Rag: Behind the scenes
Rag and Flag 2015 organisers (from left): Han Xinjie Christie, Kevin Prasetio, Lee Yi Jiao, Karthik, June Tay Jie Lin, Wong Zhi Wei and Eleanor Ang Jie Lin
The team behind this year's NUS Students' Union (NUSSU) Rag Day, held on 7 August at The Float@Marina Bay, has pursued their vision doggedly to get to where they are now. Rag and Flag 2015 Events Director Karthik s/o Tamil Maran, a Year 3 Communications & New Media student, has been holding all the strings together, overseeing 200-300 people on both Kent Ridge and Bukit Timah campuses.
"For the event to be done at such a big scale, there's a lot of risk involved and a lot of decisions to be made, from the bottom up. So, a major challenge was getting approval for the things we envisioned and how we wanted to pull it off, he explained.
The last time NUSSU held Rag Day off campus was in 2011, at The Promontory@Marina Bay, but that edition was not at this scale, according to Karthik. Hence, the organisers had to plan everything from scratch, and the planning took "way longer than other years, he added.
The event, which is expected to host a capacity crowd of 30,000, will be the largest-scale off-site Rag Day in recent history. Apart from the usual dazzling display of floats and performances from Halls of Residence and Schools, there will be a 3.5 m-high "birthday cake of 2 m diameter, to commemorate Singapore's 50th year of independence. It will be equipped with a contactless smart card payment system for collection of donations.
Building the giant "birthday cake was itself a feat, as it was made using recycled materials ' as per Rag tradition ' but required technical prowess to fine-tune the backend, so that the total amount shown will reflect the amount raised during Flag Day, as well as donations given on Rag Day itself. The cake will be adorned with postcards of well-wishes by Primary Five and special needs students, as well as beneficiaries.
Among the evening's entertainment are popular local bands, The Sam Willows and Gentle Bones, and American YouTube sensation Christina Grimmie. Christina had toured Kent Ridge Campus on 5 August, stopping at campus radio station RadioPulze's studios at University Town for an interview.
Coordinating the efforts of so many stakeholders, both on- and off-campus, was the most challenging aspect of the job, said Karthik. When asked exactly what he was managing, he said, "Everything! This would include ensuring there is unified branding across all marketing platforms, coordinating event logistics to meeting the necessary requirements for the use of the venue.
"I have learnt so much more in organising this one event than in my three years of education at NUS, because I had to learn everything by myself. There's no professor who's going to tell you what there is to do, said Karthik.
Rag and Flag, which has its roots in "Welfare Week in 1957, has two components. Flag Day, which is usually held a few days prior to Rag Day, has students canvassing for donations across Singapore. Rag Day is a presentation of lively performances to thank the public for their Flag Day donations. This year, NUSSU aims to raise $450,000 ' to be matched dollar for dollar by the government ' that will go to 19 beneficiaries.
