Before I get roasted for anything in this writing, do note that my experience might differ and my impressions of things are purely mine. They might or might not be accurate, to certain extends. Do take the post objectively. I am not a sheep, and I do not intend to sugarcoat any slice of my experience.
Also, don’t mock my English la hor.
Long read, but this post serves a general reflection of my 2-year in Raffles Hall; whether or not this is my last year, we’ll see in a year’s time.
edit: This was mostly written on Week 11 (before 14th April) and I’ve held it back for a month to see if my points still stand after my hall life ended.
ps. now this feels like a review about RH… so, 4.11 stars?
Prior to matriculation
I’ve set my mind on staying on-campus after (not)surviving my TJC life sleep deprived. I told myself, 2+ hours a day on the roads could be better spent in Hall — even if it means to use it socialising.
To be brutally honest, Raffles Hall didn’t have the best “hall experience” reputation among my peers. Choosing Raffles Hall instead of the more “traditionally hyped” halls (pre-2017, times have changed now) like Sheares or Kent Ridge got me some questions especially during the few orientation camps. I signed up for RHEX with the mindset: “It matters not where you go, it matters who you are.” << you might have heard this if you were one of those who has once asked me why I chose Raffles Hall over the others. To be utterly frank, that was my text-book one-liner answer. My choice was actually backed up by different considerations that are fairly the cliché.
- Financials. My very first consideration for Hall stay was its cost. To push costs down the minimum, RCs and Single Rooms didn’t even make my list
From an RC Single room’s price of (minimum) $3243, it has now dropped to almost half, of a HONUS Double room’s $1865. Although still hefty, my idea is to “borrow” from my future wages for my current student life; which I’d never get back again — with that, I’m left with the 4; RH, TH and EH, KE. - Distance to Raffles Hall. I entered Computering Engineering thinking I’d spend many days of the week in Engineering. Partially, I was right.
9 am Lab mornings 2 days a week for my first 3 semesters justified choosing RH — allowing me to wake up -5 minutes before the lesson(9:05 am), and still reach lab earlier than my non-hall friends. (This was before the demolished the block 2 walkway towards T-labs — brainless move tbh, but that’s a story for another day)
Even Computing isn’t that far. It is a mere 7+min walk (timed by 2 songs) from RH Block 2 to SOC. - Making Friends. You might not know me as an introvert (which I’m not), but I am definitely not one to initiate conversations to make friends without a proper platform/mutual friends. I knew that if I wanted to continue meeting new people, Hall was one of the more accessible channels.
- Alpha? I’ve never really spoken about this much but I despised my 2-month service term back in OCS, socially. Surrounded by “alphas”(wannabes — or not), I’ll just summarise the environment to be absolutely toxic. Boo-hoo, guess where do they congregate if they do stay in hostels? On the other side of the spectrum, Raffles hall was known to be way more accepting and friendly. (just like TJ!) And…. so this beta NSK kid makes his choice.
- Beyond Academics. I am clear that I am not one to focus on academics alone. Since secondary school, I’ve been spending hours any other day on my CCAs — and I believe I will not stop anytime soon. Also, one of my personal goals was to try out something different from what I’ve been used to.
Block Culture
I didn’t really get to participate in RHOC’17 thanks to Engin Rag (Erag no ragrets), so my first official plunge into RH was through Block 2.
Block 2, from conversations with the few senior I knew, was known to be the most “on” block. I stepped into Block 2 with high expectations, with my room-mate Joshua who I already knew from back in JC, fortunately. We neighbored Bervyn, who was also from TJ. Expectations were that Block 2 would at least take up half- of my hall life. Not sugarcoating anything, my Block aspect of hall life was simply not there. It might be the culture of RH in general, or just because of this specific batch of Block 2/5 residents. People just generally were not interested in investing their time on the block; their interests? Food and Food and Food and welfare pack, and food.
People just generally were not interested in investing their time on the block;
But from what I see, block cultures fluctuate every year as leadership and freshmen “refresh” (mostly) every academic year — To make the most out of your block, I would believe that the best solution is to find your own group of friends and if they aren’t block phantoms, it’d be a stepping stone towards that AY’s “block culture”.
Another thing about block 2'17 left a bad taste in my mouth — people didn’t like to say hi. Asides from the specific few, I could walk past many neighbours without saying hi. In my book, greetings are basically a foundation to acquaintanceship — which is, in turn, a block-building building-block. (heh)
Debunking myths, the Block culture was not the reason for me (or Bervyn) shifting out of Block 2 after year one. Instead, it was really just because we didn’t have enough points for all of us to bid for block 2 rooms together.
After shifting to block 5, things didn’t particularly change. Varying cliques were very apparent in block 5, and each was rather exclusive. (Don’t be mistaken, they are all nice people) Too, the bigger block came with its bigger population of phantoms. People just weren’t proactive in making friends; at least that what I felt.
Wrapping up my block life, or the lack thereof — Albeit having great Block directors in the 2 blocks that I’ve resided in, support was severely lacking(in terms of good/purposeful committee members as well as block members). It was unfortunate that many members seemingly planned events just “for the milestone”, or “the points” and not to serve the block (which they also do not even make the effort to know personally).
Of course, a huge portion of the onus is on me/you. No war is won without its’ infantry, and in the block’s context — the residents’ support. If you want to inculcate a block culture, then start stepping out of your rooms and opening your mouths.
Hall Culture…?
Hall culture in my first year was weak, af. Some hall-wide events could not even fill 50-odd seats. To me, it just seems like the only pull-factor of any RH event was food. Activities were generic, and effort was not there. I blame this on the HONUS culture. With the competitiveness of securing a year 2 stay in any Hall, we are expected to join…. 4-odd CCAs. (I’ll discuss the flawed CCA points system below). Juggling 4 CCAs with your school, especially when a good 30–40% of RH residents are Engineering students, is no mean feat. To survive, natural instincts call for us to not give our full commitment to the 4 CCAs. “Just join the right CCAs and do the minimal”. The result of this? Uncommitted members who seek to hold or join an event just because “they did it last year”, or because “It’s for my milestone”. Source: I did attend most events, and block events in my first year.
RH’s freshmen ratio is usually 50%, and every year, with half of the population being new RHesidents, comes an altered culture. Turn out for hall events improved quite a bit, especially during Semester 1. It seems like this batch of freshmen were more enthu than the one before.
After RHEX, hopes for Hall life were back to its high. After RHEX, RHOC ended on a high note as well, with many excited faces. RH Rag seemed to be a bonded bunch as well. Orientation 2018 for RH, if it were up to me to rate, was a much bigger success compared to the previous year(s). Beyond orientation, it felt that committees like SMC, BOP had stepped up their engagements. By the same token, I can really see and do appreciate the current (AY 18/19) JCRC’s efforts in improving Hall life — specifically the social aspect, and kind of only the social aspect, though. There were many (new?) initiatives such as RH Supper Bus, RH Night Cycling, RH Smookata, RH AEAC’s Axe throwing, an improved IBG, among others. I believe that this was a result of a few dedicated and capable leaders who happened to, by luck, fall in the same batch. However, to be downright candid, it might be hard to have again such an eventful year. I believe, it takes a well-timed come-together of do-ers to improve culture. Only when such purposeful individuals happen to coincide with a common goal, culture improves.
(To just name a few others initiatives, Rhythm & voices’ Beatboxing introduction & music theory lessons, Focus group discussions, sponsorship comm’s increased engagements, Welfare comm’s mural paintings and cleaning of common areas, Photography open class, more recreational sports cca after IHG)
It takes a well-timed come-together of do-ers to improve culture.
RH Hall life has improved so much for me personally in Year 2. A pity might have been that there is still a prominent portion of residents that do not participate in any events. The Hall life has definitely made my hall stay much more vibrant, and is definitely one thing I’ll miss dearly after leaving hall — not the hectic of juggling of studies and hall commitments, but the array of activities lined up for the residents, by the residents.
Points System
CCA points are awarded according to merit, where the ones with more CCAs are likely to get more points. These points dictate whether one can continue to reside in RH and whether one has priority over another in bidding for a room. One thing though, the CCA point system is flawed. As a disclaimer, I do not undermine the people who proposed these systems nor their efforts, for, at that moment of implementation, it might have been the best compromise.
I won’t (and shouldn’t) elaborate much, but three points(haha pun):
- A less-than-mediocre member in a “better” cca will get the same amount of points as a committed member in a “not so good” cca. — And how good ccas are determined…. is just ???. Take an RHMP Sets member (let the sets’ standard speak for themselves) and compare it with a brilliant Squash player (CCA won 3rd in IHG). They’d likely get similar points for the stated ccas. (I’d like to emphasize again that this POV is likely short-sighted from me, a third party)
- A less-than-mediocre member might get over 30 points, while a committed member of the same CCA will not get any higher than 40. Just for rough sensing, the difference between the two likely adds up to hours more every single week (depending on the CCA).
- Transparency. Without transparency like in TH/SH, rumour-mongering is a common sight.
“How come that guy only got 3 ccas but got the same points as the other guy who is 2/3 cca heads?”
“How come all my cca heads say they give me max points but I still got lower than so many people?”
Might be just my preferred work ethic, but the fact that point breakdowns are not made open to the population places doubts in people. Straight-on confrontations in point discrepancies instead of behind-the-back word-spreading are preferred any day.
And this also brings me to the point about RH’s priorities. RH, or rather, its leaders place much emphasis on its annual musical, RHMP. To the 40%-ish minority(?) that didn’t join the production, the funds channelled and support given might not make any sense after (neutrally) comparing it to other CCAs; However, to be unprejudiced, RHMP does play a huge role in helping our (majority of) residents to mingle around and a (countable) number of departments do find themselves much closer after the event.
Nonetheless, I still stand by my personal viewpoint that such a production is not the most justified to be a hall flagship event. A musical highlights the talent of only a limited number of persons. The remaining of the participants are merely supporting the spotlight for the few “chosen ones”. If you were to compare it to, say, TH or EH’s Dance productions, it does engage much more substantial numbers. Even though the standard of their productions was not the best, the ultimate goal of hall stay — to know more people, and be part of something special together as equals — is met. Furthermore, sold-out sales would be much more in reach.
Facilities and Food
Facilities aren’t the best. My Block 2 Level 1 room has visits from mosquitoes at a frequency of around every 10 minutes (not even exaggerating). Block 2 drains do not have drain covers. Block 5 level 4 washing machine’s filters were removed and now lost. Each block only has 1 kitchen, and Block 5’s does not even have half the things I’d need of a kitchen. An air-conditioned block lounge is a foreign concept. Shower heads that fall when you turn off the water supply. Lack of lighting in the spine-walkway. No “MPSH”. No lifts. Communal Hall stage sucks. Toilet cleaning only once every few weeks (hmm… depends on block though) Level 1 rooms having corridor tiles that are impossible to keep clean. Different insects raiding RH in different seasons. There’s just so much more.
That all being said, we are honestly already better off than the others. (say real, but let’s not compare our halls to NTU halls). There are so many things that I enjoy about RH architecture (Less Kuok foundation building). Firstly, the Loyang-Aloha chalet feels in RH is just so strong. Open your door and you’ll see your neighbours in clear view — not a wall. Toilets were generally cleaner than other halls (except that EH has more spacious toilets). Fans that are directed at your bed instead of study desk (compare it to double rooms of EH/TH). A wonderful Hall manager (wow this calls for another writing on its own, but not today).
The location is prime. UCC, USC, UHC are all literally across the road. Direct Buses to Clementi (96), Kent Ridge and Buona Vista (95), Bukit Timah (151). U-town is just a bridge’s walk away. Studying at CLB til late isn’t a problem at all, at a mere 5 minutes walk away.
Also, Non-delivery supper options are rather decent, with 7–11 at YIH and now Cheers at E3. 10–15 minutes walk to supper stretch of all honesty isn’t too bad.
And of course, RH food is the best among the halls and even comparable to the RC opposite us (huhu but no food poisoning for us)-objective comment. I’d give it a 5/5 rating but I’ll revise it to 3.5/5 as the caterer now has chopped coriander/parsley mixed together with the dishes and especially in my mala?!
Raffles Hall Dance
— played a special role to me these 2 years and hopefully will continue to do so, even though I was just another member. I was exposed to dance from Engin Rag (Erag no ragrats), and since felt that it was a fun hobby to take on. As somebody that cannot even dance, I auditioned for the CCA not knowing if I could even get in. By luck or by other means, I got in. Frankly speaking, my first-semester taking up dance felt like shit. I didn’t make any friends in the cca, partially due to how the pace of practices did not leave us any bandwidth to talk. I could not catch the choreography, and I dreaded leaving my room for the 8 pm practices; knowing very well I was the burden in the dance item. Besides the item, the weekly lessons conducted by choonhui were catering to the general population of the CCA — which is by no means a complete newbie. At the video-runs at the end of every class, you can literately see me trying to catch even the first moves. It felt like shit that very 4–8hours per week. (wow sounds like a 4mc mod)
It was only during dance camp during winter vacation that I’ve properly got to know some of the other members. After opening up, it then hit me that nobody cares how good, or bad you actually are. They are just there to enjoy dancing and its freedom of expression. Only then, I’ve started to let loose and started learning with a better state of mind. Classes started getting enjoyable instead of frightful. Compulsory practices became a look-forward and not dread — although the panics of end-class video runs were still real af.
I’m still utterly thankful and grateful for the friends I’ve met here, past and present. Those who went for outside studio classes with me, those who can mess around during practices, the seniors who introduced freestyling, the ones who took time to prepare sharings, the choreographers who spent months piecing a performance together, the alumni who constantly gives support and returns to share. Last but not least, you, the people whom I can undo your shoelaces during warmup.
Growing together — that’s what I fancy about RHD.
Looking forward, I do hope that I’ll be able to dance on the same stage as you guys once again. (hopefully, in alumni/unofficial members’ engagements — eyes on you, @klys) It has been a wild ride with, especially those I met/got closer to in year 2.
Let’s try for recitals? ;-)
RHun60
— was the first project that I got the chance to spear-head in NUS. Gathered a committee of 10 with some really talented people. We’ve managed to materialise a totally new plan together, where the common goal was to create something new and exciting for the residents, through a run and a post-run carnival. Sadly, we’ve only managed to get about 180 participants — It might have been too ambitious of us to have tried to target 300 participants. Post-event, we do feel that this number was due to RHun60 being first of its kind, and not many of our target audience are aware of how it actually is.
Despite all that, for my money, I am very proud of all the 10 committee members & all supporting officials to have had been able to pull off this feat. We have met our initial goal, and we are confident & are pleased that all our participants enjoyed their time in RHun60.
This was only possible with the support from RH. Without the financial & logistical support from RH, we would not have been able to execute the most important parts of RHun60.
Hall Competitive Spirit?
There is frankly not much pride among the RH with regards to the inter-hall games — probably because I wasn’t in any niche team sports to experience it; but here’s how I see it.
This is what makes sports in RH a tad more enjoyable and accepting. It is commonplace that sportsmen lose interest in a sport after going competitive, where the “fun is gone”. Being some sort nonchalant of the IHG and our neighbours’ “must win” attitude, some of us learn to embrace the fun of the sports(recreational or not), and embrace the joy of being on the court with your teammates.
Win IHG so what? Got money meh? Can put resume meh? Next time your children care meh? Have fun can liao ma why they no sportsmanship one?
HavE fun can liao ma why thEy no sportsmanship onE?
Thank you, RH for being a safe space for sports and cultural activities alike.
Familiar Faces at your doorstep
This is definitely something I’ll miss dearly. Looking ahead, in no other setting will I probably be able to experience this level of familiarity with my neighbours again. Being able to say hi to people on your way to dinner and back contributes to a sense of belonging to this place.
From residents to the security guards to the comm hall staff, there were many individuals that you pass by every day — and being able to strike off conversations with them will definitely make your stay here more valuable; and now, also a little harder to leave.
My own safe space
Although I reside in a double room, that small room still served as my safe space. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by class, I’ll head back to my room & possibly grab some food from YIH on the way back; Whenever I don’t feel like interacting or bumping into anyone, whenever I just need some alone time, or when your work gets overwhelming.
It was really comforting to have such a space.
Learning Outcomes?
“What did you learn from Hall?” Frankly, nothing much. Besides exposing myself to a measurable number of new hobbies, really — nothing much.
To the average male out there, many of the generic “learning pointers” from Hall all simply do not stand; Learning to live by yourself, to use the washing machine, to cleaning your own room, to budgeting your spendings, communal living. If you haven’t been leeching at home for your past 20 odd-years of your life, these would sound like breakfast to you.
Also, to be as blunt as Block 5’s kitchen knife, committees in RH are just not strong. (or at least those that I’ve got to interact with) Even my NCC batchmates back in Nan Chiau exhibited stronger team-working skills and were bolder in ideas & execution. It might have been because of the exceptional committees that I’ve got the luck to work in that makes RH committees look trivial. From TJ’s Beta House Comm to the rather recent Engin Rag’18, all these committees straight out outshine RH committees in terms of its members’ drive, member’s flair in planning, presenting and also how efficient and critical meetings get. Undoubtedly, there are still a handful of experienced residents, but these skilled people just do not convene— even in the supposedly top student-leadership comm JCRC. After all, “hall is a place for you to try new things” — so, there will be people that are trying out being in a committee for the first time. (more below)
If there has to be something valuable that I’ve taken away from RH, beyond sports/culture, is how stupid people can get. (haha surprise, it’s not positive) — but again, let’s be objective, you learn this everywhere, anywhere.
Despite my points being rather negative, this shouldn’t shun anyone away from Hall Stay. Elementally, I have been writing about the soft skills one seeks to take away from work/proper committees. What I did not mention was the intangibles experiences— the cultures that you get to be part of, the 5 am clutch moments to finish a project because of the innumerable amount of practices, the mindless stress-relieving screams in the middle of the night, the “open-your-blinds-to-shout-i-not-stupid-after-solving-a-coding-problem” moments, the running-back-from-exam-hall-because-you-forgot-your-matric-card instances.
Hall of Opportunity
Raffles Hall markets itself as a hall of opportunity. Having been through my 2 years, I’m convinced that this is not just any other marketing gimmick or banter material — (check out the other halls’ taglines… LOL)
If I were to have chosen any other halls, I’ll probably not be able to have joined Dance(for my horrible body awareness), not become Road relay captain(for my mediocre speed), lead a totally new initiative(for they just don’t have this avenue). As a someone that has no talents, I am genuinely grateful that RH is what it markets itself to be.
I personally view RH as a channel to try new stuff instead of refining what you already have — if I wanted to, I’d try to join the varsity groups which are of higher standards instead. But that being said, joining what you enjoy/have the potential to enjoy is still the most important.
Hall Leadership
Just because one takes office in a Hall CCA does not necessarily mean that one is the most capable or the most suited. It is a known fact. Many of the times, roles are left empty and current appointment holders are desperate to find succession. This spans over all sorts of ccas, from sports to culture ccas.
My point? 2 of them
1. The fact that one doesn’t take up a leadership role while another does, does not prove him less capable. It may be due to the biased/short-sighted succession plans, or it may be purely because the cca is not a priority. Hall cca leadership really doesn't prove one’s abilities.
2. Refuting the common idea among certain CCAs that “oh, they should give the Year 1s more chance to take up leadership role instead of the Year 2/3s”.
Every AY sees a new batch of residents. If one has previously earned enough points to secure the subsequent AY’s Hall Stay, he or she too has the rights to run for a leadership role on equal footing. When 2 candidates of different years are running for the same role, their remaining “validity” in Hall is the same —just another AY in Hall. To the Hall/population, both candidates should be given an equal chance.
What’s my point? Oh — don’t be pressured by your cca “leaders” to do certain stuff you don’t want to, or don’t support. For all you know, you might be right.
Trade-Offs
There are still trade-offs with hall stay, as just with any other choice.
Having chosen to stay in Year 2 and also taking up leadership roles, I knew that I had to let go of some parts of my life.
I’ve not been a home-person since Secondary school, so being away from home doesn’t really pose a problem for me. Of course, being stuck in this Bermuda triangle of RH — School — Utown for sometimes up to more than a month, I’ll still feel homesick and miss the char kway teow opposite home. Not being home for weeks also sometimes makes me wonder about how I’m not playing the role of a good son. However, this actually helps emphasize family time as special to me and makes me try to initiate meals together the (rare) times I’m back home.
My friends are mostly in the North-East / East. Although some of us have our own hustles, the majority of us still resides there. We used to be able to meet any other day, but now, once every few months would be a prize. Though, I am dearly thankful that the friendships still go on strong.
I’ve been quite involved in Engin since Erag’17 days (Erag no ragrats), while not directly under Engin Club. In year 2, increased hall commitments and well, computer engineering, I seem to have stopped frequenting engineering events.
Since NS, I’ve started to prioritise a minimum of 7 hours of sleep every night. Being independent staying in RH, I found that this practice has helped improve my learning and focus throughout the day. Even on days that I’m not able to get that 7, I’ll try to make up for it through naps. It is possible to do that in Hall — it depends on your priorities. If anybody tells you otherwise, question their priorities; everybody’s concerns are different. On the other hand, there are monsters that do not require that much sleep at all — Just imagine, being awake 19 hours a day instead of just 16; the additional things that you can achieve cumulatively. (ha ha ha but guess what, not many people spend it wisely so why not just sleep?)
Beyond Hall (and a little bit of Faculty), there is genuinely not much capacity left in one to pursue other affairs — but that’s a trade-off that I took.
Friends
I’ve met wonderful individuals in Hall — Some priorly acquainted from other channels.
I’m really humbled to have met the different pockets of people all around Hall; even people that I have never expected myself to be able to talk to. From the “mind-your-own-business” guy isolated in the corner to talented singers and multi-talented residents. (Sian god is unfair)
A friend once asked me, do you make a lot of friends in Hall?
I said, it depends on you. People often enter a hall with the preconceived notion that you’re bound to make friends. Like in GER1000, this is a correlation, not causation. It merely happens that most people who make it into NUS Halls are of more on the sociable spectrum.
CCAs are a great channel to make friends. But… so what? I’ve joined SMC in year 1 and made 0 friends. My first semester in dance… 0 friends. If you yourself don’t start to open your mouth and wave hellos, you’ll probably not be able to make a lot of friends. This was rather a lesson learnt from my first semester; you want something, you’ve got to do something about it. But beware, the most sociable people, like Nelson, can take up to 2 hours just to walk from comm hall back to his room. (haha) Jokes aside, it is undeniably draining, mentally & time-consuming. I guess this is a line that each of us has to draw for ourselves.
Leaving this pointer for the last is also because of how important this was to my hall life. Without these interesting figures in my Hall stay, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much.
From block mates, dance friends, camp mates, to random pockets of people that I’ve got the chance to know —these groups and individuals made up my Hall life. It’s really a pity that I could not spend more time knowing some of you guys, especially those that we seem to really click well but we just do not have anything in common.
At heart, I’m truly grateful for the people that I have met, within or beyond my CCAs — and here’s to those whose friendship worth the keep beyond hall life. 🍻
ps. please hit me up for meals or something from time to time!
If circumstances allow for my year 4 stay back here in RH, things would most likely have changed a lot— but I’ll be hoping for/look forward to it.
Summing things up, the 2 years in Raffles Hall has been wonderful. Takeaways were aplenty; reflected also by the number of Hall T-shirts I’ve collected. This not-so-short period of stay in RH did leave me with many fond memories of which I’ll dearly miss, pinky-swear, cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die. Of which, the people and this lifestyle would be on the top of my list. Although much of my reflection was on the system, I’d like to emphasize I’ll probably only remember how I felt, years down the road. Now that people are moving out of Hall with their big bags, the hall dies down. It’s sort of depressing to see this — but here’s to Summer & a better next AY.
Thank you to all whom we’ve crossed paths because of RH — especially those graduating/leaving RH. Thank you for the smiles and laughter.
S̶h̶e̶a̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶
