Earth Hour at TCSH
“This isn’t dark!” a girl in the crowd shouts. And when all the lights were finally out, the crowd cheered in satisfaction. The event that started off three years ago in the land down under, Australia, is now celebrated globally. Hence, it is no surprise that students of TCSH would commemorate this worthwhile event on campus.
Earth Hour, organized by our very own Tree Huggers’ Club, Student Council, and Leo Club was an intimate affair, what with all the candles, the band music, and…
…the low turn-up of students.
Yes, yes, indeed we all know that attracting a small turnout to an event may seem negative, but it gave the event a relaxed feel. Another factor that helped create a relaxed feel to the event is the unusual arrangement of venue for the performances and seating arrangement for the crowd. Normally, during events that involve the entire student body, the focus would always be towards the elevated space outside the Alpha Theatre which acted as a stage. But for this event, performances were all held at the space between the library and the Gamma room. As for the seating arrangements, campus sofas were rearranged to face the “Hang out” glass doors. The close proximity between performers and the audience, lounging on the sofas, was great in helping us realise the reason for the concert – to make a stand against climate change.
The slogan for the event was “Turn off your light, turn on the future”. With the event being about conserving energy, I found it a bit contradictory that the event should be held on a Saturday night in campus. Meaning, on the day, electricity would have to be turned on when it usually is left turned off. When asked, first-time project manager in TCSH, Mark Foo responded, “Everyone knows what Earth Hour represents. And that's why my main purpose was not to introduce them to what Earth Hour is about, but to encourage students in TCSH to play a part in shutting off their lights for one hour to help save energy. We wanted to shut off the air-conditioning system as well but we were not permitted to do so as it was not up to us to switch it off.”
During the period when the lights were on, two of our schoolmates shared on ways of lessening power usage, followed by performances from the music club and dance club. The music club choir sang “We Are the World” and there were solo performances by the music club’s songstress Mahirah who sang Hey Monday’s “Candles” which suited the candle-adorned evening, and “What Do You Want From Me” by Adam Lambert. After that, there was a hype-fueled dance performance to a medley of dance songs and ballads by the dance club. The Food Club also played a very important role during the event, serving up sandwiches and cookies. Very good ones too, I might add.
One would wonder: What is a person to do for fun in the dark? Well, the organizers took care of that by having a “Dark Challenge” where students can pay RM3 to enter total darkness in the Alpha Theatre filled with tables and chairs arranged to mislead and raffia strings, that I felt were unpromising,to help them back to the exit. Of course, there were those who were afraid to enter due to their fear of darkness, but there were those who wanted a thrill. Another highlight of the event was the candles arranged in a “60” formation to represent the 60 minutes committed to conserving energy and many had their turns taking a picture with the beautiful, lighted candles on the floor of the Beta Theatre.
Prior to the event, Earth Hour T-shirts were on sale and it was pleasing to see supporters wearing the shirts during the event. During the lights-out session, glow sticks were sold, and it was a trending activity that night for students to make necklaces and bracelets out of them.
One of the most significant things during the event was the notice board that was covered in black sugar paper, prepared for all attendees to leave a message to support the cause of lessening power usage. One of the many things that pitched the event home was the guest band, Outcast Enterprise, which made their appearance at our campus all the way from Malacca. The band was superb, presenting songs by The Script, Maroon 5 and Oasis.
The night ended with a dance floor session, but it was not surprising that only a few came up due to shyness, and because there were too few people around to trigger a dance frenzy.
Mark admitted, “The most troubling matter was to get students to attend the event on a Saturday night”. He commented further that the worst comment he received during the night was: “Hey, why are there only 50 students including performers as well?” Though, the poor number of attendees might have been exaggerated, there was no denying the lack of participation from other college mates. But, that didn’t stop the genuine good comments that came Mark's way, such as “Well done, everything went smoothly. And the Dark Challenge maze was awesome!”
The event was a spectacular one, one that played a role in bringing the student body together and promoting a goal of improving the conditions of this earth.
By LOW TE JINN
Earth Hour, organized by our very own Tree Huggers’ Club, Student Council, and Leo Club was an intimate affair, what with all the candles, the band music, and…
…the low turn-up of students.
Yes, yes, indeed we all know that attracting a small turnout to an event may seem negative, but it gave the event a relaxed feel. Another factor that helped create a relaxed feel to the event is the unusual arrangement of venue for the performances and seating arrangement for the crowd. Normally, during events that involve the entire student body, the focus would always be towards the elevated space outside the Alpha Theatre which acted as a stage. But for this event, performances were all held at the space between the library and the Gamma room. As for the seating arrangements, campus sofas were rearranged to face the “Hang out” glass doors. The close proximity between performers and the audience, lounging on the sofas, was great in helping us realise the reason for the concert – to make a stand against climate change.
The slogan for the event was “Turn off your light, turn on the future”. With the event being about conserving energy, I found it a bit contradictory that the event should be held on a Saturday night in campus. Meaning, on the day, electricity would have to be turned on when it usually is left turned off. When asked, first-time project manager in TCSH, Mark Foo responded, “Everyone knows what Earth Hour represents. And that's why my main purpose was not to introduce them to what Earth Hour is about, but to encourage students in TCSH to play a part in shutting off their lights for one hour to help save energy. We wanted to shut off the air-conditioning system as well but we were not permitted to do so as it was not up to us to switch it off.”
A talk on lessening power usage by Juanita and Jennifer
During the period when the lights were on, two of our schoolmates shared on ways of lessening power usage, followed by performances from the music club and dance club. The music club choir sang “We Are the World” and there were solo performances by the music club’s songstress Mahirah who sang Hey Monday’s “Candles” which suited the candle-adorned evening, and “What Do You Want From Me” by Adam Lambert. After that, there was a hype-fueled dance performance to a medley of dance songs and ballads by the dance club. The Food Club also played a very important role during the event, serving up sandwiches and cookies. Very good ones too, I might add.
Siti Maira singing “Candles”
One would wonder: What is a person to do for fun in the dark? Well, the organizers took care of that by having a “Dark Challenge” where students can pay RM3 to enter total darkness in the Alpha Theatre filled with tables and chairs arranged to mislead and raffia strings, that I felt were unpromising,to help them back to the exit. Of course, there were those who were afraid to enter due to their fear of darkness, but there were those who wanted a thrill. Another highlight of the event was the candles arranged in a “60” formation to represent the 60 minutes committed to conserving energy and many had their turns taking a picture with the beautiful, lighted candles on the floor of the Beta Theatre.
Prior to the event, Earth Hour T-shirts were on sale and it was pleasing to see supporters wearing the shirts during the event. During the lights-out session, glow sticks were sold, and it was a trending activity that night for students to make necklaces and bracelets out of them.
One of the most significant things during the event was the notice board that was covered in black sugar paper, prepared for all attendees to leave a message to support the cause of lessening power usage. One of the many things that pitched the event home was the guest band, Outcast Enterprise, which made their appearance at our campus all the way from Malacca. The band was superb, presenting songs by The Script, Maroon 5 and Oasis.
The night ended with a dance floor session, but it was not surprising that only a few came up due to shyness, and because there were too few people around to trigger a dance frenzy.
Mark admitted, “The most troubling matter was to get students to attend the event on a Saturday night”. He commented further that the worst comment he received during the night was: “Hey, why are there only 50 students including performers as well?” Though, the poor number of attendees might have been exaggerated, there was no denying the lack of participation from other college mates. But, that didn’t stop the genuine good comments that came Mark's way, such as “Well done, everything went smoothly. And the Dark Challenge maze was awesome!”
The event was a spectacular one, one that played a role in bringing the student body together and promoting a goal of improving the conditions of this earth.
By LOW TE JINN
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