1 | The Chattering Box

The
Chattering  Box
February 2011
A USC Publication

Chief Editor
David Tan
Contents
EDitors
Han Yongming
University Scholars
Danielle Sim Club (USC)
Cheng Haiwen
President’s Letter
Writers/Contributors
Augustin Chiam 2
Danielle Sim
Han Yongming
Jerome Kok e January ing
Melissa Lim
Ng Huiying 3
Photo Credits
Augustin Chiam
Enoch Tang Peer-Mentorship
Han Yongming
Shawn Quek 5
Designers and Illustrators
Charmaine Low Remembering
Lum En-Ci
Tan Jingyan
Chatterbox
Cover Artist 7
Lum En-Ci

e Find-A-Roomie
Special Thanks
Benjamin Lee Initiative
Edwin Lee
Gabriel Seah 9
Jet Teong
 The Chattering Box |2

USC President’s
Letter
Dear friends,
As you know, with the Residential College
(RC), USP will combine its existing
academic programme with a residential
experience to be housed under one roof. It
has been mentioned repeatedly that this
new model o education will bring about
changes in our educational environment.
What exactly, then, are the changes that
students can expect? I would like to
suggest that these changes occur on three
levels: as students, as members o a
community, and as members o a college.

As students, our everyday other USP students a week, RC represents solidarity as a

life will change. In less than hal a
year’s time, we will actually be in
the RC. We will be settling into
our new rooms and eating with
our friends in the dining hall. We
will be packing our bags at eight in
the morning and going down just a
few loors for that dreadful early
morning class. We will have more
time – time to contemplate and
relect, time to stroll from class to
class, and time to rest.
The dynamics o the student
community will also change. By
virtue o the fact that we live near
each other, we will see each other
more often. I a USP student now
makes contact with a hundred
will increase that number
dramatically. In this manner, the
frequency o collisions will also
multiply the opportunities for
great ideas to materialize. I hope
that eventually, through these
connections, that all USP students
will feel a sense o membership in
the community.
Ultimately, the largest
change to our paradigm as students
is the introduction o the idea o a
college. It is not just a faculty,
where we come together for
classes. It is not just a residence,
where we live with one another.
The college has a heartbeat, a life
o its own, and most o all, it
community. It is heartening to
know that the current USP
community is held together by
strong ties between faculty, staff,
and students. My hope is that we
will not only feel a strengthened
sense o membership to this
community, but eventually take
greater pride in our identity as a
college.
We stand at the threshold o
a new dawn in USP history. The
responsibility now lies with us to
take ownership o our future as
students, and be there when the
change happens.
February 2011
3 | The Chattering Box

The January Thing

Feverish discussions
with professors late into the
night. ‘Buaya-ing’ your ‘buayee’
in a spanking-new space.
Walking down from your room
to ind a full-ledged musical
unfolding in the courtyard.
The new Residential
College promises all that and
more.
On 20 Jan, more than a
hundred USP students squeezed
their way into Chatterbox to
listen to what Professors
Richardson and Kang had to say
about the Residential College
(RC). The event, named The
January Thing, comprised a
dialogue session on the
RC between students
Quick RC Numbers
and faculty, as well as
Decibel, an open-mic
Cost of a single room per academic
session where
students showcased
their singing and
entertaining talents.
The professors
had much to share
$3850.00
about what they Average meal plan cost per academic
hoped the RC would
provide for students,
Brainfood, USP’s own regularly
updated reading list, will move
to the new library in the RC,
while Pro Richardson spoke
about the RC creating “living
and learning spaces” where
“those serendipitous bolts” o
epiphanies might occur.
Exciting new plans for
the RC were also unveiled.
Jeremy Auw, President o the
University Scholars Club (USC),
talked about the tentative plan
for a house system to be
implemented in the RC. Though
not exactly like the house
system found in the Harry
Potter series, the RC house
year (35 weeks)
year (35 weeks)
system might be implemented
on a geographical basis. One such
way, he said, might be to divide
people into houses based on the
loors they lived on.
At the Q & A session
afterwards, the issue o making
incoming freshmen stay in the
RC for their irst two years was
brought up. After the Q & A
session, Pro Richardson told
The Chattering Box that there
was some concern about the cost
o living in the Residential
College deterring students from
applying to USP. But he believed
the residential experience to be
an important element in the new
USP education.
Writer: Ng HuiYing
Photographer: Enoch
Tang

$1680.00
and how it would be
the same, but
different. For
example, in addition
to a student lounge, Number of weeks a single meal can
students will also be carried forward

2
enjoy the use o a
prototyping studio.
Pro Kang
informed that
 The Chattering Box |4

Professor John Richardson, USP Director

5 | The Chattering Box

Peer-Mentorship
Before the meetings he can look forward to regular curriculum.
had with his 'peer mentor,' meetings in small groups with Shawn, too, has enjoyed
freshman Galven Lee, Year 1, a their peer mentors, usually sharing his experience with his
history major, seniors in juniors.
admitted to their third or He said, smiling: “It’s
“We feel that the
b e i n g fourth year. deinitely helped me get to know
bewildered by information that F o r my juniors better.”
the many freshmen need to Galven, the
o p t i o n s
initially deal with p i l o t i s Writer: Han Yongming
available to a l r e a d y
him as a USP can be paying off.
student. overwhelming, Galven said
B u t and seniors can that his peer
after a few mentor,
sessions with really help to Shawn, has
his peer make things been both
m e n t o r, better.” forthcoming
Shawn Quek, and helpful in
a third-year explaining
geography major, all that has USP requirements like the
changed. advanced
The Peer Mentorship
Programme, an initiative by
USC Academic Cell that is being
piloted right now, aims to help
ease students’ transition into
university life, both in academic
and non-academic areas.
Said Denys Tan, Year 2,
the public relations secretary for
the Academic Cell: “We feel
that the information that
freshmen need to initially
deal with can be
overwhelming, and seniors
can really help to make
things clearer.”
Denys added that
i the initiative is
approved by the
administration, freshmen
 Memories A chat with some o Chatterbox’s founders

From left: Gabriel Seah, Edwin

Lee, Jet Teong and Benjamin Lee

This year, 2011, is they made some o their closest had was a “dark and dingy”
Chatterbox’s 9 birthday. It is also
th
friends. clubroom and the Reading Room,
its last at Block ADM. Said Jet, 28, a civil servant: the former on seventh loor and
Come August, Block “These are friends that I still meet the latter on the sixth at Block
ADM’s Chatterbox will move to its regularly. We were all from ADM.
brand new home in the Residential different majors, but grew close to But the “extremely
College (RC). each other through supportive” administration, said
Founded in July our time interacting Benjamin, a civil servant, quickly
2003, Chatterbox, “It’s not like and working on our recognized the “need for a space for
l o c a t e d other spaces [honours] theses students to mingle” between and
conveniently on on campus together in after classes in order to foster a
the third loor o Chatterbox.” sense o community, and
Block ADM, has that are more Benjamin, accommodated students, for
come to occupy a formal. Here 30, who was example, by inding new ofices
special place in you have president o for the professors who were
the hearts o both University Scholars’ located there then.
past and current
more Club’s 4th The strong ties that these
USP students (see freedom, it’s Management alumni made in Chatterbox back
also article on the your own Committee, was one then also keep them coming back
right). o those who year after year.
For USP
little turf on founded Chatterbox. Just last year, they set up
alumni like campus” He chose both the an Alumni Fund to help
Benjamin Lee and location and name o inancially needy students pursue
Jet Teong, both o Chatterbox. USP global programmes, which are
whom hailed from the class o Before Chatterbox, said enrichment activities outside o
2006, Chatterbox is also where Benjamin and Jet, all USP students the classroom that often involve
 The Chattering Box |8
overseas trips. For more The alumni, too, are
Find out more about the Alumni Fund at
information about the looking forward to the Residential
fund, see http:// http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/ College and the new student
www.usp.nus.edu.sg/ alumni_network/alumni_fund.html lounge.
alumni_network/ “I’m sure that the [new
alumni_fund.html “It’s not like other spaces batch o USP students] will make
For Benjamin, Chatterbox on campus that are more formal,” [the student lounge] their own,”
is also special because o the laughed Benjamin. “Here you have Benjamin said, grinning.
freedom students have to “deine” more freedom, it’s your own little
the area as they see it. tur on campus.” Writer and Photographer:
Han Yongming

Chatter-Boxed
Where to begin? The rich
narrative that has birthed forth
from Chatterbox is not merely the
story o individuals; it is our story,
the USP story.
So what is the USP story?
Well, it is the comedy o how
Leonard’s hips can bring all the
furniture in Chatterbox tumbling
down. It is the saga o how we
turned Chatterbox upside down
and inside out so we could work
on Rag. It is the myth o Professor
Namazie’s mysterious ofice. It is
the drama o long, drawn-out MC
meetings (especially Marvin’s
meetings). It is the setting for a
thousand tales that were made, College; in the dining hall, in the
and in the making, told and retold. classrooms and even in the suites.
Yet, words alone cannot do justice You can take USP out o
to the diversity o experiences Chatterbox -- but you certainly
that have taken place in that cosy can’t take the Chatterbox out o
corner o level 3 Block ADM. USP.
And now, the
conversations will fade away and Writer: Augustin Chiam
Chatterbox will be packed up into Photos: Shawn Quek and
boxes. No doubt, this is the end o Benjamin Lee
a chapter, but the USP
story still has many
more chapters to go. I
believe that the spirit
o Chatterbox will live
on. It will live on in
the Residential

Chatterbox Then Chatterbox Now

9 | The Chattering Box
Introducing: The
Find-A-Roomie
Initiative
In July, USP will move to the
Residential College (RC) in UTown.
With our new home comes an
exciting residential option: living in
a six-room suite! Admittedly,
inding ive roommates may prove
to be a challenge. On top o that, the
NUS University Housing
Management System (UHMS) opens
in March! Will you have your
roommates by then?
This is where the Find-A-
Roomie initiative comes in - with a
simple online form and a dynamic
forum, settling your rooming
arrangements for next semester
should be that much easier.  effervescent one who chirps a bubbly
The forum allows students
to announce and discuss rooming
arrangements with the rest o USP,
helping students to ind more
roommates, or even roommates
with speciic preferences or
lifestyles. This forum will be hosted
on the USC website. The online
form is a way to let the
administration know that you've
found your roommates - this helps
in gauging demand for suites.
Together, both form and
forum should help you begin an
awesome semester in the RC with
your awesome roommates. Do make
the most o these two platforms!
Your participation is eagerly
anticipated :D
Writers: Melissa Lim and
Jerome Kok
For more information, visit the USC
website at:
http://www.usc.usp.nus.edu.sg/
#1 The Neat Freak
There’s nothing wrong with being
just a little bit neat! So what if I
like to arrange everyone’s shoes
into organised rows based on
frequency of use? So what if I
scrub the fridge every week and
slip a note under your door
reminding you that you’ve got
food that’s expiring in a week? So
what if I got just a little bit
hysterical when I saw you putting
a glass of iced Milo down on the
table without using a coaster? At
least I help to keep things clean! Right? Right?
#2 The Overenthusiastic
Freshman
It’s that one, you know, the quirky,
“HELLO!” at you while you’re
brushing your teeth, nearly causing
you to choke on your toothpaste.
The one who talks too much when
you pop into your pantry for a glass
of milk. The one who keeps going on
and on about their writing module,
staring at you doe-eyed while
fishing for advice on Paper... what
was it, 3, now? Yeah. That one.
#3 The Kpop Fan
All you want to do sometimes is hole up in
your room reading a good book while
listening to proper music. That’s when
you start to notice: the bright orange T-
shirts that have “shine” (but spelt with
an extra “e”) on the front; the
incomprehensible rapping from the
shower two stalls over; the peppering of
every- day speech with bizarre Korean
expressions – it’s here! You peek into
your roommate’s room one day to find
all three walls covered in various glossy
posters of various Korean celebrities,
and you don’t know whether you should laugh or cry.

Suite
Dreams
Are Made
of These
With the new suite system o
living, USP students will get the chance to
live in ever-closer proximity to their
friends. This, o course, means that
various quirky habits will invariably start
to manifest themselves.
In light o this, we here at The
Chattering Box have taken the liberty o
compiling a list o some o the quirkiest
characters you might meet as you make
the transition to suite living.
Enjoy!
Writer: Melissa Lim
Illustrators: Charmaine Low
and Tan Jing Yan
5 surefire ways to lose your roommates
Food filching
It’s no fun when you buy some milk
only to discover that all that’s left is
the carton. Ask when you want
some, and it’s only right to offer to
buy the next carton.
Lack of hygiene
It’s no wonder your roomies shun
you when you leave mountains o
used tissues around. Be considerate.
Discard your trash and lush the
toilet bowl (or your suite mates may
put up a stink).
The Chattering Box | 10
#4 The Party Animal
It doesn’t take a genius to find
out what’s happened. The shoes
strewn across the floor. The door,
left ajar because of the forgotten
tote that’s wedged between the
door and the frame. The faint
smell of yesterday’s dinner, half-
digested and very fully
regurgitated, wafting out into the
corridor. As you unceremoniously
kick the shoes aside, you thank all
the deities above for the fact that
free alcohol is only available once
a week.
#5 The Shower Diva
It’s 11pm, and after that horrifically
long meeting, you’re tired, hungry,
and feeling filthy after that sprint
for the bus. The last thing you want
to hear is your roomie’s warbling as
you crawl to your room. He’s in the
middle of Bad Romance, which is
halfway through his 2-hour shower
repertoire. It’ll be just another hour
of Pokerface and Telephone while
you mutilate the heart-shaped stress
ball the health centre gave you when
you last stocked up on Ritalin,
wanting desperately for him to stop
s i n g i n g , s t o p singing, you don’t wanna hear anymore.
Toilet hogging The BFF syndrome
While you’re expected to shower You and your roomies may have
daily, these need not last a whole seen each other with unsightly bed
day. Though some o you may need hair and heard each others’ snores,
more time in the bathroom to but this does not immediately make
beautify yourselves, be aware that you Best Friends Forever (BFFs).
others may need to use it too! Your suite mate is not obliged to
spend every waking moment
Noisiness accompanying you, nor is he/she
While you may live in a separate your unpaid therapist.
time zone, your roomies might not,
so do observe quiet hours. I you Writer: DAnielle Sim
need to play music, use your P h oto g r a p h e r : H a n
headphones or check i your suite Yongming (Contents Page)
mates are alright with loud music.
 USC WEBSITE
http://www.usc.usp.nus.edu.sg