In light of last year’s infamous activities that put freshmen orientation camps by Singapore universities in the spotlight, drones have been sent to monitor students’ behavior at the National University of Singapore (NUS) this year. In June, two engineering on-campus campus saw one drone each observing the on-goings in a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of these gadgets taking the place of in-person spot checks. With the consent of student leaders, these drones were deployed for less than 10 minutes each time, reported The Straits Times.
If you recall, last year’s NUS freshmen orientation camps were slammed for “increasingly sexualised” games that horrified the nation, including ones like a re-enactment of an incestuous rape scene between siblings, a human pole dancing game, and an activity called “Burning Bridges”, where students had to answer wildly inappropriate questions like “Who do you think is the sluttiest?”. The controversy reached a climax when NUS called off its annual Orientation Week after reports of the humiliating, raunchy games got the public all riled up.
Following an investigation, NUS held 30 senior students accountable for their actions, with punishments that included suspension, fines of up to $2,000, and up to 100 hours of community service. The university also established an Orientation Review Committee involving faculty members, student leaders and alumni to keep an eye on the activities.
NUS Union camp, which took most of the heat last year, saw extra effort taken this time around to avoid any kind of sexual elements, according to participants. Activities took on the form of The Amazing Race games, and freshmen said they felt more comfortable with the option of sitting out anything they were uneasy to take part in.
Over at Nanyang Technological University, student organizers were made to sit through a safety briefing and an e-learning module on safety and risk management. While games like Pocky Stick — which involves taking a bite of the stick biscuit before passing it around from mouth to mouth — remained, facilitators were reportedly on standby to step in if anything got out of hand.
As for Singapore Management University, guidelines on improper activities were also doled out to student organizers. The “Burning Bridges” game was revived, but one student told ST that they were mature enough not to cross the line and hurt anyone.
