In my post on NUS alumni not giving back to NUS, I gave short discussion about how NUSSU is an indirect contributory factor in colouring the perception of NUS graduates.

Looks like I’ve ruffled quite a few feathers of the NUSSU die-hards and they’re probably cursing me via emails flying back and forth. It never fails to amaze me that our student leaders always take criticisms to be personal attacks and never sit down and ponder why is it that criticisms were made in the first place.

I made a statement that our union is all about bashes, bazaars and orientation because this is the impression of NUSSU that I get after talking to other students about what they think of NUSSU. Actually, I have not added another set of impression to the three previously listed, and that is “NUSSU does nothing”.

As someone who had been an office bearer in both NUSSU executive and a constituent club, I know full well that NUSSU there are many other things that NUSSU does. However, why is it that students only remember NUSSU for certain things? Is there not a disconnect somewhere? If NUSSU has truly been working hard for the welfare of students, why is it that students still have such perceptions? I seriously think that NUSSU office bearers should, instead of getting angry at reading so called ”anti-NUSSU” comments, sit down and seriously think about why students are reacting like this.

I have written in the Campus Observer previously that a large number of students don’t even know who the NUSSU president is. I think that is very sad. It will be hard to find a Singaporean who don’t know who their prime minister is. Why is this the case?

If we are to look at the student leaders of yesterday, it comes as no surprise as to why the previous incarnations of NUSSU were more popular with the students. Those students were activists, and they will take to the streets to fight for their rights. Of course, I do not advocate doing that because the disruption of classes and normal work routine of the university administration is counter-productive and does no one any good. However, the point here is that students in the past know that their leaders are fighting for their rights because the student leaders are so highly visible.

Today, our student leaders are like invisible entities to the ordinary student. If it is hard-pressed for a student to name the president, forget about naming the next few down the hierachy. If people don’t know the student leaders and what they do, can students be blamed for having misconceptions about NUSSU?

I know that there are honest folks in NUSSU who work hard. However, working hard doesn’t not equate to working in the right direction. I don’t think that the ordinary student appreciates NUSSU for working hard to acheive things like bazaars, bashes, orientation camps, breaking records and distributing welfare goodie bags/diaries. Students want to know that somemore more meaningful than these things are being done.

Of course, knowing NUSSU’s style (assuming that it has not changed), students won’t be informed about impending decisions until it actually happens because of the need to “preserve” relationship with the university administration. That may be a reasonable argument, but why does NUSSU need to do that in the first place? If NUSSU is confident that it has support of all students, NUSSU would be the one with the bargaining chips, not the university administration. Only a weak students’ union will need to “preserve” the relationship because it has no other bargaining tools.

If NUSSU truly wish to claim that it has the mandate of all students, more needs to be done. The first thing is to honestly tell students of impending issues that may affect them. Yes, minutes can be put up, emails can be sent and blogs can be set up, but these can too be censored. The point here is that NUSSU officers must have the sense that they are holding public office and that it is the duty of public officers to account to the public they represent with conscience.

For starters, why not open up the Fee Hike Forum that’s ocurring this coming Wednesday afternoon at YIH to all students? Why should a discussion about impending fee hike be restricted to a select group of students?

** Before NUSSU decides to send lawyers after me, I better qualify that I make NO assertion of fact in this post. All that has been discussed are based on either my own observation, opinion or information gleaned from talking to people, and these information may possibly be inherently flawed or inaccurate. The reader is hereby advised to exercise his/her own discretion in reading this entry.