USC AGM Report 2011

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ( A Y 2 01 0/ 2 0 11 )
12 SEPTEMBER 2011
University Scholars Club

c/o University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore
CONTENTS
10th Management Committee Report..3 Secretariat Committee Report.14 Finance Committee Report..20 Public Relations Committee Report..27 Logistics and Welfare Committee Report31 Academic Committee Report..34 Community Service Committee Report43 Cultural Activities Committee Report...47 Social Activities Committee Report51 Sports Committee Report....55 Freshmen Orientation Programme Committee Report62 Camp Committee Report..68 Orientation Week Committee Report74 Rag Committee Report..83 Flag Committee Report.89 FOP Finale Committee Report.91 Publications Committee Report..95 10th Management Committee Contact List..99

10 T H MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

1. General Information
The Management Committee of the University Scholars Club is responsible for providing direction for the Club, representing USP students interests to the larger university, and driving Club events and initiatives forward. Over the last few years, Management Committees have also progressively adopted the role of systematizing programmes that are deemed beneficial for the Club in the long run. This year, particularly, the 10th MC had the privilege of steering the club through USPs ideological and physical transition to the Residential College in University Town. 2. Organisation
The 10th Management Committee of USC was elected into office on 4 September 2010 by an unprecedented turnout of 235 voters. In its term, USC was served by some 100 unique office-bearers in 129 different positions across the Management, Standing and Working Committees (MC/SCs/WCs). The members of the 10th Management Committee are as follows: President Vice-President & Director of FOP Honorary General Secretary Honorary Financial Secretary Director of Public Relations Director of Community Service Director of Cultural Activities Director of Social Activities Director of Sports Honorary Club Advisor Honorary Asst Club Advisor Auw Jian Jin Jeremy Lim Hui Fen Melissa Baey Xiang Ling Maria Tania Hapsari Harsono Lim Kai Heng Tan Tiong Wee Spencer Joel Tan Wun Chuan Amanda Aw Yong Zhi Xin Ang Xiao Wen Jolena Associate Professor Albert Teo Ms Gurvinderjit Kaur
The President and Vice-President were chosen to represent the University Scholars Club in the 32nd NUSSU Council. 3. Calendar of Events
The following events were organized by the 10th Management Committee and its standing and working committees: September Co-Option of Standing Committees Mid-Autumn Festival Introductory Classes Round 1

October
IFG Appreciation Dinner USC Welfare Survey 2010 Working Committees Recruitment Halloween Party
November
Launch of Nespresso Coffee Exam Welfare Pack Distribution I
December
Christmas-New Year Party FOP Mug Designing Sessions Nature Walk USC Futsal USC Retreat
January
The January Thing: RC Edition Cheerleading Pick-Up Tennis Pick-Up Launch of USC Newsletter: The Chattering Box (January Issue) Introductory Classes Round 2 Project Knight Information Session Relaunch of USC Website
February
Buaya-Buayee Chinese New Year Party Valentines Day Sales USC Productions 2011: Hay Fever USC Newsletter: The Chattering Box (February 4

Issue) Basketball Pickup Soccer Pick-Up
March
USC Bazaar Quidditch Pick-Up Arts for Health USC Goes Vogue ISM Sharing Session
April
Exam Welfare Pack Distribution II Chatterbox Memorial Launch of Peer Mentorship Programme
May
Project CARE Begins
June
Scholaris
July
Freshmen Orientation Camp Night Cycling Orientation Week Pre-Flag Launch of USC Publication: Infusion Residential College Welcome Dinner Launch of House System
August
NUS Flag Day NUS Rag Day

FOP Finale Night
September
Inter-Faculty Games Chatterbox Resurrection Annual General Elections Annual General Meeting
4.
Key Challenges transitioning into the RC
This year, the 10th MC ran the Club toe-to-toe with USPs transition to the Residential College. Hence, all of the MCs structures and activities was threaded and permeated by RC considerations. A few highlights and challenges during our term are outlined below: a. Renewed focus on community building Throughout the year, the 10th MC dialed down its role in policing and governance, and renewed the focus of USC on community building through student welfare and engagement of the administration, faculty and alumni. Student welfare One main thrust of this community-building initiative was student welfare, which can be split into general welfare, and the four pillars of community interests (Community Service, Cultural Activities, Sports, and Social Activities). We are encouraged by the levels of participation in these various welfare initiatives. General: The President worked closely with the Asset Manager to oversee the general, day-to-day welfare needs of the Club, which included the Exam Welfare Pack Distributions (150 per semester), the USC Welfare Survey (194 respondents), the Welfare Corner, and the Nespresso machine (1000+ capsules sold). Responses were generally positive, and hence, it is recommended that these initiatives continue, but under the purview of the Vice-President who will supervise the dayto-day operations of the Club. The President will personally attend to more urgent welfare concerns such as cost of RC living and integration of non-resident USP students. Four pillars of community interests: This was the first year where our student life activities were clearly classified into categories, appealing to distinct, interestspecific groups of people. We were able to repeat and consolidate a flagship suite of activities, such as Halloween, Buaya Buayee, The January Thing, USC Productions, FOP and Night Cycling. Moving forward, academic affairs will now become the fifth pillar of community interest, as we have observed its capacity to build community through bringing together USC members interested in academics. We are certain that welfare-centrism is a step in the right direction for USC in the new RC 6

environment. Engaging the larger USP community Building upon previous MCs work, efforts were made to engage the USP Administration, USP Faculty, and USP Alumni to strengthen bonds within our community. Ties have grown so strong to the point that it is almost taken for granted that staff and faculty were present for most of our corporate events, including The January Thing and the Residential College Welcome Dinner. It was also heartening to see droves of alumni come back to USP during Chatterbox Memorial to mingle with us and share their experiences. We are confident that the state of relationships within our USP community has reached a new high. b. Integrated activities to ease the transition Collaborations with PGP Pilot Committee In anticipation of the potentially unfamiliar RC environment that would put community activities in both an academic and residential setting, the 10th MC and the PGP Pilot Committee launched a few collaborative initiatives to give USC members a sense of this new dynamic. For instance, Halloween 2010 was held at two locations, starting with the Haunted House and other associated activities at Blk ADM, followed by the Night Walk and Movie Screening at the USP PGP blocks. Buaya Buayee also saw much stalking activity happen at Blk ADM as well as the PGP blocks. The January Thing and the Chatterbox Memorial were also organized to coincide with the PGP Dinners, so as to maximize economies of scale. We are glad that they were successful for our members. Events held in the Residential College Three main events Orientation Week, the Residential College Welcome Dinner and Chatterbox Resurrection were organized in the Residential College compound itself. Attendance at the Residential College Welcome Dinner reached a record high, with more than 450 students and USP admin/faculty coming together to dine and celebrate the start of this new phase of USPs evolution. We believe that by anchoring activities in the college as soon as USP moved into the compound, USC was able to give our community a sense of familiarity and continuity in spite of the unfamiliar location. c. Specific Residential College Issues On top of considering the RC in its regular workload, the MC also addressed specific concerns raised by students pertaining to the RC. Addressing bread-and-butter issues After the release of the prices for accommodation and the meal plan, some members of the community became concerned that the steep price of RC living would discourage prospective freshmen from applying to USP, hence inducing change in the future demographic of USP students. A handful of current USP 7

students, who wanted to experience the RC but were hindered by the heavy financial burden, also aired their grouses. In response, the MC worked closely with the USP administration to solicit views from the community about financial aid, and thereafter lobby for a clearly visible financial aid package. It is strongly recommended that the MC continue to push to establish a steady stream of financial aid and scholarship provision, especially for the incoming batches of freshmen. Increasing the housing demand uptake Concurrent with the debate over cost of residential living concerns, the uptake rate from existing USP students was less than favourable. Hence, the MC conducted a survey of the population to determine the reasons behind the low housing demand uptake. The results showed that although the cost of the meal plan was a significant deterrent, a larger pool of respondents was not applying to stay for other reasons, such as proximity of NUS to home. It is recommended that while the USP Classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014 (who do not have to stay compulsorily) are still around, the MC fight for barriers to be lowered so that a larger proportion of existing USP students can experience residential living in the RC. Establishing communication of information While it was imperative that information about the RC was communicated to our members effectively, the task was challenging due to the lack of information being passed down to us from the university administration. We were able to organize a townhall, The January Thing: RC Edition, to facilitate dialogue between the USP administration and students, and allow an open airing of views and grievances. Unfortunately the session was not as transparent as we hoped. It is suggested that the 11th MC institute an efficient and trustworthy system of providing information and gathering feedback. d. Overall Club Organisation Evaluating MC-level activities In this past year, the nine members of the MC took it upon themselves to conceptualize and execute three main initiatives, namely, Nespresso, Scholaris, and the RC Welcome Dinner. There were a variety of reasons: the events were only initiated after the recruitment and budgeting cycle, leaving the MC to compensate for the manpower and funding gaps; the events had to be organized by the MC to reflect the importance of their objectives; or the urgency of the matter demanded a spontaneous and rapid MC response. We realized that these MC-level initiatives helped us to build camaraderie in the team, as we had to put aside our individual portfolios for the sake of attaining a larger purpose. However, it also placed unnecessary stress on the already limited time and energy that the MC had for organizing its flagship suite of activities. We recommend that the 11th MC (1) minimize the number of activities for which manpower and funds are not allocated at the start of the year, and (2) collectively make an extremely prudent decision on how much they can commit in terms of MC-level activities.

Integrating MC with FOP activities With the increased importance of freshmen orientation in line with the move to the RC, the Vice-President was appointed the concurrent FOP Director for FOP11. The Vice-President shaped the goals of FOP11 with a broad club perspective in mind, and enabled interfacing between MC planning and FOP planning. The increased importance of freshmen orientation also merited the involvement and integration of MC members and portfolios with FOP activities. During our term in office, the MC & FOP activities were only integrated to a certain extent. My report here will highlight the success of the 10th MC-FOP integration whereas Melissas report (pg 65) will highlight the pitfalls of such an attempt. Firstly, Scholaris was co-organized by both the MC and the FOP team. Secondly, all MC members were involved in various levels for FOP. Thirdly, the MC organized the Residential College Welcome Dinner in conjunction with the Freshmen Induction Ceremony during Orientation Week. Despite the future separation of the FOP portfolio from the duties of the VP, the MC as a collective entity is expected to be ever ready to support all FOP affairs at all levels planning, organizing, participating, or helping to supplement general logistical manpower. Reviewing the Standing Committee structure This year, the 10th MC slightly tweaked the Standing Committee (SC) structure from the previous MC (one or two Vice-Directors for each MC member); every SC was a fully functional cell, consisting of an Administrator, a Financial Secretary, and a Public Relations Secretary. While this structure certainly alleviated the workload on the MC by decentralizing the secretarial, financial and public relations functions of the MC into smaller committees, it had the downside of leaving individual SC members less empowered to assist Directors with their direct decision-making responsibilities due to the fixed job scopes that their titles suggested. Perhaps the 11th MC could consider three options: (1) retaining the fully functional cell structure with customization for certain portfolios, (2) reverting back to having only ViceDirectors sit on the SCs, or (3) having no overall consistency in the SC structure. There are benefits and costs to each option, and it is advisable that the 11th MC thinks through the considerations very carefully before proceeding. Other key, non-functional SC positions such as the Academic Secretary, Asset Manager, Publications Secretary, and the Business Secretary were also co-opted to supplement the needs of the MC. These individuals were not elected, but their portfolios demanded a whole-of-club perspective. It is recommended that this group of SC members continue to be recruited, developed and consulted for their valuable opinions and contributions, most of which operate on the MC level in practice. In fact, the Academic Secretary position is now promoted to the MC level for the 11th MC. This category will also potentially include House Captains and other leaders of special interest groups. e. Residential College Student Advisory Committee

The Residential College Student Advisory Committee was formed by a group of volunteers from the 9th MC to explore and strategize the various aspects of student leadership and involvement in the RC environment. Its work was continued in the 10th MC, under certain distinct portfolios. The Peer Mentorship and Academic Advising initiative was seconded to the Academic Committee. Some of the achievements and follow-up actions of the Student Advisory Committee are highlighted: House System and Student Leadership Structure After one year of conceptualization and consultation with various stakeholders, the committee consisting of Jeremy Auw, Baey Xiang Ling and Jolena Ang proposed the creation of a House System and received majority support in a community referendum. It is our hope that the 11th MC can take the House System forward and work out the melding of the House System with existing USC activities. Housing Policy Tania Harsono and Spencer Tan responsibly provided student input to the USP administration during the process of formulating housing policy in the RC. Most notably, they worked on usage of common spaces, housing allocation, financial aid, and the RA application. Nevertheless, due to the overwhelming number of concerns, they were not able to address everything. It is our hope that in the first year of staying in the RC, the 11th MC addresses the teething issues and policy gaps that were not bridged this past year. Peer Mentorship Programme The Academic Committee, under the capable leadership of the Academic Secretary Amoz Hor, was able to conceptualize and launch the Peer Mentorship Programme in August 2011. This is indeed a commendable achievement. Please refer to the Academic Committee Report for more information. Suggestions On hindsight, these initiatives were indeed strategic moves to plug gaps that would otherwise have complicated matters for both USC and the USP administration in the RC. However, the additional workload placed on MC members resulted in us spreading our efforts too thinly among our various commitments. We recommend that the Student Advisory Committee be dissolved henceforth as a formal group, but that the 11th MC identify unfinished business from this initiative and in one way or another integrate these responsibilities into the existing roles of MC members. 5. Key Challenges in the RC a. Tradition vs Innovation The value of moving forward The programmes discourse about the RC has certainly been about becoming more 10

progressive, exploring new boundaries, and carving out a fresh learning environment for ourselves. Likewise, USC must adopt a more open mindset and be ready to adapt to constantly changing circumstances. Notably, the Club must take ownership of the new spaces Multi-Purpose Hall, Themed Rooms, Courtyard and the new ideology living and learning together. The value of heritage Nevertheless, as new initiatives spring forth around the new intellectual and physical architecture of the RC, we cannot forget our 10-year heritage as a programme and as a club. We have built up traditions that cue us to past USP culture, such as Halloween, USC Productions, and clairs, and we should treasure this privilege, even more so because it is not available to other entities similar to us. It is our hope that we continue these traditions as a way to both commemorate USP history, and to create a sense of community that is larger than any particular group or batch of USP students. Going beyond nostalgia to the rationale Invoking traditions, however, goes beyond mere nostalgia, commemoration, or tradition for the sake of it. There is a reason why the tradition or event even existed in the first place, and before rehashing the tradition, or discarding it in favour of a new idea, due consideration must be paid to that reason. This is so as to build upon institutional memory instead of constantly reinventing the wheel. b. Multiple Stakeholders The USP community will now include stakeholders such as Exchange Students, Residential Fellows and Assistants, Housing Services Staff, Peer Mentors, and even a new categorization: Residents vs Non-Residents. In light of this, USC must strive to be a trustworthy sounding board at the heart of the community that integrates and connects different stakeholders in the RC. A prospective first task: in view of the projected swell in the number of college activities, it is imperative that USC institute and coordinate a college-wide Master Calendar that serves to (1) de-conflict the various events, and (2) inform all USP students and Cinnamon Residents of the daily going-on(s). c. Welfare The 11th MC should continue to focus on student welfare, both at the bread-andbutter level, as well as on the level of interest. While the 11th MC may choose to surface concerns specific to residential living, it is also imperative that the MC be keenly sensitive to the needs of non-residents, such as the lack of access to the first floor of the Residential Block, as well as the various common spaces such as the Masters Commons. d. The issue of sustainability
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Preventing event fatigue Moving forward, as USC strives to appeal to diverse groups of people, it must also scale its events to optimize the resources given so as not to cause fatigue on both the part of organizers and participants. With the introduction of various groupings such as Peer Groups, Houses, Residential Neighborhoods, Interest Groups, and so on, many smaller-scale activities will eventually lead to a higher event load. Hence, it is recommended that the 11th MC work towards focusing on organizing largerscale events or longer-term events with wider appeal, and that other smaller groups would not have the resources to execute. Alleviating the manpower crunch In recent years, involvement in the Club at the planning level has been extremely encouraging. Hundreds of students passing through USC in the last few years have had at least one experience being a part of an organizing team for a Club event. However, it is anticipated that as the sphere of the Clubs responsibility continues to expand, more manpower capacity needs to commensurate. Moreover, as more opportunities open up in the RC, competition for manpower for the Club will intensify, leading to stresses on the projected activity load and requisite commitment for USC. In order to stay afloat, the 11th MC must be aggressive in recruiting its committees, and continually engage its members to ensure that no one feels disconnected from the community. Leveraging on interest groups Further into the future, USC may benefit from decentralizing most of its activities to interest groups in the cultural, sporting and community service baskets, while leaving the MC to leverage on its resources to organize large social events. This would allow the Club to be driven more by passionate, specialist individuals from the ground-up rather than a small team of generalist MC members driving interestbased activities from the top-down. 6. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following parties: The USP Directors, consisting of Director Prof John Richardson, Deputy Directors A/P Kang Hway Chuan, A/P Albert Teo, Prof Philip Holden, Associate Directors Peggy and Yunsian, for their able leadership, courage and perseverance in navigating the challenges and obstacles during the move to the Residential College, and also for their unwavering support in every single Club initiative. Also, a special mention to our Rector, Prof Wang Gungwu, for imparting to us his wisdom and experience. USP Staff, consisting of Vindy, Linda, Grace, Winah, Eric, Dennis, KK, Joo Chuan, Sor Hui, Ai Lian, Daniel, Cheryl, Ros, Rohayu, Anne, Kia Yen, Aloysius, Mun Hin and Gaik Hong, for their ever-readiness to talk to us, give us advice or assist us in our work. No other faculty or body in the university can match your care and support for USP students and their concerns. We are deeply appreciative. 12

USP Faculty, especially A/P Barbara Ryan, Dr Johan Geertsema, A/P Peter Pang, and A/P Martin Henz for providing mentorship and guidance, for thinking about the community before self, and for correcting us when we steer off course. The 10th MC, for their unwavering support and solidarity especially during crucial decision-making moments, for going beyond the call of duty and being faithful to the vision that we set out to accomplish in the beginning of our term, and for being such united team members that respect one another in both consensus and conflict. The SC and WC members, for your efforts and energies that brought all of our plans and ideas to fruition. Your personal motivations and initiatives are precisely what the USP community is about. Too often, efforts go unnoticed in USC. I assure you that your contributions toward building the community are not only remembered, but more importantly, have led the community to be where it is today. Members of USC, for your support that encourages us, for your constructive criticism that sharpens us, and for your contributions to this community that convicts us. Thank you for building this community together with us. 7. Closing Remarks
Due to the multitude of changes that USC had to go through, we worked far beyond limits. But because of the rewards we see today, we know that every ounce of sacrifice was worth it. We have confidence that the 11th MC, under its able President Ms. Tania Harsono, will bring USC to scale greater heights in building this community we have grown to love and cherish. Prepared by: Jeremy Auw President 10th Management Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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SECRETARIAT COMMITTEE REPORT

The Secretariat Committee oversees all administrative duties of the Club. The functions of the committee can be broadly divided into three main areas: (i) Human Resource: Coordinating the co-option of Standing Committees, the recruitment of Working Committees and the Annual General Elections Documentation: Minutes-taking, scheduling of meetings, allocating CCA points, archiving and organizing the Annual General Meeting Communication: Managing Scholars News and other feedback channels
(ii) (iii) 2.
Organisation Baey Xiang Ling Delle Chan Tan Wen-Yi (Academic) Cui Chun Hao (Business) Divya Georgie (Community Service) Michele Lim (Cultural Activities) Matthias Wong (FOP) Ng Hui Ying (Public Relations) Samdish Suri (Social Activities) Nigel Tan (Sports)
Management Committee: Honorary General Secretary: Standing Committee: Assistant Honorary General Secretary: Committee Administrators :
3.
Highlights and Initiatives 3.1. Human Resource 3.1.1. Co-Option of Standing Committees
A centralized co-option exercise was carried out to fill the positions in the ten Standing Committees (SCs). The main aim was to enable synchronization of working timelines so that the SCs could be formed at around the same time. The 10th Management Committee (MC) agreed that the opportunities should be offered to all club members, and the selection procedure should be transparent. Thus, we provided application forms and scheduled interviews for each applicant. At least four MC members were present at each interview. There were a total of 50 applicants for 39 positions. Another important feature of the co-option process was the emphasis on closing the loop. We pro-actively approached applicants who were not successful in their applications to find other suitable Working Committee (WC) roles for them;
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however, out of 12 applicants who were rejected, only 6 ultimately took up WC positions. 3.1.2. Recruitment of Working Committees The recruitment methods this year were largely similar to previous years. We sent out a document detailing the WC positions and job scopes, and set up a booth from 30 September 2010 to 5th October 2010 (excluding 2nd and 3rd October as it was the weekend) for members to sign up. Posters were also put up around Blk ADM so as to boost awareness of the WC Recruitment drive. By the end of both the SC & WC recruitment, 98 unique individuals had filled up some 120 positions. Do note that this figure of 98 individuals excludes members of the Management Committee. 3.2. Briefing for Adminstrators
A short briefing was conducted for Administrators from the different USC committees at the start of their term. This session helped to clarify what was expected of them throughout the rest of the academic year and set clear guidelines regarding email blasts requests, poster policies and archival duties. 3.3. Transition from RHAPS/CCA Points System to USC RAS
In academic year 2010/2011, the RHAPS (Revised Hall Admission Point System) or CCA Points System was abolished in lieu of the RAS (Residential Admission Scheme). The rationale behind such a change was that faculties, clubs and halls should have the right to determine how they want to allocate residential spaces to their members, rather than have an overarching system imposed upon them. The USC RAS for AY11/12 was approved by the 10th Management Committee as well as the USP administration. This proposal was then sent to NUSSU for their official records although it may and should be reviewed accordingly by future Honorary General Secretaries at the end of their term. 3.4. Scholars News
The Honorary General Secretary manages the USC Management email account, which is used to broadcast information and updates to club members. 3.5. Working Calendar, Master Calendar and USP Calendar
To prevent timing clashes between Club activities, we maintained two calendars to constantly keep track of important dates. A Working Calendar was shared among the MC and was used to record both internal dates (e.g. meetings and deadlines) and Club events. A separate Master Calendar, showing only the Club events, was displayed in Chatterbox. In addition, USP Admin has their own USP calendar, and relevant USC dates were added by either the Honorary General Secretary or the Public Relations Director. 3.6. Document Templates
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Templates for minutes, letters, and archiving content pages were created and disseminated to all USC committees through their administrators to ensure common standards in documentation and presentation. 3.7. Archiving
The Secretariat Committee made use of Dropbox (a programme which allows different users to share folders across various computers) to facilitate soft copy archiving. We believe that it is important for the new committees to have access to their predecessors knowledge and information so as to foster greater continuity across the years. To ensure that archiving would be done systematically and consistently, a set of archiving guidelines was provided to the various Administrators at the start of their term. 3.8. USC Annual General Elections
The USC Annual General Elections took place from 17 August 2011 to 12 September 2011. 14 candidates (excluding two withdrawals) ran for the eleven positions in the 11th MC, while 255 members (an estimated 35% of our membership strength) casted their votes in the Open Election. Participation rates in the Annual General Elections improved from previous year, where a total of 235 votes were cast. 3.8.1. Publicity for Nominations Publicity efforts for USC Elections 2011 could have been stronger. We made a USC 2011 Elections Guidebook to consolidate the information related to Elections, which was distributed to all USC members through Scholars News. The second attempt at publicity was a talk during Orientation Week to encourage freshmen to stand for Elections. A total of about 10-15 members turned up for the Information Session on 17 August 2011. 3.8.2. Extension of Nominations Nominations were originally scheduled to close on 22nd August 2011. However, due to the fact that the only two candidates running for the position of President and Vice-President pulled out of the elections process on 24th August, the Elections Committee decided to extend nomination period till 27th August 2011. 3 more candidates signed up during the extension period. 3.8.3. Nominations and Campaigning There was a compulsory Briefing for Nominees on 22 August 2011. This session was done to explain the campaigning process and how eVoting system works. It also helped to establish communication between the nominees and the Elections Committee. For campaigning this year, we retained the two compulsory components that were aimed at setting the backdrop for enlightened voting. Each candidate had to prepare a manifesto of up to two pages. Aside from three standard questions, the candidates were given the freedom to decide the content and design of their 16

manifestos. The second component was a Q&A session for the candidates on 31 August 2011. This session was a platform for the electorate to interact with the candidates. Approximately 40 members attended the event and there was a continuous stream of questions throughout the session. A new initiative that the Elections Committee 2011 undertook was to transcribe the Q&A session onto the USC website (usc.usp.nus.edu.sg/mc2011). This initiative was done so as to make informed voting more convenient for members who did not have classes in University Town, and also allow for fuller participation of students who were on overseas programs. 3.8.4. Voting As per last year, voting took place on an online platform to replace conventional pen-and-paper voting. The voting platform was once again set up with the help of Mun Hin from USP Administration. In line with the emphasis on informed voting, the manifestos were also made available online through the USC website. On the last day of voting, a reminder was also sent to the USC community via the email blast and facebook groups. This reminder might have led to the increase in the number of voters from the previous year. 3.9. USC Annual General Meeting
The USC Annual General Meeting was held on 12 September 2011. The outgoing committees presented their reports and the 10th MC officially handed over to the 11th MC. 4. Challenges and Recommendations 4.1. Scholars News & USC Website
During the term of the 10th MC, the USC website was refurbished. At the same time however, an increase number of individuals gave feedback that they could not see USC email blasts properly when they forwarded all their NUS emails to their gmail accounts. While NUS IT care has been contacted to solve this issue, there remains a significant time lag till the problem is fixed. Instead of relying so much on the Scholars News for updates, perhaps the 11th MC could look into making the USC website the key avenue for members to be updated with the latest happenings. 4.2. Calendars
The effectiveness of the calendars was undermined by the lack of constant updates. Even though the Administrators of the various committees were given access to the Working Calendar, and made responsible for updating the Working Calendar with the timelines of their respective committees, dates and timings were often not updated from their preliminary estimates. It also felt like a duplication of efforts to have the Director of Public Relations fish out the relevant records and transfer them to the Master Calendar, while the USC website administrator takes charge of updating the event dates unto the website. I 17

recommend that the next Honorary General Secretary takes full charge of the three calendars (Working, Master, Website) so as to minimize confusion and/or a repetition of efforts. 4.3. Archiving & Organisational Culture
We had intended to meet the various admin reps at regular intervals to discuss their archiving plans and backup their files as a safeguard. This was eventually happened only once throughout the academic year due to scheduling difficulties. Two rounds of archival collection happened, each at the end of the semester. Initiatives that took place during summer however, were only captured during the AGM reports. It would be ideal if a culture whereby After Action Reviews (AARs) were done for every event and administrators take the initiative to send such records the Honorary General Secretary could be developed. Although records were kept for this academic year, it felt more like an obligation unto the administrators than them seeing the merits of archival. 4.4. Elections Matters
As alluded to earlier in segment 3.8.1, a more aggressive publicity campaign for nominations would be recommended. We had similar concerns as the previous years Elections Committee, that access to the eVoting system should only be limited to USP students via a secure login page. Thus, we had to seek help from Mun Hin to make use of existing NUS survey platforms once again. While Mun Hin graciously agreed to our request for help, the next Elections Committee should explore alternative means of conducting online voting, so as to prevent being overly dependent on the USP administration for assistance.
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5.
Acknowledgements
Delle Chan: You have been a great Assistant Honorary General Secretary. Thank you for your assistance during CCA points collation, AGM report compilation and all sorts of administration duties that I could not have managed by myself. Tania Harsono: Thank you for loaning me your laptop on the very many occasions when I have trouble with the usc.management account on my own. Your infinite patience is much appreciated! Melissa Lim & Jeremy Auw: Melissa, thank you for stepping up and helping out tremendously with the elections process. Jeremy, thank you for designing and conceptualising the USC Elections 2011 guidebook & also, for helping out with Internal Elections. Yong Mun Hin (USP Admin): You went beyond your call of duty to help us with the eVoting system once again. Thank you for lending us your expertise and time. Administrators: The unsung heroes thank you for your hard work in fulfilling the administrative duties for your committees. Archiving would have been impossible without you! Genim Tan: Thanks for entertaining my questions and providing advice on all things related to the Secretariat Committee. 10th Management Committee: Thank you for an amazing term in office. Often times, things have felt crazy and overwhelming (read: burning cloth at unearthly hours) but I have learnt much through your energy and commitment to USC. Amoz & David: Couldnt have asked for better SC members to work with. Thank you for your enthusiasm and taking great initiative to lead your respective committees throughout the year. Its been a joy working with two during my term.
Prepared by: Baey Xiang Ling Honorary General Secretary 10th Management Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

The University Scholars Club (USC) Finance committee is responsible for the clubs overall financial health. The committee oversees the flow of income and expenditures of the club in relations to the budget. 2. Organisation 2.1 Assistant Honorary Financial Secretary As opposed to previous years practices, the Honorary Financial Secretary co-opted an assistant to aid in overseeing the Clubs finances. This is because the 10th Management Committee had a total of 10 standing committees, each with different financial demands. The co-option of an assistant proved to be invaluable to the Honorary Financial Secretary. With the help from the Assistant, the financial demands of the different committees could be met fairly quickly and efficiently. Hence it is advised that the Honorary Financial Secretary of the 11th Management Committee consider co-opting an assistant. 2.2 Finance Committee Structure In order to effectively monitor the financial health of the club, the 10th Finance Committee consists of Honorary Financial Secretary, Assistant Honorary Financial Secretary, Asset Manager, and various Financial Secretaries. The Finance Secretaries were responsible for their respective committees overall financial health and ensuring prudent spending. The role of Asset Manager was created this year to account for various assets owned by the club. On top of that, the Business Committee, being the revenue generating arm of the club, was subsumed under the Finance Committee this year to ensure a more wholesome financial management where the Business Committee would be able to respond to the financial needs of the club more effectively. With this in mind, the members of the Finance Committee are as follows: Committee Finance Academic Public Relations Community Service Cultural Activities Social Activities Sports Designation Honorary Financial Secretary Assistant Honorary Financial Secretary Asset Manager Administrator (Academic) Financial Secretary (PR) Financial Secretary (Community Service) Financial Secretary (Cultural Activities) Financial Secretary (Social Activities) Financial Secretary 20 Name Maria Tania Hapsari Harsono Chan Shiaw-Yan Low Yee Loong Tan Wen-Yi Cheng Haiwen Edlyn Tan Yolanda Zhang He Yining Terence Peh

FOP
(Sports) Financial Secretary (FOP) Administrator (Camp) Administrator (OWeek) Administrator (Flag) Administrator (Rag) Administrator (Finale)
Surya Effendy Trudy Chua Lim Siow Yu Tan Shengli Leong Li Ting Eunice Tan
The Business Committee members are Fahmi Hamzah, Cui Chunhao, Zeng Linlin, Irish Manipis, Fadhilah Abdul Rahman Zamawi, Lim Siow Yu, Therese Neo and Sarah Cheang. The above structure was to facilitate the financial management throughout the club. The structure has proven to be fairly effective for certain committees. However, it was not the case for most committees, especially those which did not require much funding. The directors often handled the communication between the committee and the Honorary Financial Secretary for finance matters. The incoming Honorary Financial Secretary should look into improving communication within the Finance Committee. Another challenge was to move away from the concept of Financial Secretary being a purely administrative role, to a more managerial role. The Financial Secretaries were supposed to not only process various reimbursements and deposit forms, but also to manage the committees budget and ensure prudence in spending. This is to aid the Honorary Financial Secretary in having a better overview and management of the clubs overall financial health. The incoming Honorary Financial Secretary may look into this matter so as to improve the financial management of the club. 3. Clubs Finances
The summary of the club finances is attached in Appendix A. The summary includes various financial transactions carried out by USC through the Office of Financial Services (OFS). Some expenditure however was not captured for events organized in collaboration with the USP Administration. For instance, the USP Residential College Welcome Dinner was co-paid by USP. The food and beverages components of the event are not captured in the summary as the payment was directly handled and made by USP Administration. Another expenditure not captured in Appendix A is the printing of Infusion and the Residential College edition of The Chattering Box (February 2011). This expenditure amounts close to $3,000 and it was fully paid by USP. The Publication Committee managed to reduce its spending substantially for printing of Infusion through sourcing of lower-priced supplier. This project, however, still depend on USP as its only source of funding. The next Management Committee should look into moving away from relying on USP contribution. 4. NUSSU Investment
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On 25th February 2011, NUSSU and its constituent clubs, including USC, made an informed decision to commit their non-endowed funds to Short term Investible Funds managed by Investment Office (IVO). This non-endowed funds are accumulated surpluses from previous USC Management Committees which were used to be put under a fixed deposit which contract ended on 31st December 2010. All capital amounts invested in this scheme is capital guaranteed by IVO and OFS. IVO and OFS warrant that the capital amount will earn a return in excess of the 3month Singapore Dollar Fixed deposit rates pegged at the averages of 3 major Singapore Banks. Out of a total of $20,737.18 of USCs accumulated surplus, the 10th Management Committee decided to put $20,000 into the NUSSU combined pool for Short term Investible Funds as of 1st April 2011, while $737.18 was to be left in USCs current account. This decision to enter the investment opened up the possibility of making use of the interest income of the investment. The next Honorary Financial Secretaries will also have to budget for this scheme at the beginning of their terms. 5. USC Business Committee Events 5.1. USC Bazaaar As of the previous year, USC organized two bazaars during which we raised fund by renting out the space to vendors. The first bazaar was hosted from 10th to 11th March 2011 at the Science Foyer, while the second bazaar was held from 22nd to 24th August 2011 at the Central Forum. The first bazaar only managed to raise $840 as the bazaar was only held for 2 days and there was insufficient planning due to lack of experience in organizing bazaars. The second bazaar raised $2,415 throughout the 3 days. However, more planning could have been done for this event. During this bazaar, a regular vendor in NUS bazaars, Susan, agreed to take up the whole space at a lower price. However, no proper contract was signed and only a few days before the event, the list of vendors was sent to the committee showing less number of vendors than expected. 5.2. Le Chocolatier Boutique USC Valentines Day Sales This years Business Committee took up last years Business Committees initiative of selling pralines in Arts Linkway. However, it was not as profitable as last years sales due to an over-estimation of demand during the planning phase. There was a substantially lower demand for the pralines, probably due to the high price and the competition from adjacent stalls selling chocolate and sweets. The next committee may want to reconsider this endeavor as a part of their marketing endeavour. 6. Key Recommendations 6.1. The Need for Financial Prudence 22

While USC did not go into deficit in both Financial Periods, there was still a lack of financial prudence. Many of the expenses incurred by various projects could have been substantially lower if better planning had been done in estimating the amount of items needed and sourcing for better prices. Although the role of the Financial Secretaries was also to ensure financial prudence, some projects still did not manage to do so. The incoming Honorary Financial Secretary should look into enforcing this idea of prudent spending. This idea is even more crucial with the investment of reserves, which makes the reserves to be accessible to the club to be budgeted at the beginning of the year. 6.2. Regular Updates within the Finance Committee This year the Finance Committee continued the use of Google Documents which allowed the Honorary Financial Secretary to track the performance of different committees finances. While it improved convenience, it was not the most intuitive way for some Finance Secretaries to record their committees finances in the documents. The incoming Honorary Financial Secretary may want to look into having an additional platform to ensure regular updates within the committee, such as monthly or bimonthly committee meeting. 6.3. Club Sponsorship Although club sponsorship was identified as potentially one of the main sources of revenue for the club at the beginning of the year, the Business Committee was not successful in achieving this objective. The committee proceeded with this endeavour not knowing where to start from, and made use of our members personal network to pursue this matter. It will be advisable for the incoming Corporate Relations Director and Honorary Financial Secretary to start pursuing this matter by approaching companies or organisations which are familiar with USP. During the year, we also learnt that for companies or organisations to agree to be a club sponsor, proposals has to be sent and negotiation should be done before their budgeting period. 6.4. USC Merchandise The committee did not manage to take up this initiative this year due to manpower constrains. The next Finance committee may want to look into reviving this initiative as it will be able to serve two objectives to create a USP identity item for the community, and to raise some funds for various club activities.
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7.
Acknowledgements
The Honorary Financial Secretary would like to thank the following: The USP Administration for their continuous support, financial and otherwise, for different USC events. The 10th Management Committee for their support, dedication and cooperation throughout the year. The Finance and Business Committee for their support. USC Productions Public Relations Secretary, Joel Kang, and Sponsorship Secretary, Shirley Lee, for time and energy invested in securing substantial funding for Production. FOPs Public Relations Secretary, Augustin Chiam, and his team, for their commitment in making sure that FOP could go on without fear for not being able to pay the bill. NUSSU Finance Committee for providing financial help for USC Production, as well as NUSSU Marketing Committee for securing in-kind sponsorship for our FOP and Exam Welfare Pack. Miss Kwan Mei Sau, May and Ms Tan Pek Keow, Alice from Office of Financial Services, as well as Ms Deborah Dieu from Office of Student Affairs for their assistance. All Club members who have in one way or another help the Finance Committee in executing its duty. Prepared by: Tania Harsono Honorary Financial Secretary 10th Management Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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APPENDIX A Summary of USC Finances 2010/2011 Financial Period 1 (1st October 2010 to 31st March 2011) Income (after GST) Subscription Fee USP Contribution USC Production Sales of tickets USC Production NUSSU Contribution USC Production Donation USC Production Marketing Business Marketing FOP GST Rebate Interest Income Fixed Deposit Total Income Expenditure Secretariat Sports Cultural Activities Community Service Public Relations Business FOP Social Activities Total Expenditure Net Income (Expenditure)
$ 2,216.00 2,000.00 10,688.90 1,472.33 4,000.00 1,754.77 1,174.86 848.00 125.00 $ 24,279.86
59.90 117.80 17,774.10 480.00 33.00 1,449.55 1,650.43 505.15 $ 22,069.93 $ 2,209.93
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Financial Period 2 (1st April 2011 to 30th September 2011)* Income Subscription Fee Marketing Community Service Marketing Business FOP Fees Marketing FOP Sponsorship FOP# USP Contribution FOP NUSSU Contribution Rag Total Income Expenditure Sports# Community Service Business Scholaris Freshmen Orientation Camp Orientation Week Flag Rag FOP Finale# Social Total Expenditure Net Income (Expenditure)
$ 4,455.71 724.30 1682.24 13,920.56 1,164.35 6,307.45 5,300.00 5,900.00 $ 39,454.61
700.00 201.30 340.00 554.30 10,041.34 3,343.30 960.00 13,999.25 7,000.00 1,559.25 $ 38,698.74 $ 755.87
* Figures quoted are accurate as of 3rd September 2011. # Estimated figure the confirmed amount was still being processed as the report was written.
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PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

The USC Public Relations Standing Committee historically served as a centralised publicity body to promote the club image and its activities. Its key responsibilities were to produce promotional material for all club activities, publish USCs annual publications, and update and maintain the USC website (http://www.usc.usp.nus.edu.sg/). With the 10th Management Committee, the responsibility of producing promotional material for the entire clubs activities was decentralised and spread among the respective positions of Public Relations Secretaries. With a portion of its key responsibilities lifted, the Public Relations Standing Committee has sought to start a suite of events catered to exchange students that are on University Scholars Programme exchange programmes. 2. Organisation
The Public Relations Committee consists of the following members: Management Committee: Public Relations Director: Standing Committee: Administrator: Financial Secretary: Design Secretary: External Relations Secretary: Working Committee: Webmaster: Newsletter Editors: Infusion Editor: 3. Lim Kai Heng Ng Hui Ying Cheng Haiwen Jovin Loh Run Wen Madhumitha Ardhanari Tan Jian Xiong David Dan Li Danielle Sim Han Yong Ming Cheng Haiwen Chen Jinwen
Highlights and Important Updates 3.1. Updating the Role of Public Relations
This academic year, the Public Relations (PR) Standing Committee (SC) aimed to shift itself away from pure publicity towards a more holistic public relations strategy. With the decentralisation of the production of promotional material for club activities, the PR SC was to use the additional bandwidth to better engage and integrate groups of the USP community that may not be usually targeted. In this expanded role, the PR SC was to reach out to exchange students of the USP community, engaging them specifically and integrating them with the rest of the community. The decision to engage exchange students was made in light of the information that in the new Cinnamon College, there would be a larger proportion 27

of exchange students, growing a minor stakeholder group of about ten persons to a major stakeholder group of 100 persons easily. Additionally, the PR SC will continue to manage the external image of USC, which includes vetting documents and other publicity materials. The PR SC also identified the need to strengthen the clubs online presence which it was to accomplish with the overhauling of the USC website and the active engagement through the official and unofficial facebook groups. After discussions with the 10th MC, the the Mid-term Moratorium was deemed to overlap in scope with the January Thing, and was thus removed from the current years schedule. 3.2. USC Website The USC website was completely reconfigured using the Wordpress engine for a more dynamic platform. More information on the website can be found in the publications section of the AGM. 3.3. The January Thing Riding on the success of its previous incarnation, The January Thing was organised with the key goal of providing a platform for students, the USP administration, and the USP faculty to interact and find out more about the impending move to the Residential College. The event was combined with the Prince Georges Park start of semester dinner organised by the Residential Assistants thus removing the cost of food from the budget. The cooperation between RAs and the MC also helped ensure that the two target audiences would overlap and integrate. 3.4. Exchange Student Activities Suite As part of the renewed effort to reach out to different groups of students, a suite of events were planned for exchange students particularly In light of the expanded numbers and role of exchange students in the Cinnamon Residential College. Intended as a pilot project for eventual implementation at a college-wide level, the suite of events were excellent in identifying possible pitfalls and avenues for improvement. Recommendations for the continuation of the Exchange Student Activities Suite will be stated in the following section. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Decentralisation of Publicity While the decentralisation of the production of promotional material to the respective Public Relations Secretaries to the various projects was a good direction, the perennial lack of talented and committed individuals became more pronounced with the need to fill up more positions with the relevant capabilities. As a result, the Design Secretary not only had to vet and oversee the general bulk of the promotional material for the club, but also take over the production of promotional material should another SCs capability be compromised. Thankfully, this was the exception rather than the norm. The Design Secretary keeping in close contact with 28

the other Public Relations Secretaries was capable of rerouting designing capabilities most of the time. Decentralisation also freed up bandwidth for the PR SC to focus on other matters such as the Exchange Student Activities Suite. As such, I recommend that decentralisation of the production of promotional materials for the clubs activities stay as an enduring feature of MCs to come. 4.2. Exchange Student Activities Suite The original suite of events planned for the exchange students not only failed to fully materialise, but failed also in capturing a critical mass of exchange students. This is the result of various factors. Besides the failure to properly anticipate and accommodate the already existent traveling plans of the exchange students, the inability to fully mobilise the exchange students buddies constricted the PR SC to a rather limited manpower in organising events. The purpose of the organising functioning as a pilot programme however was fulfilled excellently as many learning points have been won. Rather than organising a full suite of events for the exchange students, a select few events should be organised to integrate the exchange students into the RC community.
4.3. Targeted Action

Although this may be an reiteration of what may already be known, activities and initiatives should be packaged to engage the different communities in USP. This is especially relevant in light of the possible estrangement of non-resident USP students. It is thus imperative that these communities be highlighted: (i) USP Alumni (ii) Senior USP students (iii) Junior USP students (iv) Sophomore USP students (v) Freshman USP students (vi) USP students residing in the RC (vii) USP students not residing in the RC (viii) USP Exchange students a. Those going on exchange b. Those here for USP exchange c. Those in the RC but not on USP exchange (ix) USP Administration It is important recognise that these groups will overlap in other areas not explicit here, such as by faculty, major, personal interests and areas of community involvement. It is thus imperative to cater and tailor publicity efforts with the target group in mind. Some possible things the next PR SC and the MC as a whole can embark are: (i) Obtaining the email distribution lists separated into the aforementioned communities 29

(ii) Planning community-specific events (iii) Specifically measuring performance indicators such as a. The effectiveness of the MCs message b. The turnout rates of events c. The approval level of the MC by the general student population 5. Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Ng Hui Ying, Madhumitha Ardhanari, Jovin Loh Run Wen, and Cheng Haiwen for helping out above and beyond their individual portfolios over the course of this academic year. Without them, none of the above events would have come to pass. Special mention must also be given to the impeccable work of David Tan in creating the new USC website practically from scratch. Prepared by: Lim Kai Heng Director of Public Relations 10th Management Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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LOGISTICS & WELFARE COMMITTEE REPORT

1. General Information & Organisation
As the Asset Manager, I am responsible for the management of the use of Chatterbox (ADM), the various rooms under the control of the club, student lockers, and other USC equipment. I also worked closely with the President to ensure that the welfare of the USP student body is being taken care of, which mainly included having to understand their concerns and addressing them. In addition, I provided the logistical support for various USC activities and ensure that all USC assets that are being borrowed and/or used are being accounted for. 2. Highlights 2.1. Exam Welfare Pack Traditionally, USC gives out exam welfare packs to USP students before the reading week of each semester. In this academic year, NUSSU striked an agreement with all student clubs to combine their distribution of the exam welfare pack with the individual student clubs. The dates of distribution (typically in Week 12) of the welfare packs were thus fixed by NUSSU. NUSSU also made use of this opportunity to administer the NUSSU Welfare Survey to all who have collected the welfare packs. USC decided to give out 150 welfare packs in total, for each distribution, on a first come first serve basis. The items that went into the welfare packs came from 3 different sources: (1) items that were purchased using the budget set aside by USC for the welfare packs. The list of items was jointly decided by the USC President and Asset Manager; (2) items provided by the USP administration that was to be given out in the welfare packs; (3) items provided by NUSSU that was to be given out in the welfare packs. In view of the shift into RC, the next committee in charge might want to think about how to cope with the possible increase in demand for the exam welfare packs. 2.2. USC Welfare Survey An integral part of different committees within USC is to serve the USP student population by planning activities for the students and introducing various welfare initiatives to the students. At the start of the term of office, after the handing and taking over of the USC Management Committee (MC), a welfare survey was conducted to find out the views of USP students with regard to the current activities organised by the student club and also to check if some of the new ideas that the management committee have are well received by USP students. The results of the survey were being analysed and used to make key decisions at the MC level as to what are some of the events or initiatives that the MC and their committees would work for.
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2.3. Nespresso Coffee Machine As a new welfare initiative, USC brought in a Nespresso Machine into Chatterbox. A survey was conducted in Chatterbox beforehand, to gather the views of USP students and assess whether or not it would be viable to bring in a Nespresso Coffee Machine into Chatterbox. The results of the survey reflected a borderline case, in terms of financial viability, for bringing in the coffee machine. Despite the risk of making a loss, it was decided that the coffee machine would be brought in. Throughout the semester, coffee capsules were being sold to the USP community on coffee days on the first week of every month. Publicity emails were being sent out to the USP community before each coffee day to inform the community of the coffee sales and coffee-meisters (people in charge of selling the coffee capsules). Towards the end of the academic year, the Nespresso Machine was poorly maintained, especially during the semester breaks, parts of the machine was lost and we did not manage to sell all the coffee capsules that USC ordered. All in all, though the Nespresso coffee machine initiative started off with good intentions, it has become a financial burden to USC. In view of the shift into RC, where coffee giant, Starbucks, is just around the corner, it seems even less viable to for USC to have a coffee machine that is being sustained on the sales of coffee capsules. 2.4. USC Welfare Corner The welfare corner in Chatterbox provides food (mainly snacks) for USP students. Students can contribute food to the welfare corner that is to be shared by their peers, or they can get food from the welfare corner. The welfare corner acts on a policy whereby students may take food from the welfare corner and contribute to a welfare fund by putting money into a coin container. The amount they decide to contribute would be up to the individuals discretion. The money collected through the welfare corner was then used to purchase other snacks for the corner. The welfare corner has been self-sufficient and the idea has been well-received by USP students. Hence, it would be strongly encouraged for this initiative to be carried on. 2.5. USC Locker Rental Lockers in Chatterbox (at Block ADM) were rented out each semester to USP students. The rental collected was used to fund other USC initiatives (e.g. welfare corner/exam welfare pack). As Asset Manager, I managed the rental and allocation of lockers. Priority for the lockers was given first to USP students who were not staying on campus. After which, the lockers are being allocated on a first come first serve basis. In view of the shift to the RC, new lockers might be provided for USC to rent out to students who are not staying in the RC. 2.6. The BIG MOVE to the USP Residential College As the Asset Manager of USC, I worked closely with the USP administration to coordinate the move of all of USC assets to its new premises in the RC. The biggest challenge faced was the lack of space in the RC. Hence, key decisions had to be 32

made to decide on what is to be moved and what is to be disposed off. Unlike in Block ADM, where the assets were all consolidated mainly in Chatterbox, in the RC, there are many smaller pocket of spaces, namely the 2 theme rooms, the practical workshop, the MPH and the new Chatterbox. It would be more challenging now to manage and track the movement of assets around the RC. Further, these different student spaces are spread out, which makes it even more difficult to track assets when students take things without asking. Currently, most of USC assets are being consolidated in the practical workshop until plans have been made to distribute them around the different spaces. 3. General Recommendations
Due to the lack of space, strict regulations need to be exercised so that the allocation of space is fair to all. There is also a need to prioritise carefully when issuing the different spaces for use to different USP students. In order to manage the use of the different student spaces in the RC, there is a need to first understand the requirements of the different committees under USC, so that clashes of interest can be minimised. When managing USC assets, it is important that plans are made not just for preevents, but also post-events. Proper control of assets is only possible when the clearing up is done properly and efficiently. To minimise loss of items, ensure that after each event, there is someone who is consolidating all the assets and is accountable for them. In order to ensure that this is effective, there should be close communication between the management committees and their standing committees and most importantly, the working committees. 4. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for their help and support to me during my term of service: The USP management and administrative staff for their support and advice in various matters concerning the club and the welfare of the students. The USC 10th Management Committee, for their dedication in the various projects we worked on together, and for the understanding and support provided whenever needed. Elvis Chong, Logistics Director, USC 9th Management Committee, for the guidance and contributions whenever help is needed.
Prepared by: Low Yee Loong Asset Manager 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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ACADEMIC COMMITTEE REPORT

Under the 10th MC, the Academic Secretary was made to become a Standing Committee position under the Honorary General Secretary. This was to give the Academic Committee space to redefine its role in the community after it was decided that the Harvard Conference in Asia Project (HCAP) was not in line with the desired objectives of the Academic Committee and hence was removed from its portfolio. The Academic Committee set itself the twin goals of bridging the knowledge gap between USP curriculum matters and students as well as using academic events as a platform for community building within USC. Under the 10th MC, the Academic Committee took on the following projects in chronological order: Event/Project Meet-your-Major-Mates Facebook Launch Peer Mentorship Programme Pilot Advanced Curriculum Sharing ISM Sharing Meet-your-Major Mates at O-Week ISM Showcase Date Oct 2010 Dec 2010 Mar 2011 16 Feb 2011 23 Mar 2011 27 Jul 2010 Forthcoming, 14 Sep 2011
2.
Organisation
This years Academic Committee was fairly large (compared to the 2 members the year before) and comprised the following persons: Position Academic Secretary (Standing Committee) Academic Administrator (Standing Committee) Academic Public Relations Secretary (Standing Committee) Honorary General Secretary (Management Committee) Working Committee Members Office Holder Amoz Hor Jin Yi Tan Wen-Yi Denys Tan Baey Xiang Ling Benjamin Tan Han Yongming Hannah Bull Joe Chee Low Yee Loong Louis Ong Phoebe Elizabeth Lim
In addition to the structure above, the Academic Committee was organized into 34

project teams, supervised by the SC of the Academic Committee (project/event leaders underlined): Project/Event Peer Mentorship Advanced Curriculum Sharing ISM Sharing ISM Showcase Meet-your-Major-Mates 3. Highlights 3.1. Pioneering the Peer Mentorship Programme (PMP) The Academic Committee and the PMP were designed concurrently and hence have identical objectives: The PMP aimed to attach every freshman to a Peer Mentor of their faculty who would assist in their transition to university life, facilitate student access to curriculum information and resources as well as foster a sense of community. The PMP was motivated from the desire to more formally institutionalize the above objectives (which was already happening informally and sometimes through M^3) coupled with the golden opportunity to leverage on the move to the residential college. The Academic Committee spent its first 2 semesters designing a pilot programme, planning and executing a full pilot version of the PMP with 6 pilot Peer Mentors and approximately 40 freshmen, evaluating the pilot with 6 feedback groups, extensive discussion with the Professor Holden (Academic Affairs), A/P Teo (Faculty Advisors), Peggy (Residential College matters), the SAC (Residential College matters), 10th MC (Student Matters), FOP, gave 2 full proposal presentations in semester 1, and using the findings of the pilot to design the first run of the Peer Mentorship Programme, the Academic Committee launched the PMP together with the Administration in April 2011, recruiting 29 peer mentors over the 6 partner faculties in USP. The Peer Mentorship Programme has been successfully handed over to Wong Yi Fong, the Peer Mentor Coordinator, and A/P Barabara Ryan, the PMP Faculty Supervisor. They no longer fall under the portfolio of the Academic Committee although sustained partnership between the PMP and the Academic Committee is expected. For more information, you may approach Amoz for the Peer Mentorship Proposal and After Action Review documents. Members Amoz Hor, Denys Tan, Tan Wen-Yi, Baey Xiang Ling, Benjamin Tan, Han Yongming, Hannah Bull, Joe Chee, Low Yee Loong, Louis Ong, Phoebe Elizabeth Lim Benjamin Tan, Han Yongming, Louis Ong Denys Tan, Low Yee Loong, Joe Chee Amoz Hor, Hannah Bull Phoebe Elizabeth Lim, Joe Chee
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3.2. Advanced Curriculum Sharing, ISM Sharing and ISM Showcase The Academic Committee embarked on a series of sharings that had slightly different and evolving aims: Event Advanced Curriculum Sharing (Week 5, AY10/11 Sem 2) ISM Sharing (Week 10, AY10/11 Sem 2) ISM Showcase(Week 6, AY11/12 Sem 1) Objectives 1. To provide information on USP Advanced Curriculum 2. To encourage students to plan ahead for their Advanced Curriculum 1. To instruct students on how to embark upon an ISM 2. To inspire students to pursue their individual passions through an ISM 1. To give students an idea of what an ISM can look like 2. To inspire students to pursue their individual passions through an ISM 3. To celebrate the academic diversity in USP
The Advanced Curriculum Sharing involved a briefing on Advanced Curriculum and sharings from students who fulfilled their advanced curriculum through different tracks. This was the format inherited from the previous Academic Committee, was attended by approximately 60 students. Notably however, all but 10 of them stayed once the Academic Inquiry track was covered. It has since become clear that the bulk of the audience were not freshmen deciding which Advanced Curriculum track to take, but by year 2 students and above who needed more information on an already decided track they were going to take. The ISM Sharing involved a briefing on ISMs and sharings by students who had done ISMs with a focus on their experiences and instructional anecdotes. It was attended by approximately 25 students. The forthcoming ISM Showcase (yet to be renamed) will be a TED Talk-like session, featuring 5-6 student presenters and their ISMs. While the ISM Sharings focus was on the instructional aspects of doing an ISM, the focus for the ISM Showcase will be on the findings of the research in the hope of fulfilling the objectives listed above. It will be held in tandem with a USS session and the peer mentors are encouraged to attend the session with their peer group. For more information, you may approach Amoz for the Proposal and After Action Review documents of the Advanced Curriculum Sharing and ISM Sharing. 3.3. Meet-your-Major-Mates (M^3) Meet-your-Major-Mates is a network of USP students by their major. M^3 begun under the previous Orientation Week team (under the 9th MC) as a shout-out for seniors of all majors to come down to meet peers from their major (freshmen and seniors alike) to share their accumulated wisdom as well as to make friends. (AGM AY 2009/2010) Since the main actors which began M^3 are the same actors as those in the Academic Committee and directly involved with the PMP, it is not surprising that 36

both M^3 and PMP shared identical objectives. However, while Peer Mentors were to be formally attached to a group of freshmen for at least a semester and need not have come from their major, M^3 was an informal collection of seniors and juniors connected by their major in USP. M^3, under the new mandate of the Academic Committee, was fashioned as much as possible to compliment the PMP. Seeing the success of M^3 at O-Week last year, the Academic Committee sought to solidify some of the connections made by pushing each Major to form their own FB group. Up to date, 25 M^3 groups were formed on FB with varying levels of activeness. M^3 also continued at O-Week following a briefing by Peer Mentors on USP and home faculty requirements as well as how to bid with CORS. For disputably varied reasons, it has been observed that while O-Week had a close to full attendance by freshmen, M^3 was much more poorly attended by seniors as compared to last year. We unfortunately do not have any numbers to back this up. 3.4. Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) The Academic Secretary sat on the CRC with the Honorary General Secretary (instead of with the Vice-President last year) and continued to be a channel of feedback to the Administration regarding curriculum and academic matters. With the launch of PMP, the Academic Committee has pushed for the Peer Mentor Coordinator to sit on the CRC with the Academic Director. 4. Recommendations
For recommendations for individual events, please refer to the highlights above, or for more details, please approach Amoz at amoz@nus.edu.sg for the relevant documentation. 4.1. New Projects/Events With the PMP no longer falling under the purview of the Academic Committee, we hope that there will be more space for the Academic Committee to explore new ways of meeting the Academic Committees objectives. Some ideas that this years Academic Committee would like to propose are as follows: Involvement in the Masters Tea Tea Sessions with Cultural Immersion Seniors Tea Sessions with NOC Seniors A USP Fair an exhibition of the international programmes, research, ISMs etc undertaken by USP students Developing Student Feedback Channels regarding academic or curriculum matters Organizing an Academic Conference such as Singapore Simi, organized under the Special Projects Committee under the 9th MC. Organizing GXT in USP Peer Learning Sessions much like the Cultural Activities Committees introductory classes, but with an academic twist 37

Far from trying to limit the Academic Committee to projects that this years Academic Committee can suggest, we strongly recommend coming up with and innovating new events/projects that will fulfil the objectives of bridging the knowledge gap between USP curriculum matters and students as well as using academic events as a platform for community building within USC. 4.2. Synergy of Events With the Academic Committee organizing a slew of events, it is important to ensure that the events compliment and not conflict with each other. One area that requires looking into is to explore how the PMP and M^3 can be better synthesized since their objectives and form overlap pretty significantly. 4.3. Sharings on Advanced Curriculum One finding from organizing the various sharings on Advanced Curriculum is that it is better to separate the various Advanced Curriculum tracks. As mentioned above, we strongly recommend having the more intimate tea session format for the NOC and Cultural Immersion track. As for the Academic Inquiry track, we recommend continuing with the use ISMs as the spearhead of the sharing in the USS framework. 4.4. Working with Peer Mentorship The PMP is a very important partner for the Academic Committees to engage, seeing how they have the same objectives but are equipped with different tools. Engagement is important firstly to resolve clashes of interest; secondly to prevent duplication of effort and thirdly, to better both parties understandings of the academic and curriculum concerns of USC. For example, the potential clashes of interests between M^3 and the PMP can be resolved if their eventual roles and forms are discussed more with each other. Another example is how the PMP is going to be using the ISM Showcase to share more about Advanced Curriculum with their peer groups. They had requested similar sessions that cover the other two Advanced Curriculum tracks and also requested for a fair that allows peer mentors more flexibility in using existing materials to discuss other Advanced Curriculum material. 4.5. Working with the Administration and Faculty A very important group of people that the Academic Committee worked with is the Administration, espeically Professor Philip Holden and Kia Yen. The Academic Committee practically ran through every project/event with them to ensure that they were in line with the greater USP objectives. In this process, the Academic Committee also better understood what the Administration is doing to fulfil objectives that are identical to the Academic Committees. Hence, we strongly recommend continuing the close working relation this years Academic Committee has developed. The Academic Committee has also benefited with working with the rest of the USP Administration and Faculty such as Professor John Richardson and Dr Mabel Wong in the discussion of making the ISM Showcase part of USS. 38

4.6. Developing Student Feedback Channels As the Academic Secretary/Director is expected to represent student interests with regards to academic or curriculum matters, we would strongly recommend finding ways to gather feedback from the ground so that the interests that are represented are not just belonging to small minority, but of students in USP as a whole. 4.7. Projects/Events that Build Community An important tenant of the Academic Committee, or any Events Director, is to organize events/projects that build community. The activities that the Academic Committee organize tend to have the advantage of reaching out to non-active (or non-Chatter, if the term still applies) members of USC. The two projects that the Academic Committee took on that was designed to fulfil these objectives were the PMP and the M^3, but there is much room to explore with this regard and existing projects can be tweaked to become more community-oriented. The Cultural Immersion Tea Sessions for example could be used to build a sub-community of people whove been to India/China/Japan and linking seniors up to potential juniors would be a pretty meaningful endeavour. 5. Acknowledgments
The Academic Committee would like to thank the following people for their support: Professor Holden and Kia Yen First and foremost, we absolutely have to thank Professor Philip Holden and Kia Yen For their undying support in every event/project we organized - their enthusiasm, advice and firm belief in the Academic Committee has been so moving to us. They have attended and gotten involved with every project/event that weve organized, spoken at every sharing regarding the Advanced Curriculum, always agreed to meet us despite their busy schedules and also have been great friends to us. Thank you. We would also like to thank the USP Administration for their support and friendship through the events/projects we organized. Daniel for helping us get speakers for the Advanced Curriculum Sharing, Ai Lian for our discussion on the fair and tea sessions, Prof Teo for your advice on the Faculty Advisors, Peggy for discussing how to fit the PMP with the shift to the Residential College despite your busy schedule and Rohayu for helping us obtain clairs (and other foods)! Thank you for the unending support and the food and friendship shared in the office and outside. Dr Ryan not just for agreeing to be the PMP Faculty Supervisor but for sharing the vision, believing in us, encouraging us and mentoring us all. And somehow in the process of all of that, for being a friend. Thank you Dr Ryan. For being a most awesome first Peer Mentor Coordinator, setting 39
The USP Administratio n
A/P Barbara Ryan
Yi Fong

the groundwork, making new territory and at the same time constantly engaging us and giving us feedback on how the Academic Committee and the PMP can support each other. The Pilot Peer Mentors Shawn, Min Xun, Zen Wea, David Cheah, Yan Shao, Li Ting, Yuan Yi, and Jerome for taking up the challenge to be pilot peer mentors, giving us constant feedback and really interesting suggestions, helping us shape the programme, giving it shape and form, setting your own precedence and for being supportive of the programme even in its infancy stage. (Too many to list.) For agreeing to be your guinea pigs in our new endeavour we hope you got something out of it and that maybe youll be a peer mentor too! Aulia, Bridget, Ee Wei, Eddie, Elvis, Elysa, Gweyneth, Hazirah, Jackie, Joe Chee, Kelly, Liting, Marvin, Min Xun, Mingyang, Nigel, Sorna, Terence, Yee Long, Yi Fong, Yi Wen, Yinning, Yogaprakash, Yuan Yi and Zi Chun for agreeing to be the first batch of peer mentors! And at such short notice, thank you for helping to pave the way for what I hope will be a programme that will become definitive of USP. For so readily agreeing to inculcate the ISM Showcase with USS and really believing in the aspirations of your students Thank you for so readily agreeing to make the ISM Showcase happening despite not actually being a part of the Academic Committee (although you are now. Ha!) and really spearheading the effort. We would like to thank especially Li Ann for being such a pleasure to work with for M^3 and for even jumping n board to help us with the event despite it being beyond the call of duty. Thanks Li Ann! Alisha, Charis, Hazirah, Isabel and Ervin for the Advanced Curriculum Sharing and Shiaw Yan, Zachary, Jackie, Benedict ad Zelig for the ISM Sharing; for agreeing to take time off to prepare and share your experiences and lessons learnt with the USP community. Thus far, Marvin, Alexius and Hannah for agreeing so readily to be part of a new endeavour that is the ISM Showcase and agreeing to inspire people to do ISMs. For putting our projects in perspective with whatever else USC was doing and supporting us formally, although more often than not informally as friends. Thank you. The SAC from both the 9th and 10th MC for helping us fit our projects/events with the shift to the Residential College and also sharing with us your ideas that you gained from studying residential colleges in the US. 40
The Pilot Peer Mentees The first batch of Peer Mentors
Prof Richardson and Dr Mabel Hannah Bull
The O-Week Team
Speakers for Advanced Curriculum Sharing, ISM Sharing and ISM Showcase The 10th MC
The Student Advisory Committee (SAC)

Yung Hei, Academic Director under the 9th MC Xiang Ling
Thank you for all the ideas, advice and wisdom youve passed down to the next Academic Committee.
For being an awesome boss! Formal Acknowledgement: Thank you for giving us the MC direction and also giving us enough space to run with our ideas and synthesizing them with MC matters. Less Formal Acknowledgement: For really taking your role a whole step further by attending every one of our meetings when you can make it (which was often) and for investing your time and energy by being directly involved in the projects/events we were doing when all you really had to be was a boss. And also, thank you for being such an awesome friend.
Benjamin Tan, Han Yongming, Hannah Bull, Joe Chee, Low Yee Loong, Louis Ong and Phoebe Elizabeth Lim Denys, WenYi and Xiang
For being the most awesome working committee possible. Besides being mostly experienced year 2s (year 3s at the time of writing), seasoned and very capable, I am glad that I got to work with a bunch of friends, some of whom are newly made and most of you, deepening the friendship weve already shared. I know of a few MC and SC members that are so jealous of the people I got to work with.
Thank you for being the most awesome standing committee possible. Really, you guys are the pillars of the Academic Committee. Thank you for looking out for and filling in the gap(s), always supporting each other, meeting at awkward places at sometimes awkward times, systemizing all the ideas into word, excel and keynotes documents, doing admin so well, looking into all the small details, considering the big picture constantly, standing in for me, taking on additional responsibilities and basically making everything we aspired to do in the Academic Committee work. Because of you guys, the Academic Committee has accomplished what it has today and none of it would have been remotely possible without you guys. It has really been my honour to work with you guys. Last and certainly not the least, the whole USP community for either attending or supporting or getting involved with our projects/events. Thank you for being a pleasure to serve.
The USP Community
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And to anyone whom we might have left out, thank you for your support and hard work.
Prepared by: Amoz Hor Jin Yi Academic Secretary 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
42

COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE REPORT

Going into the second term of service, the Community Service Committee this year aimed to provide more opportunities for students through a long-term project and ad-hoc projects. The initial idea was to take on the previous committees project, Project KNIGHT. However, due to factors which will be explicated later in this report, the 2nd Community Service Committee adopted a new long-term project, Project CARE, and organized 2 ad-hoc community service sessions. The 2nd Community Service Committee also collaborated with the Freshmen Orientation Programme Committee and organized a fund-raiser by selling bubble-tea on campus. 2. Organisation
The second Community Service Committee consisted of the following persons: Director: Standing Committee Administrator: Finance Secretary: Public Relations Secretary: Working Committee Project KNIGHT/CARE Head: Ad-hoc Projects Head: Ad-hoc Projects Vice Head: 3. Highlights 3.1. Ad Hoc Projects The Committee worked together with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on their Arts For Health programme. Volunteers went down to SGH twice to help out with the Arts for Health Concert. Arts for Health is a programme with aims to bring the Arts to patients in hope of providing them with a positive environment for a happier stay. Volunteers helped to set up, and invited patients down to the concert venue (within the hospital premises). They also interacted with the patients and helped with the logistics at the end of the concert. 3.2. Project KNIGHT Project KNIGHT was a tutorship and mentorship scheme initiated by the inaugural Community Service Committee. Volunteers worked in pairs with a child whose parents are living with HIV or AIDS. Due to the popularity and potential benefits of the project, the second Community Service Committee decided to take it up as our term based project. However, we were aware that since Project KNIGHT was still a relatively new initiative, there were flaws to the system which resulted in a high 43 Tan Wee Tiong, Spencer Divya Georgie Edlyn Tan Rachel Lim
Yvonne Lim Louis Ong Kenneth Chong

tutor drop-out rate and unsatisfied tutees. The second Community Service Committee then strived to improve the system, and proposed the revised system to the Communicable Disease Centre, our liaison agent. Recruitment started in January and we received a fairly positive response. However, after recruitment, CDC informed us that they have decided to discontinue the project, much to our disappointment. Therefore, our committee worked together with Professor Albert Teo for new ideas. 3.3. Project CARE Project CARE was initiated towards the end of Semester 2. It is the 2nd Community Service Committees term-based project. We worked closely with Professor Albert Teo and the Catholic Aids Response Effort (CARE). CARE runs a shelter for HIV positive patients who face rejection from society and their families. Project CARE then aims to bring volunteers to the shelter weekly to 1) conduct useful courses and 2) befriend them. During our term over the summer vacation, we intended to conduct three courses. Volunteers were split into three groups and each group was headed by a leader. The respective groups then prepared for their courses which last over three weeks (1 lesson per week). However, during the course of the project, we realised that the residents are more interested in talking and interacting with the volunteers. We also evaluated their needs as we went along and decided to conduct only two out of the three courses: 1. Financial Literacy The financial literacy course was aimed to educate the residents about three concepts: basic saving habits, their CPF savings, as well as sources of financial aid. Volunteers gathered information and prepared slides and handouts for the residents. 2. Cooking The cooking course was aimed to bring the residents together to create simple dishes. The objectives were to equip the residents with basic cooking skills and to bond the residents together. Volunteers prepared the ingredients and at the end of the session, the residents and volunteers enjoyed the dishes which they have prepared. 3. IT literacy This course was not carried out as the committee decided that it did not align with the residents needs. On top of these courses, we also provided catered dinner during the first session for the residents and volunteers to get to know one another better. Additionally, volunteers also interact and befriend the residents during sessions with no courses. 3.1. Fund Raising
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The Committee also collaborated with the 2011 FOP team to raise funds by selling bubble-tea. The funds raised were the main source of income which sustained the committee throughout the year (together with subscription fees). 4. Recommendations 4.1. General Handover Issues We strongly recommend that the next Community Service Committee continues working on Project CARE. Firstly, we have learnt that a project like Project CARE is more sustainable as it is a term-based commitment rather than a year-long commitment. This tends to draw more participants with a lower drop-out rate. Secondly, we feel that the project has much potential. It is a starting point to increase students awareness about HIV. Lastly, the road has been laid for the next Community Service Committee should they take on this project and thus they can build on the foundations and have more time and resources for other meaningful projects as well. 4.2. Liaison with Beneficiaries Through the course of the year, the Committee had many ideas with different beneficiaries. One of which was to engage the previous beneficiaries which USC engaged during Pre-Flag 2010. However, this idea fell through because liaison with the different beneficiaries took too long. A main reason was because we relied strongly on emails, which was generally ineffective. Therefore, we recommend that the next committee take a more pro-active stance when liaising with beneficiaries. 4.3. Publicity Efforts The 2nd Community Service Committee had its own functional cell- a finance secretary and a public relations secretary. We feel that the next committee, should they adopt the same standing committee structure, could exploit this structure more and focus more on the publicity efforts of the committees events. 4.4. Volunteers Commitment and Engagement The 2nd Community Service Committee strongly recommends the next committee to take a firm stance on volunteers commitment. The commitment level of each programme or event has to be clearly made known to the volunteers. The committee should also find ways to engage the volunteers to gather feedback along the way. We have learnt that such feedback is valuable so that the programme or event can be tweaked along the way. 4.5. House system and Community Service While coming up with ideas for ad-hoc events, we learnt that not all ad-hoc events suit everyones tastes. It is hard to organise an ad-hoc event which will attract a good turnout as everyone in the community has different interests. Therefore, it is recommended that the next Committee work together with the House System for ad-hoc events. The House system reaches out to a smaller group of students, in which the House Captain can gather feedback and decide what kind of ad-hoc 45

events suit the House best. The Community Service Committee can then focus on bigger events like term-based projects or fund-raisers. 4.6. Sponsorship The 2nd Community Service Committee reached out to different organisations for sponsorship but was not able to secure any. We strongly recommend for the next committee to work closely with the new Corporate Relations Director to secure sponsorships or grants. We feel that the two parties can have a closer working relationship. The next Corporate Relations Director also needs to take charge of the sponsorship procuring process with a more aggressive stance. 5. Acknowledgements
As the Community Service Director, I have gained for myself many insights and lessons learnt. The past year would not have been possible if not for these people: 1. Professor Albert Teo: Thank you for your constant guidance and recommendations, as well as believing in this committee to take on a new initiative. 2. Standing Committee members: Divya, Edlyn and Rachel, thank you for the support given throughout the year, and for your never-give-up attitude. 3. Project CARE Head: Yvonne, thank you very much for assisting and spearheading Project CARE, as well as the experience and advice as a previous Community Service Committee member. 4. Ad-hoc Events Head and Vice Head: Kenneth and Louis, for your willingness to step up to the needs of the committee, thank you very much. 5. The Volunteers: Thank you for bringing our vision to life by participating in our events and project. 6. Last but not least, the 10th MC for your dedication and advice. Prepared by: Spencer Tan Director of Community Service 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
46

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE REPORT

The Cultural Activities Committee 10/11 was the inaugural Cultural Activities Committee, largely taking over from what had hitherto been called the Special Projects Committee. The refined designation allowed the committee to focus on organizing activities centering on the Arts for the USC Community, including the resumption of the Decibel series and the annual USC Production. The main objective for the 10/11 committee was to organize activities that maximized participation by USC members in three broad areas: Learning, Development and Showcase, which saw the creation of the year-long Introductory Classes. 2. Organisation
Management Committee: Director of Cultural Activities: Joel Tan Standing Committee: Administrator: Michele Lim Financial Secretary: Yolanda Zhang Public Relations Secretary: Joel Kang Creative Director (Productions): Leonard Choo Creative Director (Projects & Interest Groups: Yvonne Lim Working Committee: Introductory Classes Director: Kishan Kumar Lookbook Director: Naomi Goh Heading the Committee is the Cultural Activities Director who plans the broad direction of the Committee and its guiding principles, which then inform the committees activities. In the 10/11 committee, the Cultural Activities director also served as one of two Co-Producers for USC Productions. The Cultural Activities Administrator serves as second-in-charge of the Committee, largely helping with administrative and organizational back-up: taking minutes, communicating with the entire committee, collecting and generating reports from the Working Committees. In the 10/11 committee, the C.A. Administrator also served as one of two Co-Producers for USC Productions. Financial Secretary: oversaw the finances for all Cultural Activities Committee activities, liaising with the USC Honorary Financial Secretary to draw up and balance the committees budget. The Public Relations secretary was in charge of publicizing the committees activities to the USC Community, though the main work for the PR Secretary was to create a comprehensive media-brief for USC Productions, and to court media partners to help advertise the show. This involved extensive work by way of contacting partners and designing publicity collaterals.
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The Creative Director (Productions) sits on the committee mainly to help the team come up with ideas for activities, lending insight and perspective. The main work of the Creative Director (Productions) in the 10/11 Committee was to direct USC Productions 2011, the committees largest undertaking. The Creative Director (Interest Groups and Projects) sits on the committee to help the team come up with ideas for activities, lending insight and perspective. The main work of the Creative Director (Interest Groups and Projects) in the 10/11 committee was to start up the committees E-Arts Bulletina channel to promote arts-related activities to the larger USC community as well as to manage Decibel and spearhead new activities, such as the Introductory Classes. The broader scope of the C.A. (Interest Groups and Projects) was to explore the possibilities of setting up and overseeing more arts-and-culture interest groups in USC. The structure of the 10/11 Committee was planned mainly to incorporate the organization of the annual USC Production within the Standing Committee, in so doing allowing greater administrative control over the project. The Creative Director (Interest Groups and Projects) was therefore allowed a much freer vein to organize and oversee activities outside of Productions, even running concurrently with organization for the show. 3. Highlights 3.1. USC Productions: Noel Cowards Hay Fever (2011) Presented at the Esplanade Theatre Studio on the 27th and 28th of February 2011, this was USC Productions biggest show to date, its first full-length show which additionally required the design and construction of an elaborate set, period costumes and props. The Committee set out to raise the bar not just for USC Productions but for University productions in general, and committed itself to producing a show on a large, ambitious scale in order to involve as many USC members as possible, and to present a unique challenge to the team. The project ultimately involved more than 30 USC members in a whole range of ways, from design, construction and logistics to acting, directing and stage-management. On top of that, extensive administrative support by way of Public Relations and Marketing proved a useful learning experience for thos involved. For many participants, this was their first experience in theatre, and many have returned for USProductions 2012 project. The show was very well-received, enthusiastically described as one of the best University Productions many audience-members had watched, and by others as a truly accomplished performance that rivaled professional interpretations of Noel Coward. The main take-away for USC was the strengthening of the USC Productions brand-name, increased recognition of our work and a continuation of the work of previous production teams. 3.2. Introductory Classes The Committees contribution to the USC suite of activities came in the form of a series of classes, taught by USC members, which were open to the entire community. These classes covered a wide range of subjects, including Cooking, 48

Dance (Hip Hop and Jazz), Photography (Indoor/Outdoor and Fashion) and Music (Theory). These were envisioned as enjoyable and safe spaces for USC members whod always wanted to pick up new skills but either lacked the time or easy access. Overseen by the Creative Director (Interest Groups and Projects) and run by the Introductory Classes Working Committee, these after-school classes saw a healthy sign-up, with each class reaching out to about 10-15 people. They were very wellreceived and are highly recommended for continuation. 3.3. Decibel The now-customary Decibel ran as a complement to major USC events (Buaya Buayee, Halloween etc), serving as a way to showcase USC talent, though primarily as a way for the Community to relax and have fun together. The 10/11 run of Decibel has helped establish this open-mic event as a USC staple. 4. Recommendations
Innovate within boundaries. Every committee that comes in tries to improve on the work of the previous one, though this often comes at the expense of removing projects from the suite of activities. The 10/11 Committees primary recommendation is to be bold about creating new activities, but that this needs to be balanced against the current mix of personalities, interests and talents in USC. For the sake of continuity, the committee also strongly recommends running the same suite of activities for the next year, though this should not be at the expense of coming up with new ideas or injecting a new flavor to existing activities. At the heart of everything the Cultural Activities Committee does should be the community: maximum participation across the board is the bottom line. The only changes the Committee recommends are mainly related to USC Productions, and concern the timeline, marketing strategies and logistics. However, the administration of USC Productions (now USProductions) has now been removed from the Cultural Activities Committee, and these recommendations are no longer salient in this report. With the administrative freedom that comes as a result of this, the Cultural Activities Committee can focus on developing the Introductory Classes, with a particular focus on incorporating them into the Residential College. The Committee recommends considering more performance-based activities that can maximize the spaces and facilities offered by the Residential College.
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5.
Acknowledgments
The Committee wishes to thank the 10th MC for its support and good counsel, as well as the entire Hay Fever team, for showing incredible determination despite periods of great difficulty. Michele, for always being there and for being the worlds best administrator. Yolanda, for being so capable and for always wanting to do more. Joel Kang, for the wonderful work and incredible know-how. Leonard, for being so talented and for bringing that to bear on Hay Fever. Yvonne, for being the soul behind Decibel, and its biggest fan. Kishan, who helped run the Introductory Classes, for his indefatigable spirit.
Prepared by: Joel Tan Director of Cultural Activities 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
50

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE REPORT

The Social Activities Committee is responsible for promoting student bonding and fostering a greater sense of belonging to the USC community through its suite of events, namely: Halloween, Buaya Buayee and Chinese New Year celebrations. 2. Organisation
Management Committee: Director of Social Activities: Amanda Awyong Standing Committee: Admistrator: Samdish Suri Financial Secretary: He Yining Public Relations Secretary: Cheryl Ng Working Committee: Creative Events Coordinator (Christmas, Buaya Buayee): Spencer Tan Creative Events Coordinator (Chinese New Year): Lin Tong Logistics Coordinator (Christmas): Tania Harsono Logistics Coordinator (Buaya Buayee): Darren Yeo Logistics Coordinator (Chinese New Year): Eunice Tan 3. Highlights 3.1. Halloween (29th October 2010) For this event, we followed the general frame that the previous years committee had. We had a haunted house at level 6 and used chatterbox as a holding area. Chatterbox had food and other entertainment such as werewolves. Tickets which were priced at $2 each were sold a week before the event and on the day itself. An estimated number of 62 tickets were sold. The social activities committee, under the guidance of Joel Tan, baked muffins and decorated them to be scary. Other food included peanut butter jelly sandwiches and hotdogs. We also catered fried bee hoon. At the end of it, there was an excess of bee hoon so for future references, do not cater staple food if the event is after dinner time. One downside was actually the long queue for the haunted house. We had to keep the number of people going through haunted house to a minimum and so those who couldnt wait simply left earlier. Towards the end, we actually had a best dressed competition and a gross food competition. The gross food competition challenged participants to get the gummy worms out of a jar of mealworms in the shortest time; they did not have to eat it. 3.2. Christmas (Late December 2010)
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We tried to organize one event but the turnout was very low because most people were either overseas or on internship. Basically, we organized an outing to the ice skating rink and then chilled out together at Kallang Leisure park. We subsidized $5 per person for ice skating. Participants were encouraged to bring a present to swap amongst themselves later in the evening. 3.3. Buaya Buayee & CNY (February 2011) After getting feedback that the revelation last year wasnt as exciting as people had hoped, we decided to hold a revelation party. We started Buaya Buayee with two boxes, one male and one female, but we did not restrict stalking to opposite genders. To participate, the person would write his or her name and slot it into either of the boxes, then pick a name from either of the boxes. Basically after this, stalking begins. Since we allowed participants of both genders to put their names in the same box but on different coloured papers, and to take out the name of their buayee from this collection of names, a lot of cheating ensued. Participants would re-choose a buayee if the first name they had picked out wasnt to their liking. We had foreseen this, but decided to go ahead with this in the spirit of free choice and ease of implementation. However, future committees might want to revisit this policy. At the revelation party, we got the more prominent Buayas, such as Celibus Chong, to reveal his or herself and tell their story. There was also an epic story of how Yi Fong hung a banner at PGP and ended up getting scolded. We gave out prizes to the best Buayas, the most freaky ones and the sweetest pair. We had planned to have a Revelation contest wherein each Buaya would leave an item of theirs for their Buayee. The Buayee would then have to try and deduce who their Buaya was. The first person to find their Duaya would win. During the party, this didnt come to fruition due to concerns about time availability and the flow of the event. People were enjoying listening to the emcee crack jokes while doling out prizes, so we decided to simply have the emcee call up participants one-by-one and have the audience reveal their Buaya to them. This led to the problem of some people not being called up (some werent present, those present were a little too many to reveal, some participants Buayas werent present), and their Buayas not being revealed to them. Although this made the revelation quite fun (and made it feel like a social kind of revelation, in the following years, the Social Cell should strive to stick to a very rigorously imagined and double-checked plan. We also merged the revelation party with Chinese New Year celebrations by having yusheng right before the revelation and CNY goodies during Revelation Party. 3.4. Chatterbox Revelation (April 2011) This was our last event and an almost spontaneous one. We decided that people needed closure before moving to the Residential College at university town. The Pilot Projects traditional end of semester dinner was also shifted from Prince George Park to Blk ADM, such that the Memorial had proper catered food.
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We started out with some speeches, namely Professor Richardsons and Jeremy Auws. Thereafter, there was a cake cutting graced by Professor Richardson, Jeremy and Profofessor Peter Pang. Professor Pang was the director of USP when Chatterbox started. After this, we had a seniors sharing session. Seniors such as Benjamin Lee, who was one of Chatterboxs founders, told us about its beginnings. We also invited Geck and Tat, since he proposed to her in school with the help of USP students. Yi Fong also presented and told us his chatterbox story. There were people who came dressed in full black mourning clothes. It was rather sad. This was especially so when Naomi and Melissa took the Chatterbox sign down from its place on the wall. Apparently, one of our USP Directors, Peggy teared at that moment. After this, we had a group photo, then batch by batch photo. Decibel followed closely after. The night ended with some wine provided by the Admin and people left feeling happy and sad. I felt that it was a successful event given the turnout, since Chatterbox almost couldnt fit everyone. There were 100 over people, almost too many to count. It was a great last event and the Social Activities Committee had fun doing it. Special thanks go to Joel Tan, our favourite emcee and the MC for supporting Chatterbox Memorial. Thanks to everyone who turned up, especially the alumni. We engaged the help of Vindy to email blast to SPAN and I was very glad that so many alumni turned up. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Halloween Dont provide staple food because theres the dining hall. This way, you can save a lot on the budget. It will be way more cool and fun if people actually dressed up for Halloween. Well, at least more people than what we had last year. Allocate a bigger budget to the best dressed, and attract more dressing up! Setting up, especially haunted house, will take a lot of time on the actual day. Get as much help as you can. The queue for the haunted house is too long, and seniors were cutting queue. Implement a solid system to disallow this. 4.2. Buaya Buayee Think of what you are going to do with the names that are left over. What we did was to split the left over names up between the Social Activities Committee and MC. It may be more prudent to implement a firmer policy such that people are unable to pick a name and re-pick another.
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Giving out of apt prizes to Buaya-Buayee pairs should be well thought through. We found that it was a really funny component but because it was an afterthought, we didnt maximize its potential. Come up with a more rigorous revelation plan that includes everyone and not just the prominent ones. Also, we ended the Revelation Party with Decibel, which was actually quite cool. You might want to keep that. 4.3. Chinese New Year As people generally expected food at events, ensure that sufficient food is provided, especially the popular ones. Since we combined Buaya Buayee revelation and CNY, program wasnt an issue but it might be for the next year. 5. Acknowledgements
Samdish, for being my awesome administrator who always supported me and understood what I needed. Yining, for your unrelenting support with finances, although it was sticky business. Cheryl, for your witty publicity emails and posters ideas. My WC members: Lin Tong, Eunice, Spencer, Darren. The late night baking for Halloween was probably the most memorable thing and I thank you for that. Vindy, for providing us the support we needed for our events 10th MC: you guys were awesome possum. thank you for stepping in when I needed help and especially for RC Welcome Dinner. It wouldn't have been possible without your dedication and effort. Joel Tan, for being the great emcee that you are and acceding to my requests for hosting the events USC members: for turning my vision for social events into a reality. Amanda loves you :) Prepared by: Amanda Awyong Director of Social Activities 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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SPORTS COMMITTEE REPORT

The Sports Committee and Director of Sports position was inducted into USCs Management Committee in the Academic Year of 2010/2011. This was because the 9th Management committee saw the integral role that sports could play in community building as USP moved into Cinnamon College. Our vision was to see sports act as a way to include each and every level of the USC community. This was done through a 3 level approach, where events are catered to what I called the 3 levels of community in (and around) USC. The first level would be people in USC with very specific sporting interests. The second level includes the general USC community with no specific sporting interest and the other committees in the Management Committee. The last level includes other people who directly (and indirectly) have a stake in USC. These include other faculties, alumni, staff and even professors. These 3 levels require different types of sports events to cater to their interests. 2. Organisation a. b. c. d. 3. Director of Sports: Jolena Ang Administrator: Nigel Tan Public Relations Secretary: Seow Wei Qiang Finance Secretary: Terence Peh
Highlights 3.1. IFG Appreciation Night (1st Oct 2010, Friday @ ADM Chatterbox)
IFG Appreciation Night was the very first project that USC Sports embarked on. We wanted to provide an avenue to properly thank our IFG athletes, celebrate USPs IFG successes and commend outstanding players and teams. This was also a way to formally introduce the Sports Standing Committee to the USC community and to prime others on what to expect from USC Sports in the academic year ahead. Food and drinks were provided for attendees and awards were given out during the event. We also had a Face of IFG competition whereby photos of athletes playing IFG sports are put up and attendees vote for the best (or funniest) IFG photo. 3.2. Sports Equipment This was a 2-part project in which we purchased sports equipment for students to use. The first part was before we moved into Cinnamon College. We placed some equipment in Chatterbox and made it available for others to use by an honors system. This was however, not publicized enough. The second part consisted of liaising with Daniel from admin to acquire sports equipment for the new multipurpose sports hall in Cinnamon College. We ensured that we provided more for the interest groups that are currently active in USP as they would benefit the most from this project and use the equipment most regularly. We also kept in mind that USP students would mostly be using this for recreational purposes. 55

3.3. USC Nature Walk (Ad-Hoc) (20 December 2010, 8am @ Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve) This was the first ad-hoc event where an open call was given for participants for a nature trail to Sungei Buloh. David Tan (a Life Science +USP major) took the initiative to plan this event while we helped do the publicity. This event naturally appealed more to life science majors. The number of participants, though small, was ideal as it gave sufficient time for our guide, David Tan to guide us through the trail and explain the various features of Sungei Buloh. 3.4. USC Futsal (Ad-Hoc) (27 December 2010, 2pm @ The Cage) This was our second ad-hoc event during the December holidays where we gave an open call to people to drop by The Cage at Kallang for a few hours of street soccer. We had a total of around 10 people who turned up, with a large male majority. This event was generally well received by sports enthusiasts who were very passionate about playing soccer. Each participant was charged a nominal fee of $3 for rental of the venue. We had a lot of good feedback from this event and would hope to see this as a regular event in USC. 3.5. Cheerleading Pick-Up (18 January 2011, 7pm @ SRC MPSH) Cheerleading Pick-Up was the first pick-up in our series of pick-ups throughout semester 2. To publicize the entire Pick-Ups series, we printed posters and sent out e-mail blasts every month, stating the Pick-Ups for the month and where participants could sign up. For the Cheerleading Pick-Up, we worked very closely with the Cheerleading Interest Group in USP. No fee was charged as there was no cost incurred. Participants with no experience were welcome, and the Cheerleading Interest Group provided sufficient instructions and safety precautions, making it easy for all to follow. Safety mats were borrowed from the SRC. 3.6. Tennis Pick-Up (27 Jan 2011 7pm @ SRC Tennis Courts) This was the 2nd pick-up in our Pick-Ups series and it received quite a warm response from the USC community. Shawn Quek, co-ordinator of USCs tennis interest group provided most of the coaching/ training while we settled the publicity and booking of the courts. It would be nice to work even more closely with the USC Tennis Interest Group in the future and find a cheap source of tennis equipment for recreational use. 3.7. Soccer (Womens) Pick-Up (16 Feb 2011 6pm @ SRC Field) We received a poor response from this Pick-Up, most probably because there isnt a strong womens Soccer following in USP. 3.8. Basketball Pick-Up (18 Feb 2011, 7pm @ PGP Basketball Courts) This pick-up also received a poor response and most people who signed up were already regular recreational basketball players. Now that we are in the process of acquiring basketball hoops in the RC, there would be students renting the hoops for their own recreational purposes, thus I do not see basketball being a Pick-Up sport 56

in the future since it is a sport that is easy to pick up and readily accessible to students. 3.9. Quidditch Pick-Up (19 March 2011, 9am @ SRC Field This Pick-Up generated a lot of hype among the USC community but received less than expected participants. This was because many had deadlines to meet during that weekend and thus, could not make it. We hung a broomstick in Chatterbox, pasted posters all over Chatterbox and sent out an e-mail blast for publicity. We also printed out posters of the rules of Quidditch to inform potential participants about how it is played. Apart from playing Quidditch, we also had an award ceremony where prizes were given out for various people including the participant with the most attractive broomstick. 3.10. USC Night Cycling (21 July 2011 10pm @ East Coast Park) USCs annual night cycling was a freshmen-centric event planned in between USC Camp and USP O week. We hoped that freshmen that were not able to go for camp could participate in this event to get to know their OG in a less formal setting. Freshmen were grouped according to their OGs and bike leaders were recruited mainly through OGLs. We had a recee trip 1 week before the actual event where we confirmed the route to be taking on the day itself. The recee was important for the group leaders who also acted as safety officers for each OG and we ensured that each OG had a leader who went for the recee trip. We started a soft publicity during Scholaris, but peaked our publicity campaign during USC Camp. We also publicised in the FOP website to help publicise the event. Participants were required to pay a fee of $15 which helped cover the bicycle rental cost, lorry rental cost, first aid equipment cost, map printing cost and light stick cost. Participants who brought their own bikes were required to pay $5. Free IFG t-shirts accumulated from previous years were given away for each sign-up to act as an incentive. We had a total of around 90 participants for Night Cycling this year, almost double of what we had in 2010. A bulk of the participants were freshmen. 3 OGs followed the route in a clockwise manner while the other 3 OGs followed the route in a counter clockwise manner. This is to prevent any bottlenecks at the eating areas and pit stops along the way. OGs were also released at a staggered time in order to prevent bottlenecks at road junctions. Most of the food pit stops were located along Geylang, Bugis and Bedok. We rented a lorry and ordered 10% more bikes as a precautionary measure. Our driver, Chongming, was on standby throughout the night. As a safety measure, we acquired the AED and first aid kit from the admin staff. We also provided each OG with a mini-First Aid Kit containing plasters and dressing. Light sticks were also given out as a safety measure and as a novelty to make the event a little livelier. NUS) 3.11. Inter-Faculty Games (19 August 2011 to 16 Septemter 2011 @
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Our role for IFG can be broken to 2 components: internal and external. Our internal role included IFG sign-ups and liasing with IFG team captains about training and administrative matters. Our external role involved the planning of the Mens contact rugby events and also attending IFG meetings leading up to IFG itself. 3.11.1. Internal We first began recruiting for captains and team managers in May 2011 by approaching previous years captains and team managers. We began open recruitment during O Week using the Inter Level Games as a way for freshmen and seniors to come together to play sports. Additionally, an e-mail blast was also sent out. Our IFG website was used as the portal for sign-ups and general information about IFG. We also gave IFG teams priority in using Cinnamon Colleges MPSH and USCs sports equipment. Posters and weekly updates were put up throughout the RC as publicity. Team welfare was one of our concerns this year as well and isotonic drinks was provided to all sports. As much as we tried to get more people down to support teams, we did not have sufficient time to generate enough hype for IFG due to reasons, which will be elaborated below. 3.11.2. External It has been a tradition in NUS for IFG to be hosted and organized by faculty sports directors while the Sports and Recreation Centre played a supportive role. However, during an IFG meeting in June with the SRC and other faculties, the SRC proposed changing the organization of IFG for the year ahead. They intended to shift the event organizing responsibility to the various varsity sports teams while sports directors took on the role of publicity and recruitment in our own faculties. In order for that to happen, however, IFG would have to be in March 2011 (semester 2). This was not feasible as some faculties (i.e. medicine) would have exams during that period and other students were not likely to participate in IFG because March is traditionally a very busy time of the semester where students often spend studying for their mid-terms. It was only after we (USP sports) raised this issue to other faculties and NUSSU that this issue received more attention. We (USP sports) then asked NUSSU to organize a meeting with other faculties to consolidate our proposal to shift IFG back to August. This also meant that we had much less time planning for IFG. As a result, we had to negotiate with SRC to shift IFG back to August (semester 1) but compromise the scale at which IFG is conducted. This would also mean that we revert back to the old system of faculties hosting and organizing sports as well as being in charge of recruitment. However, we believed strongly that it is for the interests of students and in the spirit of IFG that IFG be held in August instead of in March (or even February for that matter). As a result of the negotiations, we were left with a very short amount of time to plan and recruit teams for IFG. However, we came to a consensus that each faculty will meet deadlines to ensure that the planning of IFG runs smoothly. 3.12. USC Merchandise (September 2011) 58

This project (still ongoing) is our attempt at creating a stronger USC identity through the sale of USC sports merchandise such as dri-fit shirts and shorts. We gave an open call to designers for professional sporty designs and put requirements to the design such as having the USP turquoise colour and including the USPIRIT logo. The designer of the selected design will get a set of the USC merchandise as a token of appreciation. We saw a lot of problems fitting the design to the suppliers requirements as the cheaper printing would require us to alter the design. We are currently in the process of finalizing the design and coming up with a catalogue for students to place their pre-orders. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Improvements to events 4.1.1. Pick-Ups The move to the RC would see more students using the MPSH and sports equipment on their own initiative. This would be especially so for the interest group sports like tennis, badminton, Frisbee and cheerleading. It would be very helpful working with these interest groups for future pick-ups. Another string of events the next sports director can look at organizing would be to have a special thread of Pick-Ups, which include unconventional sports like pilates, fencing and tchoukball to appeal to students who may be interested. The next sports director should also look at trying to integrate IFG recruitment with Pick-Ups. 4.1.2. Night Cycling We generally had good feedback from the event and managed to integrate Night Cycling with FOP. However, there were complaints that the anti-clockwise route was a tad too dangerous. Reviewing the night cycling routes and coming up with new routes is recommended. 4.1.3. Inter-Faculty Games We tried to take full advantage of the RC in our publicity but we did not have an ideal amount of manpower. More should have been done to rally supporters for matches. The next sports director should look at putting together a team in charge of IFG publicity and coming up with a theme to the entire IFG campaign. I also recommend beginning training earlier and forming IFG teams even before IFG signups. This should be done through the various sports interest groups in USP and engaging captains earlier. (i.e. during term time) 4.1.4. Sports Equipment Loans We have recently got a lot of requests from third parties such as Tembusu to borrow out sports equipment. The next sports director should look at setting up a formal loans system and drawing the distinction between people in USP who borrow equipment and other parties who are interested in borrowing our sports equipment. 4.1.5. RC MPSH Usage
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We received requests from Raffles Hall about possible tie-ups between USP and Raffles Hall about our MPSH usage. The next sports director should look into this and decide if this is possible/ feasible and advantageous. A formal system for booking the MPSH should be put up as soon as possible to allow students in USP to book it for their own purposes. 4.1.6. Engagement of Interest Groups The convenience of having the MPSH in the RC and having USP students live together will mean that there will be more avenues for sports to act as a way to build up the community. I strongly suggest the next sports committee to build up interest groups in the RC and to find a way to include them in sports events as well. 4.2. Ideas that did not come to fruition 4.2.1. Charity Frisbee League We initially wanted this to be one of our main events but we realized that we did not have a large enough sporting community for this to be successful. Instead, we decided to start small. We did however manage to engage the community service cell to start a weekly coaching program which the next committee can consider taking up as a USC Sports/ Community Service tie-up. 4.2.2. Scuba Diving We had a lukewarm response to this event and wanted to ride on the NUS Dive Clubs annual diving trips. However, this did not come to fruition due to lack of manpower to spearhead this project and our decision to focus on the Night Cycling Event and IFG. 4.3. Engagement of admin, staff and other faculties We had a few ad-hoc Frisbee friendlies with other faculties this year but I would suggest increasing more interaction with other faculties via friendly matches. The fact that we are in the RC also provides more avenue for sports events where students can engage in sports with the admin staff and faculty. We received quite a good response from the Residential Fellows about a proposed table tennis tournament. Tennis is also a popular sport among the admin and the next committee can look at a tennis event with the admin in the future. 4.4. Structure of the Sports Committee The new sports committee would definitely have more projects and larger scale responsibilities to keep them busy throughout the year. As such, I would suggest a hybrid between a project-based and role-based committee. There will be also a greater need for more roles in the working committee. Proposed Structure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Director of Sports: Overall IC for Sports Vice-Director of Sports: 2nd IC for Sports & IC for Administrative matters Finance Secretary: IC for financial needs of each event Logistics Officer: IC for MPSH and sports equipment Public Relations Officer: IC for event publicity 60

6. 5.
Events Coordinator: IC for ad-hoc events and IC for manpower for events Acknowledgments
- Students of USC: Thank you USC for believing in USC Sports and for your continual support for our events. Without you, we wouldnt have a reason to do what we love doing. I would also like to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to be the first Director of Sports in USCs Management Committee. - Jeremy and Melo: Thank you for having faith in USC Sports and for being really great people to work under! - 10th MC: Thank you for your support throughout the year, for providing feedback for our events. - Xiang: Thank you for your advice and mentoring throughout the year, for encouraging me whenever I needed the encouragement and for sending our various e-mail blasts! - Interest Groups: Thank you Cheerios, Tennis interest group, USP ultimate and the badminton interest group for making USP more vibrant and lively. - Chongming, IFG Captains/ Vice Captains, Team Managers, David, Shawn, Juli, Night Cycling group leaders: Thank you for helping us, for volunteering your hands/ feet/ time for USC Sports. We could not have done it without you. - Photographers: Enoch, Ian, Shawn, Augustin: For your beautiful pieces of artwork, for allowing us to use it and for covering out events. - Kevin and Wendy: Thank you for your enthusiasm for IFG and for helping us out! - Daniel (admin): For you continual faith and support in USC Sports! - Sports Standing Committee: Nigel, Terence and Wei Qiang: For being wonderful people to work with, for making me worry less, for the insane amount of blood/ sweat/ tears and sprained knees for sports, for the laughter, for the encouragement, for the support, for believing in my vision for USC sports, for making the vision OUR vision and for staying by my side throughout this truly amazing year for USC Sports. You guys deserve a good retreat! :D Prepared by: Jolena Ang Director of Sports 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
61

FRESHMEN ORIENTATION PROGRAMME REPORT

The University Scholars Clubs (USC) Freshmen Orientation Programme (FOP) is a collection of five separate projects working in tandem to induct USP freshmen into the community. These projects include the Freshmen Orientation Camp (Camp), Orientation Week (O-Week), Flag, Rag and FOP Finale Night (previously known as Dinner & Dance). This year, FOP also took up a large portion of Scholaris, which was held in June to offer the incoming freshmen their first glimpse of USC. The entire FOP spanned over a period of about two months, from 11th June 2011 (Scholaris) to 19th August 2011 (FOP Finale Night). 2. Organisation
The 2011 FOP Standing Committee (FOP team) comprises the following persons: FOP Director: FOP Vice-Director: Administrator: Financial Secretary: Public Relations Secretary: Camp Director: Orientation Week Director: Flag Director: Rag Director: FOP Finale Night Director: 3. Highlights 3.1. Dealing with a bumper cohort The cohort of freshmen matriculating in AY2011/2012 was larger than those of previous years, amounting to a total of about 220 new faces. Out of this 220, 210 (95% of the Class of 2015) were engaged in the various projects overall. This number is a 31% increase over FOP 2010s numbers, which meant the FOP team had to deal with 50 more freshmen than expected. This was a problem that the Camp and O-Week teams had the most trouble with, though it was a happy problem indeed. As FOP has always aimed to engage as many freshmen as possible, this years numbers were simultaneously exhilarating and daunting. However, the total number of seniors engaged was about 80, a 30% decrease from last years figures. Credit must be given to the FOP team and their Working Committees (WCs) for tackling this challenge with great perseverance and flexibility. Lim Hui Fen Melissa Or Kar Yan Laura Wong Meng Yan Surya Effendy Chiam Zhi An Augustin Wong Yi Fong Lee Siu Ling Chok Ke Bin Christopher Chua Yi Jonathan Wong Li Jing Lynette
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3.2. The Manpower Management Team As identified in last years AGM Report, manpower management is an important aspect of FOP, yet one that is often overlooked. To circumvent this, the Manpower Management team (MMteam) was set up to cope with tasks such as Orientation Group Leader (OGL) recruitment, freshmen sign-ups (which included sending personalised letters, cards, emails, as well as calling, texting, and being a first point-of-contact for incoming freshmen should they have questions about NUS and USP) and Rag manpower allocation. Liaising with the USP administration was also a big part of the job, as the admissions lists were continually edited and extended. The MMteam comprised of the FOP Vice-Director and other non-project directors (namely: Administrator, Financial Secretary and Public Relations Secretary) in the FOP team. The FOP Finale Night and Flag Directors were also included, since their workload was relatively light at the time when the MMteam would be busiest. To ensure maximum efficiency, it was important to a) have proper protocol for replying to emails and processing sign-ups, and; b) divide the work up between the team members. It also helped that the MMteam was invested in and committed to FOP, and could properly publicise FOP via phone or email. 3.3. Creating that personal touch As the FOP Director and Vice-Director were both in the FOP team for FOP 2010, there was a relatively high level of continuity between the two FOPs. This was especially obvious in the personal touch so emphasised last year. FOP team members were present at almost all USP admissions interviews to talk to the interviewees, offering advice about university life, engaging them in light conversation and publicising FOP at the same time. Scholaris invitation cards were decorated by hand and personalised with the freshmens names. Emails, too, were personalised, and every freshman was called up and encouraged to sign up for FOP. 3.4. Venue changes and attendant challenges This year, Rag was held at the Marina Bay Promontory on National Day, FOP Finale Night was held at the NTU Alumni Club, and O-Week was conducted at the Residential College. These were all venues that USC and FOP have never used before. Despite the lack of previous experience with these venues, the project directors managed to successfully chart new territories and do USC proud. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Managing expectations The FOP Director and Vice-Director both harboured certain expectations of FOP team 2011 that were not clearly articulated, and this could have been due to their experiences in FOP team 2010, which led them to make assumptions about this years committee. For example, few members of FOP team 2011 felt that it was not made clear at the very beginning that fundraising was a necessary team effort. This was something the FOP Director and Vice-Director thought was implicit and did not need to be articulated. The next FOP Director and Vice-Director should lay out for FOP team 2012 exactly what they expect out of them, to ensure full commitment from everyone in the team. This should apply to the Chief OGLs (COGLs) as well. 63

4.2. Fostering team spirit In order for FOP to function smoothly and efficiently, it takes teamwork, especially within the FOP team itself. Conflicts and complications are bound to arise, and a few of these were mitigated by the cooperation of the various FOP team members willing to make compromises for each other. Fundraising was originally intended to be the activity by which the FOP team gets to bond. However, this years fundraising project (selling mugs and muffins) failed to achieve that objective. Selling bubble tea was even more tedious and did not serve to foster team spirit at all. The next FOP team could consider other ways of bonding, such as a retreat, or perhaps a different kind of fundraising project. 4.3. Commitment to FOP FOP 2011 suffered from a manpower shortage. This was felt at the Working Committee (WC) level, where many FOP WC members were already in other WCs, Standing Committees (SCs) or even the MC itself. This double shift may not have been noticeable in the run-up to FOP, but during events such as Camp or Rag, the lack of manpower was clearly felt. On top of that, OGL recruitment numbers were low this year. The next FOP team should consider recruiting early and securing commitment to catch people before they sign up for summer programmes, and to detail clearly the commitment level required of SC and WC members, as well as COGLs and OGLs. Many OGLs dropped out after signing up, and a COGL withdrew midway through Semester 2 of AY10/11, resulting in the haphazard allocation of OGLs to that OG, and perhaps setting an unpleasant precedent. Those who commit to FOP should expect FOP to take up a significant amount of time during their summer vacation; COGLs, FOP SC and WC members especially should be prepared to place FOP as their top priority and make some personal sacrifices in the process. 4.4. The Question of Rag The incredibly draining effect that this years Rag had on the Rag team brought up again the question of USCs participation in Rag. Should USC continue to participate in Rag? And a different, but related question: Should Rag remain as part of FOP? What qualifies an activity as being part of FOP? While Camp, O-Week and FOP Finale Night are clearly created with the goal of orientating freshmen in mind, Rag is not, making its position as a project under FOP worth reconsidering. 4.5. On theme and integration
FOP team 2011 spent many hours trying to come up with a theme for FOP that, ultimately, morphed into something entirely different from what the discussions had yielded. The COGLs were also given free rein over the theme after that, and they changed it to suit the storyline that they managed to craft. This was the storyline that the Camp, O-Week and FOP Finale Night programmes were built around. However, it was felt that these programmes were not heavily dependent on the theme, and that the COGLs in the end had the last word on how the theme was manifest. Hence the next FOP team could spend less time coming up with the theme while involving the COGLs in the theme-generating process very early on. Moreover, the Rag team hardly followed the theme at all while having consistency 64

in theme contributes to the magic of FOP, compromising with Rag does not seem to have had any detrimental effect. 4.6. Involving the MC in FOP
Though this was a move that the 9th MC pushed very hard for, to the extent of making the Vice-President also the Director of FOP in the 10th MC, the attempt at involvement and integration had its limitations. In this segment, I will point out the areas in which in our attempt to integrate the MC with FOP was problematic. Summary Meetings were implemented as FOP meetings where more updating and less discussion was carried out & MC members were invited to these meetings to contribute to the discussion, or to help make final decisions on particular issues. These meetings did not achieve its objectives because of the Management Committees inability to attend most of the time, and the lack of opinion they had about FOP issues. There was also a suggestion that MC members should be in FOP WCs, but given the manpower shortage as highlighted above, this would have been terrible had it been fully implemented. Moreover, many MC members made sure they were involved in FOP of their own accord and in their own capacity, making it unnecessary to mandate involvement. What FOP needs is not integration in this idealistic sense but a real show of support from the community, especially in terms of manpower. That cannot be achieved purely by having the MC take up committee positions in FOP. The MC should contribute by proactively inviting and encouraging USC members to take part in FOP. 4.7. The importance of The Feeling Much of what points 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.6 harp on about actually revolves around these nebulous concepts of commitment, expectations, involvement and bonding, which, for lack of a better word, shall be collectively known as The Feeling. When push comes to shove, only The Feeling can make people participate in FOP. No matter how many expectations one can lay down, no matter how much one might try to mandate attendance or commitment, no matter how much social engineering one can try to use to effect bonding, ultimately, no one can be forced to participate in FOP. Is this Feeling part of USPirit, or USCommunity? These concepts are, unfortunately, also intangible and indefinable. Yet if an individual doesnt have The Feeling for USP, USC, or FOP, there is nothing the FOP team can do about it. Guilt-tripping or pulling favours are not sustainable ways to power FOP. Is it up to the FOP team or the FOP Director to inspire The Feeling in USC members? Will this help to ensure a successful FOP? FOP team 2012 is welcome to explore this issue.
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5.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following people, without whom FOP would not have been able to succeed: The USP Management and Faculty Members Prof. John Richardson, Assoc. Prof. Albert Teo, Assoc. Prof. Kang Hway Chuan, Assoc. Prof. Phillip Holden, Assoc. Prof. Barbara Ryan, Assoc. Prof. Mirza Mohammed Ali Namazie, Assoc. Prof. Martin Henz, Ms. Peggy Song, Ms. Ng Yun Sian, and other members who have given us unwavering support in many different ways, especially in the midst of our move to the Residential College Ms. Peggy Song, Ms. Gurvinderjit Kaur, Ms. Norwinah binte Hambali, Ms. Rohayu binte Hamdi, Ms. Roslinda binte Rasidi, Ms. Ros Nimi binte Saidin, Mr. Eric Ho Ling Hon, Mr. Lim Joo Chuan, Mr. Tan Kia Yen, Ms. Anne Yeo, Mr. Yong Mun Hin, Ms. Tio Gaik Hong, and other administrative staff who have always been so enthusiastic and understanding in helping FOP, and in participating in our events. Without needing any prompting or pleading, the 10th MC has always been incredibly supportive of FOP, doing whatever they can whenever they are able to contribute. Special thanks goes out to Jolena, Amanda and Spencer for holding dual roles, to Joel, Jeremy and Xiang for taking time off busy theatre and work schedules just to attend FOP, and to Tania for being an invaluable and reassuring friend and an amazing fake freshman. What have I ever done to deserve such an incredible team? None of this would have been possible without you. I would like to thank Laura, especially, for always being there for the team, and for me. The various FOP WC members have each contributed a tremendous amount of time, energy, creativity and commitment to FOP 2011. While the FOP team may be steering and directing FOP, the WC members are always steadily pushing us from behind, even stopping to grab the wheel every now and then for the good of FOP. We are very grateful to have had each and every one of you on board this crazy space adventure. A big thank you to Nigel, Michel, Divya, Michele, Danielle and Wei Xin for taking the theme and making it your own, imbuing FOP with more life and vibrancy than we could have imagined. Thanks must also go out to Jolena, Shu Ying, Spencer, Chunhao, Galven and Lynette for always supporting your COGLs and creating a welcoming environment for your freshmen. Not to be forgotten are our wonderful LOGLs, for doing the behind-the-scenes work that made FOP function efficiently. To all the OGLs, thank you for your boundless enthusiasm in being station masters, for your quiet amicability when making friends with freshmen, for your calm and ready 66
The USP Administration
The 10th MC
The FOP team
The FOP Working Committees
Chief OGLs and ViceChief OGLs
OGLs

Our Sponsors and Donors The USP Community Seniors
The Freshmen
support when we needed it most. Thank you for your kind and generous sponsorships and donations. Whether it be a simple Like on Facebook or the painting of a single plastic fork, your presence and contributions are sincerely appreciated. Whatever force it is that keeps you coming back to FOP, never let it stop. Thank you, and I hope you had fun. David Tan must be mentioned here, for all his work editing our FOP videos. You made us look good. Your joy, sincerity, dedication, and enthusiasm made it all worthwhile. We hope FOP was meaning and enjoyable for you!
And to everyone whom I might have left out: thank you for all your hard work and endless support.
Prepared by: Lim Hui Fen Melissa Freshmen Orientation Programme Director 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
67

FRESHMEN ORIENTATION CAMP COMMITTEE REPORT

University Scholars Club Freshmen Orientation Camp 2011 was held at the National Service Resort & Country Club from 4th to 8th July. The objective of the Camp was to introduce freshmen to the community of the University Scholars Programme, ensuring that they are engaged both individually and as Orientation Groups so that they will continue to participate in the remaining Freshmen Orientation Projects, and eventually the Club, enthusiastically. This year, we had a record number of over 130 freshmen participating in the Camp and 50 Orientation Group Leaders. 2. Organisation 2.1. Camp Committee Structure Camp Director: Wong Yi Fong Camp Vice-Director: Sorna Rosalind Graetz Administrator and Treasurer: Trudy Chua Game Masters: Jovin Loh and Liao Youwen Programmes Head: Cheryl Ng Logistics Head: Lim Chong Ming Each Head is in charge of their section of planning and execution, while the remaining of the Committee provides manpower assistance whenever it is required. The Camp Director oversees the Games segment of Camp while the Vice-Director is in charge of Programmes. Such a structure granted each Head autonomy in making decisions regarding his or her own event and minimized the need for lengthy brainstorming sessions and meetings involving the entire Committee. Committee meetings were held in order to update each other on individual segments progress and to make decisions on the direction of the Camp. Also, unlike previous years, due to the magnitude of planning and logistics involved in Games, 2 Game Masters were recruited. There was also originally a position for Creative Head, whose job scope includes publicity, Camp video clips, programme booklet and storyline. However, as there were no interested applicants with the appropriate skills, these areas were redistributed to the rest of the Camp Committee, Chief Orientation Group Leaders (COGLs) and other members of USC. 2.2. Orientation Groups and Chief Orientation Group Leaders The COGLs formed a committee under FOP Vice-Director Laura Ors charge and worked closely with the various FOP Project Directors. Due to other commitments, a COGL had to withdraw and a replacement was brought in during the summer vacation before Camp. Antares (Purple, Mafia) Divya Georgie Canopus (Green, Mage) Michel Lim Pavo (Blue, Cyborg) Nigel Tan Saiph (Black, Ninja) Chua Wei Xin Sargas (Orange, Pirate) Danielle Sim (in place of Darren Yeo) 68

Vega (Red, Warrior) Michele Lim 3. Highlights 3.1. Pre Camp Events 3.1.1. Theme Brainstorming, Combined Camp-OWeek Committees Meeting The main FOP committee met early in the work year to brainstorm for suitable themes. After coming up with a list of possible themes, it was voted for within the committee and disseminated to the COGLs, Camp and O-Week Committee in a combined meeting. Members from these committee were introduced to each other and the FOP directors so as to foster a greater sense of unity and continuity between the two FOP projects. This years theme was Space Odyssey: The Galactic Empire. It involves the 6 COGLs being the 6 children of the King (Camp Director) and the Queen (FOP Director), each with a unique identity who leads followers (the OGs) on a space race for an heirloom that will grant them sovereignty over the Empire. 3.1.2. FOP Presents! FOP Presents! was an opportunity during the first semester to update the USC community what the various FOP projects have planned so far. It also aims to generate interests and awareness in the projects so as to increase recruitment. Specifically for Camp, concepts and ideas that were not typical of previous years camps were presented and discussed to obtain the Clubs opinions. 3.1.3. Video Filming Storyline development and video scripts were written entirely by the COGLs and filmed during the summer vacation holidays. A total of about 2 weeks were devoted to filming and another 3 weeks to render all footage into actual clips. The storyline was meant to foster a sense of excitement and adventure, while rendering holism to the various activities within a Project and also between Projects. Video clips assist the development of this storyline in an exciting and entertaining fashion. 3.1.4. Camp and Oweek OGL Camp Two weeks before Camp, Camp and O-Week had a combined OGL camp lasting two days and one night. The OGL Camp had the following objectives: - Obtain feedback on the execution of programmes and games - Familiarize OGLs with the games - Gives the OGLS the opportunity to bond before meeting their own OG and to discuss OG identities and cheers - Serve as a rehearsal for the Camp and O-Week Committees in conducting and executing their various programmes Disseminate information and conduct briefings for OGLs - It was also during the OGL Camp that the idea of a Finale Night in Blk ADM as opposed to a Campfire Finale was mooted and subsequently actualized.
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3.1.5. Pre-Camp COGLs arranged for their OGs to have a Pre-Camp meeting during the week before Camp proper. Pre-Camp had the following objectives: -Allows the OG to start icebreaking at a informal setting -Gives the OG time to make their OG flags, OG identities and cheers -Increase awareness and involvement in Rag -Allows OG members who cannot be present for Camp an opportunity to meet the OG Due to the comparatively large number of participants as compared to previous years, Pre-Camp provided OGs rather necessary time to interact. 3.2. Camp Following the end of Camp, a survey was conducted to find out how much freshmen enjoyed themselves during its various activities. A 7-point scale option was given to the freshmen, where 1 indicates that an activity was not enjoyable and 7 denotes very enjoyable. The following results were obtained based on the average rating (out of 7) an activity scored: 1. Fake Freshies: 6.14 2. Beach Games: 5.96 3. Campfire: 5.90 4. Finale Night: 5.89 5. Amazing Race: 5.67 6. Cluedo: 5.48 7. Camp Videos: 5.33 8. Mass Dance: 5.22 9. Station Games: 5.18 10. Mass Games: 5.04 11. War Games: 5.00 12. OG Mascot Fashion Show: 4.74 3.2.1. OG Mascot Fashion Show OGs were provided with scrap materials to dress up a couple in the OG, after which they have to put up a short runway performance in line with their OG identity. This introduces to the participants the identity of each OG and serves as a simple icebreaker exercise within the OG. 3.2.2. Station Games OGs participated in 4 Station Games, competing against one another to earn resource points. Station games were planned to be more than physical challenges but also intellectually stimulating, frequently allowing some form of strategizing and discussion to promote interaction within the OG, while the competition against other OGs ensured some engagement with participants outside of the OG. 3.3.3. Mass Dance 70

As part of the Clubs tradition, the Mass Dance All for One was taught to the participants. Each OG also had a unique dance sequence in one segment of the dance that was representative of the years FOP theme and their OG characteristics. This is to help cultivate a sense of ownership for the dance choreography despite being passed down batch to batch since 2009. The Mass Dance also served as buffer time for the next activity in the programme as it only requires two OGLs as dance instructors while the others can help in setting up. 3.3.4. Cluedo Night Each OG chalet was set up as a station for Cluedo Night, in which OGs collect clues to solve a murder mystery. After completing all 6 stations, all the OGs gather and present their case for who the actual murderer is. This activity aimed to be engaging without the need for too much physical exertion in consideration of the participants who have been active for an entire day. It was also meant to include some minor elements of eeriness similar to fright nights. 3.3.5. Fake Freshies During OGL recruitment, seniors were given the option to sign up as fake freshies, masquerading as freshmen in the OG. Each night a Council was held where freshmen were to deduce and nominate a member in their OG who had been bugged. This activity has no impact on the OGs performance and scoring, so as to promote seniors in the OG to participate without fear of causing their OG demerits. It was also introduced for the first time in USC Camp so as to attract more senior participation. From the survey, it also proved to be very popular amongst the freshmen. 3.3.6. Beach Games There were 5 beach games stations, where 2 OGs competed against each other. The games were largely inspired by Japanese game shows and seek to be physically taxing and exciting. There was also a centralized dunking component to Beach Games, where during transition between stations, OGs can claim a bounty by dunking a specific senior determined by the Camp Committee. 3.3.7. Mass Games Each OG had to play mini-games in order to gather materials to construct a catapult to launch a tennis ball as far as possible. This game was meant to promote team building within the OG and interaction between OGs as they trade with each other. It also simulates the construction of a weapon system for the OGs space ship in line with the story. 3.3.8. War Games During the War Games, OGs form alliances to form 3 larger teams. Each team has a number of water bombs in which they will use to attack other teams banners. These banners have their team names painted in watercolours and the opposing teams objective is to smudge the banner as much as possible. At the same time, a 71

smaller number of paint bombs were weapons for attacking opposing team COGLs. This game was seeks to encourage cooperation between sister OGs while providing all participants a chance to interact with everyone. 3.3.9. Campfire The Campfire was held at Pasir Ris Park Tribal Council Campfire Site. Originally meant to be the finale event for Camp, it turned into an activity on the second night of Camp. OGs have a chance to showcase and present an OG item after the lighting up of the campfire. The USP administration staff and faculty members were also invited to this event, where they can enjoy dinner and mingle with the Camp participants. After the performances, OGs have a chance to bond while sitting by the beach and playing sparklers, or to have a dance at a mini-club near the Campfire and stage. 3.3.10. Amazing Race From the resource points gathered from various activities throughout Camp, OGs are able to purchase power-ups for their Space Ship as they go on this Amazing Race. The OG that earns the most points from Amazing Race then emerges as the champion for the Camp. This is to ensure that OGs that did not perform as well during the Camp will not be severely penalized or demoralized in their bid to be champion. This years Amazing Race was conducted around Singapore, with stations at Bukit Brown Cemetery, MacRitchie Reservoir, Thomson Plaza and NUS. This allowed OGs to experience a more bucolic atmosphere as favoured by previous Camp participants, yet conferring some degree of flexibility to the OGs in planning their routes. 3.3.11. Finale Night Finale Night was held at Level 7 of Block ADM in the Conference Room and the sky garden. As the finale event, participants get to put aside their competitive spirit and dress up for a night of relaxation. We had guest performances by seniors, acappella groups and an open-mike session. Wine and finger food were also served instead of the hard liquors in previous years that tend to encourage rowdy behaviours. After the performances, the dance floor was opened and a college bash ensued. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Theme The brainstorming and discussion of the theme should include the COGLs as they are directly involved and more affected than the various working committees in terms of storyline and OG character. This will avoid the situation where the COGLs feel stifled creatively in developing their OG identities, which can have an adverse effect on their enthusiasm and performance. 4.2. OGL Recruitment & Management After a centralized call for recruitment of OGLs, they should be deployed in the 6 OGs under the COGLs, who can then help maintain the interest levels of OGLs by holding OG events (such as brainstorming of OG character, OG bonding, making of 72

OG identities) and helping in the management of OGLs (quantity, gender and faculty ratio). Having COGLs actively recruiting OGLs for their OGs is likely to be more effective as they have a vested interest in getting sufficient numbers and they are at a better position to engage a wider community in USC. 4.3. Camp Fees Given that other faculty Camps charged a much higher price and do not have the luxury of staying at bungalow chalets, Camp participants were surveyed to see if they would be willing to pay more than $35 for a 4D3N Camp. The results were as follows: 11% - Unwilling to pay more 66% - Willing to pay up to $10 more 5% - Willing to pay $11-20 more 18% - Willing to pay more than $20 There is thus a case for charging slightly high Camp fees without the fear of losing participants. The additional money raised from the fees can then be used constructively on providing ferry services during Day 1 of Camp, better quality meals and on more welfare items such as lozenges and isotonic drinks. 5. Acknowledgments
We would like to sincerely thank the following people for their support: - Prof Richardson, Assoc. Prof Teo, Assoc. Prof Kang and Assoc. Prof Holden for supporting USC Camp and honouring us with their presence throughout various FOP activities. - Ms Peggy Song, Mr Eric Ho, Mr Denis Ong, Mr Lim Joo Chuan and the rest of the Admin Staff for providing administrative and moral support. - Seniors and alumni who participated and helped us throughout the Camp you are the ones who make a community. - The FOP Committee for being always ready to help you are the ones who are dependable and an unwavering source of support. - The COGLs and OGLs for volunteering their time and enthusiasm you are the ones who made the freshmen welcomed and included. - The Camp Committee for being part of this journey you are the ones who made this Camp possible.
Prepared by: Wong Yi Fong Freshmen Orientation Programme Director (Camp) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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FRESHMEN ORIENTATION WEEK COMMITTEE REPORT

Every year, Orientation Week (O-Week) is organized as, what has now become, a traditional component of the Freshmen Orientation Programme (FOP), during which the Freshmen are provided with information regarding the planning and navigating of their academics. Unlike Freshmen Orientation Camp (Camp) which largely focuses on allowing the freshmen to foster close friendships with one another, O-Week also focuses more on introducing freshmen to the various aspects of USP life and integrating them into the wider community. As O-Week typically sees more participants than Camp, O-Week also provides a common experience for the incoming Freshmen to foster greater inclusivity which is especially important as USP moves into the RC. 1.1. Aims and Objectives Our over-arching aim was to get the Freshmen excited about starting their journey in USP. We wanted them to see the many opportunities that USP has to offer, but more importantly, the infinite possibilities that they can create with the physical space of the RC, and the vibrancy and diversity of the USP community. Right from the onset, we had a clear idea that we wanted O-week to achieve (in no particular order) in: a. Providing comprehensive information for Freshmen to plan their academic life We felt that it was important to allow freshmen to familiarize themselves with the USP curriculum and requirements right from the start. We also wanted to emphasise the kind of support and help that will be available even after O-week (e.g. introduction to Peer Mentors, Meet-your-Major-Mates, Introduction to USP Admin). b. Integrating Freshmen into the wider USP community A large part of O-week centered around the idea that although they spend most of their orientation with their peers, they are also entering an existing community who have come to see USP as family. c. Reaching out to a more diverse group of people We wanted to emphasise that USP had activities that catered to a diverse range of personalities and interests. As such, we took great pains to organize events that will reach out to people beyond the loud and energetic types that typically made up Camp. d. Introducing Freshmen to the various aspects and possibilities of residential living 74

Planning the inaugural O-Week held in the RC meant that we felt the need to give the freshmen a glimpse of the possibilities of residential living and the kind of activities the physical space of the RC can provide for. In this O-Week, we hoped to inspire them to envision what they would like the RC to become by making use of the various spaces in the RC, and including Tea Seminars (an RC initiative by the USP administration) in the programme. 1.2. Attendance This year, out of a cohort of about 220 freshmen, we received 192 sign-ups for OWeek, making up a significant 87% of the Class of 2015. This is an increase from the previous year, where approximately 147 freshmen out of a cohort of 180 (81.7%), registered for O-Week 2010. 2. Organisation Position Director Vice Director Administrator (Finance) Administrator (Corporate Communications) Programmes Head (Games) Programmes Head (Events) Operations Head Chief Orientation Group Leaders (COGLs) Person Samantha Lee Rachel Lee Lim Siow Yu Ng Li Ann
Jolena Ang Alwyn Ng Joe Chee Nigel Tan Danielle Sim Michel Lim Michele Lim Chua Wei Xin Divya Georgie
3.
Highlights
Responding to feedback about O-Week 2010 where some respondents found some of the activities too academic, and feedback about O-Week 2009 where some participants felt that the seemingly perfunctory addition of games did not contribute to the overall programme much, we worked hard to maintain a good balance between games and other important academic-related activities. 3.1. Opening Ceremony and Academic Talks (Day 1 Morning)
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We started the programme with Academic Talks to provide freshmen with information and assurance about schoolwork. Professor Holden gave a brief overview of the USP requirements, followed by an introduction to the USP first-tier modules given by professors on each of the 3 types of first-tier modules. Professor Kang then gave an overview of the International Programmes with seniors sharing about a range of specific programmes. This added a more personal touch as the seniors brought in their own anecdotes and pictures of their experiences. We also introduced the USP administration and rounded off the segment with a buffet lunch that would allow the freshmen to interact and raise further questions with the speakers. 3.2. Station Games (Day 1 Afternoon) We deliberately started off with an intense day of games (both Station Games and Night Game were on Day 1) to bring up the energy level and generate excitement about the rest of O-Week. Station games served two aims 1) Foster bonding between the freshmen who went for camp and those who only went for O-Week, 2) Introduce freshmen to the fundamental aspects of residential living. Comments from the freshmen, based on the O-Week Survey were that the games were original and that some games were interesting and unique. 3.3. Mass Dance (Day 1 Evening) Since FOP 2009, the same dance was taught to the freshmen during Camp, and again during O-Week in order to cater to the those unable to attend Camp. This year we have continued the tradition, in the hope to create, and sustain, some sort of culture and tradition in USP. 3.4. Night Game (Day 1 Night) We wanted the Night Game to be a mass game in a way that everybody got to play against each other but not necessarily in Orientation Groups. This year, we conceptualized Night Game such that each pair of freshmen needed to make their way through a maze of rooms and furniture to gather clues while avoiding patrolling guards. Night Game was clearly the highlight of O-Week for many of them with 87% of the freshmen surveyed rating it excellent. It also had the unintended effect of fostering intra-level bonding as the freshmen helped each other throughout the game. 3.5. CORS Talks (Day 2, Morning) The freshmen were grouped according to their faculties and a senior or two who shared about fitting USP into their major requirements, how to use CORS, and other useful tips relevant to USP and their home faculty. This year, with the implementation of the Peer Mentorship Programme, the Academic Cell and the OWeek committee jointly ran the CORS Talks. 3.6. Meet-Your-Major-Mates (Day 2, Morning) MMM was a shout-out for seniors of all majors to come down to meet others from 76

their major (freshmen and seniors alike) to share their accumulated wisdom as well as to make friends. The freshmen found this segment very helpful in answering questions and getting a better idea of what to expect. 3.7. Pre-Rag (Day 2, Afternoon) This year, we decided to formalize Pre-Rag as part of the O-Week programme so as to bring about better integration between the FOP projects and to lend support to the Rag Committee. 3.8. Picnic@WCP (Day 2, late afternoon to night) We decided to continue Picnic @ WCP which was an initiative by the O-Week Team 2010 and was built on the desire to create time, space and a suitable setting for freshmen to just hang out, eat, chat, socialize, fly kites or throw a frisbee or two. This year we also took the opportunity to make use of WCPs excellent location to set off Sky Lanterns. 3.9. Tea Seminars (Day 3, Morning) Intended as an introduction to the weekly tea sessions that will be run by the USP admin during term time, we brought in 7 passionate speakers from a diversity of areas (e.g. arts scene, social entrepreneurship etc) to share ideas, stories and insights into their line of work. We deliberately kept the sessions small to foster greater interaction and meaningful, two-way engagement. We ended off the sessions with a buffet lunch that allowed the freshmen to mingle with the speakers. Many freshmen enjoyed this segment and commented in the survey that the speakers were engaging and thought-provoking and that the activity was one of the high points of O-Week. 3.10. Inter-level Games (Day 3, Afternoon) The objective of Inter-level Games was to promote inter-level bonding by creating a common experience between seniors and juniors. As Inter-faculty Games (IFG) is usually soon after O-Week, we also wanted to generate hype and garner interest in representing USP in IFG, which will cement a sense of belonging to USP. 3.11. Induction Ceremony (Day 3, Evening) The O-Week 2011 Committee decided to have an Induction Ceremony in which existing USP students, faculty and administration were invited to welcome the incoming freshmen into the USP community. Seniors also presented freshmen with a keychain with USP Class of 2015 embossed on it. This symbolizes the hope that the RC will become their second home. We hope to make the Induction ceremony a tradition where year after year seniors come back to welcome the incoming batch of freshmen.
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Initiatives continued from last year: 3.12. Pre-Flag Pre-Flag was conducted on the basis that Flag Day would be more meaningful if the freshmen had prior interaction with the beneficiaries that they were flagging for. Pre-flag was very well-received with freshmen commenting that it was meaningful and touching too and that it was a nice touch. 3.13. Bidding This year we committed to availing the seniors to be present to help (in our capacity as students) freshmen bid for their modules in Round 1C. We thought that this set the tone for the rest of the academic year that USP provides a community that is willing to help each other out on various matters, including academic matters. 3.14. Freshmen Buddy System In order to integrate freshmen in O-Week whom had not previously attended camp, the previous years O-Week team devised a system that got certain freshmen who attended camp to initiate contact with non-Camp freshmen attending O-Week before O-Week. 3.15. Faculty Tour Building on last years Faculty Trail, we decided that it was important to introduce freshmen to key places in their home faculties. This year, the Faculty Tours were led by the Peer Mentors and culminated in a lunch in their own faculty canteens which allowed the freshmen to mingle with their seniors further. 3.16. Pillowtalk The motivation behind this was to use a small number seniors narration of their experience to give freshmen an idea of what their USP life can look like. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Day Zero We highly recommend that Day Zero be planned as seriously as if it were part of the O-Week programme itself. It would be advisable to have a sound plan for the activities to be carried out on Day Zero and have strict timelines adhered to so that people will not need to wait around and feel that their time is wasted. This also means that most of the physical setting has to be done prior to Day Zero so that time during Day Zero can be fully utilized. 4.2. Preparation for Picnic It is highly advisable to for each OG to appoint 2 food I/Cs who will be in charge of preparing and coordinating the transportation of food. Sufficient time has to be 78

allocated to the preparation of food as well and this years 3 hours on Day Zero and 3 hours before the picnic was barely enough time. We also took into account last years advice to increase the budget and this year each OG was allocated $45 for 2 breakfasts and $75 for the picnic. 4.3. Faculty Tour As the Faculty Tours tend to be very fluid and involve great movement of people, freshmen tend to get lost or choose to go off to do their own things during this time. There should be at least a few OGLs/Major Anchors/Peer Mentors who are in charge of keeping track of the freshmen and taking attendance at regular intervals. 4.4. Structural Issues 4.4.1. Manpower The RC has a limited number of venues that could be used and we often had to reuse venues for different activities on different days. As such, there was a lot of setting up after and before each event that could not be done in advance. Given how heavily logistical O-Week activities tend to be, it will be helpful to either expand the O-Week committee closer to the event itself, or enlist the help of the Camp committee and other people on the FOP team. 4.4.2. Communication The roles of the COGLs, VOGLs and LOGLs need to be more clearly defined. We relied heavily on the COGLs to pass on information to the rest of the OGLs and as a result, the COGLs found themselves bombarded with too many messages and too much information. It would be helpful if information regarding the duties of the VOGLs and the LOGLs can be communicated directly to them instead of through the COGLs. This also means that VOGLs and LOGLs need to be people who are going to be present at all times during O-Week. 5. Acknowledgments
The Freshmen Orientation Week Working Committee would like to thank the following people who have given us their kind support: The USP Management and Administration A Big Thank You to the Administration for their unwavering support, encouragement and faith in all the activities we organized. Prof Richardson, A/P Albert Teo, A/P Philip Holden, A/P Kang Hway Chuan for their student-centric-ness and their support in all our ambitions in O-Week and for their constant input on how we can make O-Week more integrative with our transition to RC. We want to particularly thank Peggy for always cheerfully supporting us, backing us up in whatever endeavours we might have for O-Week with all her resources. We would also like to thank Vindy and Roslinda for all their help and guidance in our 79

The USP Faculty
The 10th Management Committee The FOC Team 2011
ambitions to organize O-week in a new and unknown place. Joo Chuan, Mun Hin, Eric and Dennis for all the logistical support, without which we could not have had such a great Oweek. Daniel for always being so enthusiastic about our programmes and for giving us the much needed encouragement. Sor Hui, Ai Lian, Yun Sian, Cheryl Tan Su May, Kia Yen, Norwinah, Rohayu, Gaik Hong, Grace Koh, and the rest of the Admin Staff for your unwavering support, assistance, enthusiasm, compromises, encouragement and understanding without which O-week could not have been possible. Prof Richardson for so graciously hosting the Tea Seminars, A/P Philip Holden for taking time off his busy schedule to welcome the Freshmen to Orientation Week and introduce them to USP. Dr Barbara Ryan, A/P Ali Namazie, Dr Johan Geertsema also for taking time off their busy schedules to give the freshmen a sneak preview on what USP modules look like from their respective domains. Also to all the other Professors who took time off to attend the Opening Ceremony, and various events. Jeremy and Melissa and the rest of the 10th MC for backing us up one way or the other. We would like to thank the FOC team for lending us their support especially during the OGL camp and during Oweek itself. Special thanks to Yi Fong for always being there and ready to step up and help out in times of need. Your enthusiasm has been an inspiration to us all. To the Standing Committee, and especially Melissas and Lauras leadership, for their support in putting OrientationWeek together and synthesizing it with the rest of FOP. Yi Fong, Charis and Gwen for taking time to prepare and share so honestly about your various experiences on exchange, cultural immersion and Buddhism in Asia. Your stories added a personal touch and brought these programmes to life. Amoz, Phoebe and the rest of the academic cell for working so closely with us to make the MMM session and Peer Mentorship Introduction Session so useful and informative for the freshmen. Without your experience and help in enlisting the help of seniors, we could not have been able to cater so widely to the freshmen in various faculties and majors. Sorna, Gwen, Yinning, Yoga, Marvin, Mohit and all the other peer mentors who came down, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to share about the faculties. You have gone a long way in assuaging the fears and doubts of the freshmen and we thank you for that. Special thanks to Yi Fong, for coordinating all the peer mentors. Thank you to all the Major Mates, especially the major anchors Jovin, Chun Hao, Jackier, Lionel, Zachary, Dash, Xin Rong, Yee Loong, Lisa, Craig, Tomithy, Elvin, Michele, Danielle, Sock Keng, Victor, Christal, Shirley, Yi Fong, Su Yin, Felix, Melissa, Bena, Surya, Ian, Nicholas Wong, David Cheah, Clifford, Charmaine and Yining, for sharing so candidly and dispensing invaluable 80
The FOP Team 2011 The International Programmes Speakers The Academic Cell
Peer Mentors
Major Mates

PillowTalk Speakers
Tea Seminar Student Hosts
The "Picnic Team"
The ILG Team
OGLs/Station Masters
COGLS, VOGLS and LOGLs
Photography and Video
Seniors
advice. Also, thank you for bringing everybody together. Shiaw Yan, Benjamin Lee, Yee Loong, Enoch, Ian and Su Yin, thank you for taking the time to share your inspiring stories with us. Your diverse interests and stories embody what it means to be in USP and your willingness to come back and share (especially those whove graduated) is what community is all about. Special thanks to Marvin, Yong Hao, Guan Wei, Galven, David Tan and Augustin for being such fantastic student hosts. Thank you for being so ready to tackle unexpected situations, and your initiative, discretion and interaction with the speakers has made Tea Seminars so much more enjoyable to organize. We would like to specially thank ALL OGLs who helped to prepare the food that was such an integral part of making the picnic a success. We know how hard it is and we really want to thank you for all the effort that has gone into every single dish. A BIG thank you also to Fahmi, Chris, Matthias and Yining for being so wonderful and patient in helping us transport the food and logistics to West Coast Park. Greg, Danielle, Chun Hao, Nigel and Michele for being such awesome referees, inter-level games were a success because of you. Also, special thanks to Surya and Shu Ying for being the most incredible and quirky emcees, bringing humour and energy to the games in your own unique ways. Thank you to the first aiders Greg, Chun Hao, and Yong Hao for being on standby and ever vigilant in case of emergencies. Thank you to all the OGLs that helped put O-Week together, either as station masters, registration, ushers, manpower, logistics, setting up the venues for O-Week, just being OGLs and integrating the freshmen or helping us out in any other way. A BIG thank you to Danielle, Nigel, Divya, Wei Xin, Michele and Michel, for your constant commitment and the effort that all of you have put in. Thank you for being at the core of your OG, all of you have been amazing and we could not have done it without you. A huge thank you to Galven, Yining, Spencer, Lynette, Chun Hao and Shu Ying for being the pillar of support behind your various COGLs and being so efficient in helping the COGLs bring the freshmen together. Hua Xin, Brian, Matthias, Darren, Surya and Lionel, thank you as well for being such a great source of help in so many ways. Shawn, Enoch and Augustin for readily helping us cover the different O-Week events. O-Week is now immortalized in digital form thanks to your availability. Special thanks to David Tan for putting together all the videos that were so crucial to the storyline. Thank you, seniors, for your support, guidance and trust. Thank you also for giving so much of your time and energy when you really did not have to. We hope all your effort has been worth 81

USP Community
the while and we really appreciate it. The whole USP Community for availing themselves at various points of O-Week, thank you for contributing in your own special way.
And to everyone whom we might have left out, thank you for your support and hard work. Prepared by: Samantha Lee Siu Ling Director (Orientation Week) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club With the help of: Lim Siow Yu Administrator (Orientation Week) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars CLub
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RAG COMMITTEE REPORT

NUS Rag Day is an annual event in which all faculty clubs and halls of residences participate by constructing environmentally friendly floats and presenting performances. The event is officially meant to thank the public for their contributions in Flag, but has also over the years evolved to become an inter-faculty competition that fosters faculty pride and bonding. This year, Rag Day was held at the Marina Bay Promontory on National Day, with the goal of bringing Rag to the public instead of maintaining it as a purely NUS event. The theme for this year is Experience NUS. 1.1. Concept The synopsis of the underlying concept is as follows: The USC Rag Team invites you into a world of wonder and mystery, with adventures waiting to be explored. Using a combination of innovative engineering, a new style of artistic design, and a fresh, energetic dance sequence, we present the University Scholars Club as a faculty pulsing with innovation and creativity, constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility, which no one else have crossed before. In life, many of us journey along the comfortable and familiar routes: it takes men of great courage and strength of mind to venture into the unknown. In this new world, our story revolves around a group of explorers who stumble into a garden of technology. Fascinated by the possibilities offered by the garden, they decide to explore its hidden depths. There, they encounter new friends and new enemies, all the while pushing the limits of what is known and familiar, even at the face of danger. As a faculty, we seek to venture beyond our comfort zones, just as these explorers seek to venture beyond theirs. 2. Organisation
The organisation for the Rag Committee underwent multiple changes. We began with Bena as Design IC and Samdish as Engineering IC. When Laura Tan joined the team as the main designer, the committee was shuffled, with Bena as Creator IC, and Laura as Design iC. However, the final organisational structure of the USC Rag Committee 2011 on Rag Day is more accurately described as follows Project Director: Jonathan Chua Project Vice-Director / Hard-tech IC: Bena Lim Safety / Logistics IC: Luke Nambi Mohanam Secretary: Zachary Kok Treasurer / Operations IC: Leong Liting Mechanism IC: Samdish Suri Soft-tech IC: Laura Therese Tan Performance IC: Sarah Cheang Costumes IC: Joanne Chung Music IC: Eunice Tan Cheerleading IC: Gregory Chew 83

(Hard-tech refers to structural design, whereas soft-tech refers to cladding design) In addition, Laura Or was attached as a manpower IC from the USC FOP Committee 2011. Moreover, when freshmen joined Rag in July, we enacted a smaller scale organisational structure for the individual items on the float, which was roughly adhered to most of the time. For each item, there is one designer, one engineer, and one creator who focuses on creating the item. The detailed list of all teams is detailed below, with both freshmen and seniors included Spider: Bena, Laura, Yan Fen, Tiffany, Nicholas, Samdish, Zachary Landscape: Zhe Wen, Meredith, Mark, Josie Daisy: Bena, Laura Pitcher Plant: Yang Xuan, Shu Yuan, Samantha, Jun Wen Ruffles: Ming Xuan, Melissa, James, Clifford Trumpet Flowers: Stephanie, Surya, Brian, Sharan Cocoons: Michelle, Dorothy Leaves: Ezral, Geelyn, Kevin Lays: Geelyn Lorry windscreen: Yan Ling, Geelyn, Kevin, Azhar Log and Mushrooms: Laura, Tania, Ying Jie, Brian Ladybugs: Jeremy Vines: Yan Ling Egg cartons: Laura Or, Mel Lo Rocks: Yasch Background: Denise, Desiree, Debra Emergency Engineering Team: Samdish, Zachary, Brian, David, Azhar, Kevin, Surya Choreography: Sarah, Eunice, Edna, Laura Or Cheerleading: Gregory, Spencer, Shu Ying Techie Wings: Xin Yuan, Shakura, Shreyas All costumes: Joanne Sword: Jolena Web: Nambi, Jing Da 3. Highlights 3.1. General Approach This year, the USC Rag Committee set two principles to follow from the beginning firstly, the committee aims to win Rag, and secondly, the committee aims to provide Raggers with an enjoyable experience. The first principle was decided on because it will provide at least a positive reason for people to be part of Rag, rather than relying on the negative reason of people doing Rag out of pity for their friends who are suffering. The second principle is a general ideal that eventually was specified as not letting people who join Rag burn out, as well as to have minimum conflicts between people. In addition, the Rag Committee attempted to move away from typical design by taking a meaning based approach towards the conceptualisation process. This move was meant to integrate design and performance by portraying a meaningful message, and to serve as a reference point to orientate every aspect of Rag. The message that was eventually decided upon was communication technology brings people together virtually, but separates people physically. This took the form of a 84

spider and a garden (the spider represents technology), and the performance was about the exploration of this garden by a group of adventurers. In order to achieve the aim of not letting people burnout, we set a deadline to finish all Rag work during semester time by recess week, and this was overshot only by a single week. The rationale for this deadline was that everyone will be particularly busy after recess week. After the semester was over, the committee was also allowed to go overseas so long as they limit their journey to three weeks maximum, the rationale also being that Rag will last the entire holidays, and it is not fair for the Rag committee not to get any form of rest whatsoever. Moreover, a model of workload escalation was used, gradually increasing the amount of work done from the start of the rag period (a few hours at school), until Rag Day (every day in school, stayovers encouraged). In spite of this relatively relaxed model of working, we were able to complete the float in time, and people were generally able to go home or back to the Residential College every day to rest. This aim appears to be successfully met, without any major complains from any Raggers this year about burn out. 3.2. Materials We started very early this year by going for multiple junkyard trips and sourcing for items. Learning from the experiences of the previous year, we wanted to avoid small scale designing and focus on larger items. In line with the message of technology, we aimed to synergise steampunk design with Rag design, which led us to focus more on collecting mechanical looking items like fans and battery covers. Moreover, since we were able to approach junkyards early, they were able to help us by providing sponsored goods such as wooden planks and chair legs and countless plastic components. We focused on collection of items from the USC community, such as can drinks and bottles, by continuing the tradition of setting up a Rag Corner in old Chatterbox. This also helped us obtain donations of old hardware parts like computers, fans and laptops from various people in the community. During the Rag period, we enjoyed more cross-faculty interactions: for example, we collected a box of used cans from Computing, and purchased large quantities of rattan from Pharmacy. 3.2. Design This year, the main challenge for design was to integrate steampunks random design with Rags style of patterned tessellations. This led us to develop an interpretation of steampunk which involved tessellations based on circular objects and smaller mechanical parts. These circular objects are usually prepared beforehand, and pasted onto the tessellation area in a random but aesthetically interesting manner, which reduced the workload on designers as cladding became much less of an issue. The focus on steampunk led to the use of dark and metallic colours, and the use of mechanical objects like floppy disks and fan covers. We also began experimenting with rattan as an integral part of our structure by utilising it for the entire landscape structure. This was later covered over by egg cartons which formed the exterior portion of the landscape. 85

3.3. Mechanisms The spider garden design began with only one mechanism on the spider, but it was later expanded with the introduction of the kinetic garden, which involved moving parts for the entire float that are linked together. In total, there are seven different mechanisms, for a total of sixteen items. These are the spider (1), trumpet flowers (3), lady bugs (4), daisy (1), mushrooms (4), ruffles (1), and pitcher plants (2). This represents the most ambitious attempt yet by any one faculty or hall to create a mechanism-intensive float. 3.4. Performance This year, performance was very well integrated with the garden concept due to the orientation with the message of the float. Both music and choreography were planned according to their interpretation of this message, and remarkably, for long periods of time, performance was able to run independent of the rest of the team. Due to the large size of costumes used, the number of performers was kept to a minimum. Moreover, large scale props were used for the first time, mainly the web that covered half the stage area. The cheerleading team built upon the successful genesis of the team the previous year. This experience was put to good use, and they were able to perform many stunts that were deemed impossible the previous year. There was increased integration with the rest of performance, with overlapping costume designs and a segment where a dancer entered the stage on stunts. Moreover, performance and cheerleading were able to practice together at the Residential College hall, which encouraged integration of the two segments, something that was a serious problem last year. The characters that we had for the performance are the adventurers, butterflies, techies, and cheerleaders. 3.5. Costumes From the very beginning, the intention of costume design this year was to create big items and avoid humanoid figures, and this was made possible with butterfly wings, of which there are two types. One was the metal wings which were very durable and flexible, and this was exploited by the performance to emphasis the flapping of the wings. The second design was the techie wings, which were meant to unfold from the back of the performer during an appropriate time in the performance. Six of them were successfully completed by using what we call memory wire taken from the junkyard, allowing these wings to explode from the back of the performer when wires are tugged. As with float design, costume design followed the steampunk theme in terms of interpreting the characters of the performance. The performers themselves also created accessories for static display, such as head gear and guns, by using the same circular items used also for the main float. 3.6. Prejudging
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For prejudging this year, we set up a specialised team just to prepare for it because a large proportion of the judging criteria comes from the judges impressions during the five minutes of prejudging. At least nine separate props were built just for the prejudging alone because they were not used at all for performance, and in addition to that, three boards were prepared for the prejudging proper that explains the general concept. 3.7. Freshmen involvement We enjoyed a phenomenal level of participation from freshmen, way beyond what all the other years were able to achieve. It is speculated that the reason we were able to succeed in this regard was due to the number of items on the float and the organisational structure for freshmen. Freshmen were able to come in and, based on their background and skill level, take charge and assume responsibility for important parts of the float. For almost every section of the float, there was at least one freshman in charge for the construction of the item, sometimes with minimal supervision from the Rag Committee. The success in involving freshmen made up for the distinct lack of senior manpower for the entire Rag period, and played an indispensable role in completing the float successfully. 4. Recommendations
The context of Rag changes from year to year, and as such, only general principles underlying how things should be done can be recommended. Firstly, we recommend a paradigm shift from engineering / design division to hardtech / soft-tech division used by most other rag committees in NUS. Engineering teams tend towards creating mechanisms, which is ultimately a luxury rather than a necessity with any Rag team, and one of the problems this year was that engineering had nothing to do during the entire design period. The shift in focus will move from a mechanism / design paradigm to a structure design / cladding design mindset instead. This will have the advantage of encouraging a single large structure, large scale tessellations (which in theory requires less specialised labour) and removing the design bottleneck which exists because engineering is doing mostly mechanisms only. We highly recommend having a baseline of two design ICs (one hard-tech, one softtech), and an addition of a mechanism IC if one can be found. It is possible for the mechanism IC to come in only when the design process is underway due to the technical nature of his/her role. Once again, we emphasis that mechanisms should always be treated as a luxury, rather than a necessity. If possible, only one major, visible mechanism should exist, instead of sixteen different moving parts this year that are not obvious. Secondly, the holiday period (if any) of Rag Committee members should be limited only to the month of May, and no later. This includes internships, employment of any form, global programmes, etc. Any key personnel who are missing by June will severely compromise the planning and designing process, which needs to be completed before actual construction work may begin.
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Thirdly, future Rag Committees should also ensure that they establish a firm understanding of the Rag Rules & Regulations before proceeding to execute anything. Moreover, the planning process should take into account the judging criteria used if the Rag Committee is serious about winning. This year, we started conceptualising in January, with the idea that we can adapt it easily to fit the NUSSU theme somehow, but we eventually realised that it was not possible for this idea in particular. Since the theme comes out at around April, and fitting the theme well takes up a major chunk of the judging criteria, one possible direction of work might be that serious conceptualisation starts only upon confirmation of the NUSSU theme. This has an advantage of minimising the Rag Committees working period by starting serious work only from April onwards. In comparison, we started in December, which on hindsight might have been way too early. Last and most importantly, we recommend that any future Rag Committees begin by seriously discussing the underlying principles of Rag. What Rag means to the community, what Rag means to the committee, and the kind of Rag that the committee ultimately wants are issues that must be discussed. The decisions made there will have the greatest impact on the outcome, both on the result and the process. Many decisions made during the Rag period were influenced by the original two underlying principles that formed the foundation for the way we thought, and provided the solution when hard choices had to be made. 5. Acknowledgments
I will like to thank my committee for the hard work, dedication, time, and sacrifice for sacrifice we did, and ultimately we really did achieve what we set out to achieve. Literally through blood and sweat and tears, we were able to exceed all expectations and create a float and performance that is comparable to the very best of them. I have learnt so much from you all and gained so much from working with you all. Special thanks goes to Junwen, who really put in his heart and soul to USC rag. Without his constant advice and warnings, we will not have been as prepared as we were for the challenges of rag. Special thanks also goes to Laura Or, who helped so much despite her other duties as FOP Vice-Director. I will also like to thank the freshmen who became an essential part of Rag 2011, who gave us hope and reason to fight on. They exceeded all expectations, and went beyond my wildest dreams in making all of this possible. Last but not least, Ill like to thank the USP administration and the USC FOP team for their invaluable support during the entire rag period. Special thanks go to the COGLs for their amazing initiative in getting their OGs down for rag. Prepared by: Chua Yi, Jonathan Rag Director (Freshmen Orientation Programme) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club 88

FLAG COMMITTEE REPORT

During Flag Day this year, freshmen as well as seniors fanned out all across the island to raise funds for more than 20 charities under the Presidents Challenge and the Community Chest. Similar to last year, our Flag Committee incorporated a PreFlag Event in FOP O-week, which allowed freshmen to visit several beneficiaries and interact with their clients before Flag Day. It aimed to give freshmen a better understanding of the beneficiaries and their clients that they would be raising money for, thus making the Flag Day a more authentic and meaningful event. Community involvement is an integral part of the University Scholars Programme philosophy, and it was hoped that through both Flag Day and this Pre-flag activity, we would be able to inculcate a spirit of service in the freshmen. 2. Organisation
Director: Chok Ke Bin Christopher Vice-Director: Tan Shengli Administrator: Li Mo 3. Highlights 3.1. Pre-Flag Visit to Beneficiaries In order to make this Pre-Flag experience meaningful and enriching, our team started to make preliminary contact with several beneficiaries since February and gradually worked out detailed Pre-Flag programme plans for activities at every beneficiary. On 29th Aug 2011, approximately 160 freshmen visited 5 beneficiaries. These were: Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled Filos Community Services Teen Challenge Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly Programmes included befriending the beneficiaries clients at Bishan Home and Metta, distribution of hampers for Filos, putting up of performances for SAVH, and even a presentation of campaign ideas to the management of Teen Challenge. The feedback we received was very positive, with many participants responding that the experience was meaningful, gratifying, and even humbling for some. Most of our students found that they came away with a deeper understanding of the beneficiaries and the work they do, and were hence more motivated when selling flags on Flag Day. 3.2. Flag Day On 3rd Aug 2011, 118 freshmen and seniors flagged around Bishan - Toa Payoh and Hougang Serangoon areas. Freshmen responded much more favorably towards 89

Flag, with many coming to flag for USC after flagging for their own faculties. We believe the Pre-Flag experience had left them with a lasting impression of contributing back to society and the community and thus, were willing to go the extra mile for USC. With the active participation of close to 120 freshmen and seniors for Flag Daya relatively large number compared to previous yearsUSC managed to raise S$5180.20 in total. 4. Recommendations
The most significant feedback received for Pre-Flag was that the duration allocated to it was too short. Many freshmen wanted more interaction time with the beneficiaries. Some went further to recommend a full day Pre-Flag day, so that they could understand the beneficiaries at a deeper vein. As such, one recommendation for the Flag Committee would be to allocate more time to Pre-Flag to create a platform for the freshmen to understand and appreciate Flag at a deeper level. 5. Acknowledgments
Our Team would like to thank the following charity organisations for hosting our freshmen during Pre-Flag event: Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled Filos Community Services Teen Challenge Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly
We also greatly appreciate the help offered by the following people and committees: All COGLs and OGLs, for coordinating the freshmen during Pre-Flag Visit and Flag Day FOP O-Week Committee, for arranging a half-day slot during O-Week for Pre-Flag Visit All Flag Helpers, for providing vehicles and helping us shift logistics from YIH All freshmen, for the enthusiasm they demonstrate during Pre-Flag Visit and Flag Day
Prepared by: Chok Ke Bin Christopher Flag Director (Freshmen Orientation Programme) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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FOP FINALE NIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT

This committee helps plan and execute the Finale night of FOP that falls approximately when school starts, in the second week of school so as to ride on the end of the FOP enthusiasm yet allow the Rag people to rest. This years objective of FOP Finale Night changed from a formal event that encapsulates all of USC including faculty and staff members to a FOP-centric one that appreciates both freshmen as well as seniors. It is an important event as FOP is a long drawn process and should be celebrated as school begins and so everyone can enjoy and reminisce about the journey together. The decision to scale it down from a Dinner and Dance was as a USC wide formal event was already staged in the Residential College Welcome Dinner and we did not want to overlap or overburden the freshmen with formality, inducing the community spirit and youth a little more as well. The venue was a little strange, at NTU Alumni Club at Buona Vista but it was nearby hence more convenient, cheaper and a sufficient size for this delicate new type of finale night. The committee plans the night itself, which followed the theme of Futuristic Space, the storyline and the pre-pageant activities that lead to it. 2. Organisation
FOP Finale Night Director: Lynette Wong Pageant and Finance Executive: Eunice Tan Public Relations and Prizes Executive: Frida Ho Decorations Executive: Edlyn Tan Operations and Logistics Manager: Low Yee Loong 3. Highlights 3.1. Pre Pageant Activities and Pageant This years pageant activities laid a lot of emphasis not on individual pageant nominees, but on the Orientation Groups themselves, making them work together as an entire team to campaign and bond, instead of just a distinct clique. There were four pre-pageant activities; photo-shoot, video, campaign and OG performance. The photo-shoot was a large event, both indoor and outdoor, with a professional studio booked, change of costumes and venue etc. Having the OG and even seniors come down as a group to help get the nominees ready, sit in for the shoot and be in the final group shot was a great idea to get them excited and feel special. The pictures were also later used for campaigning. Campaigning in the RC is a very novel and innovative experience, and the OGs were extremely creative having posters, making crop circles, flash mobs and online games. However, guidelines should be given out appropriately and strictly. Videos were in interview format so we get to know the nominees better, though they were still very actionpacked and well put together, whether because our future generations are better at technology or not we are unsure. The OG performance was great to watch and the 91

planning helped bring the OGs together even after school began, lest they drift and the whole point of FOP is rendered useless. Overall, this years freshmen were very enthusiastic about pageant and really brought up the standard. The nominees were all well-deserving, yet down to earth and are wonderful contributions to USC. Pageant itself and the two games (1 paired and required improvisation with props, the other individual interviews with fun questions) were very entertaining as well. 3.2. Freshman and Senior Appreciation One of the objectives for this years FOP Finale Night was to appreciate both freshmen for being so enthusiastic and seniors for all the sacrifice and time they have given for FOP. Hence, on top of trying to give them all a great time where they can truly enjoy, we gave the freshmen goodie envelopes and prizes for the table games, lucky draw, best campaign runner up and winners, best dressed etc. (audience interaction through scavenger hunt) and the seniors, we gave them thank you gifts such as personalized mugs, prizes and glasses as well. Hence, encapsulating on the community spirit and inducing warm fuzzy feelings for all. 4. Recommendations 4.1. The Concept Changing the entire concept of FOP Finale from Dinner and Dance to one that is FOP-centric was a scary experience, one that hopefully paid off. There were a multitude of changes to the concept of Finale constantly throughout its planning with USC and with the FOP programme itself (from formal to alfresco to different venues etc.). This led to many useless proposals being made and general confusion as to the nature of the event. Therefore, I recommend fixing the concept as early as possible, sticking with it no matter what (though compromising when need be), and marketing and planning it as so. 4.2. Support Once again, a problem recurrent from last year is the support for FOPs final event. A problem is it clashing with Rag or pulling manpower away from that so they focus on pageant instead or perhaps not having enough manpower to help with Finale Night and dissemination of information or collection of ticket orders as school has started and people feel that their duties are over. This might have led to a reduction in manpower, ticket sales and general hype for Finale night and pageant. However, I am very happy to say that this year it has improved drastically. The other SC members helped a lot and communicating, understanding and compromising your timeline a little with the Rag director is essential and crucial. This was handled well on both sides and concerning ticketing, it should be done right after Orientation Week to at least secure a large number of places as they still contain the FOP and OG spirit. Gaining attendees when school starts is much more difficult. 4.3. Alcohol and Dance This year had a coupon basis for collection of alcohol during the programme itself. However, as the audience was so absorbed in the programme, they did not collect their alcoholic drinks, which were house pour mixers and beer. There was then 92

excess alcohol towards the end of the programme and the beginning of an open bar concept. This is dangerous as people might get too excited about this and not control themselves too well leading to what I need not explain. Therefore, I recommend, not an absolution of all alcohol, but a better timed and regulated flow of alcoholic drinks. Moreover, the outdoor area which was supposed to cater to people who did not dance and wanted to chill out was sadly locked, which was not what was in the initial plan. Hence, do have an area for people to relax and talk as well, though dancing was great.
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5.
Acknowledgments
- My Great Team: All of them were not only extremely efficient and proactive, but enthusiastic and understanding, staying on the ball with this event and its turbulences so well. We even had fun planning it, making the prizes and executing the event, and that was extremely rewarding. - The FOP SC and FOP Team: For Melissa Lim, for help with all the coordination, understanding and helping to decorate ceilings and the rest of the FOP SC who helped with the booth, so willingly fit in pageant and finale activities into their own and encouraged us. Moreover, the entire FOP team such as COGLS, OGLS and even freshmen who came early on the day itself and helped decorate it so beautifully. - The Pageant Nominees and the OGS: Thank you for being so entertaining, enthusiastic and great sportsman. For all involved in the entire pageant process, thank you putting in so much to make it such as splendid, innovative and enjoyable success. Hope you had fun too. - Kishan, Naomi and Eunice: For being such amazing and amusing emcees on the day itself despite the changes and improvises with Eunices help, who kept the Audio visuals running so smoothly, and for helping us keep our cool. You guys stole the show. - All the Performers: For the high impact, very well-choreographed and executed dance, the beautiful singing, instrument playing and live entertainment. Thank you for gracing us with the performances! (Wei Xin, Sarah Cheang, Patricia, Trixie and dancers, Yin Ling, Neil, Yvonne, Wai Hong, Axel, Spencer Tan, Nigel Tan, Jolena Ang, Darren Yeo) - Photographers: Shona Loong, Justin Daniel (freshmen photographers) and Shawn Quek for helping to capture this event! And to anyone with a camera too. - Sponsors: Thank you to our Sponsors Hotel Re! for sponsoring the grand hotel prizes, all our other sponsors and Frida for getting all the prizes as well. - USC Admin: It is a pity we did not get to work so closely with the admin. However, thank you for being so understanding as to why you are not invited and for not throwing a fuss. We had wanted you to come! Finally, we would like to thank every single person who came for the event for making it such a memorable one. Prepared by: Lynette Wong Finale Night Director (Freshmen Orientation Programme) 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

The USC Publications Committee is responsible for the conceptualisation, writing and dissemination of various USC-related content across various media platforms. Deliverables include: 2. The Chattering Box: USCs monthly newsletter The USC Website (http://www.usc.usp.nus.edu.sg) Infusion: An annual collection of the creative works of USC
Organisation
The 2010/2011 USC Publications Committee comprises the following persons: Publications Secretary: Newsletter Editor: Newsletter Editor: Infusion Editor: Web Editor: Newsletter Designer/Illustrator: Newsletter Designer/Illustrator: Infusion Designer: Writer: Writer: Webmaster: 3. Highlights 3.1. The Chattering Box One of the major activities championed by Publications this academic year was the initiation of the monthly USC newsletter, The Chattering Box. Conceptualised with the aim of improving the dissemination of information regarding USC-related events to the rest of the community, The Chattering Box was to provide an overview of the activities organised by the various USC committees over the past month. In addition, The Chattering Box was conceptualised as a means of reaching out to the wider USP community beyond the regular Chatterbox-frequenting crowd through dissemination at key locations beyond Chatterbox including the USP Reading Room and in the PGP Big Room. Moreover, as a means of generating hype about the impending move to the Residential College, the Publications team also prepared a special RC edition of The Chattering Box to commemorate the old Chatterbox space and to raise awareness about issues surrounding residential living. In all, anecdotal feedback has indicated that issues of The Chattering Box have been well received, particularly so for the RC edition. 3.2. The USC Website (http://www.usc.usp.nus.edu.sg) David Tan Jian Xiong Han Yongming Danielle Sim Dan Li Chen Jinwen Cheng Haiwen Tan Jing Yan Charmaine Low Hui Shan David Tan Jian Xiong Augustin Chiam Zhi An Kristen Tang Tse Mei David Tan Jian Xiong
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The USC Website was redesigned under this Publications Committee to better reflect the nature of USP as a community and to serve as a vehicle through which key USCrelated information could be relayed to the general public as part of the general push toward making information more accessible to the USP community in general. In particular, an Events Calendar application capable of synchronising with iCal and Google Calendar was installed to ensure that USP members could keep up-to-date with USC events and activities. Moreover, having online content meant that information could be shared over Facebook, which greatly enhanced the reach of information dissemination to the wider USP community. In terms of infrastructure, the USC Website was redesigned to be less cluttered and a Wordpress Content Management System (CMS) was implemented such that the website would have a user-friendly back-end interface that would allow for independent content generation by relevant committee-members without having to go through the Webmaster. In addition, a Wordpress system was also chosen, as it would allow for future holders of the Webmaster portfolio to alter the design template with relative ease. 3.3. Infusion This years edition of Infusion, Space, was spearheaded by Jinwen, who was responsible for sourcing for content as well as overseeing the editing, printing and budgeting of the publication. For this years edition of Infusion, much of the content was contributed by the participants of the Piper-USP Introductory Creative Writing Course. Additionally, the theme of this years edition of Infusion was conceptualised to tie in with the larger Freshman Orientation Programme (hence Space) and article space was also set aside for Rag publicity since Infusion was to be distributed during Orientation Week. In all, reception of this years Infusion has thus far been positive and several freshmen have expressed their interest in contributing to next years edition of Infusion as well. 4. Recommendations 4.1. Organisation and Structure If Publications is to be retained as a Standing Committee, then its position vis--vis the Management Committee needs to be better clarified to ensure a more coherent set of requirements and to ensure better standards of accountability and responsibility. Within Publications, a Financial Controller (or analogous) position needs to be created to manage cash-flow issues with regard to printing volume and potentially manage possible avenues of sponsorship/ad-based revenue. In addition, a Publications Vice-Secretary (or Assistant Chief Editor) position is recommended to help balance out the heavy workload of managing multiple publications across various media. A separate Webmaster position should also be created for the sole purpose of maintaining the infrastructure of the web architecture as well as to create new web frameworks should the need arise (e.g. FOP/IFG/MC elections websites).
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It is advised that applicants for the role of Designer be well versed in usage of Adobe Illustrator and/or related software and that more than one Designer be taken onto the team to ensure a better distribution of workload and a less steep learning curve. Additionally, it is advised that Publications incorporate a resident photographer position or work closely with USPhotographers for coverage of USC events. It is advised that timelines be agreed on from the onset and that these timelines be adhered to as much as possible to ensure that a regular flow of print and online content is generated year-round, with the exception of examination periods.
4.2. The Chattering Box A monthly publishing schedule is far too tight a timeline to be sustainable on the long-term. As such, it is recommended that the publishing timeline for The Chattering Box be revised to a bi-monthly schedule to ensure that information remains disseminated in a timely manner without imposing too severe a demand on those involved in the production of the publication. It is advised that a small budget of approximately $70 - $100 every two months (depending on the mode of distribution and volume of printing) be allocated to account for printing costs. It is recommended that the budget for this undertaking be derived from the parent Management Committee in charge of Publications. As for distribution of The Chattering Box, it is advised that specific locations for newsletter distribution/display be identified and appropriate holders be placed in such locations for display and dissemination of the deliverable.
4.3. The USC Website The various Public Relations Secretaries of the relevant committees in USC need to take responsibility for updating the Events Calendar on the USC website. The Webmaster ought not to be responsible for generating content or running publicity for events not under his/her charge. A Wordpress training session should be conducted for all Public Relations secretaries to ensure basic competency with the Wordpress CMS. With regard to the ad space on the USC website, it is recommended that a system for managing the ad space be devised such that outdated ads are replaced and that advertisements are wait-listed effectively to ensure the continual relevance and currency of web content. One current limitation of the website is its inability to post directly to Facebook. As such, it should be noted that the Webmaster or whomever publishes an article be responsible for posting the article link to the USC The Club! Facebook group as well.
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4.4. Infusion It is advised that, in order to enhance the value and impact of the publication, Infusion be tied to the larger goals of FOP, especially in publicising the annual Rag effort. This will ensure the continued relevance of Infusion with respect to the larger USP community. It is recommended that a larger team of people be responsible for curating Infusion to ensure that the workload is more evenly distributed.
5.
Acknowledgments
The Publications Secretary, on behalf of the Publications Committee, would like to thank the following people: Yun Sian, Peggy, Vindy and the rest of the USP Administrative Staff for their continued assistance and support both in terms of information availability and in financial matters. Xiang Ling, for being a supportive and driven Honorary General Secretary.
Prepared by: David Tan Jian Xiong Publications Secretary 10th Standing Committee NUS Students University Scholars Club
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10TH MANAGEMENT CUSC.OMMITTEE CONTACT LIST

Name Jeremy Auw Jian Jin President Melissa Lim Hui Fen Vice-President Baey Xiang Ling Honorary General Secretary Maria Tania Hapsari Harsono Honorary Financial Secretary Lim Kai Heng Public Relations Director Spencer Tan Wee Tiong Director of Community Service Joel Tan Wun Chuan Director of Cultural Activities Amanda Aw Yong Zhi Xin Director of Social Activities Jolena Ang Xiao Wen Director of Sports Email auw@nus.edu.sg limhuifen.melissa@gmail.com baey.xiangling@nus.edu.sg mariataniahapsari@gmail.com kaihenglim@gmail.com spencer.tan@gmail.com joeltwun@nus.edu.sg amanda.awyong@nus.edu.sg ajolena@nus.edu.sg
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USC AGM Report 2011

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USC AGM Report 2011

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ( A Y 2 01 0/ 2 0 11 )

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10 T H MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

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Launch of Nespresso Coffee Exam Welfare Pack Distribution I

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Issue) Basketball Pickup Soccer Pick-Up

Project CARE Begins

NUS Flag Day NUS Rag Day

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FOP Finale Night

Key Challenges transitioning into the RC

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SECRETARIAT COMMITTEE REPORT

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FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

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$ 4,455.71 724.30 1682.24 13,920.56 1,164.35 6,307.45 5,300.00 5,900.00 $ 39,454.61

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PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

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4.3. Targeted Action

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LOGISTICS & WELFARE COMMITTEE REPORT

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ACADEMIC COMMITTEE REPORT

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The USP Administratio n

A/P Barbara Ryan

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The Pilot Peer Mentees The first batch of Peer Mentors

Prof Richardson and Dr Mabel Hannah Bull

The O-Week Team

The Student Advisory Committee (SAC)

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Yung Hei, Academic Director under the 9th MC Xiang Ling

The USP Community