2007 ~ 2012 |
A NEW CAMPUS AND THE BIRTH OF SASS
Filling in the Blanks
Eng Sze Jia
No students were harmed
in this exercise. There’s a
greater purpose for this! ▶
When I look back at the years I’ve spent being
part of SASS, I get a sweeping wave of nostalgia
accompanied by a great sense of loss because:
86
Just because
you have
authority
doesn’t mean
you’re always
right. And
just because
you are
outnumbered,
it doesn’t
mean you
should suffer
in silence
Lecturer = a trusted a figure of authority.
Trust = Ok la. He probably has his reasons even
though it’s not overtly clear.
(1) These years coincided with life lessons that came
along with gaining independence as a young adult. Authority = Well, you probably should conform.
(2) SASS presented me a mental bootcamp with
newfound awareness to independence of thought. Look around and no one says anything = I guess we
chose to trust in others while being in this unusual
class setting.
One day, my pal and I were late for a tutorial for
COM1020. I don’t remember if it was because
of a late lunch, an overdue INT assignment or
oversleeping. But I remember walking into class,
everyone had sat in a circle, and one of my mates
handed me masking tape. Dr Yeoh casually said
“you’re late and it’s part of the lesson”.
I froze at the door, regained my composure and
settled in an empty seat.
This is a picture of me in class that day. I got this
photo because one of our tutors was tasked to
mimic the paparazzi during the lesson (It was you,
Meng Yoe!).
Discussions during the tutorial went on as usual. I
tried not to focus on the discomfort. But it was very
obvious that I, along with the other students with the
tape, have been put in a position of disadvantage. We
were a minority and we were also silenced.
When it was time to remove our tape, Dr Yeoh
asked “Why didn’t anyone retaliate?” Murmurs in the
background. “For those of you without the tape, why
didn’t any of you speak up?”
I suppose I can sum up what went through our heads.
BUT – just think about it – if one of us had spoken
up or stirred up an unlikely riot to question his
instructions, we could have changed the trajectory of
the lesson that day.
This exercise simulated a smaller version of the media
sphere in the classroom. These are the same kinds
of challenges modern society faces. The easy way
out is to stay silent, or suffer in silence. Rebelling
may have repercussions but will change the direction
of where society will go. Just because you have
authority doesn’t mean you’re always right. And just
because you are outnumbered, it doesn’t mean you
should suffer in silence because Power, in short, is
exercised rather than possessed. #foucaultforeva
If you were a journalist, how would you have
captioned the photo? It can be framed really differently
depending on who you’re writing for, the punished
or the punisher. Our awareness to their nuances as
citizens are ________. Well, this lesson, along with
many others, filled in my blanks.
Sze Jia graduated with a Bachelor of Communication
(Honours) in 2010. She currently works as a
Production Coordinator with LucasFilm in Singapore.