The Mighty Stag

He was dying. He was in his prime, yet he was dying. His mom would have been proud of his mighty antlers, but that's not the way amongst his kind. He had left the comforts of his herd like all young males had to. He had found his own territory, marked it out the only way he knew to and had grown big and strong. He had grown his massive antlers, good enough to challenge the dominant male in the adjacent territory. He wanted to pass his bloodline.

But he was dying.

His knees were shivering now. Very soon, he would have to crumple into a heap on the grass. He didn't want that as much as possible. He was destined to be the alpha male; alpha males face death bravely. But he had expected it from a younger male, he expected to be maimed in a fight for dominance, he expected to be left for dead by the group. He expected to at least be head of his herd for a few years.

He had been hit when he least expected it. He had felt it before he heard it; a sharp sting through his ribs; a searing stab into his vitals that spread heat as it travelled through his insides. And then the sound came, a sharp crack that echoed amongst the hills. How was he to know that death could strike him while he was eating breakfast? His knees buckled. He had so much to life, but he didn't have any to spare now. -Jimmy

Important Agreement Inked, Another Event in SMUGS Heritage

OSL-The SMU GS group (SMUGS) today signed an agreement that will forever change the SMUGS heritage. Yes, we simply repeated the title in our first line. SMUGS finally scratched ink on the dotted line in an issue that has been through countless delays and seen 2 batches of both SMUGS kroo and WB committee.
WB had approached SMUGS with the intention of taking over an activity that SMUGS had started. Concerns were immediately raised in some corners of the SMUGS camp that they would be giving away their heritage, since the activity was founded and painstakingly built up by the pioneers of SMUGS. To make matters worse, one of the teams under SMUGS was originally named after the activity.
Mr Tjeng, the SMUGS representative who inked the deal, recounted the ordeal: "It was a tumultous time. We had just taken over the reins of SMUGS, and here was an issue that we immediately had to look into. Many mother hens wanted to keep the activity, but there were also many other factors to consider. It was a relief when we reached a consensus as to who had the final say."
Mr Tjeng had the final say.
Over the next few months, he sought the opinions of several stakeholders, including some of the SMUGS seniors, WB committee members and the Kroo. "The hardest part was weighing the reasons, the pros and the cons," Mr Tjeng tells reporters. Mr Tjeng mumbled on a bit about initiating the uninitiated, but the gist of it lies in the balance of heritage versus the relentless march in the name of development. "They both had strong backers. How can you expect to give away something that you had built up? It's akin to giving your kids up for adoption. It's ridiculous, but it happens. WB definitely was more suited to developing the activity as compared to SMUGS. I took a very utilitarian approach to it: the student population gains from the transfer. We have an interest to serve the student population." At this point, Mr Tjeng hands out little badges declaring "James for President!".
Mr Tjeng thus set down to making the transfer official. "We needed it on paper. We had something they wanted, but we didn't want to give the impression that we were just going 'nah, let you take!'. We had expectations from them too, they had to prove they can better serve the school population." Thus, work began on the "Proposal of Transfer", which puts down in words the viewpoints of WB and SMUGS. "We also wanted to show that we're not setting a precedent with this transfer, that we had thoroughly thought it through and that WB eventually proved to have the right qualities."
But the proposal was long in coming. Voices of dissent whispered amongst the WB members. Mr Chai, a friend of Mr Tjeng, and also a WB member says: "Yea, I did meet him casually one day and tell him how some people were blaming SMUGS for taking a long time, that because some people were dragging their feet, (the WB members) can't enjoy."
The proposal was delayed further when the WB committee had to update information in the proposal. First was the confusion over the details required, next came the absence of a key WB committee member. What was expected to take just a few week stretched to almost a year. The final step was in arranging an appointment with Tam. In a private ceremony only attended by 5, SMUGS signed off part of its heritage. OSL and SMUGS say that the original copies of their documents will be kept in their respective offices. The WB spokesman was unavailable for comment.
"Ten years down the road, people may wonder what the big deal was. But for me, knowing that there was something I had to take on, and giving it my best, that's good enough for me." Asked what else people can expect from SMUGS, Mr Tjeng winked, "Adventure at your doorstep. We still have activity development plans up our sleeves." - Chua Boh Liao, with further reporting by Zhng Zhi Zi