View source for Eusoff College panty raids (1967 & 1972)

While it was only reported on two occasions in 1967 and 1972, panty-raiding activities were perceived as an annual tradition between the Raffles Hall boys and Eusoff College girls. Opened in 1958, Eusoff College was an all-female hostel on the Bukit Timah campus.<ref>"Still jiving, after all these years". ''The Straits Times.'' August 9, 2008. Accessed  on 19 July 2019. Retrieved from: http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0808/PDF/JIVING-st-9Aug-pB6.pdf</ref> Some former Eusoff College residents commented that the raid was a tradition stemming from a ‘battle of the sexes’ mentality on campus. The women mentioned that besides getting tipped off about the raid, they would face the boys head-on with a mix of flour and water bombs as they tried to scale up the slope.<ref>[https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19890806-1.2.25.9?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Memories of ‘battle of the sexes’ tickle ex-hostelites”]. ''The Straits Times.'' August 6, 1989. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> More recently in 2008, one of the first residents of Eusoff College remarked fondly on the antics of the Raffles Hall boys during Eusoff's 50th Anniversary reunion visit.<ref>"Still jiving, after all these years". ''The Straits Times.'' August 9, 2008. Accessed  on 19 July 2019. Retrieved from: http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0808/PDF/JIVING-st-9Aug-pB6.pdf</ref>

==1967 Panty Raid==
[[File:Eusoff College Girls.jpg|thumb|''Eusoff College girls pictured in front of their dorms. Photo from UM Memory''. ]]
Described as “one of the worst-ever in recent years”, the 1967 Panty Raid earned its notoriety largely for the damage done on Eusoff College. Based on witness reports, the boys snuck in during the early hours of the morning to loot the girls’ undergarments from the laundry room.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720110-1.2.33?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Undergrads show off spoils of a panty raid”]. ''The Straits Times.'' January 10, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG </ref> It was reported that doors and windows were smashed and walls were covered with pornographic words and “clinically accurate, but morally depraved diagrams”.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19670902-1.2.90.7?ST=1&AT=search&k=pantie%20raid&QT=pantie,raid&oref=article “Pantie raiders still at large”]. ''The Straits Times.'' September 2, 1967. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> In response, the University of Singapore took action against seventy-five undergraduates who had confessed to their participation. They were suspended from Raffles Hall for three months.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19670726-1.2.52?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid&QT=panty,raid&oref=article “Panty raid sequel: 70 suspended”]. ''The Straits Times.'' July 26, 1967. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> 


The raid was commented on by then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, in his National Day Celebrations speech to the Bukit Merah Community Centre. He reiterated that such actions were not condoned in the University before criticising their actions.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19670726-1.2.52?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid&QT=panty,raid&oref=article “Lee hits out at that pantie raid”]. ''The Straits Times.'' August 25, 1967. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref>

==1972 Panty Raid==
[[File:Panty Raid Raffles Hall (1972).jpg|thumb|''A photograph depicting the aftermath of the panty raid in front of Raffles Hall in 1972. Photo from National Archives Singapore.'']]

===Details of incident===
On 10 January 1972, The Straits Times published an article on a panty raid conducted the night before. In front of Raffles Hall along Nassim Road, a dozen pair of panties and brasseries believed to be stolen from Eusoff College were strung from a flagpole. This incident prompted a series of reports and opinion pieces that lasted a week.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720110-1.2.33?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Undergrads show off spoils of a panty raid”]. ''The Straits Times.'' January 10, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG </ref>


Two days after the report, the University of Singapore authorities announced that they were conducting private investigations into the raid. The master of Raffles Hall, Dr Lee Soo Ann, and the principal of Eusoff College, Dr Eileen Aw, were reported to be heading the investigations.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720112-1.2.71?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Varsity probes panty raid”]. ''The Straits Times.'' January 12, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> A university spokesman clarified the university’s intolerance for such behaviour while also denying that panty-raiding was an annual event, citing that the last raid was in 1967. 

===Responses (Public and students)===
A local newspaper, the New Nation, published an opinion piece originally written in Sin Chew Jit Poh, a local Chinese-language newspaper. In a strongly-worded article, the writer criticised the undergraduates for “giving vent to their sexual bewilderment” and for regarding panty-raiding and “ragging” as a form of ‘tradition’. Additionally, the writer reprimanded the undergraduates for damaging the reputation of the university and called for tighter disciplinary actions by university authorities.<ref>[https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19720113-1.2.45.2?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Sin Chew Jit Poh”]. ''New Nation.'' January 13, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref>


Residents of Raffles Hall provided their perspectives on the matter. In his letter to The Straits Times, a resident offered his personal views surrounding the raid. The resident argued that the raid was “an outlet for pent-up emotions and feelings of depression” as undergraduates were faced with approaching annual examinations, mounting tensions from “cramming late into the night” and “deprived of the comforts of family life”. He also stated that “no harm was meant, no harm was done” as the Eusoff College girls did not lodge any complaints and had “taken it all in good humour”.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720114-1.2.66.1?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Panty raid: no harm done”]. ''The Straits Times.'' January 14, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> 


In contrast, the student representative group of Raffles Hall, known as the Junior Common Room Committee, responded to the article in Sin Chew Jit Poh by positing that outsiders could have been responsible for the raid. The group argued that the lack of fences or gates around the university premises, in which Raffles Hall was situated, allowed outsiders to access the university grounds freely. The Committee stated that if the raid had been conducted by the students, the participants would comprise of only “a small group of culprits”.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720115-1.2.104?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Outsiders may have pulled off panty raid say the boys”]. ''The Straits Times.'' January 15, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. </ref> 


On 2 February 1972, The Straits Times reported that the University had taken action against some male University of Singapore students. In his brief comment, Dr Lee Soo Ann announced that appropriate action had been taken and the matter was closed.<ref>[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720202-1.2.37?ST=1&AT=search&k=panty%20raid%20raffles&QT=panty,raid,raffles&oref=article “Panty Raid: Varsity Takes Action”]. ''The Straits Times.'' February 2, 1972. Accessed 17 July 2019. Retrieved from NewspaperSG</ref> 

==References / Citations==
[[Category:Newsworthy Incidents]]
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