NUSWS Times
Thursday, April 06, 2006
NUSWS AGM (6/4/06)
the AGM started off with the past academic year's committee giving their report on what they have done and their recommendations for the next year. after a q&a session, its off to food! then cloud, the current president gave a presentation on behalf of the new exco abt the plans for the band in the coming academic year. issues were discussed but i wont mention them here. sensitive issues la hor, haha.. besides that, the new SLs were announced. congratulations to everyone (esp. sharon!!), haha..
anyway the attendance was bad (as usual?). why is it always the same people attending band events? dont the rest care enough for the band and what happens to it? dont you wanna know whats in store for the future of the band? dont you care abt your fellow band mates? yeah, i mean, we're all busy, etc.. bla bla.. but these kinda things, you shouldnt miss, only once a year leh! =p anyway enough talking, here are some pics! from now on i'll try to get pics for every band event, to let ppl remenicse/ogle/catch up with whats going on in nusws. enjoy and good luck for exams! =)
Pictures!
Before the AGM, some were studying, others jamming, etc. =)
Presentation by the 05/06 exco, among them were Meiling, Stephanie and Zong Geng.
Yes, everyone is paying attention! =p
Food time! Nice food! Mee siam, eclairs, curry puffs, chicken wings, etc. Just ask the happy members!
anyway the attendance was bad (as usual?). why is it always the same people attending band events? dont the rest care enough for the band and what happens to it? dont you wanna know whats in store for the future of the band? dont you care abt your fellow band mates? yeah, i mean, we're all busy, etc.. bla bla.. but these kinda things, you shouldnt miss, only once a year leh! =p anyway enough talking, here are some pics! from now on i'll try to get pics for every band event, to let ppl remenicse/ogle/catch up with whats going on in nusws. enjoy and good luck for exams! =)
Pictures!
Before the AGM, some were studying, others jamming, etc. =)
Presentation by the 05/06 exco, among them were Meiling, Stephanie and Zong Geng.
Yes, everyone is paying attention! =p
Food time! Nice food! Mee siam, eclairs, curry puffs, chicken wings, etc. Just ask the happy members!
Cloud giving his presentation. (I must learn how to take pictures with better quality, haha)
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
items to highlight during AGM
from the comments to the previous posts, here are some of the items that may be brought up for the next nusws AGM this thursday (6/4/06):
1) Expanding the role of CM beyond just warm-ups and doing his pieces. CM more active (Eg. telling SLs what to practice during sectionals, etc.)
2) Implementation of the Music Committee, with the Prez being overall in-charge.
3) Is it possible to get a bandroom? Anywhere will do, as long as its our own special room!
4) Have 2 people per post, except for gen sec and pres. Workload will be spread out and responsibility can be shared. (I strongly support this btw, esp for 'heavy posts' like logs, QM, etc). Better to have big comm than small one, get more ppl involved in the running of the band. I don't know about you guys, but in my sec sch and jc bands, all the posts except president have 2 ppl, to spread the burden and responsibility, and i think it would work well for nusws, considering the heavier school load and more responsibilities we have as a tertiary band exco.
5) Allocation of committee posts to incoming year ones next year (as proposed by cloud during elections)
6) New exco post - 'sponsor finding' post, in charge of finding sponsors (at least 2 ppl inside).
7) improve the elections system. see my previous post on it. lets change the constitution if we have to! =p
1) Expanding the role of CM beyond just warm-ups and doing his pieces. CM more active (Eg. telling SLs what to practice during sectionals, etc.)
2) Implementation of the Music Committee, with the Prez being overall in-charge.
3) Is it possible to get a bandroom? Anywhere will do, as long as its our own special room!
4) Have 2 people per post, except for gen sec and pres. Workload will be spread out and responsibility can be shared. (I strongly support this btw, esp for 'heavy posts' like logs, QM, etc). Better to have big comm than small one, get more ppl involved in the running of the band. I don't know about you guys, but in my sec sch and jc bands, all the posts except president have 2 ppl, to spread the burden and responsibility, and i think it would work well for nusws, considering the heavier school load and more responsibilities we have as a tertiary band exco.
5) Allocation of committee posts to incoming year ones next year (as proposed by cloud during elections)
6) New exco post - 'sponsor finding' post, in charge of finding sponsors (at least 2 ppl inside).
7) improve the elections system. see my previous post on it. lets change the constitution if we have to! =p
Are there any more things that need to be highlighted? Thanks to all who have contributed ideas. Keep them coming!
¶ 2:51 AM 4 comments
Sunday, April 02, 2006
how do u get people to come for practices?
on the matter of attendance, how do you achieve good attendance for band practices? do you force them? coerce them? influence them? threaten them? punish them? =p
are there any studies or experiences you had that you would like to share in order to have better attendances? should practices be held on saturdays or strictly weekdays? for those with experience in outside bands, how do the practice schedules/attendance work? what did you all do to overcome these problems? for those with friends in other performing arts groups, what did they do to ensure good attendance?
how do you get people to attend band practices when:
1) its not compulsory
2) no benefits/loss if they do not do so
3) they have tests the next day
4) they can't be bothered to do so
5) etc etc..
do you:
1) have pretty/handsome ppl in the band?
2) play interesting pieces?
3) have nicer food during break?
4) threaten ppl with lesser cca points?
5) etc etc
how how how?? if you can give good ways to get attendance up i'll treat you lunch and give you a pair of free tickets to the next nusws concert. and thats a promise. =p
¶ 4:11 AM 29 comments
are there any studies or experiences you had that you would like to share in order to have better attendances? should practices be held on saturdays or strictly weekdays? for those with experience in outside bands, how do the practice schedules/attendance work? what did you all do to overcome these problems? for those with friends in other performing arts groups, what did they do to ensure good attendance?
how do you get people to attend band practices when:
1) its not compulsory
2) no benefits/loss if they do not do so
3) they have tests the next day
4) they can't be bothered to do so
5) etc etc..
do you:
1) have pretty/handsome ppl in the band?
2) play interesting pieces?
3) have nicer food during break?
4) threaten ppl with lesser cca points?
5) etc etc
how how how?? if you can give good ways to get attendance up i'll treat you lunch and give you a pair of free tickets to the next nusws concert. and thats a promise. =p
¶ 4:11 AM 29 comments
the band needs to move on
first posted by MoNoChRome~
http://nusws.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-blog-is-made-as-spyware-to-track.html
even though Intempo2006 wasnt brilliant, it didnt warrant such negative comments from the concert-goers (actually i've had people telling me its entertaining and good, but that's another story). sure sure we're not perfect yada-yada, but theres no reason for it to be put in such nasty ways.
anyway, the important thing is for the band to not be disheartened and to keep plugging away towards achieving a higher standard of music in performances.
here are some suggestions of mine to help improve the band standard:
1) more band practices before concert. 1 prac per week is NOT ENOUGH!!
2) invite guest players for sections which we are weak in or do not have enough players. they are also good ways to network and sell tics (think of Eugene!)
3) for sections which are overflowing with people, have auditions before we take in new members? i know i know we don't judge people by their playing standards and that everyone is important, etc. but we need some quality control damnit! =p
what are your suggestions?
¶ 12:00 AM 10 comments
http://nusws.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-blog-is-made-as-spyware-to-track.html
even though Intempo2006 wasnt brilliant, it didnt warrant such negative comments from the concert-goers (actually i've had people telling me its entertaining and good, but that's another story). sure sure we're not perfect yada-yada, but theres no reason for it to be put in such nasty ways.
anyway, the important thing is for the band to not be disheartened and to keep plugging away towards achieving a higher standard of music in performances.
here are some suggestions of mine to help improve the band standard:
1) more band practices before concert. 1 prac per week is NOT ENOUGH!!
2) invite guest players for sections which we are weak in or do not have enough players. they are also good ways to network and sell tics (think of Eugene!)
3) for sections which are overflowing with people, have auditions before we take in new members? i know i know we don't judge people by their playing standards and that everyone is important, etc. but we need some quality control damnit! =p
what are your suggestions?
¶ 12:00 AM 10 comments
Saturday, April 01, 2006
NUSWS Elections (30/3/06)
well well, how do i begin? to start with, there were only 30+ people who attended the elections in CFA. c'mon people, its our band. if you don't care about who's gonna be your future exco members, then its not boding well for the band. even dr mak was there, for goodness sake!
there were several issues from this elections which led me thinking:
1) the issue of who is being allowed to vote. the day before the elections, a list of 'eligible' voters were circulated. they were those members and alumni who had been active in the band in these 2 semesters. those who just joined this semeester, or were not active, or those not from nus (guest players), were not allowed to vote.
so what happened during elections day? due to not enough nusws members showing up, those ineligible people were allowed to vote. which brings the question of fairness and rights out into the open. there were several ineligible people who didn't bother to turn up cos they can't vote. and now suddenly before the elections started they are allowed to vote? kinda sudden and unexpected eh? and what about the notion that rules can be easily bent and meddled with to suit the purposes of the occasion? not enough members to vote? hey, lets invite non-eligible ones whom we told 'you can't vote!' when they were actually part of the band also that they can vote! so that we dont need to have elections on another day! yippee! =p
2) the issue of not being allowed to vote if you weren't there. nope, you can't ask others to help you vote also, even if you wrote a letter authorising them to do so. which again brings into open the question of fairness and the right of members to vote. why must you be there in person and listen to the candidates talk before you were allowed to vote. is it that crucial? why can't a system where members use their nus email addresses email their votes, so you'd know its really them and note some vote-rigging stuff? even overseas singaporeans are allowed to vote in the singapore general elections, they dont have to come back all the way to singapore. there are ways to get beyond the poor-attendance barrier.
3) the issue of not having majority of the votes. while most of the posts are non-events, posts like the presidency would surely require a majority vote in order to be confirmed. cloud received 16 votes, firdaus received 11 votes and xiaoxuan received 7 votes, and cloud was declared the winner. but the begging question is shouldnt a second round of votes be called, where it is only between cloud and firdaus, since in the first round, cloud didnt have a majority vote of more than 50%? how can a president be elected when support is below 50%? ridiculous! this is only normal elections procedure. at least we'll all have a clear picture and are satisfied when things are done the right way.
i think there were other issues i may have missed out. but these were some issues which i felt strongly about. can something be done to change the system to a better one next year? we'll have to wait and find out. me as a comm member will definitely try to improve it for the better.
anyway the elections are over and here are the results for those of you who didnt went:
President: Cloud Chen Zijun
Honorary General Secretary: Chong Yoke Khee
Treasurer: Ni Xiao Xuan
Concert Master: Kirk Benjamin
Librarian: Soon Hock Wei
Publicity and Publications Secretary: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Zainal
Welfare Officer: Derek Ong
Property Master: Post still open
Logistic Officer: Post still open
btw, some people might construe this as a sour-grapes post, which this is not! i accept the results of the elections as it is and have no misgivings whatsover. i'm just pointing out the flaws in the system. i am happy and excited to be in the comm and hopefully great things will happen in future, through hard work of cos!
i try my best to be open and have constructive honest discussions cos i care for the band, and i hate seeing things screwing up without something be done to rectify them. i know i might receive flak for some comments that i made, but then again, if i just kept quiet about nagging matters, it defeats the purpose of me trying to point out issues in the band and trying to help improve the band. so if you care pls join in the discussion and we'll see what we can come up with to help improve the band. let not be apathetic nusws members! until then, comments are appreciated. do you have any suggestions to improve the elections process or any other matters in NUSWS? share them! lets try improve NUSWS. until then, have a nice day!
Next event coming up:
NUSWS General Meeting
Thursday, 6 April 2006
7PM
CFA
Be there of be square! =p
but seriously, be there if you care about the band, cos we'll be deciding important issues like nominating whos gonna be our next conductor after dr mak. it's a very important matter and the opinion of every single member counts. yes, even the "ineligible to vote" members. plus there'll be nice catered food, yummy! seeya there!
¶ 10:46 PM 2 comments
there were several issues from this elections which led me thinking:
1) the issue of who is being allowed to vote. the day before the elections, a list of 'eligible' voters were circulated. they were those members and alumni who had been active in the band in these 2 semesters. those who just joined this semeester, or were not active, or those not from nus (guest players), were not allowed to vote.
so what happened during elections day? due to not enough nusws members showing up, those ineligible people were allowed to vote. which brings the question of fairness and rights out into the open. there were several ineligible people who didn't bother to turn up cos they can't vote. and now suddenly before the elections started they are allowed to vote? kinda sudden and unexpected eh? and what about the notion that rules can be easily bent and meddled with to suit the purposes of the occasion? not enough members to vote? hey, lets invite non-eligible ones whom we told 'you can't vote!' when they were actually part of the band also that they can vote! so that we dont need to have elections on another day! yippee! =p
2) the issue of not being allowed to vote if you weren't there. nope, you can't ask others to help you vote also, even if you wrote a letter authorising them to do so. which again brings into open the question of fairness and the right of members to vote. why must you be there in person and listen to the candidates talk before you were allowed to vote. is it that crucial? why can't a system where members use their nus email addresses email their votes, so you'd know its really them and note some vote-rigging stuff? even overseas singaporeans are allowed to vote in the singapore general elections, they dont have to come back all the way to singapore. there are ways to get beyond the poor-attendance barrier.
3) the issue of not having majority of the votes. while most of the posts are non-events, posts like the presidency would surely require a majority vote in order to be confirmed. cloud received 16 votes, firdaus received 11 votes and xiaoxuan received 7 votes, and cloud was declared the winner. but the begging question is shouldnt a second round of votes be called, where it is only between cloud and firdaus, since in the first round, cloud didnt have a majority vote of more than 50%? how can a president be elected when support is below 50%? ridiculous! this is only normal elections procedure. at least we'll all have a clear picture and are satisfied when things are done the right way.
i think there were other issues i may have missed out. but these were some issues which i felt strongly about. can something be done to change the system to a better one next year? we'll have to wait and find out. me as a comm member will definitely try to improve it for the better.
anyway the elections are over and here are the results for those of you who didnt went:
President: Cloud Chen Zijun
Honorary General Secretary: Chong Yoke Khee
Treasurer: Ni Xiao Xuan
Concert Master: Kirk Benjamin
Librarian: Soon Hock Wei
Publicity and Publications Secretary: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Zainal
Welfare Officer: Derek Ong
Property Master: Post still open
Logistic Officer: Post still open
btw, some people might construe this as a sour-grapes post, which this is not! i accept the results of the elections as it is and have no misgivings whatsover. i'm just pointing out the flaws in the system. i am happy and excited to be in the comm and hopefully great things will happen in future, through hard work of cos!
i try my best to be open and have constructive honest discussions cos i care for the band, and i hate seeing things screwing up without something be done to rectify them. i know i might receive flak for some comments that i made, but then again, if i just kept quiet about nagging matters, it defeats the purpose of me trying to point out issues in the band and trying to help improve the band. so if you care pls join in the discussion and we'll see what we can come up with to help improve the band. let not be apathetic nusws members! until then, comments are appreciated. do you have any suggestions to improve the elections process or any other matters in NUSWS? share them! lets try improve NUSWS. until then, have a nice day!
Next event coming up:
NUSWS General Meeting
Thursday, 6 April 2006
7PM
CFA
Be there of be square! =p
but seriously, be there if you care about the band, cos we'll be deciding important issues like nominating whos gonna be our next conductor after dr mak. it's a very important matter and the opinion of every single member counts. yes, even the "ineligible to vote" members. plus there'll be nice catered food, yummy! seeya there!
¶ 10:46 PM 2 comments
a new beginning
hi all!
being the new publications secretary and a member of the new band exco has given me the impetus to try and get myself involved more with the band. this blog 'nusws times' is a mini-project of mine which strives to discuss issues within the band, as well as being a 'diary' of sorts, so that in future when we look back, we can see all that has happened and hopefully take lessons from them.
all comments are appreciated and hopefully nusws will go from strength to strength, and be a highlight of our university lives.
¶ 9:58 PM 0 comments
hi all!
being the new publications secretary and a member of the new band exco has given me the impetus to try and get myself involved more with the band. this blog 'nusws times' is a mini-project of mine which strives to discuss issues within the band, as well as being a 'diary' of sorts, so that in future when we look back, we can see all that has happened and hopefully take lessons from them.
all comments are appreciated and hopefully nusws will go from strength to strength, and be a highlight of our university lives.
¶ 9:58 PM 0 comments
