Tazette April 2011 issue

Campus Buzz

Media Prima invites you to LOL!by Samantha Chow Jia Ern

This year, media conglomerate Media Prima Radio Networks (MPRN) is targeting students like you through a campaign called L.O.L. (Live Out Loud)!

At a press conference recently, MPRN launched three micro-sites under each radio station (Fly FM, One FM and Hot FM) namely: lol.flyfm.com.my / lol.onefm.com.my and lol.hotfm.com.my. These useful sites are dedicated to students to provide helpful information about MPRN and the radio industry.

Basically what you’ll get to experience as a high-school, college or university student is enjoy internship and career opportunities with their radio companies as well as be able to see how your favourite radio announcers work! Any Malaysian or foreign students are able to apply for the internship.

There is an interactive bulletin board where students can share any upcoming events happening in your campus and stand a chance to win exclusive merchandise in contests.

What’s exciting is that MPRN will hold University Talks at selected universities to get an exclusive scoop on the trades of the radio-entertainment industry. So if you’re interested in the broadcasting or radio sector, send in a request and you might just be able to get a visit from your favourite radio announcer in your own campus!
CEO Mr. Seelan Paul said that part of MPRN’s target market has always been the young and vibrant youths of the country.

This CSR project is on-going for an indefinite period.

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Taylor’s Book Club holds New Members Meet & Greet by Samantha Chow

Taylor’s Book Club recently held their first meeting for the year: New Members Meet & Greet and the screening of the movie 127 Hours on March 21st. The movie screening was in conjunction with the March theme of ‘Oscar Nite’. 127 Hours is a 2011-Oscar nominee under ‘Best Screenplay’, and is based on the book titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Many Book Club members who attended found the movie inspiring (although a little bit gory at parts!)

The Book Club holds monthly book discussions and movie screening, based on the month’s themes. They also hold other students-benefiting events such as invited guest speakers; in fact, Marina Mahathir will be presenting on the topic of ‘Inspiring Young Writers in This Age of Democracy’ on May 4th 2011. Other events include a Short Story Competition and donation of books to Orphanage. Students who are interested to find out more can visit ‘Book Club at Taylor’s University’ on Facebook.

Feature:

One day in college: How to be a budget spender in campus. by Samantha Chow Jia Ern
Yes, we study in one of the largest campus nationwide with a four-storey library and carpeted lecture halls. There’s a huge commercial block with numerous choices of eateries and cafes, a colourful student lounge, computer labs with the latest Macs…we even have a lake for goodness sake! But what do you know about utilizing all these which are actually provided for YOUR use? Tazette writer SAMANTHA CHOW spends an entire day in campus to find out what students can do to last the entire day just by spending a maximum of RM10.

7.00AM “I make my own breakfast. Nutella sandwich, yums!” [Free]

7.30AM – “I’m taking the shuttle bus to campus.” [Free]

8.00AM - “Morning class…yawn!”

12.00PM “Done with morning classes, it’s now lunch time!” A set meal at Recezz is only RM6 to RM7, not including a RM2 drink. [RM9-RM10]

1.00PM “What a great lunch hour, gossiping with my girl friends. Now to spend some time catching up on the news with the free newspapers provided in the library.” [Free]

1.30PM “I think I shall borrow the PR textbook for the assignment that’s coming up… Meanwhile I can also check out the novels in the fiction section!” [Free]

*Do you know that you can borrow up to 10 books at one time, and that you can extend your 14-days time limit via the Library Portal?

2.00PM “Classes in the giant lecture hall…hope it’s not too cold!”

3.30PM “Class ended early, so I think I shall go check Taylor’s portal for any announcement.” [Free]

4.00PM “Hmm I think I’ll go join my Ping Pong club members for a game in the student lounge!” [Free]

*You can also book the basketball/tennis court for free via the e-Portal

5.00PM “Lounging by the lakeside to end a long day. It’s so windy!” [Free]

6.00PM “Going home by carpool with friends. Group karaoke in the car!” [Free]

BUDGET TIPS:
As a college student in a busy city, you might find it difficult to resist the everyday temptation of RM15 coffees or the latest pair of shoes that you must have at the nearby mall. Here are some tips on how you can spend happily and wisely as well as also having a little extra to save up:

1. Prepare a simple budget at the beginning of the month, and stick to it! Allocate a reasonable amount for extra spending, which you will need.

2. Reuse materials or clothes. I make long pants into shorts or tight tees into sleeveless tops! Check out http://diyfashion.about.com/

3. Carpool with your friends. Saves fuel as well as time looking for parking.

4. Minimize going out to the mall during breaks. Most of the time I end up buying something I don’t need just because I’ve seen it and thought at that moment that it was ‘just the thing I need’.

5. Get a part time job! If you do not want to travel, you can always apply for a student assistant job in our very own campus. Trust me; the extra cash does come in very handy.

Paper and print: A tale of a Malaysian girl’s personal pursuit of distant dreams (Part Two)

By: Samantha Chow (M/6366)

In the first part of this short musing, I wrote about what led me to love books as much as I do now. A little disclaimer before I continue: I guess it would be wrong to say that I ‘love reading’ as I am choosy with my selections; I almost only read fiction novels and the occasional travel or goggle at little colourful gastronomically-delighting cookbooks. I never claimed to love reading thick serious historical texts, preferring to a ‘live reading’ (storytelling) by history enthusiasts like my dad. However I found out that one can always read fiction novels with historic themes such as Judith Kerr’s Jewish childhood narration ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’ or Reina James’ ‘The Time of Dying’ about the horrific influenza epidemic in 1918 London. Books that have won awards or were nominated are usually quickly recognised and automatically picked up to flip through.

But I digress. As promised, I will now share with you several methods of getting good reads for cheaper or even free!

Tazette Sept & Oct 2010

Campus Buzz:

OSK Investment Challenge Workshop at Lakeside Campus by Samantha Chow Jia Ern

When: Monday, 16 August 2010

OSK Investment Challenge (OSKIC) is a nation-wide stock trading challenge open to all college or university students aged 18 to 30. Once registered with your student ID you are given RM100, 000 of virtual money to invest in virtual stocks over a period of 7 weeks.

A workshop was recently held at the campus for interested students. One of the three student ambassadors for the OSKIC Maggie Tan shares that there are about 130 Taylorians who have currently registered for the Challenge. Also don’t worry if you do not know anything about stock trading; OSKIC shares a lot of tutorial and how-to’s on their Facebook page (http://facebook.com/osk.fb) where they post tutorial videos and you can also engage on their active discussion board, she says.

The prizes are drool-worthy, ranging from Netbooks to the grand prize of RM25, 000! The winning campus receives RM100, 000 worth of computer lab and equipment, OSK Investment Challenge (Campus Edition) trophy and Internship opportunities. Those who have completed the Challenge will receive a Certificate of Participation, if not, gain more understanding regarding stock trading. Maggie says: “They (the students) want to join because they are attracted to the prizes!”

Student Voon Pui San (Bachelor of Marketing) is one such enthusiast: “I took part in this Challenge because you get to improve your knowledge about the share market!” She spends about 30 minutes a day playing the game with her friends and classmates, most of which have also registered for the Challenge.

What are you waiting for? Go to http://www.oskic.com/ to start trading and win!

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Dress for Success: Make Your First Impression Count by Samantha Chow

A Dress for Success workshop, organised by the Career Services Department of Taylor’s University College was held on the 3rd of September at the Lakeside Campus to help students make a strong, lasting first impression, useful for when in the workplace. The workshop entitled “Make Your First Impression Count” was conducted by renowned professional image consultant Ana Cheong who runs her own image consultancy firm, “Ana Consultancy”. There were 20 attendees to the workshop which includes both staff and students. Invaluable topics shared by Ana include emphasising on the way a person dresses as well as techniques on making a good self-introduction.

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Yes I Can by Samantha Chow

The Yes, I Can Edu-Talk was held at the Lakeside Campus on 17th September as part of a national campaign to empower women by educating them on sexual health and contraception to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Miss Malaysia 2007 Deborah Henry was present as speaker for the talk and presented the students with informed decisions on sexual health, unplanned pregnancy and family planning.

The campaign also includes the Yes, I Can poster Challenge and the Spot-The-Car sticker contest. For more information log on to Yesican.com.my

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Feature:

Lakeside Campus: The Good, The Bad & The Future? by Samantha Chow Jia Ern

What do you not know about your new campus?

Taylor’s Lakeside Campus took in its first batch of students in January this year. As a student here, are you aware of the facilities offered by Taylor’s? Do you face the same problems as highlighted below? Read on to find out more information that you might not know about your new campus:

The Good
Most people are wowed upon first entering the campus grounds. Did you know that this campus’ layout was specially designed for an academic institution? Facilities included in this aesthetically-pleasing campus are the 600-pax Auditorium, fully-equipped laboratories and a Moot Court. There are also upcoming shops and amnesties at the Hostel Commercial Block.

Students are happy with the stunning open design of the campus, especially of the impressive four-storey high glass edifice Library which provides a clear panoramic view of the lake. A student from the School of Communication simply stated that “It’s awesome!” when asked to comment.

The campus’ Clubs and Societies provide exciting Extra-Curricular activities which cover a wide range of interests so do check them out and enjoy the opportunity to meet more people as well as expand upon your interest!

The Bad
A popular issue is the parking spots which students claim are filled to the brim during peak hours, whereas those who park at Zone H or Zone J have to walk on stony roads which are especially difficult for ladies wearing high heels.

There has also been mention about the lack of food stores, overpriced vending machines, Drop-off Point and even on the smell of cow dung! Lecturer A would like the campus to be more “environmentally-friendly” and SL from the School of Communications would like for more benches to be installed.

Students also lament the lack of printers and having to line up in long queues to retrieve their prints. Mei Hsuan from the School of Communications hopes Taylor’s will “…increase the number of printers without us having to pay more.”

The Future
Ms Evelyn Lee from Institutional Marketing takes some time off to speak to Tazette.

Parking issues, traffic jam & Drop-off point:
Ms Evelyn shares that a multi-storey parking bay might be built to provide more parking spots. There will be no parking fees for an indefinite period of time; however she asserts that it will be imposed on both the students and staff, although the amount is not clear. The traffic jam faced when exiting the grounds at the end of the day will hopefully be rectified after the new exit is completed. The current drop-off point is at the area near Zone G parking, marked by white canopies.

Hostel Commercial Block:
The accommodation block has been ready for move-in since August. Meanwhile, the hotel which is built for the training of the Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary students is scheduled to be completed by this year end. Food stores which are coming in include Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and Famous Amos. Stationary shops, Carrefour Express and Ambank will also be brought in phase by phase.

New courses:
Taylor’s are proud to announce that they have just received the confirmation to launch post-grad programs for Medicine and Pharmacy! There will also be a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture, all which will be launched in 2011.

It has only been eight months and Taylor’s Lakeside Campus is just beginning to rear its head in providing excellent education in a comfortable and pleasing study site, so it would not hurt to sit back and watch as Taylor’s grow into the most perfect academic institution in town.

Have something to share regarding the Lakeside Campus that the writer missed out on? Send in your views and opinions to editorialboard.tuc@gmail.com

Paper and print: A tale of a Malaysian girl’s personal pursuit of distant dreams (Part One)

By: Samantha Chow (M/6366)

Books have always played a significant part in my life. They shape me into who I am today, one who constantly dreams of places I want to go, people I want to meet and things that I want to do one day.

Having being introduced to books at the tender age of seven when my mom first brought my siblings and I to the nearby Plaza Phoenix’s library, it wasn’t hard for me to quickly pick up on the one habit which I still practice up until today. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my favourites, and I finished up the whole set in about a year. I remember that because not too soon after that the library closed down. Sadly I was too young to mourn the loss of the library membership as I didn’t know what I would miss in the coming years.

Taylor's Open Day @ Lakeside Campus - Day 3

Videographer for Taylor's Open Day January 2010

Hot Or Not: Michelle Obama

Samantha Chow Jia Ern, Updated: Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:50:45 GMT

Known as the new Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama is the new queen in fashion-dom and the American nation, admired for her philanthropic values as well as her personal style.


The First Lady of America has given hope to women out there that you don't need an army of stylists to look great. After all, who can forget that VOGUE magazine cover for which she picked out her own outfits? Here, we take a look at some of her other choices, and while, like the rest of us, Mrs Obama does slip up with the occassional faux pas, on the whole, this lady's got bags of style!

Read more on the original post: http://lifestyle.malaysia.msn.com/Fashion/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=3478462

Lancôme’s Les Nuits Eye Palette

By Samantha Chow Jia Ern, Updated: 9/2/2009

Inspired by shades of the night, Lancôme’s new eye make-up set provides rich, vibrant colours for women who want to be enthralled in mystery.


Colours of the night from the contrast of the light and the dark of the twilight to the bronzed shade of the dawn are the themes for Lancôme's new collection.

Available in three captivating contemporary shades, the Les Nuits collection draws upon the enthralling delicate new shades of night-time colours with avant-garde pearlescent pigments of Versatile Light Pearls. These next-generation pearlescent pigments combined with black iron oxide, titanium oxide and Mica deliver an intense resplendence to subtly illuminate shimmering eyes.

The Ombre Absolue Les Nuits is the first Lancôme Eye-shadow palettes created on make-up artistry techniques to offer new colour harmonies. This collection gives a gliding and comfortable sensation for a radiant and longer lasting make-up.

Ombre Absolue Les Nuits Palette is available in 3 shades; F40 Symphonie Baroque, A10 Rose du Bonheur and G10 Intemporel Smoky. Ombre Absolue Palette (RM135) is now available at all Lancôme counters nationwide.

This beauty article is reproduced from: http://lifestyle.malaysia.msn.com/Beauty/News/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3562295