Be a Thirsty and Hungry Hippo

[Disclosure: The writer is herself a student at NUS].

There has been a lot of debate about Alvin’s admission to the National University of Singapore (NUS) after the young guy’s social media campaign last week. It caught our attention here at Tech in Asia, and even inspired the Burpple team to create a campaign too.

To date, I see 11,000 ‘likes’ on the webpage, and we have received many comments and conversations in the blogosphere. Just from Willis’ post earlier, we had protestations from someone by the nickname “AlvinWasUntruthful” in the comments thread, and some others also said that he misrepresented himself in his campaign. Prior to his releasing the information that he was already accepted into Information Systems at NUS, our first comment was, “There is always NTU and SMU. The oldest university tends to be inflexible and may hinder your creativity.” Lastly, we also had a comment from the nickname “Graduated” encouraging Alvin to “forget about going to local unis. You will not learn much at computing courses in NUS/NTU/SMU”.

Here’s my two cents:

1. Alvin was goal-oriented

Eventually Alvin released an update on his website which clarified that he was already accepted into Computing (Information Systems), but was appealing to enter Computing (Computer Science). With this, it invited a lot of disapproval from the audience over an apparent lack of clarity/transparency.

But really, I think everyone should give him a break. It wasn’t mentioned that he did get into Computing (IS), but neither did he claim that he was entirely rejected by NUS.

As I quote from Alvin’s website,

… my application to pursue a degree in Computer Science in National University of Singapore was rejected

I think he was very specific on what he wants to get out of his campaigning website. From a social media campaign angle, he was positioning this in a manner as straightforward as possible. It was a mere intention of wanting to amplifying his desire to enter a course and influence the people around to lend some support.

Besides, he was looking to enter Communications and Media where studying social media could possibly be one of the modules that Alvin would probably be required to take. Creating a social media campaign which is able to create such a conversation in the Singapore blogosphere probably means he is exemplary example of a good student applying his knowledge in a real context. Isn’t that what education is supposed to be about? Contrary to what most people are saying, I don’t think his campaign was childish at all.

There were also comments which suggested Alvin should first get into NUS on any course, and then opt for a switch. I agree that that could be an option, but what is wrong with Alvin giving a shot at appealing for a direct admission into the course he desires most? In fact, I find it an utter waste of time to get into a course he is disinterested in, face a difficult time in school, and could possibly face an eventual dropout.

---

---

---