Have you ever wondered what it feels like to dine in the dark?

70 SMU students did exactly that on 30 September 2014 when they attempted to complete a meal without being able to see what they were eating. For the vast majority of the participants, that was the first time they had tried doing so.

The event Dining In The Dark was organised by the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team in the Office of Global Learning as part of the team’s Glue series of talks, seminars, and events. The aim of the event was to give participants an idea of what people with visual impairments go through on a daily basis.

In a completely darkened classroom, students were led to their tables by facilitators from the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped (SAVH). Once seated, students had to orientate themselves and locate their own cutlery, before digging into a three-course bento-box meal in pitch-black darkness.

“It was a unique, incredible experience that really puts a person in the shoes of a visually impaired individual,” said Timothy Seow, a second-year student from the School of Social Sciences. “I have never experienced anything like it before, and will recommend others to come experience this for themselves.”

[Photo: A participant reflected on what might have been for the 'cleanest diner' competition.]

The event also saw prizes being awarded to the “cleanest diner” during the event, as well as to the winners of a competition to see who could design the most creative and visually appealing name-tent (in the dark, of course). Two winners were chosen for each category, with each walking away with an 8GB memory stick.

More importantly, the competition enabled students to reflect on their own abilities, as they put themselves in the shoes of individuals with visual impairments.

As third-year Bachelor of Business Management student, Jessica Ong, said: “It was an eye-opening experience to have a feel of what it is like to be visually impaired. The takeaway is that disability does not equate to inability.”

[Photo: Rosie Wong (far left) and her SAVH colleagues were all smiles following the successful conclusion of the event.]

For Rosie Wong, a SAVH facilitator who has been blind since she was 9, the event was an opportunity to raise awareness of a condition that affects an estimated 285 million people worldwide.

“People with visual impairments experience this on a daily basis, while the students have only experienced it for two hours. Through this event, we hope students will have an awareness of what it’s like to live with a disability,” said Rosie.

Launched more than a year ago, SMU is the first and only university in Singapore to establish a D&I function that underscores its commitment towards fair and equal opportunity. SMU believes that no deserving student, staff or faculty should be denied access or opportunities on the basis of their physical, social, economic, cultural attributes or backgrounds.

The D&I team organises programmes to foster an open, safe and welcoming environment on campus, and to advance the understanding of multicultural issues and identities within the SMU community.

To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at SMU, visit smu.sg/included or email included [at] smu.edu.sg.