Accidents, Rash Behaviour Cause Student Injuries
Text: Lim Charlotte
In Aug. 2013, 19-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Lai Qing Xiang hit his head on the ground while attempting a backflip during cheerleading practice with the polytechnic’s squad, Magnum Force. He fell into a coma and never regained consciousness.
This is the latest addition to a growing list of accidental injuries that have occurred during student activities from tertiary institutions.
On Aug. 4, a science undergraduate from the National University of Singapore hit his head while diving in the waters of Palawan Beach at Sentosa during the faculty’s orientation camp. The 22-year-old suffered a neck fracture which rendered him paralysed from the chest down.
Tng Li Min, a friend of the victim, said the incident was unfortunate but could have been managed better to reduce chances of recurrence.
“It was an unfortunate accident and we’re all hoping that he will recover soon,” she said. “I think all activities have an element of risk, and we should take steps to prevent such accidents from happening again.”
At NUS, the Office of Student Affairs establishes safety regulations for all student activities and varsity sports teams to prevent accidents from occurring. According to their website, student groups are required to submit safety and crisis management plans of their activities for prior approval. It is also compulsory for members of the organising committee to attend safety workshops run by the Office of Safety, Health and Environment.
When contacted, OSA declined to comment on the issue.
An online straw poll of 50 NUS undergraduates revealed that 70 percent of them found OSA’s current regulations adequate in ensuring the safety of students participating in school activities.
Yip Jiajie, a member of the organising committee for the School of Computing’s Freshmen Orientation Week 2013, said OSA is “pretty strict” about student groups’ compliance to the regulations. “Our proposals were rejected a few times because there were insufficient safety details in their sense,” he said.
However, Yip also said that in spite of regulations, accidents inevitably occur. He said, “In my opinion, there are no activities that are safe enough. Accidents will happen if they are bound to happen.”
In 2011, former KR Steppers cheerleader Royston Chiam tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during cheerleading practice despite the squad following the recommended guidelines by OSA. Two years later, the 23-year-old is still undergoing physiotherapy for the injury.
“There’s only so much that the school can do,” Chiam said. “Some of our trainings take place late at night and we can’t expect them to oversee them all the time.”
Despite having these regulations in place, students continue to engage in risky acts that could cause harm to themselves. Sociology undergraduate Joanna Lee said that this is especially so during competitive games as players neglect their safety when they are caught up in a desire to win.
“For activities like camps and orientation, I think that injuries occur because students get competitive and get violent when they feel that they need to win,” Lee said. “They end up disregarding all safety precautions in order to be in first place.”
Communications and new media undergraduate Raphael Goh agreed. “I’ve seen orientation group leaders lead freshmen to jaywalk across the road just because they want to win a race,” he said.
Stephanie Yeo, a cheerleading trainer for the Faculty of Arts and Social Science’s Rag Day performance, said students may engage in these dangerous deeds because they do not consider the consequences of their actions before acting on them.
“A lot of times people don’t use their brains too well. Many injuries can be prevented if we think properly before we act,” she said. “But spontaneity seems cool. So interestingly, we see people with the ‘you only live once’ attitude, act now think later, throwing caution to the wind and not considering consequences.”
In some cases, a lack of attention by students leads to accidental injuries. In Feb. 2013, Eusoff Hall resident Lee Jue Ying accidentally sawed off the tip of his right index finger while using a table saw to construct props for the hall’s dance production. He was trying to retrieve a loose piece of wood near the blade and misjudged the distance.
Chemical engineering undergraduate Grace Teo said, “I think most accidents happen because of a moment of carelessness. Sometimes we do know the precautions we should take but because we get distracted for a split second, accidents occur.”
Yet, tertiary students are considered by some to be at an age where they should take responsibility for their own safety. Social work undergraduate Chin Hui Min said, “OSA has protocols in place, but students should be responsible enough to know that such safety considerations are needed with or without them. After all, we’re all mature adults.”
She continued, “Rather than having stricter regulations, we should instil in the general student population an awareness of the potential risks so that they will fully understand the consequences of their actions. Perhaps this will make them more careful of what they do in the future.”
Tags: feature
In Aug. 2013, 19-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Lai Qing Xiang hit his head on the ground while attempting a backflip during cheerleading practice with the polytechnic’s squad, Magnum Force. He fell into a coma and never regained consciousness.
This is the latest addition to a growing list of accidental injuries that have occurred during student activities from tertiary institutions.
On Aug. 4, a science undergraduate from the National University of Singapore hit his head while diving in the waters of Palawan Beach at Sentosa during the faculty’s orientation camp. The 22-year-old suffered a neck fracture which rendered him paralysed from the chest down.
Tng Li Min, a friend of the victim, said the incident was unfortunate but could have been managed better to reduce chances of recurrence.
“It was an unfortunate accident and we’re all hoping that he will recover soon,” she said. “I think all activities have an element of risk, and we should take steps to prevent such accidents from happening again.”
At NUS, the Office of Student Affairs establishes safety regulations for all student activities and varsity sports teams to prevent accidents from occurring. According to their website, student groups are required to submit safety and crisis management plans of their activities for prior approval. It is also compulsory for members of the organising committee to attend safety workshops run by the Office of Safety, Health and Environment.
When contacted, OSA declined to comment on the issue.
An online straw poll of 50 NUS undergraduates revealed that 70 percent of them found OSA’s current regulations adequate in ensuring the safety of students participating in school activities.
Yip Jiajie, a member of the organising committee for the School of Computing’s Freshmen Orientation Week 2013, said OSA is “pretty strict” about student groups’ compliance to the regulations. “Our proposals were rejected a few times because there were insufficient safety details in their sense,” he said.
However, Yip also said that in spite of regulations, accidents inevitably occur. He said, “In my opinion, there are no activities that are safe enough. Accidents will happen if they are bound to happen.”
In 2011, former KR Steppers cheerleader Royston Chiam tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during cheerleading practice despite the squad following the recommended guidelines by OSA. Two years later, the 23-year-old is still undergoing physiotherapy for the injury.
“There’s only so much that the school can do,” Chiam said. “Some of our trainings take place late at night and we can’t expect them to oversee them all the time.”
Despite having these regulations in place, students continue to engage in risky acts that could cause harm to themselves. Sociology undergraduate Joanna Lee said that this is especially so during competitive games as players neglect their safety when they are caught up in a desire to win.
“For activities like camps and orientation, I think that injuries occur because students get competitive and get violent when they feel that they need to win,” Lee said. “They end up disregarding all safety precautions in order to be in first place.”
Communications and new media undergraduate Raphael Goh agreed. “I’ve seen orientation group leaders lead freshmen to jaywalk across the road just because they want to win a race,” he said.
Stephanie Yeo, a cheerleading trainer for the Faculty of Arts and Social Science’s Rag Day performance, said students may engage in these dangerous deeds because they do not consider the consequences of their actions before acting on them.
“A lot of times people don’t use their brains too well. Many injuries can be prevented if we think properly before we act,” she said. “But spontaneity seems cool. So interestingly, we see people with the ‘you only live once’ attitude, act now think later, throwing caution to the wind and not considering consequences.”
In some cases, a lack of attention by students leads to accidental injuries. In Feb. 2013, Eusoff Hall resident Lee Jue Ying accidentally sawed off the tip of his right index finger while using a table saw to construct props for the hall’s dance production. He was trying to retrieve a loose piece of wood near the blade and misjudged the distance.
Chemical engineering undergraduate Grace Teo said, “I think most accidents happen because of a moment of carelessness. Sometimes we do know the precautions we should take but because we get distracted for a split second, accidents occur.”
Yet, tertiary students are considered by some to be at an age where they should take responsibility for their own safety. Social work undergraduate Chin Hui Min said, “OSA has protocols in place, but students should be responsible enough to know that such safety considerations are needed with or without them. After all, we’re all mature adults.”
She continued, “Rather than having stricter regulations, we should instil in the general student population an awareness of the potential risks so that they will fully understand the consequences of their actions. Perhaps this will make them more careful of what they do in the future.”
Tags: feature