NUSWhispers – Confession #22345

Firstly, peer pressure is never a good excuse for 20 something young adults. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with being labelled as conservative unless you want to be seen as up for anything/rabak/whatever. Of course then you can’t have your cake and eat it too. There is a growing divide in society, many are liberalising faster than the rest, leading to this debate on values. I believe the issue here is that many Singaporeans are quite spoon-fed and have many expectations of institutions and others. Not every activity that doesn’t fit snugly in your value system is ‘wrong’. Don’t forget, many older Singaporeans are unfamiliar with the concept of the modern Freshman Orientation Camp. It is unlike anything from the past and is evolving with each generation’s culture. Looking at the trumped up headlines and incriminating picture choice, their outrage and consternation is only logical, even justified. It is easy to go to extremes with juicy phrases such as “trivialising rape”. Such accusations should not be made lightly and thrown around for convenience. Are cheers REALLY spurring our lustful youth to rape? Some sound evidence, other than hurt feelings, would be appreciated. Bad apples exist. A damning report from a bunch of anonymous sources will not bring the culprit down. However, think about the organisers. Do you really think the school has the resources to track down the perpetrator from your anonymous rants? No, but the school will have to take some action lest they be seen as doing nothing. The blanket backlash will be borne by organisers, people who VOLUNTEERED their time to organise the camp for freshmen in the first place. So I implore you to please stop feeding the flames with anonymous stories and stand up as a whistleblower to identify/root out the culprits. This is the only way to cleanse the system.