From The Straits Times Sep 7, 2007
LaSalle student expelled for campus graffiti
By Khushwant Singh
A SECOND-YEAR student in fine arts who painted graffiti on his college's new premises has been expelled from school.
He was caught spray painting the words 'Gotta start somewhere' on some steps, a lift door, a pillar and a wall of the LaSalle College of the Arts in McNally Street, off Prinsep Street, on Monday night.
His classmates would have known that the phrase referred to a mantra lecturers used during classes.
Fellow second-year student Joj Chan, 22, said: 'They keep telling us that to be artists, we've got to start somewhere.' He added that at LaSalle's old campus in Goodman Road, off Mountbatten Road, some students painted graffiti on walls and the college had not appeared to mind it.
But the college replied that these were class projects carried out in designated areas. The college spokesman added: 'Our institution respects and promotes the freedom of creative expression but always in a responsible way, without damage to the property of others.'
The culprit was dealt with through the college's student disciplinary procedure and was expelled on Tuesday. The matter has also been referred to the police.
LaSalle said if the student felt he had good grounds to appeal against the expulsion, it would consider them.
Contacted by The Straits Times, the student, 23, said he had not told his parents and asked that his name be withheld from this report.
'I want to see what the police will do before I decide on my next step,' he said. In his blog, he says he is 'a free radical who loves exploring new avenues for artistic expression'.
LaSalle's McNally Street campus, which opened in June, is a $121 million modern structure with black aluminium and granite panels, topped with a 'soaring' roof.
