YNCForum

Ready go!

Panelist Jolanda Nava states:
Most of my thoughts on the subjects revolve around the word “context”. We often seek change, but we (should) use protests to achieve change only when the context suggests it will help us, or if we feel there is no other option. Similarly, protests (should) differ depending on our context: the actions most likely to lead to victory will change from situation to situation.
More importantly, protesting should be thoughtful, creative, and smart. A good protest catches people’s attentions by making its point clearly, but it also offers nothing for critics to exploit.

Panelist Feroz Khan argues:
Writing an op-ed in the college newspaper isn’t just a way to register opposition or express protest – it’s also an important way to reclaim a space for debate. In choosing to write an article in the Octant, we knew we’d not just be reaching a broader audience (faculty, staff, Yale allies, etc – Octant’s readership) but also asserting that the college paper is, once again, a valid and important long-term space for debate. It’s an invocation of our college’s pluralistic traditions, where important discussions have happened in a public forum. Can the same happen in Singapore? Not if no one remembers our rich, pluralistic history.

YNC Forum II - MODES OF PROTEST
This Wednesday at the Amphitheatre

In light of recent controversies around communication with administrative authority in Yale-NUS, and the mounting clashes with political authority abroad, this session of YNC Forum would like to consider the questions that surround protest. Where is the line between expression and provocation? If we choose to cross that line, how do we do so effectively? How can we make sure our protest includes rather than erases the voices we hope to make heard? And do these answers vary with the fundamentally different dynamics underlying fluid social movements and small, fixed communities?

Join us on 15th Feb (Wednesday), 8pm at the Amphitheatre, to hear our peers consider how we should choose our response to authority, and debate issues relevant internationally but rooted in our context at home.

Moderated by Patrick Wu

[Photo courtesy of Zac Yeow]

The spectre of life after Yale-NUS looms, for the very first time. Increasingly, seniors have been questioning their values, motives, and pragmatism as they begin to consider their post-graduate plans. Is working for a bank a waste of a liberal arts education? Does dismissing the private sector come from a place of privilege? Would a senior class primarily employed by financial institutions burnish our image as employable, capable workers -- or tarnish our commitment to intellectualism and public service?

Join us for the first moderated YNCForum session next Tuesday on November 8 to discuss these issues that become more real each day. Hear your fellow classmates debate and consider our post-graduate responsibility and what our college vision statement means for our futures after the degree.

Notes from the YNCF team:
Hi guys! Welcome to the inaugural YNC Forum. We apologise for the less-than-stellar quality and rude truncation at the start of the audio clip; the recording was meant solely for transcription and began around the time when we realised our note-taking couldn't keep up with the speakers. The missing speech (approx. 3 mins) has been fully transcribed and is available here: goo.gl/Ku8SAk. We hope you forgive us the teething issues, and enjoy "YNC Forum 1: In Asia, for the World?"

YNC Forum 1 (Pilot) - In Asia, for the World? The Purposes of a Liberal Arts Education The spectre of life after Yale-NUS looms, for the very first time. Increasingly, seniors have been questioning their values, motives, and pragmatism as they begin to consider their post-graduate plans

PC: Marcus Bahamout Koe

Shoutout to the People Who Sit at the Front and everybody who came down today for an excellent conversation. Thank you all from the bottom of our deep, deeeeep liberal artsy hearts.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve the forum, or topics that you want the rest of the school to engage with during the next forum, please take a minute to fill this out: https://goo.gl/forms/BI3kCRKPAbZrpAOa2

The transcript will be made available on our event page some time next week; stay tuned (like the page for updates)! In the future, we may choose to upload recordings as podcasts or YouTube videos... so stay even more tuned.

Our first Forum event is happening tonight in just under an hour! No Chai, no cookies, but yes, a conversation that we hope will matter to you. See you at the amphitheatre!

Panelist Ló Ra says:

"The discussion around having an impact is very nuanced and I do not stand on either side. Firstly, I believe our value in society does not have to be determined by our job. Conversely, I believe it is possible to find a meaning in anything we do. Despite that, I would eventually want to dedicate my career to what I find meaningful because it will allow me to draw more joy from my job. I am aware of practicalities such as tuition grant and lack of means to pursue my dreams now, which is why I will be taking a corporate digression."

Here more from lora TONIGHT at the amphitheatre at 8pm.

Register your questions here: https://goo.gl/forms/LmngDtOLsYdK3Ptt2

Panelist David Chia Jun Weng argues:

"A liberal arts education is meant to train self-reflective learners who are sensitive to what it means to be human. It allows us the space, funding, and community to detach from market realities and discover what it means to have meaningful life. Yet, there also comes a time when the practicalities of tuition grant responsibilities, and employment inevitably creep in (especially for the few of us who come from lower income backgrounds). So really, at this juncture, our focus needs to shift from reflection to responsibility––how can we best contribute and endow others with our empathy, spirits and reflections after all the privileges we’ve been given?"

Hear, argue with and question our panelists further at the first Yale-NUS Forum! Tuesday 8pm at the Amphitheatre.

Register your questions here: https://goo.gl/forms/LmngDtOLsYdK3Ptt2

YNC Forum's Panelist Michael Moore-Jones claims:

"We cannot meaningfully contribute to a bank, a consultancy, an NGO, a charity or our family, let alone "the world", before we have determined what "success" means to us as individuals; talent is ineffective if not backed up by the drive that comes from a deep understanding of why we are doing what we are doing. Liberal education's purpose is to give us time, space, and access to the millennia-long conversation on what makes a meaningful life, so that before committing to a career, we better understand what ends we are serving. The question of liberal education's usefulness is then an individual one: have I chosen a career and a path in life that is consistent with the answers I found for myself during my college years?"

Hear, argue and question further at the first Yale-NUS Forum! Tuesday 8pm at the Amphitheatre.

Register your questions here: https://goo.gl/forms/LmngDtOLsYdK3Ptt2

Meet the Panelists Part II! Kei Franklin argues,

"In my view, liberal arts colleges should develop students who are first and foremost outstanding learners. We should be learn to be quick, flexible, nuanced, empathetic and thorough in the way that we learn. Then, when we graduate, we should be supported and encouraged by our college to pursue an innovative career which gives us the opportunity to apply our interdisciplinary learning. The specific sector that a graduate chooses to go into is secondary to their motivations for going into it. In my opinion, we should be motivated by a desire to contribute to our communities and the larger world for reasons beyond just the paycheck to whatever extent possible. I hope that everyone graduating from a liberal arts college would have discovered a field/ fields about which they feel passionate and committed, and that they would have the courage to pursue careers in these fields rather than taking a route simply because it seems 'easy' or 'safe'."

The first Yale-NUS Forum will be held this Tuesday at 8pm in the Amphitheatre. Come by, pose your questions and hear more from our panelists.

Register your questions here: https://goo.gl/forms/LmngDtOLsYdK3Ptt2