Rag 2006: The run up, the day itself, afterthoughts...and a lot more

This post is critical to me because it carries special significance regarding Rag itself. Whatever that happened for Rag especially yesterday decides my course of action from here on...

The final week of Rag 2006 had a intensive run up, and mine started when I came back last Sunday afternoon to help out with the touch up of the bingo machine. With my main task being to ensure that the lorry for the float was ready for mounting as and when Lionel wanted, it was a relief when I managed to get it here when me and Jianwu got it here on Monday morning. But the story did not end there of course. When the lorry itself broke down on Thursday, my heart sank. That meant that the plans to mount the float were delayed. Things were made worse when it rained from Monday all the way to Friday morning.

When all these problems were finally resolved, we thought we had combated the worst case scenarios that our float could experience. We thought that all that was left was to carry out according to plan and we will get the rewards that Arts Rag was long overdue to get.

But, yesterday, it did not happen.

Arts Rag 2006 ended up with nothing.

Best float presentation ended up with Medicine, float design to Business, and overall float to SDE.

If you want to know my response to this, I am very very bitter with them, as with all fellow raggers.

Medicine - It is damn obvious that a big chunk of the dancers that performed were NOT students of Medicine faculty in NUS. This is so blatant because of the fact that the dance moves that these dancers performed compared to the students themselves were different and of a much higher level, even better than the halls themselves.

Business - Their main float design was haphazard to say the least when I saw them come in, and there was just no way that they could be in contention to win it all. I was sure that we had the best chance of winning this because our main float was indeed the best of the faculties as ours was the really pure 3-D strucuture of them all. A political move? I cannot say, but it sure has some connections with something else somewhere...

SDE - I am really very very gutted. Simply because they used last year's design and theme and copied wholesale. Period. And yet they won. I am sure this result has greatly insulted all other faculties, not just Arts.

The only thing that I can be comforted is that these results, because of the controversy behind them all, will not end on Saturday. At least I am assured by a friend of mine that it will not be. In any case, I am thinking of making my voice known to all in campus the double standards of NUSSU and the validity of the results.

All of us were in tears when the results were released.

Yuimin, Gerri, Wenhui broke down on the spot. Jasmine tried to hold back but couldn't do so either. Lionel broke down too when he gave his debrief. Michelle and Xinyu, 2 of the best freshies to have helped Rag, cried inconsolably.
Jianwu cried too as well... In a word, no senior ragger was not in tears, except for Hock who had to help put up a strong front for us all.

As for me, I just could not hold back my tears when it all sunk in when all hope for any result was lost.

3 years of Rag.

All came down to this day, I thought when I embarked on this trip for the 3rd time over.

All of us sacrificed so much of our time to make Arts Rag 2006 work. And when it really worked, we were overjoyed because we knew we did all we could and it came out as perfect as we wanted it to be.

Still, some words that a few of us said are critical in emphasising what Rag 2006 meant to us all.

Lionel - " The feeling of having a winning rag because we did everything we could as one..."

Gerri - " We do it because we come back when others keep knocking us down, so that we can all prove a point to the rest..."

Jasmine - "The best Rag for me personally for my 4 years..."

The pain of Rag.

I asked myself, what more must we do to prove out point that Arts Rag is a force to be reckoned with...

Then I came up with this conclusion late yesterday night: Arts Rag 2006 will be known to me as the champion float that was robbed of victory in the most ridiculous of circumstances.

So comes the question: Will anyone take up the mantle of Rag and push for next year?

As I talked to Michelle before leaving, she promised that she will redress the injustice suffered yesterday by doing next year. And I know that she is not the only one.

As for Rag 2006, it fully symbolised the motto of Rag: Passion, Friendships, Triumph.

Passion - The belief that we knew that we had a winning float, and we worked on it 8 months back and finished it on schedule and performed it the way we wanted it to be in our dreams.

Friendships - Strong bonds were created among seniors and freshmen on the very cause of making a good Rag. We crapped, ate, slept, bled and shed tears, but all united the name of doing up the Rag that symbolised our dreams and bonds.

Triumph - Even as Arts did not win, we won the respect of other faculties, halls, and a lot more. Other faculties saluted us for our monster of a float that even stood up to the halls even. I overheard people from other faculties looking at us with envy as they walked past out float. We walked out of Rag day as a real force to be reckoned with at the end...

For me, this moment is poignant.

Simply for the fact that this is the last Rag that I could help out actively. This time, next year, I will working elsewhere to get some job experience.

But if that's the way I have to end off my bond with Rag, then so be it.

Because I have no regrets in doing it, and I will never do for the rest of my life.

If you are not a ragger, it is simply not possible for you to realise how me and fellow Raggers feel now. Simply because it is no ordinary project. This is the only one which teaches you how you should see things in life: With commitment, dignity, respect and love for what you want to do.

For me, the process of Raggerification has undergone a new meaning...and I am thankful for being part of Rag 2006. Simply because I am allowed to be part of this and relive the true meaning of Rag yet again.

Be Raggerfied.