Black Holes and Revelations Subheader
Co-Curricular Activities
We recall one assembly when, as yet another student stepped up to the podium to announce that we had done well in some competition or the other, something unusual happened. Instead of imitating the standard format of these celebratory announcements, he tripped on‘ I am pleased to announce that we have achieved commendable results...’ and bowdlerised‘ commendable’ into‘ condemnable’. It was hilarious at the time, and still amusing now, but the memory also makes us think of the countless times we’ ve heard that line delivered without mistake. Success is as integral to the Rafflesian identity as air and water are to life— in fact, the place of success at the centre of what it means to be Rafflesian is only questioned on that rare occasion when we fail to succeed.
The problem herein lies in the notion that CCAs exist insofar as they are able to bring glory to the school, as the never-ending stream of commendable successes at morning assembly may attest. This assertion is not entirely inaccurate. Popular belief and Rafflesian gossip( often closely aligned) holds that the controversial closing of the Gymnastics CCA was due to them not bagging any gold medals over the past few years. The same belief is put forward for the decision to shut down Bowling as well.
What is seen by the Rafflesian body as the unjust closure of CCAs due to an overemphasis on achievement has sparked controversy. In every few
Success is as integral to the Rafflesian identity as air and water are to life— in fact, the place of success at the centre of what it means to be Rafflesian is only questioned on that rare occasion when we fail to succeed.
posts on Raffles and RJ Confessions, at least one post about CCAs is bound to crop up. Confessors are up in arms over this focus on results: after all, aren’ t CCAs supposed to nurture the interest of students? Yet, it would seem that the school cares more about achievement than passion.
One confessor confesses that it’ s just‘ plain demoralising when you put in the most effort you can for a CCA only for the school to close it down’. Another confessor remarked that so long as there is interest in the CCA, there is no reason‘ to crush people’ s dreams and take away their opportunity to develop their area of passion’. Yet, it appears that this‘ warped lust for grandeur and trophies’ has fundamentally changed what CCAs are supposed to be.
Rafflesian Times
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