To be fair to both sides, there are people who support the ragging carried out on an Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) girl by her schoolmates to “celebrate” her birthday. The incident attracted a lot of media attention over the last few days, even drawing an official response from ACJC’s principal, Mrs Kelvyna Chan.
You have heard from the detractors, but what about about the supporters?
Here’s what Javier Yeo, an ACJC student himself, wrote on his blog, in support of the ragging culture in his school. The text in bold are quotes he took from this article in STOMP while the last line in bold and pink is given added emphasis by me as it somehow reminds me of a girl called Wee Shu Min:
Ok first of all, I don’t even understand what the hell is that reporter’s problem. If it was that such big a deal, shouldn’t the girl be traumatized? She would have gone for counseling, leave school and stay at home and not eat, turn anorexic and run away when she sees a cake, eventually culminating in her suicide.
EVIDENTLY that did not happen.
So, this “concerned” retard’s argument doesn’t even hold.
Secondly, tagging the video “loser” is done in FUN not to mock and ridicule the person. Ok to be fair, the whole attempt was to make fun of the birthday girl. But that is what happens when you are a teenager! This is how, you learn to rise up from all these “mocking” nonsense and develop some sense of humour and become a social being, not some moron who stays behind the computer screen and analyze these videos secretly wishing that someone would pay her that much attention.
AND I MUST say that this was done for fun. It was obviously very elaborately planned and no one would give 2 hoots to show someone they care that its their birthday if all they want to do is to make fun of them. USE YOUR BRAINS! Put it to better use.
“It is an awful sight and there is no way the victim is enjoying this.”
Err excuse me, are you the victim? If you’re not then DON’T SHOVE WORDS INTO HER MOUTH. That’s worse then stuffing her clothes with cake and milk.
“The birthday girl even broke down and cried in the video.
And at the end of it all, a staff member was seen admonishing the students not for doing these to her, but for messing up the place.
Dragged and humiliated”
First of all, you are not even the discipline master, let alone a teacher. So thats one reason that you should shut your trap. Secondly, I BELIEVE that our school teacher has a better sense of judgment then you do SINCE YOU ONLY SAW THE VIDEO and he was actually there. If the girl was REALLY CRYING don’t you think that he would have done something? Like I said USE YOUR BRAIN! Gosh.
“And to top it off, with reference to the attached picture , “tagged loser.jpg”, it’s disheartening to see that the person who uploaded the footage actually personally wrote “loser” as one of the tags to the video.
“Is it merely a celebration on the surface or just a facade to intentionally cause emotional distress to someone?”
No no I’m sure the computer will tag loser instead of the person. OF COURSE THE PERSON WHO UPLOAD MUST PERSONALLY TAG LA! RETARD! I’m so sorry but we’re not that advanced yet. We must wait longer for all computers to have AI. And even so, I doubt the computer would be smarter to understand that “loser” in this case is not derogatory at all but just plain fun.
“What kind of a birthday celebration is this?
One that you clearly won’t get to enjoy coz lets face it. No. One. Cares.
“I do not want to be the next person nor anyone else to be in such a state.”
Awwwww…well here’s a comforting thought! You won’t have to worry! You didn’t have to worry, and you won’t have to worry.
I’m just sooo!!!!!! ANNOYED! That someone would have so much free time to bother about ridiculously insignificant stuff like this. If you really care so much go and save the Earth! Stop global warming. Now THAT is an embarrassment that the whole of Mankind has to live through, not some stupid HARMLESS video which clearly has no malice intended.
“I am not exaggerating this incident but if such things were to happen to me. I will not be able to control my emotions and I wouldn’t be able to study in such an environment with peers like this around. Unmistakably, I will be mentally and emotionally hurt being embarrassed in front of everyone in my school, and also the entire footage being uploaded onto the internet allowing everyone else in the world to watch me being humiliated.”
It’s fine. ACJC is part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore which are not meant for prudes anyway.
UPDATE: By popular demand – since so many of the ragging supporters like to point to a blog entry by an ACJC girl called Janene Wong for a balanced view, I am providing the link here too. You can also read her full argument below:
ACJC is in the news.
It’s about a birthday girl who got really ragged on her birthday. Her peers uploaded the video of it online and it got picked up on. Read about it here and here for background info. So the students are under heat for what is interpreted as a humiliating, indecent and extreme act. They called it bullying. Even the principal is under heat for supposedly being on the student’s side.
Aiyo it’s all rubbish. If you’ve ever been in school you’d know that:
1. Your friends know you better. They know your limits and what you can take and what you enjoy. Sure the ragging looked extreme, but youth ragging always is. Unspoken guidelines are, the more trouble they went to ragging you, the more popular you are. Hence I strongly suspect the girl didn’t mind much.
2. There’s no such thing as open bullying nowadays. Noone shoves food in people’s face or ties people up to be mean or to ‘bully’ the person. It’s too obvious, you’d get caught. That stuff only happens in dramas (Dan Humphrey tied up in underwear). Definitely it was done out of fun.
3. Principal Kelvyna Chan is the bestest principal you can ask for. She’s understanding, patient and gracious. Remember the fight club incident when ACJC was in the news for supposedly having a fight club? She gave a moving speech that didn’t judge nor humiliate, but rather offered love and grace. She doesn’t bend to public pressure when the public’s against the students. She always has her student’s best interest in mind. She’s a Christian principal like a mother. Seriously, how dare some random guy denounce the best principal in the world. Grrrr…
Ah seriously, I just feel sad ppl can misinterpret the situation so badly. I wish the bday girl would give a public statement and clear things up, save her, her friend’s, the school’s and the principal’s reputation.
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This Javier student is the champion!
This guy is cool. Definitely scholar material. HEHEH
Wow. Its kids like him that scare me off having kids.
I am not surprised by his attitude. I have ex-ACJCians friends and apparently they feel that its okay to do so. (Although they think it is not okay to do so if it is not done in ACJC… Crazy argument.) Its part of a “culture” there I guess. So, although the girl might not mind (assuming of course since I am not her), I am sorry, Javier, the rest of the less Americanised Singaporeans mind. And although the ACJC has successfully brainwashed students into thinking that its okay to rag, even convincing the victim that it would be uncool to think otherwise (*shudders*), the rest of the world does not equate to ACJC. Continue living in your small little delusional world.
Can’t ACJC find their own “culture” without copying the Americans? They really need to try harder.
And oh yah, Javier, this quote: “No no I’m sure the computer will tag loser instead of the person. OF COURSE THE PERSON WHO UPLOAD MUST PERSONALLY TAG LA! RETARD! I’m so sorry but we’re not that advanced yet. We must wait longer for all computers to have AI. And even so, I doubt the computer would be smarter to understand that “loser” in this case is not derogatory at all but just plain fun.” convinces me that you are an idiot. You are not answering the question at all.
To be fair, Javier has courage. At least he dares to identify himself with the stance he put across on his blog and argue it through while the majority of the supporters are anonymous.
Americanised? The AC culture has been around for 100 over years.
AC culture is something which outsiders would not be able to understand unless they have spent at least a decade there.. it’s all about irreverance in healthy doses.
irreverence in healthy doses, and elitism in overdose?
If you generalise..that is..
The ‘defense’ above is brimming with adolescent immaturity and defiance. I’m sorry, but your tone is way too defensive and “shut your trap” isn’t gonna convince anyone of anything.
The birthday girl should make a clear stance and end all of this, but of course that isn’t cool.
I quote ‘Secondly, tagging the video “loser” is done in FUN not to mock and ridicule the person. Ok to be fair, the whole attempt was to make fun of the birthday girl. But that is what happens when you are a teenager! This is how, you learn to rise up from all these “mocking” nonsense and develop some sense of humour and become a social being, not some moron who stays behind the computer screen and analyze these videos secretly wishing that someone would pay her that much attention’
Is that your idea of fun?? Tying up a person and embarassing her? Ofcourse if anyone asks her she’s gonna say she’s fine and dandy because she knows that if she came close to saying she did’nt enjoy it, she’s gonna be named as ‘spoilt sport’ or ‘childish’. This comes down to peer pressure itself! I wouldn’t be suprised if another brutal act is done in the name of fun!
Another quote ‘It’s fine. ACJC is part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore which are not meant for prudes anyway.’
Do you have any idea what kind of impact you have left on the public’s impression of your school? That the school itself might have condoned this act before is horrifying. There is no excuse for such acts in the guise of fun! When will M.O.E step in to lay some rules about such acts carried out by ignorant teenagers thinking it’s okay to do something and get away without repercussion?
Actually, I find it highly ironic having seen Javier’s picture, because he looks EXACTLY like the type of victim we sought in the past to satiate our ragging needs. I’m pretty sure there was a protracted and tragic story, not to mention many years of torture and shame, before Mr J3tflame got a normal birthday, and some cake to actually eat.
Another Elite!!! I’m not from ACJC thus i’m the prude his refering to. So can i say “Get out of my Prude Face” >_<
In just 1 sentence he actually labeled anyone whose not from ACJC a prude. Wow. Elite. PM, MM not from ACJC right? 0.o This guy is Pro!!!
*Hopes over to his blog*
Loyola, you are telling me that these ragging practices have been around for a 100 years? I can tell you for sure they haven’t. There is a recent spike in such ragging practices due to the influence of America media.
However, if you insist that it has been around for a 100 years – I can only say that for a 100 years, AC culture still remain as barbaric as it was.
You need to spend at least a decade there to understand AC culture? Unfortunately, all girls would not understand the AC culture as they have no chance to be there for 10 years. Yet, I can see from the videos that the girls are engaging in the “culture” of AC.
Perhaps you want to enlighten us on what is the true “culture” of AC?
Amendment to my previous COmment.
I misread also.
Javier said “It’s fine. ACJC is part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore which are not meant for prudes anyway.”
So tat means “When I said part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore, I didn’t state that AC is the SOLE ELITE JC in Singapore. A closer look into the LANGUAGE, will reveal that I said AC is PART of A SCHOOL OF ELITE JCs in Singapore. You know, collective noun?”
Thus in 1 sentence Javier has labeled all those not from this Collection of Elite JCs a Prude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
POLY STUDENTS PLS STAND UP, PLS STAND UP, PLS STAND UP.
ANyway i browse through some of his frenz blogs and seems tat those who mention this topic in passing seem to agree tat it’s alright in ACJC. And seems tat the “victim” did say it’s ok too. But i guess the pt is not this now right? =D
What an arrogant and snobbish reply.
Unsubstantiated claims made by the person himself.
All in the name of fun?
Well, then upload a video of yourself in the exact state to show you genuinely mean what you say.
If you can’t preach what you say.
You fail.
“It’s fine. ACJC is part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore which are not meant for prudes anyway.”
i’m sorry but the last time I checked ACJC was NOT amongst the top 5 JC’S in Singapore. the top 5 are – RJ, Hwa Chong, NJ, VJ and TJ. So please, your elitist attitude ought to be checked.pronto.
As a fellow ACSian myself, I just want to say that Hey…Can everyone please try to develop a sense of humor and open-mindedness This whole issue is becoming more a bait for School Bashing than talking about the negative impacts of ragging.
And for the record, ACJC is no elite school, there’s a reason why many people say ACJC is the best 3 years of our lives.
Believe me when I say that what happened to her is considered MILD and part of the school culture is about pranking. During my time there, many many years ago, even teachers prank their fellow colleagues and students in good humor. A good prank is one that is creative and bold. An attribute that that perhaps make AC ppl stand out from other educational institutions.
I would also like to refute the allegation that AC culture borrows heavily from America. Yes the school were founded by an American Methodist Bishop but this is far from Americanization. The culture at the college that you see today is something that is developed over period of more than 20 years.
For an extreme examples, take a look at the Comedians that came from the AC system. People like Hossan Leong, Colin Goh and even Mr. Brown were educated through our school system and develop their style of humor while in school. Their brand of humor is witty, satirical and uniquely Singaporean.
Besides; I’m pretty sure ragging is not exclusive in ACJC alone. Other colleges do that all the time. Do you then accuse them of Americanizaton too?
@Julian: I have just posted some photos at my blog of myself tying my dick up at the chin-up bar… Appreciate the humor of the photos. ^.^
Singaporeans’ appreciation of humor is rather strange, isn’t it? 😀
I can foresee 20 years from now, ministers from ACJC having their balls tied to the poles and banged… LOL~ Way to go! Scope supports you guys and gals… Anyway, not my kids involved.
Scope.
lol javier is awesomeeeee!
and please people get over it. i have friends in all different JCs who do worse things to their friends on their birthdays. seriously don’t get why people just like to blow things up and be all ~involved in the incident when it’s none of your business.
You know.. although i never really liked ACJC i think this matter is grossly overhyped. I don’t think a school can or should intervene with this sort of student culture if it is already so ingrained. Let students decide where they want to go next after Os. .They could always choose another school.:p
-En
I’m an ACS alumni myself and i’m ashamed that i’ll be named in the same breath as this prude called javier yeo. gross!
judging someone is terrifically easy. judging someone on a basis of more than personal bias is considerably more difficult. why don’t you come to acjc and discover it for yourself? it’s a very normal chain of events. i hope you derive illumination that doesn’t require your online criticism of someone who’s just defending a school he loves! because evidently, that’s criminal.
I think his comment that ” OF COURSE THE PERSON WHO UPLOAD MUST PERSONALLY TAG LA! RETARD! ” just shows how poor his cognitive skills are.
I think that this whole ‘ragging’ thing is not as bad as it looked. And the girl really looked like a willing participant. That’s not saying it is right… but hey, if she doesn’t mind then I don’t really see the big deal. She could have walked away from it all.
This student’s response however, shows a total lack of maturity. I understand his points – that the girl wasn’t a victim, and was enjoying it as “part of the fun” – and even agree to some of it. His way of putting them across however, are what I have an issue with.
I hope he grows up soon, goodness. He obviously has a lot of his time himself, to do a point by point rebuttal for your posts. (And such a poor one at that.)
If you have to be a teacher or discipline master to stop such nonsense, then do you have to be a policeman to stop murder? You have childish ideas about what you should do and what you shouldn’t, kid.
So you think all this is out of fun? Fun for the do-ers, or fun for the victim? Maybe it is both, but fun that comes with crying? You have a skewed idea of happiness. A person can cry out of happiness no doubt, if she can be so touched about being in such a circumstance.
Somehow, I feel the next victim of this sort might be you. No, no, not in ACJC. Too mild in my opinion. In the military. Those people who do it to you are doing out of fun, yes, but out of humiliating you. THAT is the true face of life.
So you think teenagers are bound to go through those? Then I really pity people of such pathetic childhood nowadays. You included. And no doubt you will get more than that if you continue your behaviour with a total negligence of human rights, the right to make a choice and say no.
And that you condone such abuse of human rights, you remind me of Hitler and his holocaust. But what’s worse is, there’s no racism or eugenics to talk about here. It’s just pure humiliation of another human being, be her of the same race or gender as you.
What a shame to live your life like that. My condolences.
as an ACSian for over a decade, i agree that our institutions are influenced by america to a certain extent, no doubt about that. yet again, this whole country is, isnt it? every culture that is exposed to another culture will inevitably be influenced by each other. why does singapore celebrate christmas much more evidently than any other religious occasion even if it’s population has a higher percentage of buddhists? why, over the recent years, have we been making a case for greater freedom of speech? why do we discuss gay marriages and sex more frequently these days? why do some of us spell ‘center’ instead of ‘centre’, or ‘americanized’ instead of ‘americanised’. american influence, my friend.
my point being, that perhaps AC may be somewhat different due to administrative changes, but i’m certain that i speak for my batch of 2004 when i say that we are proud of our culture, be it americanized or not. i find it very upsetting when people stereotype the students of our school and speak ill of it despite never having been part of it. there may be ups and downs, where people may not be able to find their own in the school, but there are many more who do and and love ACS well after their days in the uniform are over. do not be quick to judge a school’s culture based on one incident. i had deliberately spent the first 3months of my JC education in another school just to ‘open my eyes’. i eventually returned to the AC family for the final two years, and i dare say that being in AC has been one of the best things that has happened in my life.
from the pictures, yes it does appear to be somewhat overboard and i would not say that the video is ‘harmless’. yet, who knows? you have to be a fool to think that incidents like these are limited to the confines of ACJC. furthermore, incidents involving ACSians tend to be more blown up than usual simply because we have a tendency to be more outspoken, as are our retractors.
lastly, on being labeled an ‘elitist’ school. at the end of the day, i hope the critics realize that it really is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
oldboy: Thanks for sharing. 🙂 It kind of well sum up both sides actually.
Experience the culture before you pass judgement. Simple as that.
Who are you all to claim that the individual suffered when she actually didn’t mind it? Moral police eh?
With people like these, who needs the ultraconservatives hey.
Such students need a ragging gone wrong, turning into some tragedy to get some sense into their thick skulls. Such practices are found only in the wildest fraternities. If you care dig, there are stories all over about ragging and hazing gone horribly wrong.
In the end, what have you proven by doing this? That you all were creative in your birthday celebrations? Man, blessed with intelligence but capable of falling to such depths of stupidity.
If u allow bungee jumping, some pple may plunge to their death. If u allow bar-top dancing, some dancer may fall and break their neck. If u allow F1 racing, some driver may crash and die. IF u allow marathon running, some pple may jus collapse and die of heart failure. If u allow dragon boating, some pple may drown to their deaths. If u allow wakeboarding, some one may crash his head into the ramp, IF u allow holidaying overseas, the airplane carrying you may crash and burn. If u care to dig, there are stories all over about all the above activities gone horribly wrong.
I think best is to make everbody stay at home and watch TV for entertainment. That way, no body ever gets hurt.
eh?
so ragging is just part of “culture”? I didn’t know that. Some people here are saying acjc is americanised, so how different is that from other schools? And how do you separate the americanized schools from the britished schools and the singaporeaned schools?
So at the end of the day it’s all down to ‘experiences’ before we can make any judgments. Which brings to my point how many can experience it before they can pass any judgments. And i didn’t know notions of ‘sufferings’ differ from schools to schools. If it wasn’t a point about schools per se and more about the act, why bring up the point that “you-can-only-understand-it-if-you-been-through-acjc”
and as for javier, pass your a levels before you comment on who’s prudes.
Ok, you Jc students, if you prefer to push the envelope, and find good conventional civilised behaviour boring, why not try jumping off buildings? go volunteer to get your balls banged against the post for your next birthday. Tell how it feels to get your nuts banged up. Wear a T-shirt that announces “I banged my balls for birthday fun.”
ok, u mini-LKYs, just bcos I play pranks on my close frens like throw cakes in his face or pour liquid over his head, it does not mean I am pre-disposed to starting a riot or throwing molotov cocktails. Even the PAP under Lee Hsien Loong is starting to shed the alarmists’ mindset and allowing casinos, F1, bartop dancing, strip cabaret, games arcades, etc, to operate. Why dun u go ask the proponents of these activites to jump off a building also?
First of all, to see such a thing happen sends shiver down my spines. If you look at the video, you cant totally say the girl enjoyed it. Of course they have the right to have this as a part of the “AC culture”. But Ac people aside, how many people actually do think its ok? Not to mention, i think a teenager’s maturity should be way beyond that. I have fellow friends from RJ HC and VJ, i am pretty sure that this is -.-“”. To see his argument is the worst. Not only not convincing, it is really immature.
And Acjian as an elite school.. first of all i cant believe he said that. Secondly, it is a highly disputable point right. If you ask me about elite schools (though, really all schools have their own purpose), I will say RJ HC VJ and perhaps NJ and TJ. But AC is not in the picture, not anywhere close. This disillusion has been there since good old when, i remembered an AC principle said they were top 4. Why do they have to fabricate datas like that.. such fallible arguments.
Gooddos to people who have an enjoyable experience at ACJC. Who gives us the right to judge whether the culture is acceptable or right?
But welcome to the society. Really, this is not the first time that AC culture makes me tweak. Its fun. but immature and arrogant.
ACJC Rocks man. ACJC is so cool. ACJC is da best man. ACJC ragging culture roxx mans. It’s so fantabulous it gives me the jibby wibbies.
Now can any ACJCian call their mom/dad to give me a job in their elite companies? Wash toilet oso can… desperate lolol kekeke.
Nonsense. You ought to be tied up someday too and subjected to such treatments and exposed to savagery seen only in war movies.
Ah now i know why my blog suddenly has got a lot of hits… 😉
anyway i rcved a comment that made me think…
Are we letting too many things slide under the umbrella protection ‘culture’? Imagine an argument regarding premarital sex. One party would says its wrong, another would say its not, its just we have different cultures.
Ultimately I believe the debate isn’t merely about whether the bday girl was willing/whether there was misinterpretation of the video, rather it’s about what type of culture we can accept.
I still believe the students shouldn’t be personally judged for their actions, after all in their culture, there is no wrong. Rather lets question: How this culture came to evolve? Is it acceptable to you, to students, to society? Can there be a difference in what is acceptable to different groups of society? ie younger generation vs older generation? When do allow evolution of culture? How do we reconcile these differences?
Anyway this debate has taken on a whole new level and I’m actually interested in where it’s headed. I do welcome any replies/comments that hopefully aim to answer these questions instead of fanning flames. =)
Hi Jan, thanks for popping by. 🙂 Actually, similar to how you feel, I am also interested in where this debate is headed – in the bigger picture of course.
You bunch of mama’s boys, wait till you go in the army, the instructors will be waiting to give you worse treatment, only in proper tekan style. And it is the training culture there, you wimps. By that time, see what you do? Cow bey cow bu. Complain to MP lah, complain to forum, blog.
I think oldboy managed to sum it up quite nicely, but here’s a bit more of my take – I’m from the 2003 batch, 1 year before oldboy’s batch. And I dare say that yes, I am proud of the culture; not because of the aforementioned ragging incident, but because of the people, the education, and last but not least, how each student chooses their individuality.
On the video itself, I find that while the pictures, and some scenes, may seem extreme, such acts are not restricted to ACJC itself; I’m currently in uni now, and I’ve heard friends, classmates from other schools, “regale” me with tales of ragging “back in the day”. If such an act was done on a guy, it would probably be considered “tame”. And you probably watch people get subject to worse humiliation on Japanese/Taiwanese game shows.
Yet, despite what people consider “ragging”, I’d ask a simple question: why, despite going through the so-called humiliation, do AC students find such a bond to their old school mates, to their alma mater? How is it that AC has a reputation of being a “rich” school, no thanks in part to substantial donations by members of its old boys association?
Perhaps the bigger picture would be understanding, in reality, that one thing that an education, in fact, any form of education, should provide, is the ability for the student to express his/herself – while a “ragging”/”hazing” culture exists in schools, such outlets are part of the culture; not because these acts should be condoned, but because, say what you may, it becomes part of the experience – something memorable, between friends. It’s not something strangers do to one another – you don’t toss random strangers into the pool, neither do you smash birthday cake into a random stranger’s face. There always comes a question of what is considered excessive, but unless there occurs obvious risks to mental or physical trauma, it would be safe to consider nothing as excessive.
Of course, the alternative; banning such “ragging”/”hazing”/”pranks”, and placing a strict “do not” framework in the picture, would effectively destroy most forms of spontaneity. And that’s perhaps what AC’s culture could be summed up as. Random acts of spontaneity. It’s what’s seen it through a hundred plus years, and what gave it have such a strong alma mater loyalty – because we do remember, fondly, the times we were being utter brats in school, the pranks we played on each other, and how we laughed, despite getting into trouble. It might have been a time of innocence lost, but regardless, we remember it fondly.
Back to the case of “ragging’/”hazing”/”pranking”, I suppose the case is succinctly framed by jan – your friends know how much you can take mentally, the more effort put into it, the more popular the “prankee” is, and lastly, as far as it has gone, no one has ever suffered physical or mental trauma, aside from mild discomfort.
As it is, the case appears to have been blown out of proportion, mainly because AC’s students tend to be more outspoken, as oldboy has ponted out, giving rise to the spectrum of “love us or hate us”. If such a case happened in a less “popular” JC, Poly, or ITE, the reaction would likely be different. The girl in question is probably more affected by the huge media attention given to the video surfacing, as compared to the act itself, notably a bad time, as the A-levels are upon her as well.
You people are tell talers, and a disgrace to society. Stay away from Western institutions conservative Singaporeans
Why do you liek to search for others posts and display theri personal information ? Are you gunning for a post at your nation’s ISA/SID? Typical conservative Singaporean. Stay away fro mUS/UK institutions. Go to your “guai” NUS/NTU/SMU
No wonder ACJC not considered elite. Only rich.
Lucky our PM not from ACJC. Otherwise, besides GST to help the poor, we also kenna tied to poles and smashed with expensive cake.
Why don’t you guys make the birthday more meaningful? Donate the cake to some old folk picking drink cans at hawker centres? They may not have eaten a nice cake for a long while.
very interesting suggestion by anon.
Can I hire you for the ISD? you know how to spy of others very well and you’re a great whistle blower.
Publicly available information on the Internet constitute spying and whistle blowing? Thanks for thinking so highly of me.
Wow. Is the youths these days filled with so much apathy, or is it just the ACJC’s?
Honestly, if you think it’s alright for the ragging to carry on to that extent, I have nothing to say. If this is has not a tinge of humiliation in this, what is? The girl getting stripped during the process?
Whether or not the nature of this ragging was done in good humor or otherwise, I find it to have gone too far. It does not matter whether it was in the presence of friends, because ultimately the joy is derived from the girl’s embarrassment. There are better ways to educate someone to “rise up”. And trust me, since you’re not the girl too, how would you know whether the incident HARMLESS to her? If the world has to use your standard of HARM (as quoted from your first paragraph), I’m pretty sure they’d all be dead by now.
Sure, you might been numbed to these after seeing it as a social norm, with your peers all doing that. Does that mean it’s normal? You’re given the recognition of being able to stand up for your stance on this, but I’m afraid it’s because you didn’t do so then when you saw ragging for the first time.
And let’s not get started on the
“It’s fine. ACJC is part of a school of elite JCs in Singapore which are not meant for prudes anyway.”
=P
i seriously dunno why there’s such a big deal over this incident. Juz conduct a survey in school to find out how many students fond this act unacceptable will do.i bet there will b more than 80percent sayin that the act was in goodwill. i seriously wonder if life in singapore is so mundane that there is a need to blow such a small event like this out of proportion
Alvin, recruitment available for you. Special post at ISD for searching facebook names that are anti government. Salary: same pay grade as Ministers.
ISD: Sounds cool. Intro? 🙂
Btw, “ISD” can you just post as one person? You and “Westerner” who keeps complaining here share the same IP address. Might as well keep to one persona yeah?
Alvin,
you’re funny. love the picture of Javier.
LOL
i’m appalled that you would actually tolerate behaviour like this. its as if acjc has formed some sort of cult group. the girl was treated like an animal, tied up. i personally wished i were there to personally put a stop to such a repulsive act of abuse.
“i seriously dunno why there’s such a big deal over this incident. Juz conduct a survey in school to find out how many students fond this act unacceptable will do.i bet there will b more than 80percent sayin that the act was in goodwill. i seriously wonder if life in singapore is so mundane that there is a need to blow such a small event like this out of proportion” ACForever
Funny that you think more that 80 percent will say the act was in goodwill. From what I read and hear, it’s more like 80 percent think the act was utterly disgusting.
Btw, if this happens in a school in the US, it’s against the law and the victim can press charges against the culprits and the school. Luckily your principal Kelvyna Chan is running a school in Singapore, and not in the US.
Woo hoo… This shows what it is like to be AC
BTW who is the girl in the video what’s her name? What about her side in the story? What we hear is what the principal said not what the girl said.
it’s all in the name of fun. it depends how far every individual can take. perhaps not in this case. but well, who are we to judge by merely inferring?
if we condemn such acts then i guess we can only keep it within our circle. afterall we have our own definition of fun, that’s why many of us are segregated into “cliques”. let this issue rest, we’ll grow up. but let us have some fun in our growing years. in any case, us teenagers would have learnt to put things to a limit from this highlighted saga.
seriously, i wonder if you ever attended a class called MORALE EDUCATION.
i feel ashamed that you people are singaporeans because you have made us look like barbarians who throw food at people. i believe you heart is black in colour, or maybe you just dun have a friggin heart! karma will get you people.
I wonder if your parents have read what you wrote.
If they did, must be heart wrenching for them to realize how callous and utterly rude and arrogant their son has turned out to be ……
i just think people from different cultures and in Singapore there are distinctly 2…and live in 2 different worlds…then there’s those in the middle bridging the gap…
the “ac” culture…is not confined to just “ac”
can’t blame javier for being defensive…he is after all defending his essense…
and yea you kinda get the feeling…her friends knew her limit.
of course it should be good to pass the “love” around when another in the clique is gonna have their birthday… but planning takes time and effort…
for a passerby to see…it’s very hard to understand unless you understand the culture…
as long as she wasn’t legally violated or is not gonna press charges…i guess it’s safe to assume the love is mutual…and not depravative submission to the mob’s mentality.
neighbourhood schools are more conservative and tend towards this “traditional” view… non-neighbourhood schools are just the opposite…believing they can have everything in life and have it all…
hence…people who read GQ and Vogue…don’t tend to read certain local publications…
you know what? some reporters (or if you prefer to call them jour*NALists) really have nothing better to write…
they wait all day & night like a fox for such incidents to happen…
& “gotcha!” they catch ya…and will make an attempt to blow the news out of proportion….
so…teachers, lawyers, doctors, students, “good” schools…be good & watch out man! you are their preys…
an an ex-ac boy, i don’t see what’s the fuss over this incident…maybe i’m product of growing up in an ac culture…a proud one!
ACJC Vision Statement:
“ACJC is a Methodist Institution
committed to an all-round education of the highest standards
based on Christian principles
and a consciousness of self, others and God.”
Now an ACJC girl gets tied up, humiliated, her modesty violated …. and what does an ex-ac boy say ? “i don’t see what’s the fuss over this incident….maybe i’m product of growing up in an ac culture”.
A bit hard to reconcile his attitude to one “based on Christian principles and a consciousness of self, others and God”. Looks like the ac culture has eclipsed the vision ? (or vision statement just for show?)
Not surprising, after reading ACJC principal Kelvyna Chan’s response: “a birthday celebration between good friends”
Sigh, what to do, a lot of people in Singapore don’t like ACS what. What we think as fun, the general public thinks otherwise. Oh well. =/
You say the journalist waste so much time? Well, they’ve caught your school this time. They do this for a living.
AND, this gives a little touch of something like this. “If the journalist had not wasted so much time, we would not have been caught.” Its just a feeling. Insult me all you want.
Next time your son comes back, all bruised up, you tell him, “It’s just bruises, don’t be a prude.”
And. If the journalist wastes time, look at you now. The journalist has made an impact to the people in Singapore, you have not changed their point of view. Summarise?
FAIL
Dunno if this happens in other JCs, but it certainly happened in my CCA. It wasn’t so serious as this but it was more like, seniors getting juniors to do all sorts of pointless stuff and making them drop 20 pushups etc. for really minor mistakes like memorizing a phrase wrongly. Well, guess what? In my JC, it’s even school-approved!!
The seniors say it’s in the name of fun and building character, leadership plus bonding. But I guess it’s more like getting juniors to become mindless followers who go with the flow and never question ‘tradition’.
Best of all, most of my mates who go through this thing with me actually become brainwashed by it. Some ppl like me really disagree with institutionalized ragging but we’re forced to shut up, I guess, because of peer pressure. It’s like, if you complain about it, other CCA ppl will brand you as someone who’s not a “team-player” etc.
So in the end, most of us just pretend we support ragging as an initiation rite, even to our best friends in the CCA, cos we just never know who actually supports ragging and who doesn’t. Now I run around declaring that CCA camp was great and helped me bond with everyone else as one blah blah, stuff like that. I know I sound like some hypocrite, but sometimes you just cant help it, right? If even the teachers support it, what to do?
Next thing we know, people will start shooting each other and say it’s ‘the culture’. “Ohh, he (the victim) seems totally fine about it. He’s not even complaining! (ever)”
Quote[
“lookingout says:
November 26, 2008 at 11:30 am
I wonder if your parents have read what you wrote.
If they did, must be heart wrenching for them to realize how callous and utterly rude and arrogant their son has turned out to be ……”
]Unquote
What if his parents are from ACJC as well? Haha!
Oh, it’s a tradition in ACJC. Just like how people who fast and get themselves stabbed for festivals, or people who would wear rings around their neck, extend it and doing the Hokey-Pokey around a camp fire. It’s taboo.
I don’t agree with how she’s being treated, and in a way, to be fair, she’s not voicing out her unhappiness, but note, neither is she voicing out her happiness. So while it is safe for you, to assume that she is not upset, it is also safe for us, to assume she is upset. After all, she’s not voicing out.
By the way, deeming someone as a retard is a downright insult. Also, this is coming from an ITE student. =D Sorry if I didn’t study hard to get in Express, sorry I didn’t go to JC, but lemme tell you, education doesn’t define a human being. Its the morals, upbringing and experience that does.
I do have friends who celebrate their birthdays like this, and enjoy it. But, note, I also do have friends who celebrate their birthdays like this and didn’t enjoy a bit of it.
Seriously, you rank of bad attitude and are arguing without logic. I wonder how u are brought up in terms of character. U want the bdae girl to clear things up? Geez, that’s equivalent to aak her to lie, or if she tells what she really feels, she’s asking for it ain’t it? Fun can only go so far, and if u don’t know where your limits lie, you’ll just be a menace to society and add on to the current culture of bullying ‘in the name of fun’
He is totally not defending his school’s ragging culture, but showing it to everyone on the internet how barbaric and stupid it is.
Good job in defending it. You would make a great lawyer some day
Disclaimer: I AM NOT FROM ACS
Well, there has been quite a controversy over this whole birthday celebration gone public.
Firstly, I would like to ask those who responded to the last line in pink, an elitist comment, if they realised who added it in. Because in fact, it was not originally penned by Mr Javier Yeo, but was added there by the author of the blog. (See above: ” The text in bold are quotes he took from this article in STOMP while the last line in bold and pink is given added emphasis by me as it somehow reminds me of a girl called Wee Shu Min”)
Secondly, although I doubt I know exactly what were the “victim”‘s views and opinions of such a birthday celebration, I dare say that to hear of such methods in neither surprising nor shocking. In secondary school cakes are already being stuffed in other’s faces, what more JC. . Yes, perhaps it is the AC culture to do so in JC. I do not know. Some spirited past and present boys have stated so and I will assume them to be correct. Next we have the contrasting camp firing at the AC culture for being “Americanised” and “barbaric”. I do have points of contention with the latters response to this situation at hand. Isn’t attacking another so ferociously and insultingly much worse than what the JC students have done to their friend? Yes I do believe that AC students tend to have a love for jokes, pranks and whatnot. They may go slighlty overboard at times but it is done in the spirit of good fun and not malice or intend to hurt. Yes I believe that such acts should not be condoned. However, they should not be brought to this level of extremity with journalists, a school principal and many angry personal-attackers in the picture.
I rest my case.
A 12-year old girl