NTU to counsel students after CNY lo hei event on campus draws flak over food waste
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Yusheng can be seen scattered on the ground, tables and on the students’ heads.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM LIVING4LOVE.SG/TIKTOK
SINGAPORE - Several students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be counselled after they were filmed engaging in rowdy behaviour and wasting food at a Chinese New Year celebration on Feb 11.
In a video posted by TikTok user living4love.sg on Feb 11, about 100 students can be seen tossing yusheng – a raw fish salad eaten during the festive period – into the air or at one another inside a residential hall.
The students involved were from NTU halls 3, 12, 13 and 16, the TikTok user wrote.
The video, which has amassed nearly 300,000 views as at Feb 13, shows some students throwing plastic cups and handfuls of yusheng at the crowd.
Some students can be seen using plates to shield themselves from the salad.
Yusheng can be seen scattered on the ground, tables and on the students’ heads, while shouts of “huat ah” (Hokkien for “to prosper”) are heard in the background.
Lo hei, which means tossing up good fortune in Cantonese, is a Chinese New Year tradition where diners gather around a large platter of yusheng and toss the ingredients in the air with chopsticks while shouting auspicious phrases. It symbolises prosperity, abundance and rising fortunes for the coming year.
While some mess around the plate and table is common during lo hei, diners do not typically throw the food at one another.
In response to queries from The Straits Times on Feb 13, NTU said the university is aware of the clip that was posted online.
“As a university with a diverse community, we observe various festive traditions that are to be conducted appropriately and with consideration for others. We also take concerns about food waste seriously.”
The university added that organisers will also be reminded to remain vigilant and to intervene promptly to manage small groups that are exhibiting rowdy behaviour.
Most of the comments made on the TikTok clip were critical of the actions of the students.
“Playing with food is the only thing I saw. What a waste of food. You are supposed to... (toss the yusheng) up high as a meaning of prosperity and not to throw them all over the place. Even plastic bottles and containers are thrown in this video. Seriously,” wrote TikTok user Chocolatemilkbetta.
Another user, Val.koh, wrote on the social media platform: “This is so disrespectful to the meaning of lo hei. Some things are not meant to be played around with, no matter which generation you come from!”
