Commentary: Deaf to the world

Newspaper Article: Deaf to the World-Youngsters absorbed in their cell phones or music players face greater risk of accidents on the road.
The central issue raised by the article is that the young in Singapore are getting so absorbed in their mobile phones and music players that they often do not notice other pedestrians and vehicles when crossing the road, leading to them having a greater risk of being involved in road accidents.
Commentary:
Plug that out and save your life
Imagine walking down Orchard Road, or any other busy street and someone banged into you. Or riding a bicycle down the road and despite ringing the bicycle bell, the pedestrian in front does not get out of your way. Well, these sights are getting more and more common, and usually the youngsters are the ones that do notice other pedestrians. This is so because they are so absorbed in their cell phones or music players that they often do not notice their surroundings.
As technology advances, almost everyone owns a cell phone or maybe a music player. These gadgets are used for entertainment and communication but in recent times, they are the reasons why road accidents happen, especially involving youngsters. A recent test conducted showed that out of 30 youngsters, who were listening to music, half of them had their audio player volume at fifty per cent or louder, which make them prone to accidents. Personally, I do not agree with the way the youngsters are so absorbed into their gadgets that they do not notice their surroundings mainly because of two reasons, the first being that these actions lead to youngsters having a greater risk of getting into accidents and the second being that the way that these youngsters act is very self-centered.
Youngsters who are so absorbed in their cell phones or music players often do not notice their surroundings and face a greater risk of accidents on the road. Studies have shown that distraction from handheld devices like mobile phones and MP3 players is one of the major causes of road accidents and that sending messages and driving simultaneously reduced reaction time by 35 per cent. This showed that these handheld devices often cause one’s attention to be distracted and their alertness to lessen whether one is driving or crossing the road, thus leading to road-related accidents. Plugging into music while on the road can also be a factor that leads to a higher risk of getting into accidents. For example, an ear specialist pointed out that, devices like noise-cancelling earphones can silence almost a hundred per cent of ambient noise. People who plugged into their MP3s while crossing the road may have a higher chance of not hearing the honking of the car or the car engine and that they also may not notice the sound of bicycle bells, when on the street, which may all lead to the possibility of accidents. Drivers too may also face a risk of accidents when they get too absorbed listening to their music that they do notice the roads or other vehicles. In conclusion, people who are using their cell phones or music players on the road are often prone to road-related accidents.
The way that these youngsters act is also very self-centered. Firstly, these youngsters who are plugged into their music players or are too absorbed in their cell phones are very self-centered, mainly because they have a mindset that others may give way too them. More often than so, this is not the case. They expect the other pedestrians to look out for their safety so that they are able to continue their text messaging and listening to music when it is everyone’s responsibility to care for their own safety. This self-centredness not only jeopardises their own safety but also of others. This act is selfish and self-centred which only put them into danger. In conclusion, the way that these youngsters act is selfish after all it is everybody’s responsibility to safeguard their safety.
The only way to avoid banging into people or bicycles and being involved in accidents is to plug out those head phones and keep those handphones when crossing the road and this may well save your life.

"Improved" Introduction

Imagine walking down Orchard Road with the loud clanging sounds buzzing in your ears from the nearby construction sites, dust blowing into your face and the once prim and proper image of the shopping strip now turned into a nightmare, I am sure you would be annoyed, not mentioning the tourists visiting Orchard Road. To think that Orchard Road just undergone a major $40-million makeover, you would be wondering, "What the heck is the difference? Where did our tax-payers money go to?" Well, you are not the only one for I think that the Orchard Road makeover was uncalled for and was necessary. Instead of beautifying Singapore's primary shopping belt, the changes have gone unnoticed and the results have backfired and I will explain why in this essay.

Introduction to Orchard Road Facelift

Imagine walking down Orchard Road with the loud clanging sounds buzzing in your ears from the nearby construction sites, dust blowing into your face and the once prim and proper image of the shopping strip now turned into a nightmare, I am sure you would be annoyed, not mentioning the tourists visiting Orchard Road. To think that Orchard Road just undergone a major $40-million makeover, you would be wondering, "What the heck is the difference? Where did our tax-payers money go to?''

Orchard Road Facelift

Depsite the much hype about the major facelift of Orchard Road for the past few months, many people were dissapointed when the $40-million makeover of Orchard Road was unveiled to the public. New street lamps, co-ordinated street furniture, decorative glass panels and potted flower totems were some of the many changes in Orchard Road but many pedestrians have failed to notice them. Personally, I do not approve and felt that the major makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it mainly because of two reasons, the first being that the makeover did not reach its aim of beautifying Orchard Road but in fact brought about some undesirable results and the second reason is that the sum of money for the makeover of Orchard Road could be used for more important issues.

Orchard Road is the primary shopping belt of Singapore and the changes done to beautify it may give Orchard Road a new image and attract more tourists. However, the facelift did not meet the aim of beautifying Orchard Road and in fact may backfire. Firstly, not many pedestrians noticed the changes in Orchard Road. Out of a 100 people surveyed, 40 did not notice it the changes. Those who noticed the changes made comments that "there's not much change" and that there was no "big difference". One may then argue that if no one even notices the changes, what is the point of even beautifying Orchard Road. This shows that the impact of the facelift was not as great as it was supposed to be and that the aim of beautifying Orchard Road was not met since the changes did not make much difference. Secondly, the major facelift brought about even more trouble and negativity than it was suppose to beautify the shopping district. The noise pollution coming from the construction sites had put off many shoppers and that the pathways to shops were blocked. Both tourists and locals were annoyed by the construction process and this has ruined the once prim and proper image of Orchard Road. The facelift did not meet its aim of beautifying the shopping district and in fact caused even more negative results has definitely led to people thinking that the whole makeover process costing up to $40-million dollars may just be a waste of money.

This leads us to my next point that the money used to beautify Orchard Road should be used for much more important and meaningful issues. An area the money could be used for is the cleanliness and the maintenance of Orchard Road. Comments were made that the "pavement looks so dirty" and that of "clean up the walkaways". This is a much more feasible way in beautifying Orchard Road by making sure that it is clean, leaving a deeper and better impression on tourists visiting the shopping district.

In conclusion, I do not think the Orchard Road makeover was worth it because its aim of beautifying Orchard Road was not met, there were negative results and comments from the public and that the extravagant amount spent can be used on much more important issues.

Students setting their own rules???

Students should not set their own rules
I personally do not believe that students should set their own rules. After all, civilians like us do not set the laws of our country and this is so because of the simple reason---the civilians will probably not set rules that are fair and most probably will be biased. This applies to students setting their own rules. Students do not like punishments and it will be likely that harsh punishments will not be set when rules are broken. It is only logical that students will banish rules that they do not agree to (for example, hair checks) and will lessen the punishments, since no one likes the feeling of being scolded and punished. School rules will then become biased to the students, and discipline would be even more difficult to enforce and this will not be in the best interest of the school, students, and teachers. Hence, students should not set their own school rules.