NUS investigating reports of inappropriate orientation activities
Posted 26 Jul 2016 18:43 Updated 26 Jul 2016 18:50
SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) is investigating reports of inappropriate orientation activities and will take strong disciplinary action against those found responsible, it said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul 26).
The New Paper on Tuesday reported that freshmen were asked questions which touched on taboo subjects, such as what bodily fluids they like to consume, and some were asked to re-enact a rape scene.
NUS said it expects that "orientation activities are carried out in ways that are fully respectful of the dignity of all those participating, regardless of gender".
"We do not condone any behaviour or activity that denigrates the dignity of individuals, and that has sexual connotations. Our students, particularly freshmen, must feel safe and secure at all times during orientation. If they decide to opt out of an activity, their wishes must be respected," NUS said.
It added that the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) had conducted sessions with students involved in organising and leading orientation activities before the start of the orientation period. During these sessions, do's and don'ts of orientation, as well as banned activities were meted out, NUS said.
"Students were also made aware that strong disciplinary actions will be taken against offenders. In addition, all proposed orientation programmes and activities had to be endorsed and cleared by the relevant supervisors, such as Hall Masters and Vice Deans, as well as OSA, before they could proceed. Students were asked to remove inappropriate activities," the statement said.
NUS added that separately, OSA had worked with the Deaneries in Faculties, and the Masters of Halls and Residential Colleges on the necessary steps needed to ensure all planned student orientation activities would be acceptable.
"We are very disappointed that despite these efforts, instances of offensive and completely inappropriate orientation activities that were not submitted nor endorsed have surfaced," NUS said. "OSA has met with the student leaders of the ongoing and remaining camps, and briefed them on the guidelines for acceptable orientation activities. NUS staff will also be on site at these camps."
It added that any student who has concerns about the activities carried out at orientation can contact the NUS Office of Student Affairs at osabox15@nus.edu.sg on a strictly confidential basis.
Feedback about overly sexualised orientation programmes had also been posted on the NUSWhispers Facebook page. OSA responded to this on Jul 21, saying it has taken note of the concerns raised and is working with faculties to find out more.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat :)
Showing posts with label freshmen guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freshmen guide. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Friday, April 3, 2009
US unemployment rate jumps to 8.5% in March
US unemployment rate jumps to 8.5% in March
WASHINGTON : The US unemployment rate leapt to a new 25-year high of 8.5 per cent in March as recession-battered employers shed another 663,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
The monthly snapshot of the labour market, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, showed widespread losses across most sectors of the economy as the jobless rate rose from 8.1 per cent in February.
The figures failed to provide a clear signal that the US economy has hit bottom after the worst recession in decades, but some analysts said the data did appear to confirm some easing of the pace of economic decline.
Since the recession began in December 2007, a staggering 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with 3.3 million occurring in the past five months, the agency said.
The report was roughly in line with forecasts from private economists, who on average had expected 658,000 job losses and an unemployment rate of 8.5 per cent.
The jobless rate is the highest since November 1983.
The weak labour market offered a clouded outlook for what some analysts say is a "bottom" for an economy ravaged by a housing meltdown that has hammered the banking sector and squeezed credit.
"The losses continue to be severe but we do see, and I think the market sees, some apparent peaking in the rate of decline, and that stabilisation is providing a little bit of cheer to the market," said Peter Kretzmer, senior economist at Bank of America.
"We've moved to a different phase of the business cycle," he said, with consumer spending steadying but companies still cutting investment and inventories.
This suggests "several more months of severe declines before things start to improve," Kretzmer said.
Revised data showed January job losses rose to 741,000, from an earlier estimate of 655,000 lost. The loss for February remained unchanged at 651,000.
Some said the markets were bracing for a potentially worse report.
"We were braced for a reading of 720,000 before expecting the 'freak-out' button to get hit," said Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street.
"All we can hope is that the slowdown in firings starts to come into play if things in the economy start to see drops that are not as bad as the Depression-trade was indicating just a month ago."
The total number of unemployed rose to 13.2 million in March, with the number of long-term unemployed - jobless for 27 weeks or more - rising to 3.2 million.
In March, the goods-producing sector lost 305,000 jobs including 161,000 in manufacturing and 126,000 in construction.
The service sector, which provides the majority of US jobs, shed 358,000 positions including 43,000 in the financial sector.
The only sector to add employment was education and health care, up 8,000, while government employment fell by 5,000.
The average work week contracted to 33.2 hours from 33.3 hours, which analysts said could mean lower production and income, hurting the economy.
The US economy contracted at a steep 6.3 per cent pace in the fourth quarter as the recession deepened. The government will estimate first-quarter gross domestic product later this month.
Julia Coronado, economist at Barclays Capital, called Friday's report "uniformly weak, with sizable job losses across all sectors".
Coronado is forecasting a 5.5 per cent drop in US output in the first quarter of 2009. But she said the latest data shows an 8.7 per cent quarterly drop in total hours worked, which she said offers a good proxy for economic output.
"So there is a risk (first-quarter GDP) could be worse," she said.
- AFP/ms
WASHINGTON : The US unemployment rate leapt to a new 25-year high of 8.5 per cent in March as recession-battered employers shed another 663,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
The monthly snapshot of the labour market, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, showed widespread losses across most sectors of the economy as the jobless rate rose from 8.1 per cent in February.
The figures failed to provide a clear signal that the US economy has hit bottom after the worst recession in decades, but some analysts said the data did appear to confirm some easing of the pace of economic decline.
Since the recession began in December 2007, a staggering 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with 3.3 million occurring in the past five months, the agency said.
The report was roughly in line with forecasts from private economists, who on average had expected 658,000 job losses and an unemployment rate of 8.5 per cent.
The jobless rate is the highest since November 1983.
The weak labour market offered a clouded outlook for what some analysts say is a "bottom" for an economy ravaged by a housing meltdown that has hammered the banking sector and squeezed credit.
"The losses continue to be severe but we do see, and I think the market sees, some apparent peaking in the rate of decline, and that stabilisation is providing a little bit of cheer to the market," said Peter Kretzmer, senior economist at Bank of America.
"We've moved to a different phase of the business cycle," he said, with consumer spending steadying but companies still cutting investment and inventories.
This suggests "several more months of severe declines before things start to improve," Kretzmer said.
Revised data showed January job losses rose to 741,000, from an earlier estimate of 655,000 lost. The loss for February remained unchanged at 651,000.
Some said the markets were bracing for a potentially worse report.
"We were braced for a reading of 720,000 before expecting the 'freak-out' button to get hit," said Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street.
"All we can hope is that the slowdown in firings starts to come into play if things in the economy start to see drops that are not as bad as the Depression-trade was indicating just a month ago."
The total number of unemployed rose to 13.2 million in March, with the number of long-term unemployed - jobless for 27 weeks or more - rising to 3.2 million.
In March, the goods-producing sector lost 305,000 jobs including 161,000 in manufacturing and 126,000 in construction.
The service sector, which provides the majority of US jobs, shed 358,000 positions including 43,000 in the financial sector.
The only sector to add employment was education and health care, up 8,000, while government employment fell by 5,000.
The average work week contracted to 33.2 hours from 33.3 hours, which analysts said could mean lower production and income, hurting the economy.
The US economy contracted at a steep 6.3 per cent pace in the fourth quarter as the recession deepened. The government will estimate first-quarter gross domestic product later this month.
Julia Coronado, economist at Barclays Capital, called Friday's report "uniformly weak, with sizable job losses across all sectors".
Coronado is forecasting a 5.5 per cent drop in US output in the first quarter of 2009. But she said the latest data shows an 8.7 per cent quarterly drop in total hours worked, which she said offers a good proxy for economic output.
"So there is a risk (first-quarter GDP) could be worse," she said.
- AFP/ms
Sunday, October 26, 2008
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