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You'd expect an article highlighting the plight of a less well-to-do student to tug at a few hearts.
You'd think it would set minds thinking when it touched on the danger of a university programme breeding elitism if cries for financial aid went unheeded.
You'd be wrong, if the reaction to the article online is any indication.
Ms Koh Choon Hwee, 24, former editor of Kent Ridge Common, an independent news site, wrote "Will the USP turn into a Middle-Upper Socioeconomic Cluster?" on Oct 9 last year.
It highlighted how Ms Keira Chen, a student in the National University of Singapore's (NUS) University Scholars Programme(USP), could not afford to stay at its residential college.
Ms Koh reported that Ms Chen's parents support their family of five on earnings of less than $2,000 a month.
Ms Chen's mother is a cleaner, while Ms Chen gives tuition six times a week to help her family out.
It is not known what her father works as.
The USP is not a scholarship disbursement programme, although its students can apply for, or be recipients of other scholarships.
The programme, which admits 180 students a year, offers the freedom to explore across disciplines a wide range of extra-curricular and overseas opportunities.
Last August, when the USP moved into NUS' new educational hub, University Town (UTown), a two-year compulsory residential component was introduced.
The cheapest accommodation - a non-air-conditioned single room along the corridor - meant an additional $11,060 a year on top of tuition fees.
Ms Chen, a third-year history-USP student, followed up with two articles: "Another View: Will the USP turn into a Middle-Upper Socioeconomic Cluster?" on Oct 15 and "Meritocracy? Money-Talk-crazy!" on Oct 22.
The less-privileged avoid taking loans because there is no certainty these can be repaid should anything happen to the borrower, she explained.
She described herself as a B-student who takes 31/2 hours to understand something compared to her friends who take just two hours, and so, while taking on more part-time work may alleviate her financial problem, it would affect her grades.
This prompted a student to comment on a private USP Facebook page that Ms Chen was "...stupid and you seem so proud of it", attracting three "likes" for the comment.
Another student said Ms Chen was "not the brightest crayon in the box", adding that "the way she writes about how abominable she is at studying is begging to be parodied...
"It's like she's baiting us. Sorry I took the bait."
The comment drew another three "likes".
NUS student Michelle Tan Minxuan wrote to The New Paper, dismayed that the university did not punish these flamers, as the comments were made on a private Facebook page.
"If you see the comments, they are not just awful, but also incredibly tasteless. Cyberbullying can lead to mental disorders and depression," she said.
But others took issue with Ms Koh's one-sided writing, claiming it gave the "wrong impression", that the USP was filled with elite, uncaring faces.
"This is untrue," wrote political science-USP student Augustin Chiam, 23, in "A Response To Kent Ridge Common's 'Cyberbullying in NUS'", published on studentry.sg last Tuesday.
"From the screenshots and commentary she provided, the number of people complicit in this act of cyberbullying can be counted (on the fingers of ) both hands.
"By leaving out all the sympathetic and empathetic responses, she framed the generic USP community as the evil one...
"One-sided writing like these serve only to give the public the wrong impression that USP is filled with elite, uncaring faces."
Agreeing, political science-USP student Alfred Wan, 21, said: "As with all things on social media, we are made immune to the specifics and take home only the general message...
"It is inevitable that the public, without interaction with USP students, take what they both feel and read as the truth."
Both Mr Wan and Mr Chiam stressed that they were against cyberbullying.
Ms Koh and Ms Chen did not respond to our e-mails.
NUS student Tan Xiang Yeow summed up the saga in "Cyberbullying In NUS: A Response To Some Comments" in the Kent Ridge Common last Tuesday.
He wrote: "Cyberbullying is a concern. But the crux of this debate goes beyond cyberbullying.
"It's about financial inequality, about people who are deprived of chances in our evolving educational landscape and people who are willing to talk about this in the open...
"The aim of Koh Choon Hwee's articles is not to throw a negative light on these issues. It is to bring these issues into the open so that there can be frank discussion on how to provide equal opportunities to students from the sandwiched class.
"The reactions to her writings by some parties are exaggerated."
NUS replies:
All NUS students are expected to behave in a responsible and respectful manner.
The postings mentioned in the article published by Kent Ridge Common took place in a private Facebook group that has no official standing in NUS or the University Scholars Programme (USP).
The University is disappointed with the comments that some students had made.
We hope, and encourage, that our students will act respectfully at all times.
When the incident occurred, the Director of USP wrote to all the students on the Facebook page, urging them to practise responsible behaviour in their interactions within the group.
USP had looked into the matter and concluded that it did not reach an intensity or scale that demanded disciplinary action.
USP engages with the student concerned on her participation in various USP programmes.
Likewise, USP will provide her with direct assistance where necessary.
Both NUS and USP will make every effort to support all our students.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
You'd think it would set minds thinking when it touched on the danger of a university programme breeding elitism if cries for financial aid went unheeded.
You'd be wrong, if the reaction to the article online is any indication.
Ms Koh Choon Hwee, 24, former editor of Kent Ridge Common, an independent news site, wrote "Will the USP turn into a Middle-Upper Socioeconomic Cluster?" on Oct 9 last year.
It highlighted how Ms Keira Chen, a student in the National University of Singapore's (NUS) University Scholars Programme(USP), could not afford to stay at its residential college.
Ms Koh reported that Ms Chen's parents support their family of five on earnings of less than $2,000 a month.
Ms Chen's mother is a cleaner, while Ms Chen gives tuition six times a week to help her family out.
It is not known what her father works as.
The USP is not a scholarship disbursement programme, although its students can apply for, or be recipients of other scholarships.
The programme, which admits 180 students a year, offers the freedom to explore across disciplines a wide range of extra-curricular and overseas opportunities.
Last August, when the USP moved into NUS' new educational hub, University Town (UTown), a two-year compulsory residential component was introduced.
The cheapest accommodation - a non-air-conditioned single room along the corridor - meant an additional $11,060 a year on top of tuition fees.
Ms Chen, a third-year history-USP student, followed up with two articles: "Another View: Will the USP turn into a Middle-Upper Socioeconomic Cluster?" on Oct 15 and "Meritocracy? Money-Talk-crazy!" on Oct 22.
The less-privileged avoid taking loans because there is no certainty these can be repaid should anything happen to the borrower, she explained.
She described herself as a B-student who takes 31/2 hours to understand something compared to her friends who take just two hours, and so, while taking on more part-time work may alleviate her financial problem, it would affect her grades.
This prompted a student to comment on a private USP Facebook page that Ms Chen was "...stupid and you seem so proud of it", attracting three "likes" for the comment.
Another student said Ms Chen was "not the brightest crayon in the box", adding that "the way she writes about how abominable she is at studying is begging to be parodied...
"It's like she's baiting us. Sorry I took the bait."
The comment drew another three "likes".
NUS student Michelle Tan Minxuan wrote to The New Paper, dismayed that the university did not punish these flamers, as the comments were made on a private Facebook page.
"If you see the comments, they are not just awful, but also incredibly tasteless. Cyberbullying can lead to mental disorders and depression," she said.
But others took issue with Ms Koh's one-sided writing, claiming it gave the "wrong impression", that the USP was filled with elite, uncaring faces.
"This is untrue," wrote political science-USP student Augustin Chiam, 23, in "A Response To Kent Ridge Common's 'Cyberbullying in NUS'", published on studentry.sg last Tuesday.
"From the screenshots and commentary she provided, the number of people complicit in this act of cyberbullying can be counted (on the fingers of ) both hands.
"By leaving out all the sympathetic and empathetic responses, she framed the generic USP community as the evil one...
"One-sided writing like these serve only to give the public the wrong impression that USP is filled with elite, uncaring faces."
Agreeing, political science-USP student Alfred Wan, 21, said: "As with all things on social media, we are made immune to the specifics and take home only the general message...
"It is inevitable that the public, without interaction with USP students, take what they both feel and read as the truth."
Both Mr Wan and Mr Chiam stressed that they were against cyberbullying.
Ms Koh and Ms Chen did not respond to our e-mails.
NUS student Tan Xiang Yeow summed up the saga in "Cyberbullying In NUS: A Response To Some Comments" in the Kent Ridge Common last Tuesday.
He wrote: "Cyberbullying is a concern. But the crux of this debate goes beyond cyberbullying.
"It's about financial inequality, about people who are deprived of chances in our evolving educational landscape and people who are willing to talk about this in the open...
"The aim of Koh Choon Hwee's articles is not to throw a negative light on these issues. It is to bring these issues into the open so that there can be frank discussion on how to provide equal opportunities to students from the sandwiched class.
"The reactions to her writings by some parties are exaggerated."
NUS replies:
All NUS students are expected to behave in a responsible and respectful manner.
The postings mentioned in the article published by Kent Ridge Common took place in a private Facebook group that has no official standing in NUS or the University Scholars Programme (USP).
The University is disappointed with the comments that some students had made.
We hope, and encourage, that our students will act respectfully at all times.
When the incident occurred, the Director of USP wrote to all the students on the Facebook page, urging them to practise responsible behaviour in their interactions within the group.
USP had looked into the matter and concluded that it did not reach an intensity or scale that demanded disciplinary action.
USP engages with the student concerned on her participation in various USP programmes.
Likewise, USP will provide her with direct assistance where necessary.
Both NUS and USP will make every effort to support all our students.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
