The student newsletter of INTI College Subang Jaya
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conformity, good? lolita; up close and personal head of the 34th has a great smile INTI cliques : the in-crowd
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EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Naomi Ong Managing Editors J.C. Lee, Nahjan Amer Nordin WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS Hafizah Jamal, J.C. Lee , Jerusha Sanjeevi, Nadia Wong, Nahjan Amer Nordin, Qisti Parr B. Zahairi DESIGN Creative Director & Layout Artist Inoue Taki PHOTOGRAPHY Paul Isaac Xavier, Kevin Tan, Tan Guo Yi, Benjamin Tan, Jay Hong OPERATIONS Operations Directors Jared Wong EMAIL editorial.icsj@gmail.com
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Negative emotions such as anxiety and depression can weaken your immune system.
In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.
About 200,000,000 M&Ms are sold each day in the United States. Coconuts kill about 150 people each year. That’s more than sharks.
Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.
Dear readers, Welcome to a brand new semester! This month, I2 shines the spotlight on unique INTI individuals, and explores the issue of ‘Conformity’ in our very own INTI College Subang Jaya. ‘Be Yourself’ is an often used catchphrase, but how many of us actually dare to ‘be ourselves’? This month, we highlight the stories of people who actually have gone against convention and dared to freely express themselves. Do read our exclusive interview with Aiko, ICSJ’s resident Lolita and get to know the girl behind the frills and bows whom everyone laughs and jeers at. Perhaps, you might even start to respect her, for her sheer courage, if nothing else. We also managed to sit down two well-known and well-respected people in college on separate issues; Anthropology and Sociology lecturer Ms. Lim Siow Fei and 34th INTIMA President Hariharan Kanan. Get to know our new Student Council president in ‘34th President Hariharan: More Than a Smile?’ and find out why Ms. Lim says on conformity is good in ‘Why Conformity is Good’. Happy reading! Editor-In-Chief Naomi Ong
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WHAT CLIQUES IN INTI?
BY QISTI ZAHAIRI
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ost of us have probably experienced this. You know, back in high school where the same people stick together all the time, forming a type of division within the school by certain differences in terms of interests. Well, what about in INTI? Do such groups exist here as well? As a matter of fact, they do. Here is a short list of a few cliques available in INTI College Subang Jaya: 1. The Gaming Junkies OWNING, UNSTOPPABLE, GODLIKE! Yes, these groups of people certainly love their games. Games such as Defence of the Ancients (DoTA) and Battlefield 2142 - to name a few. They love games to the point of skipping class to play it with their friends. Or even better, they play it during class itself. 2. The Jocks Now this group is common anywhere. You know, those people who stick together like a pack of wolves always and act as if they own the place? You would know them by their guttural laugh, and how they just love to talk about themselves. 3. The Bookworms All those people you see in the library most of the time: reading their books quietly, and not making a sound? Yeah, those who you usually see burying their noses in books and never leaving their place for hours.
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The Workaholics
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Ever wonder who makes up the incrowd in INTI College Subang Jaya? Qisti Zahairi investigates the social groups that exist within the campus compounds.
The Workaholics busy themselves with so much work, they do not have any time for social activities like… even talking! They are always taking up parttime jobs which eat into their free time. As a result, they would always come for classes the next morning exhausted out of their minds. 5. The WiFi Leeches This is justifiable. INTI has really good internet connectivity so it makes sense to fully utilize it, right? You can always find them within a few feet of a powerplug point. Doing work, playing online games, or socializing on Facebook with friends from college… in college! 6. The Bunny Ballers They are usually at the basketball court, jumping like bunnies trying to get the ball inside the basket. They are always swimming in sweat. If they are not jumping on the court, they are usually seen hugging the water dispenser for sweet, sweet water. 7. The Football Maniacs A common sight at mamak stalls and Asia Café, these people support their favourite football teams with fierce pride. You can see them all hunched over college computers watching and discussing last night’s game. The extent that some of them would react to a score board can be inspiring and frightening at the same time.
sleep all the way through to the end of class… which they always seem to wake up just in time for.
9. The Music Buffs These are the students who are musically inclined to eat, sleep and breathe music. You always see them around college either obnoxiously blaring their music through their hand phones, with their guitars craddled on their laps, or with their earphones plugged into the library computers playing music at full blast.
10. The Unconformers The Unconformers are a group of students that likes to seclude themselves away from any social group and/or activities in INTI. They would rather go against the flow than swim with it. They always have their own unique sense of fashion, hobbies, likes, dislikes, etcetera. 8. The Dreamers Why trouble yourselves with the worries of the world when you can sleep through it? They are always the ones who come to class with half-opened red eyes just to
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MEET AIKO JERUSHA SANJEEVI
It’s here at last : INTI Insider answers the burning questions and clears the mystery surrounding INTI’s very own Lolita.
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f you’ve been around INTI, you know about it. The white bows have bobbed past you, and the pink frills have swept by. The pleated skirts swayed beside you. The ribbons have met your wondering eyes. If you’d looked even closer though, what would have also met you was a warm, goodnatured smile. Aiko (as she prefers to be known as) is a Singaporean who has been living in Malaysia for ten years. She is currently studying in the Diploma in ICT program in INTI College Subang Jaya.
愛 子 One Wednesday afternoon, I sat down with the cheery 18 year old for a little chat. All eyes turned, as usual, when she arrived dressed in her full Lolita glory. Enthralled by her fascinating outfit, my mind took awhile to fall back to earth and into the interview. But when it did, it was interesting. Folks, she’s not what you think.
Can you explain a little about Lolita to us?
Lolita is a fashion from Japan that is based on the Rococo fashion. It’s not cosplay [costume play] or a costume; it’s a style of dressing. And it has nothing to do with the novel named Lolita!* *Refers to the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, often confused as being related to Lolita fashion.
How long have you been dressing up in Lolita? Since I was 14.
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5 people also try to hide and take pictures of me. And they [would either] stare or laugh. How do you feel about them making comments about you?
What inspired you to dress up in Lolita? Was there a turning point or a specific decision? Nothing much, it’s just the style itself. I like the fashion. Do you have friends who also dress up in Lolita? Or a group that gathers together? Yeah, sure. I’m the vice-president of the Malaysian Lolita Club, actually. So I know quite a lot of Lolitas. How much do Lolita outfits cost? For one whole set that is non-branded, you can get for less than RM700. But for a branded whole set, it would be more than RM3,000. You have an online business selling Lolita dresses. Tell us a bit about it. I act as a middle person. I buy the dresses from Japan and China and sell them.
If you want to laugh, it’s okay. That means you just don’t understand Lolita. But on a positive side, I also feel glad that at least I’ve made someone laugh or made someone happy. So it’s okay. Have you felt pressured to conform in your dressing? No. Lolita is my life. I can’t live without my dresses. I don’t own a single pair of pants. What then do you feel about nonconformity? I think we should be more open-minded to other lives, cultures, and fashion. It’s not necessary to be common. What would you like to say to everyone? Don’t treat me like a weirdo, I’m actually very friendly! Don’t run away from me. I’m not that scary. But don’t stalk me for pictures. If you want a picture, just come and talk to me. Just ask me. It’s okay. Also, please support my business!
After the interview, Aiko walked out as cheery as she had walked in. As I watched her leave, I pondered what it was exactly that put the twinkle in her eye and spring in her step. I knew for sure that it took courage. I knew for sure that it took strength of mind, given the attitudes of those around her. And I also knew for sure that it took a good grasp of her sense of self. Many of us have grown up on the feel-good, Disney-esque, be yourself mottos. But I wonder how many of us would live our lives based on it, if it took such great lengths to. The courage of Aiko to remain true to her passions, despite the formidable pressures of conformity, reminds me that being yourself and being yourself in some situations are two different matters. In Aiko, we see a remarkable constancy; as she lets her clothes weave not only a proud signature of her identity but also an impressive mark of her fortitude. Most significantly, it strikes me that she does not mind being laughed at. She is not hiding. She is not running away. She is free. Meet Aiko: the real one.
Do people make weird comments about your dressing? What is the weirdest comment anyone has ever made to you? Yeah, they do. They’ll go like ‘what’s wrong with you?’ Well, when I was back in Singapore, there was this guy who was driving a van. He stopped beside me and horned [honked] at me. He rolled down his window and asked me “Hey, are you nuts? Are you trying to look like a baby-doll? Are you crazy?” I told him it’s just a fashion and there’s nothing wrong. He said I was insane and then he drove off!
Visit Aiko’s website at http://yumia.yuku.com
Have people here in INTI treated you that way? Yeah, they’ve said weird stuff. Sometimes in lifts, everyone would be talking inside. But when I walk in, suddenly there will be silence. Some
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Why is Conformity Good?
BY HAFIZAH JAMAL
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Hafizah Jamal interviews Anthropology and Sociology lecturer Ms. Lim Siow Fei on just how valid conformity is to YOU.
7 “Conform and be dull,” a wise man once said. “Only dead fish swim with the stream,” said another. “One who walks in another’s tracks leaves no footprints” said the last. Have you wondered why connotations associated with conformity always seem negative?
Ms. Lim defines Conformity as “going with the majority and going against ones wishes”. If you grew up watching movies, you will realize how many of them depicted of an outcast- usually someone small, rebellious and “different” making a monumental contribution to society. Yes, Simba, Ariel and Mr. Gump Sr. may have deviated from the norm to achieve success but this does not mean you need to. An hour’s interview with Ms. Lim was sufficient to convince me that perhaps conventionality… is not all that bad. Conformity is, as defined by our lecturer, going with the majority and going against one’s wishes. People conform for a variety of reasons including fear, reward, self-esteem and social acceptance- but the most important factor would be for “survival”. In today’s 21st century environment, the instinct to survive still remains as powerful as our ancestors who had to avoid swift predators: A once physical survival-ofthe-fittest game has turned into a social one. It is our EQ (Emotional Quotient), not IQ that matters now. Thus, your ability to communicate and persuade others shines brighter than your knowledge to solve difficult mathematical equations. Although we are living in a “Dog-eatdog” world, we nonetheless need to seek our greatest resource- humans for social support to meet our goals. After all, your network is your net worth. Of the resources you will need to achieve your goal, you will meet conformists who are subdivided into the “weak” and the “strong.” The weak conform due to fear (such as ostracization) whereas the latter are those who separate their actions from their personal beliefs, aware that sometimes their actions may go against their own values. Ms. Lim regards them as “practical” and “pragmatic” goaloriented group of people who know what they want and the means to
achieve it. Consider this: In high school, when you were told to tuck in your shirt, did you do so because you wanted to, or because you just wanted to save yourself time and avoid punishment? This is the same ordeal as the real world. We are in college because we are trailing behind a well-trodden path- to obtain a degree, get a job, get a house and settle down. So what if you are not leaving behind any footprints? There is no necessity to reinvent the wheel. Our lecturer continues, “It’s how you find your way in the system. You can conform to the way you want it, in a way that you can tweak the system a bit. So outwardly you are conforming, but you are changing the system in your own way… you stay long enough to change it.” Besides, conformity is difficult to escape from as it is an automatic human response. Anything that has survived long enough in our society must be there for a reason. Our culture, for example, is defined such that we are encouraged to follow its practices. Conformity ensures that with continuous practice, predictability and expectations follow suit.
Conformists and nonconformists are floating on the same boat, just on opposite ends. In a Malaysian paradigm, for example, we conform to the continuity of “tolerance” to achieve our goal to “survive” in our multi-racial environment. These fixed ideals are an unspoken set of rules that serve as our “lifeline” so that you know your role in society. To survive, then, is to know these rules well enough. We have all been dealt a hand; it’s up to you to decide which card to play, when to call, raise or fold. We have all been unwillingly assigned specific roles in our social group, and while it serves to be beneficial for social interaction within our group, remaining in the same one would prove to be detrimental in group projects. The danger is groupthink – a situation where people think alike and new ideas are not tolerated. The peril of
groupthink is that everyone will assume the same social roles held in their social group- subsequently, the designated “leader” is likely to guide the group into an unsuitable approach to completing the task. When working among friends, you cannot be vocal when you have been the listener the whole time. That is, you cannot reorganize and shift people’s roles in the social structure at one sitting, then re-shift back to its original position post-assignment.
An early example of unconformity: who can forget the counter-culture Hippie movement of the early sixties? A successful group instead composes of students who are similar (as in intelligence and attractiveness) but are not acquainted with one another. In these groups, though there will be conflicts, they will also be “forced to re-evaluate, question and stimulate each other”. And unlike your established clique, the advantage is that the social roles have yet to be dealt. Furthermore, the social exchange theory which proposes that perceived benefits outweigh the costs provides justification for conformity. We conform because it is to our advantage; we conform because it makes life easier. “People deviate because they perceive there is a better alternative,” Ms. Lim concludes. Though we may take pride in deviating (our tastes in fashion may differ from the majority), these choices are not costly to the end-product, our survival. Recall the case of a male student, Andrew Martinez, UC Berkeley, who dressed in a handkerchief to college. It may seem like harmless fun, perhaps inconsequential at first, but by deviating from wearing proper clothes, Martinez did not convince anyone why bareness was the “better alternative”. As my friend, Jerusha Sanjeevi, put it, “conformists and non-conformists are floating on the same boat, just on opposite ends.” We’re all standing theresome are just rocking it harder than the others. 1 2
James Frank Dobie
Malcolm Muggeridge
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Hariharan starts this new semester as the new INTIMA president and he admits to feeling tense. He has every reason to be, as J.C. Lee finds out.
34th PRESIDENT HARIHARAN: MORE THAN A SMILE? “[President] Joshan did a lot. [President] May Chong did a lot. So I’ll do more than them.” BY J.C. LEE
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e pauses as if to add further, but finishes instead with a grin. His campaign for the presidency before plays out in the same stress-free manner: and he never fails to smile in front of his constituents. Two days of fierce competition between the running candidates for INTIMA ended with Hariharan winning by a small margin of votes. He is glowing, ‘Of course, I’m happy… and a bit nervous because I had to go through the votes, right?’ HISTORY “Leaders are not born, they are made” his ‘Vote for Hariharan’ poster reads. But what made Hariharan into a leader? Hariharan started his tenure as an INTI student in Nilai, but continued his studies in Subang Jaya after only one semester. Under the charismatic leadership of the then-student council president V.J. Anand of INTI Nilai, he was inspired to be more involved in such activities. That and his self-admitted love
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of leading both played a part in securing his position today. Hariharan was also a participant in many different societies in INTI Nilai and doubly so in INTI Subang Jaya. As part of INTI Nilai’s INTI Hostel Resident Board (IHRB), he has previously organized activities such as Baton Marathons and All-You-Can-Eats. In INTI College Subang Jaya, he was a member of the INTI IET Student Chapter (IISC) but students here may be more familiar with him as the previous Indian Cultural Society Chairperson. Hariharan has memorably organized such events as Indian Cultural Night and Diwali Night.
DIRECTION Hariharan, in these next few semesters, will have the student body of INTI College Subang Jaya scrutinizing his every decision after laying down what is a largely ambitious direction for his council. He is looking to do something different from the previous INTIMA presidents, and that is a tall statement. The focus of the Student Council’s efforts under Hariharan is to emphasize more on events. Hariharan plans to begin with dying clubs (a problem INTI has too often faced) which he is going to help revive. Following this, he looks to establish a policy in which every club is to have at least one event every semester. Proposals for events are also to be given to the INTIMA council no less than two to three months before the said event, so that INTIMA would be able to help them with publicity and sponsors. He also hopes to further look into the possibilities of opening more booths in
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the main lobby and publicizing in lifts which the management has recently permitted. While the progression towards such a procedure may at first seem difficult, it bears the willingness to improve upon itself even if plans now are overly simplified. Given the recent number of public college events (such as Taylors’ College’s Gossip Concert): Hariharan remains sceptical of INTI doing the same. He is doubtful over inviting the public for events, given that there may be deviants who will cause trouble. Yet he is not throwing out the possibility and suggests hiring more guards as a way to subvert such an incident. He suggests doing so by hiring students to be in charge of security for such events. STUDENT PARTICIPATION The population of INTI College Subang Jaya is, for the most part, strictly divided in terms of majors and programs. When questioned about unifying the college, Hariharan had a quick answer: Orientation Day. Rather than what he describes as the ‘normal boring lectures’ on societies during Orientation Day, he proposes to make the introduction of clubs more
exciting. This, he suggests, can be done by again establishing booths and finding inventive ways to encourage new students to join college activities. In response to INTIMA week being very similar, he replies that INTIMA Week should also be revised. Hariharan continues by adding that the entire INTIMA Week should be publicized extensively and be given more activities such as lucky draws in order to pull in old and new students alike. Collaboration between clubs, he adds, would also be vital in bringing the different programs together; programs that would otherwise not socialize with one another. VERDICT Hariharan is unquestionably friendly, which will help in his campaign to open up the council to the students. This alone, however, will not last him as he will face the more taxing part of his presidency in the coming year. The direction which he has set for his council bears the mark of the optimism that besets all new leaders, yet it remains very vague at this stage. Despite this, we see that he is hitting all the right marks. Whether he is successful: the verdict is now up to the students.
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STUDENT OPINION The INTI Editorial Board held a survey around INTI College Subang Jaya on just how its students should or should not conform. Here are their replies:
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ow should a student of INTI College Subang Jaya act (for example, in the way they dress or talk)? Should there be anything he or she should not do? “As a young adult, it is not how a student should act about how they would behave or act. As young adults, they should know better what’s right and wrong, instead of having people tell them [or] spoon-feeding them like a baby. I believe moderation is the keyword. Not too messy or overdressed. Behaviour and attitudes-wise, we should be ready to accept comments/critique for self improvement.” - Shim Jun Wui, 22, BMAUH
“They should dress casually and talk casually (no political or religious issues).” - Ng Tze How, 21, BMAUH
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“Students should wear anything they want but discipline is needed to show that we are a recognized college.” - Teong Yu Heng, 19, BMAUH
“A student of INTI College Subang Jaya should dress appropriately in the sense that they should dress decently apart from formal wear. Besides, a student of this college should welcome international students warmly.” - [contributor wishes to remain anonymous]
“Be well-mannered and act like a civilized human being. Talking about dress code, please don’t wear your pyjamas to college... smile to everyone even though you have no idea who they are but [you know] they’re INTIans.” - Kukshana Ranjini A/P Segaran, 18, CALUK
11 Do you have any interesting stories about friends who have been treated badly because of the way they act or dress, et cetera? “One of my friends finds it hard to concentrate because one of my girl classmates always wears a “see-through” shirt and a colourful bra plus her pants are too short, you can almost see her butt! So he always tries his best not to sit near her.”
because she was wearing a sleeveless shirt. Finally, she wore a jacket and was allowed to sit for her final exam. One of the lecturers explained that they were afraid that all the guys around her would not be able to concentrate at all because of her “too sexy” clothing. The lecturers were actually afraid that the guys might fail the final exam!”
- [contributor wishes to remain anonymous]
- [contributor wishes to remain anonymous] Do you have something you want to voice out about today’s column? Send your replies to editorial.icsj@gmail.com and your opinion might come out in the coming issue of the INTI Insider!
- [contributor wishes to remain anonymous]
“My [female] friend from another college was wearing a sleeveless shirt to college for her final exam. But she was barred from the exam venue just
hear the guy’s friends teasing her about liking the guy behind her back. She is misunderstood because of her cheerful character.”
“Yes, a friend of mine who is always very cheerful. She acts in a very ‘excited’ way every time she meets a friend of hers even if she isn’t that close to him/ her. One day, after class she shouted ‘bye’ in a very excited tone towards this guy friend of hers. Since that day, I
Note: All accounts are strictly the opinion of the people interviewed. Opinions are not to be misconstrued as the view of I2 personnel.
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