The NUS Exam Wellness Pack

Since I started my grad work here in NUS in 2005, I'd been receiving notifications for the NUS Exam Wellness Pack (when and where it'd be distributed, a rough description of what the pack included, etc) a week or two before final exams season, but it was only this morning that I was able to get one. I didn't even intentionally get one. I was walking to the Central Library, when I saw a group of students handing out red paper bags to students. As I wallked closer to them, someone approached me and handed me a bag. Though I didn't know what was inside it, but because it was obviously a freebie, well, I took it. Hehe. What can I say? I love freebies--and swag, all kinds! (Hee, been wanting to use that word 'swag' for a long time.)

It was only when I looked in the bag that I realized it was the NUS Exam Wellness Pack. At first I thought it was some Singtel (a huge Singapore telecoms company) promotional merchandise, because the bag had Singtel written all over it. Singtel was probably a sponsor, because there were a number of things inside that had the Singtel logo as well. Oh, well, anyway, you can see for yourself. Behold the NUS Exam Wellness Pack:




So, there's a plastic folder, a notebook, a notepad, a pen (not in the pic though, because I couldn't find it), a can of coffee, a pack of teh tarik, a pack of nuts, some cheese crackers, gum, a travel size facial wash for men (I wonder why it's specifically for men), and a travel size neck and shoulder rub. While the tag line 'Exercise Your Right to Free Speech' may sound really exciting and revolutionary vis-a-vis the local context, please do not think it has any real critical edge to it. If you look more closely, you'll actually find it's tied to 'With Free Campus Calls.' I mentioned earlier that Singtel is probably one of the sponsors for this pack, right? So, there you go. Then again, it ('Exercise Your Right to Free Speech With Free Campus Calls') is a really good copy, I think, and the copy's sentiment--without the free campus calls bit, that is--seems to work very well with the color of the material, which is also Singtel's color.

Overall, I think the exam wellness pack is quite useful, though I have to admit, I don't have anything to compare it to. This is the first time I've ever gotten one. Actually, when I first received a notification for it way back, I was surprised. Can you imagine a UP Exam Wellness Pack?! I think not. Hehe. I don't know if Virginia Tech, the other school I went to for my MA, has something like this, as I never took final exams there. Come to think of it, it was also kind of surprising at first when I found out I had to take final exams for my grad work here. Then again, I'd been warned that exams were a major deal in Singaporean schools. I suppose the wellness pack is one indication of that. Plus the reading week, plus hours devoted to revision, plus emails of best wishes from deans and lecturers, plus the all-around anxiety that seems to hover on campus during this time, and most of all, plus the fact that some modules assign a full 100% on the final exam, making it the sole basis for one's mark. I suppose, in light of all these, the exam wellness pack is indeed much needed.