Two NUS campuses, two different responses

Tan Tze How Kelvin | tzehow@nus.edu.sg
The Ridge News
A NUSSU Publication

Oct. 4, 2007

Dismayed at the violent crackdown on Buddhist monks in Myanmar, students from the National University of Singapore organized Myanmar Peace Awareness Day on both the Kent Ridge and Bukit Timah(BTC) campuses on Oct. 4.

But things went differently at the two campuses.

Over at the Bukit Timah Law Faculty, organizers and volunteers seated prominently outside the University Co-op distributed peace packages containing a red armband, a red ribbon, and an information sheet on Myanmar from noon.

In addition, a forum titled “The Way Forward in Myanmar” was held at 2 p.m. at the BTC lecture theatre. Speakers included second-year law undergraduate Choo Zheng Xi, Assistant Professor Michael Ewing-Chow of the Faculty of Law, and a Burmese student.

The Bukit Timah campus houses the Law Faculty, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, East Asian Institute, Institute of South Asian Studies and Asian Research Institute. The other faculties are housed on the Kent Ridge campus.

Photographers from major press outlets at the Bukit Timah campus booth

Organizer for BTC activities, Choo Zheng Xi
(Photo by Tan Tze How Kelvin)

An indoor vigil was also to be held at the same place in the evening.

Choo told The Ridge that the Dean of Law, Professor Tan Cheng Han, has been very supportive of the on-going student activism.

“The best responses are from staff, and this is absolutely necessary for student development,” he said.

However, things were different at the Kent Ridge campus.

The plan to hold a vigil at the Kent Ridge campus was not allowed due to “public safety concerns,” according to Choo.

The activities at the campus were limited to the distribution of red ribbons and the signing of petitions.

The few Burmese students at Kent Ridge occupied a table at the corner of the Engineering canteen, Techno Edge.

There was an air of unease when the students were interviewed by The Ridge. According to a final-year Burmese engineering student, the organizers at Kent Ridge campus are trying to take a non-confrontational approach.

“I don’t know how things are [here], we just do what we can, legally,” he said.

He added that the organizers have to overcome their fears, making sure getting a public petition is allowed in Singapore and the university.

However, the scale of the event in Kent Ridge campus pales in comparison.

“I guess we didn’t have enough time to secure the confidence of [the Office of Students’ Affairs],” Choo said.

The signing of petitions and the giving out red ribbons at Techno Edge, Kent Ridge campus
(Photo by Tan Tze How Kelvin)

The Ridge has decided not to publish the name of the Burmese source in order to protect his identity due to the volatile political situation in Myanmar.

Side note: Burma was renamed Myanmar in 1989 by the military junta.

Related Article:
Strong support of peace in Myanmar at SMU and NTU