Culture is the out come of humans needing to form something bigger and beyond themselves; something for them to create exclusive and inclusive groups and to feel safe within. In the past, culture was rigid. A code of conduct passed down through the sands of time, governed by the masses on how individuals should and should not lived their lives. However, in recent years due to globalisation and the increasing power attained by government bodies, culture has become more and more fluid, as people all over the world start to move out of their limited circles and interact with the world. To some, this meant the 'tainting' of their culture; the contamination of their sacred beliefs. This has lead to the birth of extremists, willing to stop at none to propagate their ideals.
Through i have yet to meet an Kalashnikov totting, stocking clad, C4 strapped 'hero', cultural idealism came across to me in another way: Worshipping the white gods. As most of South East Asean countries were once under to rule of different colonial masters, many of us tend to view white people (most of us can't tell the difference between Europeans and Americans) to being superior to us. This is especially seen in the service line, when waiters, salegirls, bartenders, etc, tend to ignore the puny Asian and provide almost impeccable serivce to the whites. Barring the fact that white people tend to be more pleasant and chatty, and have a higher tendency to pay more for the same good, why is it that the white couple always get their rongole first, even though the order was obviously first made by the Asian couple sitting two rows down?
This is not simply just the result of being bias but a cultural mindset, passed down from our ancestors through their body language and tone when in the presence of and when describing white people respectively. Hence, even though much of our cultural roots have been lost over time, when various cultural boundries have turned into grey areas, many of us are still trapped in this colonial mindset that white people have an edge over us Asians, just because they were born white. So much for globalization and the era of cultural flexibility.
How does effective communication come into play here? Culture is passed down not only in writing but more so through our behaviours and lifestyles. For example, a Muslim kid would not understand the meaning behind fasting but does so because he or her parents do so. As such, they are trained from young to accept the fact that fasting is part of their culture; a side of their lives they cannot do without. Same goes for upholding white people. If we are able to effectively show, in body langauge (i.e. not standing in a subservient posture when interacting with a white person) and in our tone (i.e. not speaking patronisingly), this cultural inferiority could be erased over time.
Let's join our hands comrades and show that we're not below the whites!
9/5/08
Canteen crowd
It is almost impossible to obtain lunch from the science canteen from 1130 to 1330 hrs, on a normal school day as it is packed with students and hungry workers of nearby facilities, so much so that getting food and a table to sit at, becomes a long ardous wait. Queues from food stores snake around the tables and seats, creating a disorderly mass of people. The two hundred seater canteen has eleven stores and a cafe serving it. Yet, the exodus of lunchtime people stretches the capacity of the science canteen so often that students are known to skip lunch just so as not to have to put up with the torture of having to purchase food from the science canteen. This could be one of the reasons why students are not able to function well in lessons during the course of the day, due to the lack of nutrition. As the main goal of the university is to a provide 'world class' education to their students, it should look into trying to enhance, not just its research facilities, but also help in the facilitation of their students' lifestyles. It is of utmost importance that this problem be resolved as soon as possible.
There are two main reasons behind this problem:
1) The canteen is not big enough to accomodate the increasing intake of students.
2) There are just too many people using the canteen
Thes two reasons see the problem from two different view points. The first sees the problem as being a structural issue and that the canteen should be open to any and everyone. Hence, the solution would be to petition to the science dean, as propose to expand the current size of the science canteen, such that it would be able to accommodate the huge lunchtime crowd. The second point, however, sees it as a social problem. The science canteen, is a facility of the university, provided by the instituition for the students, and making it more convenient for their students to obtain food within the compounds of the university. So much so that the prices of food sold by the stores are subsidised, making it easier on the pockets of students. However, people working in nearby facilities, such as NUH for example, often flood the canteen to purchase the cheap food during lunch hour, resulting in the crowded conditions observed. The proposed solution to the problem would then be to come up with a policing system, such that ONLY students of NUS are allowed to make use of the canteen during lunch hour.
I propose to conduct a simple survey over a period of 5 days, during the weekday lunch hour, in order to obtain a consensus behind the root cause of the problem listed above. By solving this problem, NUS would then be able to make learning a more enriching and comfortable experience.
There are two main reasons behind this problem:
1) The canteen is not big enough to accomodate the increasing intake of students.
2) There are just too many people using the canteen
Thes two reasons see the problem from two different view points. The first sees the problem as being a structural issue and that the canteen should be open to any and everyone. Hence, the solution would be to petition to the science dean, as propose to expand the current size of the science canteen, such that it would be able to accommodate the huge lunchtime crowd. The second point, however, sees it as a social problem. The science canteen, is a facility of the university, provided by the instituition for the students, and making it more convenient for their students to obtain food within the compounds of the university. So much so that the prices of food sold by the stores are subsidised, making it easier on the pockets of students. However, people working in nearby facilities, such as NUH for example, often flood the canteen to purchase the cheap food during lunch hour, resulting in the crowded conditions observed. The proposed solution to the problem would then be to come up with a policing system, such that ONLY students of NUS are allowed to make use of the canteen during lunch hour.
I propose to conduct a simple survey over a period of 5 days, during the weekday lunch hour, in order to obtain a consensus behind the root cause of the problem listed above. By solving this problem, NUS would then be able to make learning a more enriching and comfortable experience.
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