Sorry for posting another great long story again... this piece of thing is really outrangeous. If you are not a Hwachongian or one that does not care, just imagine that you are one and you care. And then read this, if you haven't.

ST: Thu 190804 Home


850 sign e-petition: Keep Hwa Chong JC's name

Students and alumni want old name retained or the word 'college' kept - but merged school stands firm

By Lynn Lee

MORE than 850 current students and alumni of Hwa Chong Junior College have signed an online petition for the school to retain its name or at least keep the word 'college' after the school merges with The Chinese High in January.

But their efforts are in vain. The school's board of governors has indicated it will not consider the proposal as the name was decided on by a vote by the alumni.

The merged schools' new name is Hwa Chong Institution. This was announced on July 31 at the college's homecoming dinner which was attended by President S R Nathan.

The Chinese version of the name will be Hua Qiao Zhong Xue, which means The Chinese High School in English.

Reflecting both schools' names was done to retain the identity of both after the merger, which aims to provide a seamless six-year integrated programme, the board's secretary, Mr Robson Lee, told The Straits Times yesterday.

He said only around 200 of the more than 3,000 registered alumni members of both schools had voted when the new name was put to the ballot after eight months of discussion.

Current students were not allowed to participate in that vote.

Said JC2 student Judith Huang, 18, who signed the petition after receiving an e-mail from a schoolmate: 'We're very annoyed and unhappy with the school being called an 'institution'. It sounds like we're trying to copy Raffles Institution. Plus, it doesn't correspond with the Chinese name.'

Mr Tan Wah Pheow, 26, a graduate student at the National University of Singapore, said that 'lumping two schools under one name doesn't accurately reflect the different cultures of both schools'.

He added: 'For example, JC life was less regimented and more vibrant than secondary school, with students interacting more with each other through different activities, like playing the guitar and soccer.'

But board secretary Mr Lee said that it was not possible to let current students vote, as 'the issue would be whether the younger students, especially those who are 12 and 13, are mature enough to understand the situation when making the decision'.

'This was about the integration of two fine institutions and coming up with a name that would reflect both brand names.'

I know it is absolutely impossible for any decision that has been made, especially one that is announced in front of our dear President, to be altered in any way. However, our voices deserve some respect, don't we.

We did not even know that the voting took place. Blame us for not registering, huh. And because of that we are deserved to be labelled 'not matured enough to understand the situation when making the decision', as we are also not allowed to vote. We have at least 2 senior journalists writing in Zaobao lamenting and people graduating from the 75' batch signing the petition. We are 'immature'. Only people who are >50 years old and saw LKY cry on TV know what is happening.

It's time someone make them wake up their idea. In 20 years' time, they can flush their arrogance, condescention, superiority, and self-worth down the toilet. Can't they just react more positively just to make everybody happy? Hong Kong's political crisis also arised from such an attitude from the decision makers in China and the SAR. Luckily we are all Singaporeans; we make noise only at coffee shops like this blog here. If they speak that way in HKU that guy would have died many many times. Condescention when you are an ELDER: is it a Chinese thing? Singaporean thing? Or simply a human thing?

All the while I have been against IP. It is a reverse into history; more marked differences between different cultures in Singapore. Singapore with much effort minimized it; and it is going to rebound. What I know is, if 10 years later Singapore is not a suitable place to stay, hehheh. You know what to do.