The InkSlingers issue#19

the inkSlingers Thursday, 10 April 2014

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IS#19:100414(1)

Taylor’s first Chinese debate team page 3

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For internal circulation only

page 5

TU signs MoU with RTM

page 7

AIESEC searches for ambassadors

By Navshed Navin

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aylor’s University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) on 11 March for further partnering as well as knowledge exchange in research.

The five-year MoU effective from March will entail mutual efforts between Taylor’s and RTM. The university will be able to tap into RTM’s 68 years broadcasting experience and in turn work on research projects.

“It will definitely ease both parties in work-integrated education, special short-term programmes and visits,” said Taylor’s University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Dato’ Dr. Hassan Said.

RTM Director General Datuk Norhayati Ismail said this cooperation would create excellent human capital in the future.

“Through the smart partnership, I hope the use of resources can be optimized and the cost incurred by both parties can be minimized through the sharing of knowledge, technology and other infrastructure,” she said.

The broadcasting organisation expects the MoU to be a channel to reinforce government policies and development

Are you ready for Shanghai?

World Kidney Day Dance Marathon

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(Fourth from left) Professor Dato’ Dr Hassan Said and Datuk Norhayati Ismail at the MoU signing in Taylor’s University.

programmes, notably the National Education Blueprint, through which the government has been attempting to prepare and educate Malaysian children to be ready for the future.

Furthermore, RTM looks forward to have Taylor’s University’s students participating in giving feedback about the station’s programmes – a move that would meet youth’s demands in broadcasting.Taylor’s University expects the MoU to be an evidence

of commitment in producing better and more knowledgeable graduates by introducing them to the real broadcasting working world before their graduation.

“We want to graduate students who will be an asset to future employers and this MoU with RTM is a progressive step towards that aim,” said Prof Hassan.

“This MoU is parallel to the attempts Taylor’s University has been making to provide the best education for our students,” he added.

IESEC, an international notfor-profit organisation which provides leadership training and development for college students through various programmes, are promoting their Global Ambassador Programme at Taylor’s.

They organised an ‘Info Session’ from the 25 to 27 March where they covered basic information and answered some questions.

The Global Ambassador Program offers a six to eight week international volunteer programme for college students where they will work on social projects with international non-governmental organisations or education institutions.

The organization aims to offer students leadership training and development opportunities while contributing to positive social impact.

Participants can choose from a range of issues to volunteer for including environment, career development, health, culture, and education.

Applicants have to pay an administration fee of RM400, must be enrolled in higher education, or has graduated within the last two years, and not older than 30.

According to their website, AIESEC, which used to be known as the International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences, has a network of 113 countries and over 20,000 international internships each year.

Freeze for human trafficking

By Nor Amirah Amran

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o you want to be part of one of the biggest flashmobs in Taylor’s University all in support of a good cause? Here’s your chance.

Students of Taylor’s Talent Management Program will be organizing a freeze flashmob called Project Freeze around the University Square in April to raise awareness on human trafficking in Malaysia.

Project Director Darren Ooi said the freeze flashmob would be a great way to bring the neglected issue to light.

“Trafficking is the act of moving around, so through the flashmob, we want to freeze the people, to symbolise ‘freezing’ human trafficking,” he said.

The date and time of the flashmob will only be revealed to participants who have pledged to support the cause by making a minimum of RM5 donation.

“People always want something cool in return, so this is a win-win situation where they can have fun, while donating to a good cause,” added Ooi. Additionally, donors will also be able to get official Freeze merchandise such as badges, USB flash drive wristbands and

t-shirts.

All donations will be directed to SUKA Society, also known as Persatuan Kebajikan Kanak-kanak (SUKA) Malaysia, to aid the victims of human trafficking and their shelters all over Malaysia.

SUKA Society is a non-governmental organization that works with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) to protect women and children affected by human trafficking.

For more information on Project Freeze and how to participate in the flashmob, visit www.projectfreeze2014.wix.com/brr.

Project Freeze campaigns against human trafficking. (Source: Project Freeze)

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Hear Us Out looks TUSC at human rights rolls out the Ball

By Chin Zhe Cheng

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oin in Taylor’s College Canadian PreU’s (CPU) Hear Us Out 12 conference on 26 April at Taylor’s College.

The goal of the conference is to let students understand the world and to give an opportunity for the students to present themselves, said CPU lecturer Daniel Layng., whose students are organizing the event.

Hear Us Out is a conference that consists of a group of students’ presentations regarding Malaysia and international issues, along with a number of non-governmental organizations’ presentations.

For Hear Us Out 12, the students will be presenting five issues, which are human trafficking, women’s rights, child labour, poverty, illegal drugs and hydraulic fracturing.

Layng also said the students would be organizing some fundraising events to promote the conference and to raise some money to donate to the charities.

Hear Us Out 12 student presenter Kaveeta Nair said they have started a fundraising event, where students can order packets of sweets for people and it has been a success.

Layng said he would only instruct his student on how to organize the conference, but leaves it up to them on how to get things done.

“I don’t care how they (the students) get things done, as long as they get it done, of

the ink

Slingers Editor-in-Chief Nor Amirah Amran Sub-Editor Shafina Sukiman

Layout Editor Chin Zhe Cheng Writers/Contributors David Prravin Joash Nicholas Ong Gavriella Tjandra Navshed Navin Write to us at theinkslingerstaylors@gmail.com Printer C&T Graphics Mr. Ng Hock Swee AS 82 (1st Floor) Jalan Hang Tuah 4 Salak South Garden 57100, Kuala Lumpur Contact Number +603 7981 2250 016 277 8201

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Hear Us Out 11’s logo.

course with some boundaries,” said Layng.

Kaveeta said she initially attended the Hear Us Out 11 unwillingly, but has been overwhelmed with the information shared in the conference that she chose to take the subject this semester.

Hear Us Out 12 student presenter Dhanya Manokaran said, “I would like to do something where I can make this world a better place. People are not aware of how these issues can make big impact on our lives.”

There are only 220 tickets available and it costs RM15 for a ticket.

Layng said, “Every single cent will be donated to the NGOs.”

he Taylor’s University Student Council has announced that they will be holding the much anticipated Taylor’s Ball in June.

“We hope that we are able to succeed in further integrating the various students of Taylor’s through this fun filled night of mystery and glamour.” said event organizing head, Teoh Gini.

The confirmed date of the Murder Twisted, Old Hollywood Glamour themed ball is set to be on 14 June later this year.

The ball is open to all, Taylorians and outsiders.

An open audition will be held on 9 and 16 April at E8.09 to select in house performers and talents for the event.

The audition will be separated into two different sessions each day, at 12.30pm and 2.30pm respectively.

Taylorians are asked to keep an eye out for the upcoming promotional posters of the ball that will reveal more information about the event.

Tickets prices and venue have yet to be revealed.

For any further enquiries, students are welcomed to drop a message on the Taylors University Student Council Facebook page or drop an email to: tusc@taylors.edu.my TUSC

HAPPY-ness reaches KL

By Shafina Sukiman

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harrell Williams has been making waves since the worldwide release of a 24-hour music video for his single ‘Happy’ in late November last year.

The music video featured people dancing and being happy on the streets of Los Angeles along with the odd celebrity cameo sprinkled in random times throughout the 24-hour video.

The simple video concept and positive message of the song made replication in various cities an easy task as was done in

Berlin, Paris and Sydney.

Following this trend, Producer of LowyatTV Praveen Kumar, 26, was inspired to do one for our own capital city.

Praveen started this project following a suggestion by his friend Maria Visanoiu who shared a link to a Romanian version of the music video because he felt that due to the current events in KL, “some uninhibited happiness was needed.”

Starting with a humble Facebook event page, the project snowballed into something much larger than Praveen had expected.

“It felt quite intimidating, but encouraging, I felt that a lot of KL-ites felt

the same way about making something like this,” he says.

In total they had 100 participants including celebrity appearances from Sharifah Amani and Iedil Putra as well as big brand names like myBurgerLab and Red Bull.

Since it’s release on 5 March, the video has reached over 100, 000 views in a week making it a viral hit!

It was also included in the United Nations International Day of Happiness on 20 March.

It took a crew of three people and two weekends to film all participants for the project.

Cops advise students to be vigilant

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tudents have been advised by local authorities to be more wary of criminals as according to a meeting report released by Taylor’s University Student Council, the number of cases recorded for the area near Lakeside Campus (PJS 7) came to 12 in February alone.

From the statistics revealed in the meeting between the police and Taylor’s Student Council on 14 March, the data implied that students were the target of criminals in PJS 7 as it has a high student

population rate.

During the meeting, Police Inspector R. Muniandy A/L Rethiah informed students that police have identified a group of motorcyclists with a Yamaha 135 and Honda EX 5, a dark purple Toyota Camry and a silver Proton Waja and Proton Wira suspected to be involved in snatch thefts and assaults.

Other efforts in regards to keeping Taylor’s students safe are in their planning stages, which include a police booth for

the back entrance of Lakeside Campus, increased police patrols, CCTV installations and spotlights.

Muniandy advised students to adopt the listed habits below to keep themselves as safe as they can: - Walk in groups - Stay alert - Keep your gates closed - Walk on main roads, avoid shortcuts - Always walk in opposing direction to the traffic - TUSC

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First Taylor’s University Chinese team to join debate

By Chin Zhe Cheng

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he first Taylor’s Chinese debate team participated in the ‘14th National Varsity Chinese Debate Competition’ on 5 April at University Malaya.

Six members chosen after an internal audition among Taylor’s students were Chong Ting Shen, Lim Ken, Teo Khai Shen, Patrick Tan Yan Hong, Ling Gee You and Lucas Tiong Hoe Sheng.

The debate team practiced diligently for their first competition, which were against Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and University Malaysia Sabah.

Besides the debate team, Taylor’s Chinese Society advisor Leong Boon Tik and the members also worked as the research team to provide assistance.

One of the debate team members Patrick Tan Yan Hong said they were lucky to have such a knowledgeable and passionate advisor to guide them.

“The most impressive thing of him should be his questioning skills, the way he structures his questions, so that it is not easy to answer. It is like setting up an entrapment,” said Tan.

Members of the first Chinese debate team with a reasearch team member (fourth from the left).

As the founder and leader of the debate team, Lucas Tiong said, “The most important element in debate is how you can persuade the judges and even opponents, instead of just beating the opponents by your skill.”

Therefore, they practiced six days a week for at least four hours a day to enhance their confidence during debate, thus increasing their chance in winning the competition.

According to one of the debate team

member Chong Ting Shen, the practice went well and the team’s skills improved with every practice.

Tiong said he hoped that his team would be able to get into the quarter final of the competition and will grow stronger in the future.

A total of 24 universities, both public and private, participated in the ‘14th National Varsity Chinese Debate Competition’ from 5 to 13 April.

Pioneering leadership with Axiata Foundation

By Nor Amirah Amran

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eaders, get your suits and resumes ready because the Axiata University Leadership Development programme (ULDP) is back.

ULDP is a summer camp style programme that is open to Malaysian undergraduates who are currently studying in local or overseas universities.

The programme will be held for two weeks, from 8 August until 22 August 2014.

Axiata aims to foster leadership qualities in students through the programme by putting leadership concepts into practice

and promoting problem-solving based on real-world challenges in a changing business environment.

A selected group of students from the programme will be given the opportunity to apply what they have learnt through Axiata’s 8-week Structured Internship Programme in 2015.

Axiata encourages applications from students enrolled in studies related to engineering, maths, technology, science, social sciences, business and management.

The minimum requirement for this programme is 2nd Class Upper or CGPA 3.3 or any grades of equivalent value.

All expenses incurred during the

programme will be borne by Axiata.

The application is open from 17 February until 31 May 2014. Students can apply through the Axiata Young Talent programme Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ AxiataYoungTalentprogramme.

Axiata is one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Asia with controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia, as well as significant strategic stakes in India and Singapore.

For more information on the programme, visit www.axiatafoundation. com, email scholar@axiata.com or contact Axiata at 03-22638877.

ADP votes Crimson Club as new Student Union

By Nor Amirah Amran

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tudents of American Degree Transfer Program (ADP) can breathe a sigh of relief as their Student Union election finally came to a conclusion.

Crimson Club was announced as the new organising committee of ADP Student Union, defeating three other candidates which are Justice League, Despicable D and Tyro.

The announcement was made after a public counting was held in an ADP classroom on 7 March, following a threedays voting period.

President of Crimson Qistina Johari said while it is not going to be easy for them to meet the demands of every student, they do have a plan to make it possible.

“Our plan prioritizes student bonding and welfare through the preservation of ADP tradition, action being taken to improve present situations and smooth continuity of all the things that the students and I enjoy about ADP, long after we are gone,” she said.

Vice-President of Crimson Amirudin Mohamad Hishammudin said what Crimson wants most is for the students to connect and come together as a family.

According to Qistina, upon being elected into the office, she will tackle the problem faced by sophomores who are not getting substantial information pertaining to filling up their transfer forms.

“We plan to address that by forming a committee of experienced seniors to help counsel and make university decisions with the students,” she said.

Amirudin added that establishing this

Candidates delivering their manifesto at the ADP presidential debate.

group will be their priority as ADP students are primarily here to extend their studies overseas, and they will need someone to brief them on the procedures.

ADP Student Union is the student body that serves as the voice of ADP students.

Instead of voting for individuals to

make up a new council, ADP students vote for new or existing clubs and adapt its committee members as the new ADP Student Union.

Two committee members will be joining Taylor’s University Student Council to represent ADP students.

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Here to serve, here for the long run

By Joash Nicholas Ong

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hen I end my time here in Taylor’s, what would I leave behind? What will be my contribution to a community that made me what I am today?

So let us look at the reality of life itself.

When you stop to think about it, life seems like something we have plenty of time, but is that really so? Let us do some simple calculation. Say, that you are 20 years old?

Sound right? Now, take away the amount of time you have spent asleep. That’s half of one’s life in itself gone by already.

Now stop for a moment and think. What is the most significant achievement other than grades that I have received? That in itself was the realisation that made me stop and think.

At that juncture, I wanted not to be a blip on the face of this earth, but someone who would live on, in the memories of the people who knew me, not for my popularity, not for my outgoingness, but rather for my contributions.

As of now, that is what I am doing. My name is Joash Nicholas Ong, undergraduate student in the Taylor’s Law School, and I am the Vice-President of the Taylor’s University Student Council. To you, dear reader, my position is simple. I am ‘Here to Serve, Here for the Long Run’.

But why am I here speaking to you today? I believe that by now many of you would know of us in the Student Council, and need little reminding of what we are

supposed to do. Instead, I am here to remind you that no matter what your role in life is, yours is a position that can change the world. Of course, the Student Council is always ready to lend you the helping hand that you might need to resolve whatever problem that might trouble your good self, but personally, I like to take things a step further. I want to work with you to make Taylor’s a better experience for everybody.

And I believe that we do have the potential to make the change. No matter where you started, as of today you are all game-changers in our own right. I would say that each and every single one of us is important in the most stressed sense of the word, simply because we have almost boundless opportunity in front of us.

So, the question is, what are you going to do with it? What will you do with this education you worked so hard to achieve?

What in the world needs to change, and what part do you plan on playing in changing it?

Sceptical? Let us look at the evidence.

Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, what did all these great people have in common?

Simple. They persevered. Not one of them, and even more inspirational people gave up when the going became tough. They stood their ground, faced the challenges they were facing in the eye, and took it on.

To all of you, remember this: You are awesome. I am not advocating narcissism or undue self-pride. No one likes that in men or women. But I am suggesting that

Joash Nicholas Ong, Vice-president of Taylor’s University Student Council’.

believing in yourself is all that is needed to make yourself equally as great as who you aspire to be.

Because this is who we are, leaders in all of us. I am but just a man, but together, we are the voice to change the world. And now, let us start being that voice to change.

My name is Joash Nicholas Ong, and I look forward to working with you, and for you.

Let us start, by making this university, one that will be able to serve the needs of it’s students as effectively as we can possibly make it.

Change Your World representatives at Taylor’s College in SS15.

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alaysia-based non-governmental organization (NGO) Change Your World held a ‘One Day Off ’ campaign in Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus on 10 March, petitioning for a day off for domestic helpers.

“Maids here work overtime, and this campaign focuses on giving them one day off – it is that simple,” said one of the organization’s representatives, André Arcas.

Arcas and the other representatives of the campaign encouraged people to participate in the petition, by including their names and email addresses. After petitioning, Change Your World encouraged each petitioner to

have the campaign’s name written at the back of their hands.

Even though the campaign in Taylor’s have only lasted for three days, the NGO have been promoting this cause for almost two months since the middle of February.

Moreover, the organization held a presentation about the cause that explained how one’s voice could change the custom practice where maids would work 24/7.

During the campaign, the organization set up a fundraising booth by selling merchandises such as t-shirts and badges.

After campaigning in Taylor’s Lakeside Campus, the group moved to Taylor’s College Subang Campus on 17 March to encourage more people to participate.

Edited by Navshed Navin

NUS finds breakthrough in cloaking technology

Taylorians makes a stand to give domestic workers One Day Off

By Gavriella Tjandra

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Founded by Kelvin and Cathryn Lim, Change Your World organization concentrates on encouraging the public, notably the youth, to be aware and participate in diminishing global youth crises, women/children abuse and modern day slavery.

While its causes may be similar to other organizations’, Change Your World applies unique channels to promote its causes.

Having a musician, Jude Limus, as one of the managers makes it possible for the organization to set up campaigns more creatively.

Other than campuses and public tours, the NGO had previously held small music gigs, concerts and talks as their campaigns.

SINGAPORE: For decades, engineers and scientists have been trying to create the ideal cloaking device that would effectively make something invisible, and now a team from the national University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering has done just that.

The team led by Assistant Professor Dr Qiu Chengwei has successfully created a thermal illusion device to control thermal camouflage and invisibility using thermotic materials.

Every natural object emits thermal signatures which if were blocked or masked, could make the item undetectable.

By using Dr Qiu’s invention, one could block thermal signatures, leading to invisibility and provide illusionary camouflage which will have huge impacts on military technology.

Dr Qiu said, “This is the first time that such a cloak has been proven to work effectivel, based on thermotics. Our success means that now we have a cloaking technology that is cost-effective and easily scalable and applicable to even bigger objects, such as soldiers on night missions.”

Oxford student politician accused of sexual assault OXFORD: An unnamed Oxford student politician has been accused of sexually assaulting at least two people following the publication of an Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) pamphlet last year.

The Times reported that the pamphlet include anonymous accounts from students describing sexual assaults they experienced and a “culture of silence” which stopped them reporting the cases to authorities.

An anonymous female undergraduate, speaking to The Times, claimed that a ‘student politician’ sexually assaulted her last year after they met in a nightclub.

He reportedly convinced her to follow him to his room and then forced himself upon her several times, despite her opposition.

The anonymous student said, “It was one of the more naive thoughts I’ve ever had, but my thought process was basically: ‘He goes to Oxford, so it must be OK. People from Oxford are fine.”

She did not report the incident to the police or university authorities as she was afraid they would doubt her.

This student says that similar allegations were also made by another student, but that they had both been “shamed” into withdrawing their accusation.

She told The Times, “[The alleged attacker] was telling everyone involved that she was a slut, that she was crazy, that she was trying to cover up that she had slept with him.”

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Dance to a healthier life

By Nor Amirah Amran

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(Right) Deputy Minister of Education P. Kamalanathan officiating the dance marathon

ver 500 people showed up in their sports attires and matching red shirts to participate in a three-hour dance marathon and raise awareness on kidney disease.

The event, called World Kidney Day Dance Marathon 2014 was held at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, from 9am to 2pm on 16 March.

Vice Chairman of National Kidney Foundation Malaysia (NKF) Dr Thiruventhiran said the dance marathon is a fun and effective way to bring people together and educate them about the risk factors of chronic kidney disease.

“We hope that more and more people will understand the importance of early detection and to aid in the prevention of this disease,” said Dr Thiruventhiran.

He added that over RM15,000 has been raised through the event, and the money will be used to help 1550 underprivileged kidney failure patients under the care of NKF. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Education II P. Kamalanathan, who was there to officiate the event, said the most

important causes of chronic kidney disease in Malaysia are diabetes and hypertension.

“These diseases are also on the rise partly due to our sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits,” he added.

Country Group Fitness Manager of Celebrity Fitness Malaysia Krishnan Malhotra said because most kidney diseases are caused by lifestyle diseases, it is important to change people’s lifestyles.

“Many people have taken exercise for granted and this is why we have taken up the role of advocating about healthy living,” said Krishnan.

According to National Renal Registry data, over 5,000 Malaysians are being diagnosed with kidney disease every year, and the number is expected to rise in the future, added Dr Thiruventhiran.

The dance marathon was led by Celebrity Fitness Malaysia dance instructors, who kept the energy level high among participants throughout the marathon.

The event was organized by NKF and Celebrity Fitness in conjunction with the World Kidney Day celebration that fell on 13 March this year.

TUSC visits Singapore universities

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n 20 February, the Student Council made their first trip to Singapore to network and learn from our Singaporean neighbours.

Directors of Campus Relations, Dinesh Karthikesu and Sien Ka-Shing led 17 students to visit Nanyang Technology University, Singapore.

The Student Union of NTU was impressive, consisting of a portfolio easily twice the size of our own Student Council.

Both groups had a series of presentations about their respective campuses, how things were run and other miscellaneous events.

NTU’s Student Union has a considerable amount of autonomy, and financial independence from the University. This

allows them to take a more active, pastoral role in the welfare of the students, as well as organize many large scale events. Such events included Ministerial Forums, where they managed to secure the Prime Minister of Singapore to present at the forum for an evening, in addition to large scale festivals and sporting activities, amongst others.

The Student Council of National University of Singapore, the other institution visited, was mostly similar to NTU, and comprised of a significantly large amount of students. At the question and answer sessions, both universities shared experiences so far, and managed to learn valuable insights into running a student body efficiently. - TUSC

Taylor’s University Student Council with Nanyang Technological University Student Union.

Take charge in the workplace, women told

By Nor Amirah Amran

(From left to right) Maizon Omar, Dato’ Faridah Merican and Dr Wong Lai Sum speaking at the Women’s Day Seminar

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n honour of the International Women’s Day, Asia World Events and KL International Jazz joined hands to bring together eight women and one man in a seminar at University Malaya’s Experimental Theatre.

Asia World Events Chairman Maizon

Omar said while it is important to celebrate the success of women before and around us, it is also important to bear in mind the agendas that women still need to fight for, such as equality in workplace.

“Research has shown that countries can expand their economies by just giving

equal work opportunities to women,” said Maizon.

One of the speakers, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dr Wong Lai Sum said women need to be more proactive in business and take advantage of various funds provided for them.

“Women entrepreneurs should be knowledge-seeking to improve their marketing skills and knowhow of marketing requirements,” said Dr Wong.

“Gone are the days when women need to be led; we can now lead,” she added.

The other topics for the seminar were on importance of women’s health, safety and appearances, which befitted this year’s theme, ‘Inspiring Change’.

Additionally, University Malaya and

Asia World Events collaborated with KL International Jazz to hold an art exhibition in the Experimental Theatre during the seminar.

The exhibition featured paintings depicting women’s issues that showcased the talents of fourteen local artists, both female and male.

Meanwhile, a jazz tribute concert was held at the same venue that night, featuring KL Jazz Project, Shukuma Yang and Alemay Fernandez, among others.

An all-female running competition was also held on 9 March around University Malaya’s Arena as part of the festivity.

Maizon said this is the first time they have organized a series of events to commemorate Women’s Day in Malaysia.

The International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on 8 March every year.

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A better you through creative arts Blizzard releases

By David Prravin

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o you find yourself doodling often? Are there squiggles and sketches amidst your notes? Vast swaths of pages covered with your inkfilled fantasies?

If you do, then you’ll be glad to know this is helping you be a healthier and happier person.

How it can help you It helps memory and cognitive ability: According to a study, 70 percent of the patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia who took daily art therapy classes showed improvement in their memory and cognitive ability.

It reduces stress and depression: Countless studies show pouring your attention into a soothing hobby like art bumps up your endorphins and reduces stress. It simply takes your mind off your worries and places them in a different part of your brain. For your information, blood pressure can also drop.

It brings us into the present: Creating art means you have to pay attention to the here and now, rather than daydreaming or getting caught in habitual thought loops.

This kind of moment-to-moment presence eliminates distractive thinking.

It stimulates the imagination: If you’ve always considered yourself a left-brained person (practical, good with numbers and analytical), you can change your mind.

When you create art it helps to awaken the right side of your brain to creativity and imagination and ultimately affects not only your artwork, but how you see the world in general.

Expressing yourself artistically through your movements by dancing, or visually by painting, or even by writing can also strengthen your personal control, give you a sense of meaning and promote an influx of positive emotions.

What is art?

The artistic and the beautiful are boundless and subjective, essentially undefinable, yet incredibly powerful - something far greater than the sum of its parts. Poetry, for instance, is a string of words - but words that open up a whole other world of meaning. A painting is beautiful because it transcends the two dimensions of the canvas, capturing the beauty the painter had seen.

Why do we do it?

The motivation to artistically express oneself comes naturally to humans. Give a toddler a crayon and you’ll get scribbles on your walls, turn on some music and you’ll get some flailing limbs. The need to express ourselves is innate.

What makes art beautiful?

An artist is a person who attempts to delve into their core and comprehensively create a visual representation of the emotions

and thoughts they are experiencing. True beauty through artistic expression not only communicates what the artist is feeling but also speaks to the viewer’s soul by resonating with mutual emotions. Art is autobiographical in nature. The creativity that flows from us as we create art is bounded and shaped by the attempt to create a likeness of our true emotions.

Art at its most basic and advanced, is a form of language. It is a futile endeavour to capture the abstract and incommunicable stirrings within us, by creating a physical display in the hopes to convey a semblance of our true emotions to the viewer. Yet in its futility, amid the struggle to achieve perfection, the beauty of human spirit shines bright.

Create more than you consume In a world that is always connected to the internet, television, social media and ondemand everything, it can get very easy to spend the entire day consuming information and automatically respond to all the input that bombard us throughout the day. Art provides an outlet from the monotony of everyday life by infusing it with spontaneity and creativity. Art allows you to rebel and break the mould, it allows you to be create rather than consume.

Open a blank document and start typing.

Put pen to paper and sketch a drawing. Grab your camera and take a picture. Turn up the music and dance. Start a conversation and make it a good one.

Ikal Mayang returns to International Women’s Day with a bang!

Ikal Mayang 2 showcases short films within the theme ‘Unspoken Truth’.

By Shafina Sukiman

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ears of media have constricted women’s roles to that of mother, bitch, virgin and love interest.

Regardless of the reality of a woman’s identity, centuries of conditioning have led people to only think of women in these simple categories.

Ikal Mayang came to be with the intention of broadening these roles to have a narrative where women are given the freedom to behave and exist outside of those roles.

Following the idea that these stories should be told by women for women, the founders, Low Ngai Yuen and Ida Nerina hoped to

see a greater involvement of women in the media industry.

What started as a pet project by production house ‘Garang Pictures’ had quickly turned into a full on movement within two years of its conception.

For its second release, the team had set camp in Pavillion for a full day on 8 March for International Women’s day.

The project was focused on having women write and direct their own stories within the theme ‘Unspoken Truths’, where directors were given the chance to explore and express the themes in their own lives which usually go unsaid.

The growth for the project was not only reflected in the grandeur of its release that included a performance from Zee Avi, but this time around the project had adopted a different format, from their previous six 11-minute shorts to 10 two-minute shorts and five 15-minute short films by regional directors from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Brunei as well as locals.

When asked about how the project had grown so much in a short time, spokesperson Abby Latiff cheekily answered, “It was pure ambition and the drive to have these stories heard.”

In their efforts to include a wider demographic of viewers, they had opened a sponsorship programme where people can choose who they think would benefit most

from watching the films in theatre.

Their expansion had also includes themes that are usually excluded due to strict media policies like non-binary gender identities, transwomen and the suggestive portrayal of Malay muslims behaving in opposition to Islamic teachings.

Even though the two-minute shorts were hit and miss, the ones that hit truly hit hard. Returning director Junad M. Nor’s ‘Kalilah’ is a simple observation about the generational clash of the young urban Malay woman and their more traditional mothers’ expectations.

The youngest director, 12-year-old Leia Surin Aljoffrey, daughter of Taylor’s own Bernice Chauly, told her story of the battle between sexes allowed for a younger narrative to be included, therefore breaking the notion that one needs to be a certain aged to create something of value.

Meanwhile, the regional films explored more taboo themes like ‘Kebaya Kahwin’

by Nia Dinata that portrayed the casual violence and rights denied to a transwoman on a daily basis, as well as the failed love of a butch Thai motorcycle rider in Bangkok.

Plans are in the works to send the 11-minute short films to various film festivals throughout the year while the local shorts have been released on Ikal Mayang’s YouTube channel for further consumption by the masses.

free-to-play digital card game

Source: MMOChampionWoW

By Chin Zhe Cheng

A

fter five months of closed beta and two months of open beta, Blizzard has officially launched the freeto-play digital card game, ‘Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’ on 11 March.

Currently, the card game is only available for PC and Mac. However, Blizzard has stated that the game will arrive on iOS and Android.

Hearthstone is a collectible and strategy card game based on the Warcraft universe.

It features nine classes with different ability for players to choose. Similar to other collectible card games, it is a turn-based game that battles other players one-on-one.

In the game, player will use the ‘mana’ earned in each turn to summon a minion, equip a weapon, or casts spell depends on the amount of ‘mana’, personal strategy and available cards. The goal of the game is to lower the opponent’s health and win.

However, a player should not have more than 10 cards in their hand, therefore the following card will be discarded.

Players are able to acquire new cards through the gold they earned in games, completing challenges, arena mode or by cash to purchase a pack of five random cards.

Arena mode is a battlefield where the player build random decks and try to win as many matches as possible to get a great reward.

By getting more cards, players are able to build their own deck with a total of 30 cards. In order to defeat the opponent, players need to build and refine their deck with some strategies.

While for the extra same cards that the players acquired, they are able to disenchant the cards to obtain arcane dust. With a certain amount of arcane dust, the player is able to craft the card they want to make their deck stronger.

Blizzard production director Jason Chayes told USA Today, “We have been super overwhelmed and really happy with the level of response and how many people have picked it up since we went to open beta.”

As the launched of Hearthstone, Blizzard offered players who win three matches in Hearthstone a free mount, named ‘Hearthsteed’ in World of Warcraft.

If you are interested in Hearthstone, you can download the game client at Blizzard’s webpage.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

the inkSlingers

FE AT U R E S

7

Do not visit Shanghai until you read this

By Chin Zhe Cheng

T

ravelling is always fun as you are exploring new places and gaining more experience. While visiting Shanghai with friends in November 2013, I realized that there are a few tips that we need to know before we go to Shanghai.

One’s experience to Shanghai may vary due to their interests and purpose of travelling to Shanghai. Nevertheless, no matter what experiences you are looking for, you do need to know some important tips for your own convenience, in order to fully enjoy your trip.

Season April to June would be the best time to visit Shanghai because the weather is pleasantly cool at that time. Do avoid winter and summer season in Shanghai.

Language Most of the citizens in Shanghai are proficient in Mandarin only. Therefore, it is helpful if you know some basic Mandarin to ask for direction and avoid from getting lost. .

Transport Cards Prepare a transport card for your

The City God Temple of Shanghai (Cheng Huang Miao)

convenience. You can get a transport card in any subway station. This could save a lot of your precious time lining up for subway ticket. Shanghai’s subway is pretty convenient if you know where you want to go.

Taxi Shanghai’s taxi drivers will only take four persons per trip. The starting price in

the morning is RM7.50 (RMB14), while at nighttime, after 11pm would be RM9.50 (RMB18). The chances of getting a taxi is high, therefore you do not need to worry about it, no matter how late you want to travel.

Expenses Prepare more Renminbi (RMB) for your trip. Do consider your length of stay

in Shanghai, the places you want to visit, transportation fees, accommodation and food expenses.

Planning A popular China-based website called www.dianping.com contains a huge amount of up-to-date reviews on everything, where you can research interesting activities or sights prior to your visit. However, one would need to be able to read chinese to understand the content of the site.

Passport Do not forget to apply for visa. It needs to be done a week before your trip. When you are in Shanghai, it is okay if you do not bring your passport out with you. However, if a police happened to ask for it, do not panic and bring them to the hotel you are staying at to show it to them because this is your right.

As a traveller, you should be polite and courteous to them. This should be the basic rule for every traveller. Besides, consider the price when you want to buy something and if you feel it is reasonable, go for it. When you have gotten everything prepared, you are ready to enjoy your trip.

Sony’s next flagship, Xperia Z2

By Chin Zhe Cheng

T

he arrival of the Xperia Z2 has broken the annual flagship product upgrade cycle again because it has just been five months since the launch of Xperia Z1.

‘Details make the difference’ is the tagline for Sony Xperia Z2, thus you may have noticed that Xperia Z1 and Z2 look similar.

However, Sony has actually improved Z2 in terms of build, display, power, speakers, camera, battery, and operating system (OS).

In comparison with Z1, the Z2 is actually slimmer and lighter with 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm and 163g, while Z1 is 144 x 74 x 8.5mm and 170g.

Although Z2’s screen is bigger than Z1

by 0.2 inches, which makes it 5.2 inches, it still has lower pixel density because Z2’s resolution remains the same as Z1.

Nevertheless, the In-plane switching (IPS) technology that provides sharp pictures and accurate colours in every angle, and Live Colour LED technology that is able to create richer pictures with balancing colour shades make Z2 a better screen.

In terms of power, Z2 has been upgraded to 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM, which makes the phone faster.

Sony has also improved Z2’s speakers with digital noise cancellation that provides different environment modes that enable users to enjoy music everywhere.

Z2’s main camera remains with Z1,

which is 20.7 megapixel, however Z2’s front camera has been increased to 2.2 megapixel with added background defocus mode in the shot selection.

Besides, Z2 enables the users to film in 4K (Ultra high definition resolution), and SteadyShot feature is also offered to stabilize the video and to prevent shaky hands effect.

Battery life is definitely another important part of a phone, thus Sony has improved the Z2’s battery to 3200 mAh to expand the battery life.

The global release date for Sony Xperia Z2 is April, and the official price for it is about RM3200 (GBP599). However, the pricing for the Z2 in Malaysia is yet to be confirmed.

Source: Sony Malaysia

The influence of rave cultures on Malaysian youth

By Gavriella Tjandra

T

he third day of Future Music Festival Asia 2014 was cancelled due to drugs-related deaths. Six people died of methamphetamines, and three others were in critical, but stable conditions in the hospital. The six deaths were all Malaysians, and the three were Malaysian, Singaporean, and Australian.

Rave parties had been known as one of the most influential channels to popularize EDM – electronic dance music, and often associated with groups of dancing youngsters to repetitive electronically engineered music.

Aside from the music, raves have a long history of drugs-sharing (as it focused on communal activities).

Rave culture in Malaysia had evolved more into a concept where drugs-taking became much more significant and

important than the music.

Drug users were able to smuggle the prohibited (in some parts of the world, controlled) substances into the festival grounds, despite the tight security. Now that two very anticipated music festivals were cancelled because of them, how would this affect Malaysian ravers?

Taylor’s Event Management third-year student, Veronica Sulung said, “I am sort of sure this is going to be the end of rave parties here in Malaysia.”

“It is unfair that they had to do such a thing, what about the other 40,000 people who can enjoy the music without drugs?” said the 21-year-old avid music festival goer.

“I am sure that it is going to be difficult to have more raves in the future, because artists will surely be doubtful it will be cancelled again,” she continued.

Agreeing with Veronica on the longterm effect of the cancellations, Zoe Chew,

a Taylor’s Business School’s third-year student said, “International music festivals like this will most likely bring foreigners into the country, boosting Malaysian GDP, and at the same time, stimulating growth of other industries.”

Emphasizing in the purpose of rave/ dance culture – bringing people together Chew continued, “You do not need drugs for to enjoy such fantastic genres of music, because dance culture itself is an amazing thing; it brings people from different backgrounds together.”

The 21-year-old, who had been producing EDM herself, continued, “Music festivals should not have been cancelled for any reason, because they act as catalysts to expose local talents as well. So the fact that they cannot be seen because of these drugtakers is seriously unjust.”

On the contrary, alumni Edwin Chen, thought that the cancellation of FMFA was

justified, as it displayed how the Malaysian government took the necessary immediate action when death due to drugs occurred, to show how serious they were about illegal substances.

Shafina Sukiman, a final-year Taylor’s Communication School student said, “The cancellation of LIC might be a gross overreaction, because if their main concern was drugs, they could just amp up police presence and onsite medical services. It just looks like a really lazy move.”

Back to the 1950s London partying scene, when it all first started, raves were meant to be a medium for people to enjoy music most clubs did not play. Emphasizing more on the beats, it gathered people who did not enjoy commercialized music in warehouses.

Decades later, raves increasingly invited bigger crowds, putting young talented producers into the mainstream music markets.

the inkSlingers Thursday, 10 April 2014

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IS#19:100414(1)

National University of Singapore Student Union, pg 5

One Day Off campaign for domestic workers, pg 4

(From left to right) Datin Azrene Ahhmad, Dee Dee Mahmood and Maizon Omar speaking at the Women’s Day Seminar, pg 5

Shanghai’s transport card, pg 7

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For internal circulation only

Project Freeze booth in front of Student Life Centre, pg 1

Over 500 people joined Dance Marathon, pg 5

Future Music Festival Asia 2014 stage, pg 7

Taylor’s University signed a MoU with RTM, pg 1