Students at Yale-NUS express discomfort over alleged request to destroy DVDs
Singapore: A group of student associates at Yale-NUS College library reportedly were told to render DVDs unplayable in April, approximately a month before the college's final cohort graduated. Two anonymous associates shared their experiences with our website, stating that they were instructed to scratch DVDs during their shifts without prior knowledge of the task.
One student, identified only as Janet, said a librarian ordered her to make four cuts on each disc to make them unreadable. According to Janet, she scratched around 80 to 100 discs, which consisted mainly of films in various languages, including titles from the prestigious Criterion Collection.
Janet felt sad about the situation, as many DVDs were still in good condition. She asked library staff if she could exempt herself from the task but was told to continue due to a shortage of time.
Another student associate, Ben, also from the graduating batch, was told the DVDs needed to be scratched for security reasons. He, too, made cuts on numerous DVDs, though he couldn't provide an exact number. The damaged DVDs were later thrown into a trash bag with their cases.
Ben felt it was odd but plausible, given the school library's ownership of restricted DVDs. However, he wondered if there were enough such DVDs to justify this action.
In response to our queries, Associate Professor Natalie Pang, NUS University Librarian, explained that audiovisual materials are regulated by copyright and licensing laws, which restrict redistribution. As a result, DVDs that could not be rehomed or redistributed had to be destroyed to comply with these legal and licensing constraints. The university did not disclose the exact number of DVDs destroyed.
This DVD destruction incident comes amidst Yale-NUS College's shutdown and renovation plans, as the campus prepares to house the National University of Singapore’s law faculty and library. The college's closure follows a previous controversy regarding the disposal of hundreds of books from the Yale-NUS library, sparking public concerns about the handling of cultural and educational materials.
- The destruction of DVDs at Yale-NUS College library, including films from the Criterion Collection, was due to copyright and licensing laws that restrict redistribution, with students like Janet and Ben instructed to make them unplayable.
- The incident of DVD destruction, alongside the previous controversy over the disposal of books, has raised questions about the handling of educational materials, such as technology resources like DVDs, as Yale-NUS College prepares for a campus renovation and restructuring.
