Zit Seng's Superwall

I recently visited the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. I was there for a whole day meeting. As I walked around in between breaks, I saw the beautiful internal courtyard. This one in the photo is what they call the Upper Quadrangle. It was a picture like it was somewhere else other than in Singapore. Big open space, surrounded by oldish buildings, with absolutely nothing else visible on the skyline. There aren’t many tall buildings in that area, so that isn’t anything else to see in the distant from where I stood.

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I’ve been joking about this beer garden in NUS for some time, even before construction actually started. After many months of waiting, this timber deck overlooking the valley behind Kent Ridge was finally ready. When it was officially completed… surprise, surprise, a variety of beer was served in its opening event.

It really has quite a nice view of the trees on the slope of Kent Ridge. But knowing the weather in Singapore, and the general dislike of the hot humid outdoors of most Singaporeans, it won’t be surprising that there will be little use of this beer garden. At least not in the day anyway.

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It’s funny that I should have something to post about the NUS Rag and Flag this year, because I was not actually involved in any way. But something prompted me to write about it. Behind all the glamourous front of Rag and Flag, there is something about student behaviour that comes to light. No, it is not something dark and sinister. It’s their recklessness, indifference, and lack of civic-mindedness that I feel is unbecoming of undergraduates.

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This week is what’s known in NUS as Week 0. It’s freshmen orientation week. The week where everyone (students, that is) are still having fun. The campus, surprisingly, is not as crowded as I had anticipated it to be. We were able to find seats during lunch, even during the peak lunch hour. But there was one place that was unusually crowded, and that was one place that I had to visit.

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A sign stuck on the tables at a NUS canteen reminds people that carelessness is costly. People are being reminded not to leave belongings unattended. Belongings such as wallets, bags, handphones and notebook computers. I thought to myself, it’s stupidity that is costly here. Why do people leave valuable belongings such as notebook computers unattended in NUS canteens?

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I’m sorry to make light of these grave matters, but a colleague put it this way and I thought it was quite an interesting take: too much stress in NTU, too much partying in NUS. This is about the two student deaths that occurred this same week. A student at NTU was said to have stabbed his professor apparently after having lost his scholarship due to deteriorating grades then subsequently falling to his death, and an exchange student at NUS  apparently passed away after having had too much to drink.

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Times must be bad, so car dealers are even coming to NUS to sell cars. Or perhaps it isn’t so bad afterall, so much so that our dear students have become a lucrative market for car dealers to target. Well, it’s one of the more unusual bazaars at NUS. There’re a couple of other booths, such as Automobile Association of Singapore, V-Kool, and one selling stickers. It’s a mini motoring fair.

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The last two days I’ve been attending class at the Singapore Management University’s downtown campus. It’s actually my first visit to the SMU campus, so during the breaks I went around exploring the place a little. I always thought it would be nice to be studying in such a central downtown location. All the shopping, movies, and other entertainment just a stone’s throw from studying.

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I’ve been wanting to say this for the longest time. Since receiving this mass email this morning, I thought it might as well be now. SOME NUS STUDENTS ARE REALLY VERY STUPID! Does it make sense to leave a notebook out there in the open, walk away from it, and expect it to stay put exactly where you left it when you return 10 minutes later?

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This week is IT Security Week at NUS, and so they have an IT Security Carnival held at the Forum. They have been running this for some years now, and I must commend the organizers for their excellent work all around. In my opinion, this is one of the more successful and meaningful event, and I’m not saying that just because IT security is one of my pet areas too.

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