White elephant t-shirts

And they say our youths are apathetic. I say they have a sense of humor. Received in the mail today:

From: proj.white.elephant@gmail.com

Hi: We're a bunch of 16 year old girls who started this white elephant t-shirt project in response to the Buangkok incident. We thought you guys might be interested. Attached is some information about what we're doing. Any support is greatly appreciated.

The girls are from class 415 of Raffles Girls School (Secondary) and they have already made it to Zaobao (click to enlarge). See also the T-Shirt design:

update: Mr. Wang comments on the legal dimension, while Agagooga also has T-Shirts to sell; Tomorrow'ed; The Void Deck has more comments | just a quick note--in case you are wondering about the proceeds of the sale, the girls are raising funds for Youth Guidance, "a charity organization which works with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Police in mentoring and reaching out to youths at risk" (see info sheet below). | somewhat related: just read in ST (Nov 11): "TWO years of lobbying by grassroots leaders in Punggol South may finally have paid off, with plans underway to open Buangkok MRT station in January." (add: Stardom Dreamer has the story)

Stuff from their attached infosheet:

HOW IT ALL STARTED

There was a recent incident in which eight white elephants made out of cardboard were placed at the Buangkok MRT station on the North-East Line by some residents to convey their views on how the station is still as yet closed. This issue sparked off a huge debate amongst Singaporeans, not to mention provoked much interest in the closure of the station, the subsequent acts taken by the government, and expressing the views of Singaporeans in general.

Our class has always taken a strong interest in current affairs and this in particular caught our attention. We are not embarking on this project to judge the act in any way; rather we feel that it brought a very important issue - effective, reasonable ways of airing one's views - to prominence. Thus we were inspired to spontaneously start this initiative in an effort to promote active participation in citizenship, which we believe would eventually lead to a more open, participative society.

I really like that last sentence. There's more from the infosheet...

OUR BELIEFS

- The capacity to which our society can grow is immeasurable
- Increased communication between the government and the people is essential for society to improve and progress as a whole, and lead to a more participative and united society
- Citizens should bear in mind the responsibility of keeping to legal boundaries while expressing their views
- Political maturity is essential to the concept of active citizenship

OUR AIMS FOR THIS PROJECT

- To push for the concept of a more open, participative society in which people can discuss and air their views in an intellectual and insightful manner, bearing in mind the need to adhere to the law while doing so.
- Galvanize the youths of today to rise up from the apathy they are stereotyped with and take an active role in airing their views, as well as participate actively in the molding of our society
- To raise funds for Youth Guidance, a charity organization which works with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Police in mentoring and reaching out to youths at risk. For more information on the organization, please see the section titled "About Youth Guidance" below.
- To ultimately help create a more participative, united society where everyone has a part to play in active citizenship

THE CONTEXT OF THE "WHITE ELEPHANT" IN OUR PROJECT

We would like to remind the public that even though the White Elephant has become our mascot and symbol for the project, we are in no way attempting to judge or condone the Buangkok MRT incident. Rather, we are using the accidental fame of the elephants to spark interest in our project; they also serve as a reminder that legal boundaries are important and should be adhered to even while expressing one's views and opinions about political issues.