An open letter regarding FOCs

An open letter regarding FOCs

For the longest time, I struggled to find the right words to address all this. I figured it would only be right to speak first to those that matter the most.

To Mummy & Papa,

I'm sure you would have read the recent news regarding NUS and the Freshmen Orientation Camps/Projects, and like any loving parent, you would no doubt be worried sick wondering if I am implicated in all this. I am at once embittered, angered, disappointed, saddened, unsure and apologetic. So to get all of this out of the way: Yes, I have participated in unapproved activities before. No, it was nothing like they describe in the papers. No, I have never done anything without a freshman's consent. Yes, we made sure nobody was hurt. No, The New Paper is not telling the whole truth. Yes, the stories are exaggerated. Yes, I am safe.

"A lie can travel halfway the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

Calling the article a mischaracterization of NUS freshmen activities is an understatement. To be able to publish a story like this says a lot about the journalistic standards of Singapore and The New Paper. Before this saga, I was apathetic. Today I am embittered. The activities written in the paper are sensationalized, their lewdness exaggerated, their outrageousness maximized. The orange shirt push up photo you see as the cover has already appeared in the same paper a few years back under a similar title, and even more heinously, it's not even from NUS. The videos circulating around are either not from NUS or from years before, of which the organizers have already been disciplined for. All those currently implicated are absolutely innocent and I'm absolutely angered that they have been accused in the first place with no real evidence other than a possibly bitter freshman's "testimony"

As much as you condone these activities and these seniors for doing such unspeakable acts (once upon a time), these are the very same seniors that taught us to discern the right way of doing it and the wrong way of doing it. These are the very same seniors who taught us how to make mature decisions, how to not let your emotions or impulses get the better of you. The very same seniors taught me how to do all these things safely, both physically and mentally. The very same seniors taught me that we support our fellow man by building each other up, not tearing the enemies down. So no matter how tempting it may have been to characterize NUS seniors as perverse, understanding these nuances in the complex and often harsh reality of life made me a better and more holistic person today.

The road to adulthood is paved with stupidity. To pretend it is anything but is to live in denial. A denial that what feels like the whole of Singapore is going through. It seems ludicrous that plenty of "adults" that have gone through their own periods of drinking, partying and general stupidity can act high and mighty once their time was up. Let's not pretend that these students coming in are all angel fairies that need to be protected from the realities of "adult" life. We are adults. And we need to make our own stupid decisions too. They teach us to make better ones. So, No, I'm not sorry for not behaving according to your delusional worldview, and I'm not sorry if it offends your delicate sensibilities.

I am saddened for this current batch of freshmen and seniors because I know the road ahead will be tougher than it has ever been. From today onwards, there is an added level of paranoia, fear and uncertainty among all those who may have intended to step up like we once did. And by missing out on such experiences, they lose what made our NUS lives so enriching. Participating in any capacity in an FOC is thankless job, one that thousands upon thousands of seniors sign up for year after year. There is no compensation, no reward, no real reason to give up precious vacation time to come back to school for this. Yet, we do. We do, because we became a closer family through these camps. I have walked in the shoes of a freshman, an OGL, a camp organizer and a Project Director for orientation. I know that my outlook on life and society around me has been deeply shaped by these experiences, and I want to share these experiences with the incoming freshmen just as my seniors have done for me. Every time I walk out of my front door during summer vacation, it's for orientation. You know that. And I know you look me in the eyes every time and simply ask that I do not do anything stupid and stay safe. I assure you, because of my seniors, I KNOW I'm not doing anything stupid. 

To end off; To my brother, my cousins and all prospective freshmen who at some point will consider NUS as their institute of higher learning, I can only offer my sincerest apologies. The vocal minority has prevailed once again, and you must suffer the consequences for it. Maturity is not a given in any society, and pandering to the lowest denominator does not make us any stronger in any way. Hopefully, the journey that has brought you here has endowed you sufficiently to discern the right from the wrong, the truth from the half-truths. The same path that I took that so enriched my young adulthood will undoubtedly be unrecognizable from your own, but I wish you to become as intelligent, compassionate and wise as those who came before me. 

Vincit Omnia Veritas.

With Love,