NTU students to hold ‘Stand Up For Media Freedom On Campus’ outreach event at Speaker’s Corner, Hong Lim Park
4:30 – 6:00 p.m., Sunday, 5th October 2008.
A group of NTU students and alumni will be protesting against NTU’s recent censorship of a campus newspaper article, described by a university professor as “totally harmless”.
They will be using the Speaker’s Corner as a platform to publicise their views about the importance of greater press freedom and the marketplace of ideas, particularly in an institution of higher learning such as the university.
Attempts to air their views within campus got vetoed in a manner similar to the initial news censorship; given how this group cares for freedom of information, it will now seek a public platform to respond and spread awareness.
History
On the 26th and 28th of August, Dr Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), visited NTU to distribute flyers and interact with the students as part of a tour to “raise political awareness”.
The Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information’s (WKWSCI) print and video broadcast media covered the event. However, both were soon axed by the university’s administration. The video broadcast was aired within the university’s TV network for three days – before it was ordered to be taken off air; the print article – initially approved to run by NTU’s president – got the cut just before it was due for print. A WKWSCI professor described the print report as “totally harmless”.
This censorship angered many WKWSCI students, especially those who had produced the various media reports. One subsequent protest banner erected on a designated exhibition space within WKWSCI was taken down by university security personnel within an hour; a student journalist’s news article about the response to the media blackout was prematurely cut as well.
In this climate, the group of WKWSCI students and alumni felt that their very education is being compromised. They are now questioning the veracity of what they were taught in class: the critical debate of ideas, the role of freedom of information in rigorous journalism training.
Agenda
They will make a series of speeches mainly to:
1. Raise awareness on this issue for both the public and the university population
2. Talk about the experience of having a neutral news article cut for fear of its subject
3. State their values and stand on press freedom
4. What they have done thus far regarding this issue, and what they hope to see regarding higher levels of freedom of information in the future
5. Highlight how this incident has undermined the very education that the University hopes to provide to students
6. Engage university or school professors if possible
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2 thumbs up for people with spine and conviction : )
I see nothing but a group of Gopalans about to be made into grim examples.
Cheers
To the NTU students involved, good work, hope NUS will do same here.
The crowd at the Memorial for Mr JB Jeyaretnam last night at the Speakers’ Corner was attended by many youths, over 100, I estimate, when I left at about 8.20 pm. This is a very encouraging sign that our youths are beginning to play an active role in social matters.
I do hope that today at 4.30 pm the Young Speakers from NTU will attract more of their peers, will they come in the thousands? Hopefully.
patriot
All the best to the NTU students!
I really wish I could go =/ Hope the turnout is good! Put on Youtube (and rickroll) haha just kidding, but you get the point :)
The whole process of event: Speeches then petition, that’all.
Seems like lack of something that’s important, oh yes, most or all of you are from Comm Sch.
Eventually, one-sided speeches, oh good to define “Journalism”, “Free” or whatever, bad is how you all seems lacking Comm, especially response from public. Speakers you are, should not neglect the Q&A or open dialogues of public.
Univ censor your articles, how about you all do to the public? Same whole thing.
No more coming to this one-sided event anymore, the opportunity cost is high.
Comm are we?
I want my money back.
i hope students from NUS and especially from SMU conduct such speeches to the public as well.
looking at the straits times senior writers’ articles make ppl shake their heads enough to break their neck.
i would love to hear from those reporters-to-be, e,g, mass comm students. will they forsake their integrity for money?
anyway good job to those NTU students, they’ve made a small step towards a democratic Singapore. 2011 election times would be interesting as most of them will be voting for the first time.
I think many of you here had misunderstood. From what I have read, heard and understood, I am sure the NTU students are all only interested in speaking up against media censorship of articles that are not defamatory, not against any religion or race. The article, from what I understand, is one in which only facts are reported, it is certainly not manipulated, biased or politically driven.
These students from the Nanyang Chronicles are responsible citizens and being student journalist, I don’t see anything wrong for them to report the happenings in NTU itself in NTU’s very own paper in a neutral way. In fact, the article has been vet by 4 professors to ensure that the article is written in a fully neutral and factual way. The very fact that NTU is a university whereby Singapore’s top intellects joining with foreign scholars, how likely are they to be swayed by CSJ’s few words without thinking? NTU really got to start trusting their students a lot more, aren’t NTU trying to nature students into future leaders? How can they not trust the leaders they have produced? How can they not trust the professors they had hired whom had vet the article?
I have to say I will have to applaud NTU students, these are the future leaders we want to have. They are one with integrity, responsible and have the courage to speak up when injustice is done. Seriously, what is NTU afraid of?
holly, ur the real stupid one.