NUS committee to review discipline process aims to consult students, staff by mid-May

SINGAPORE — A committee that has been tasked with reviewing the disciplinary and support frameworks at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has appointed two more students to join its ranks, and said it will have some recommendations ready for consultation with students and staff by the middle of this month.

In an email to NUS staff and students on Wednesday (May 1), chairwoman Kay Kuok said that the Review Committee, which had its first official meeting on Tuesday, then aims to prepare its full recommendations by mid-June.

“The Committee understands the importance and urgency of our work, but we also need to ensure we conduct a proper, thorough, consultative review that must be robust and sustainable for the long term,” she said.

These recommendations will help establish a system that the “entire NUS community can stand behind”, she added.

The committee was convened in the wake of a voyeurism scandal that broke out after undergraduate Monica Baey took to Instagram to express her anger at the light punishment meted out to a fellow student who had filmed her without her consent while she was showering at Eusoff Hall last November.

The committee will also now include two more students, in response to students’ request for significant student representation, Mdm Kuok announced in the email.

They are Ms Murni Marisa Bte Mahat, a graduate fellow from Tembusu College, and Ms Tay Pei Ling, the president of a Junior Common Room Committee.

Previously, there was only one student on the committee, Mr Richard Wang, an executive committee member of the NUS Student Union.

READ ALSO:

The Big Read: Singapore’s voyeurism problem – what’s wrong with men, or the world?

Despite campus security, students tell of encounters with voyeurs, intruders in hostels

With the addition of Ms Murni and Ms Tay, the committee now has eight members, who also include Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Singapore Management University president Lily Kong and WongPartnership managing partner Ng Wai King.

Mdm Kuok said in the email that the committee will undertake a comprehensive review of NUS’ disciplinary framework and its application – including sanctions – on sexual misconduct, the support system for victims and the University’s approach to safety on its campuses.

She set out the committee’s scope of work:

• Review the disciplinary process, particularly the sanctions framework

• Address gaps in the victim support framework and rehabilitation support for offenders

• Study the adequacy of NUS campus security and infrastructure

• Review NUS’ efforts to better educate all students and faculty on consent and respect to protect themselves and one another

• Recommend changes to existing processes and frameworks that are fair and firm

“We have committed ourselves to a transparent and consultative process that will involve engagement with the NUS community on your concerns on sexual misconduct on our campuses and the committee’s proposed recommendations,” Mdm Kuok wrote.

“We have resolved to consult broadly, including with students at NUS, and experts at NUS and other institutions and organisations, to ensure that changes made reflect global best practices and the needs and expectations of our whole community.”

Along the way, she added, the committee will provide updates of its work.

Mdm Kuok also said that NUS is already making progress on the commitments it announced on April 26, particularly those related to enhancing physical security in halls and residences across its campuses.

The Provost will provide a more detailed update on this in the coming days, she added.