letter Adam Goh ’18
I refer to Soh Wee Yang’s opinion article, “A Hollow Core.” While his concerns are valid, our college does have a core value system, albeit one that is not widely discussed or mentioned. The Disciplinary Policies and Procedures set forth by the Dean of Students’ Office explicitly mentions what being a part of “a community of learning” entails: “ethical conduct and respect for norms for civil behaviour.” [1] Nonetheless, much of our student population appear unaware of these guidelines. This begs the question—how effective are shared values if they are merely symbolic? I believe that moving forward, we need to have a genuine conversation on how our community can live out these values, whether these values truly represent the community, or whether we need a shared value system at all. Ultimately, a shared value system needs to have tangible outcomes—otherwise it will just be empty rhetoric.
[1] “Disciplinary Policies and Procedures.” http://studentlife.yale-nus.edu.sg/policies/disciplinary-policies-and-procedures/. The reference further defines what it means by “ethical conduct” and “respect for norms for civil behaviour.”