HORROR - Nanyang Technological University

19
05 CHRONICLE
Free our scholars
DARIUS ZHENG
W
hen NUS law
scholar Alvin
Tan and his girlfriend
Vivian
Lee made headlines
with their joint sex blog, I
couldn’t help but notice the emphasis
on scholarly expectations
in the ensuing media coverage.
Many of the media outlets
had never failed to mention Mr
Tan being a law scholar in their
reportage. There also seems to be
an imbalanced coverage on Mr
Tan compared to his girlfriend.
What resulted was the huge
number of netizens wanting his
scholarship to be revoked, other
than the possibility of legal action
against him.
My question is this: would
society have viewed this differently
if he is not a scholar
I was reminded of a similar
case in 2009, when a 24-yearold
female Singapore A*Star
scholar stripped bare and walked
around Holland Village with her
male Swedish friend.
She was, perhaps surprisingly,
not stripped of her scholarship.
However, this was the only
case that was persecuted, out of
many other cases of public nudity
since 2008.
It proves only one point –
that the society at large does
have a higher level of expectations
for scholarship holders.
As a scholar myself, I couldn’t
help but empathise with Mr Tan
and his current predicament — of
how scholarships strip us of our
personal choices, in ways spoken
and unspoken.
I took a flip through my
scholarship deed signed more
than three years ago. True
enough, it proved my point right
— some of the terms and conditions
mentioned how scholarship
holders should “refrain from participating
in activities which are,
or likely to be, inimical or otherwise
harmful, damaging or detrimental
to the interests, security
and/or international standing of
Singapore”.
However, the ultimatum was
on how a scholar should “conform
to the provisions as set out
in the scholarship which may be
amended from time to time”.
During the briefing conducted
by my awarding organization
after signing the contract,
I also remember vividly how the
abovementioned terms and conditions
were tirelessly repeated.
Some of you might disagree
that accepting monetary aid by
the sponsor organisation would
quite naturally equate to a conformation
to its rules and regulations.
In fact, a scholar holds
the prestige of representing the
organisation and needs to act as
its symbol of excellence.
While I agree that some of the
rules that scholars are bounded
to are necessary, it should not
go overboard. What saddens me
is no matter what the reason
for accepting a scholarship is,
a scholarship holder is now defined
by values set by an organisation,
losing his entitlement to
personal choice in the process.
In this case, Mr Tan fell victim
to that.
Besides expectations set by
the organisation, the extent of
media coverage is a huge influence
on the public’s expectations
of scholars. Media has always
shaped public perceptions and
opinions – much of the value of
information we get today such as
beauty trends (what qualifies as
beautiful) and alternative lifestyles
(what is the notion of a
family) have all been influenced
by the media in its many forms.
Media and our personal opinions
are hence almost inseparable.
With the huge sensationalising
in the media today – there is
definitely a need for us to discern
how much information to
take at face value.
If Mr Tan was merely mentioned
as an undergraduate, or
even simply, as a student, don’t
you think he might have gotten
lesser backlash from the subsequent
media reports
Another influence on society
expectations lies in the difference
of how each individual
defines morality today. Just an
example – if I posed a question
on whether Britney Spears
is considered slutty, I am sure I
GRAPHIC | JEROME NG
will get views on both sides of
the spectrum.
Just like how Mr Tan and his
girlfriend have maintained their
stand in a video released to the
public that they will not make
a public apology for “breaching
some moral code that you hold
dearly to yourself”, people of
different moral standards should
not expect others to feel the
same way.
And who is to determine if
one’s morals standards is right
There’s no way any one can accurately
do so. And perhaps, educational
qualifications or how
high up the corporate ladder one
has climbed does not necessitate
someone to act in a certain way
society deems fit.
Perhaps what is more important
in this whole saga is the
expectations of Mr Tan’s loved
ones. At least, those who born
and bred him have more right to
criticise his behaviour than the
general public.
Yet, what they gave him was
their trust and support.
So, if the ones closest to his
life are supporting him, who are
we as members of the society to
expect a certain code of conduct
from him
The truth is, no one can — so
spare the rod and cut this guy
some slack, for a scholar is also a
human being like any one of us.
The future will
be better as our
policy makers
will help us
to make more
improvements.
Chloe
“
Tan, 20, HSS Yr 1
We
Technologically
yes but in terms
of the arts
scene and social
responsibility,
more can be done.
Zoolikhsan Abdul Rahman,
21, MAE Yr 2
“
We
Singapore’s
financial sector
may not be there
yet, but I still
remain optimistic
for the future.
Cheng Xin, 21, SCE Yr 1
OPINIONS
”
are past the
Golden Age.
It depends on the
new generation
of leadership to
determine where
we go.
Low Tze
”
Ren, 21, EEE Yr 1
are still
moving forward,
and our
foreign talents
might help us
with further
developments.
Farah Diyanah, 21, NIE Yr 1
”
TEXT | LI ZHUODA; PHOTOS | ANNABELLE LIANG
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