee Kuan Yew

Sound values ingrained in system
SINGAPORE’S model of good governance, built on the principles of meritocracy, fairness and efficiency, has propelled it to great success.
Future leaders from my generation will have to ensure that this system continues to work well. Fortunately, we have what it takes due to the education we have received that is better [...]

What I’m willing to do while waiting for a job

I’ll do it for free
I WOULD gladly intern for free, were I convinced that the experience would be worth it in my chosen field of journalism.
With hiring freezes in almost all local news media companies, I found many doors shut in my face. So after evaluating my choices, I felt it might be a [...]

Streakers get the boot: fair or not?

Be creative in punishing them
I MET the punishment meted out to the streakers with incredulity. Why such harshness when no one was hurt, albeit a few pairs of eyes?
Expelling them from their hall is similar to suspension from secondary school, in that they are both usually the last resort and the easiest option available.
The guilty [...]

Striking a balance between work and play

Playing hard? Working harder
MANY of my peers spend most of their school holidays working temporary jobs, or participating in internships, or both. Some work part-time during the school term too, as tutors or research assistants.
Those who are graduating seem eager to start work, sending out applications long before their graduations. Given the recession, they have [...]

Just what exactly goes into student stress?

More is less
THE modular system for local universities has led to us cramming for one semester’s modules only to forget everything before the next semester even begins.
Too much work is covered in way too little time, sapping our energy and making it impossible for us to truly appreciate what we are taught.
After an overseas exchange [...]

What will it take for alumni to give back?

Focus on niche communities
THE sheer size of the student body at the National University of Singapore (NUS) works against fostering a sense of belonging among students.
Take, for instance, the 5,100-strong Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It is easy to feel lost on those weekday afternoons when I have to rush for classes with hundreds [...]

How Singapore saw Mumbai

The dust has settled on last month’s Mumbai attacks, and the world has moved on. Local and foreign media have expended tremendous efforts and resources into covering the event. But what are YouthINK writers’ verdicts on the way they have presented the disaster?
It’s not just about her – or us
While my heart goes out [...]

Growing up in ‘tribes’

Are uniforms and ragging really about cliques? YouthInkers have their say.
It’s a jungle out there
A CHILL went down my spine when I viewed the Anglo-Chinese Junior College ragging video.
Was this the culmination of a long tradition of ‘us’ against ‘them’ in schools?
While no former schoolmate has ever laid a finger on me, I was not [...]

Raising awareness about risks of unprotected sex

YouthInk writers speak up about what’s lacking in sex education.
Use graphic ads to shock youth
JUDGING by the results of a recent Health Promotion Board (HPB) Aids awareness survey, it seems that young people are least concerned about the risk of Aids infection via unprotected sex.
It is high time that they be shocked into action through [...]

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 [...]