Questions on Our Leadership

Okay I think I am running the risk of neglecting my assignments right now, but there has been so many happenings in Tembusu recently I shan't resist. I'll try to make this quick. This morning at the level one lobby, Tembusians were greeted with a sword stuck into the tree-stub table accompanied by a motion that the college abandon the ongoing elections and make a political shift to a monarchy. It was brilliant! I liked it that it was witty and that it questioned the motivations behind all this debate about the CSC's elections. I don't have any pictures of it, or I definitely would have published it too. (Anyone willing to volunteer?) Click here to see the pictures.

But let me jump to the annoying bit from here: the poster and sword were quickly cleared away by the late morning. I think some of the late-breakfast crowd might not have seen it. As I later found out, some of the higher ups were not too happy with it and thought its intentions might be misconstrued by the some residents. I would like to clarify this with whoever made the call, but I am disappointed at the very act of censorship! I know the elections is currently a highly contentious issue, but why suppress the conversation? The facebook group discussion was left largely unmoderated (as far as I can tell), so why the contradiction here?

To me, the installation did not seem to be in a position to fuel frustration or tensions in the college, but provide some comic relief. Not only that, it belonged right in the heart of the (now past) political discussions. If anything, such pieces ought to be encouraged. It was thoughtful and provoking, and added other important dimensions to the debate: what are the alternatives? Is it imperative that we adopt a democratic model? How is the democratic model flawed?

So why should a piece that engages such important questions (for the college) be removed? It's quite frustrating. I wonder what are the college authority's thresholds are before they decide to intervene and censor.