Ngee Ann Polytechnic student delivers side kick at graduation ceremony, lecturer plays along
A graduating Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) student drew cheers after performing a taekwondo-style side kick on stage before receiving her diploma, with a lecturer playing along by pretending to be hit.
In a 12-second TikTok video on May 10, Erica Lee, who goes by @ericaleeyq on TikTok, can be seen delivering a perfect, almost vertical side kick onstage as her name is announced.
The former national taekwondo athlete’s stunt drew audible “woahs” from the crowd, while the emcee candidly exclaimed: “Aiyo!”
The lecturer giving out the diplomas at the ceremony, identified as Mr Leslie, pretends to fall backwards before handing the certificate to her.
A later video shows Miss Lee chatting with her lecturers, who said they had anticipated something similar during the graduation ceremony and appeared unfazed by it.
Mr Leslie also said that he was wise to Miss Lee’s intention – she had asked him via text for permission to perform the stunt.
Netizens divided over student’s side kick at graduation ceremony
The video, captioned “Ngee Ann Poly told us to #BePartOfXtra, so I did”, garnered over 494,000 views, 27,400 reactions, and 165 comments.
Many netizens were unimpressed with Miss Lee’s stunt – they thought it was disrespectful to the official, with some even calling her rude.
“So disrespectful,” said one TikToker. “I find it extremely rude. Is this the future of Singapore?” another commented.
One netizen felt that decorum should be upheld at a graduation ceremony. “Take your diploma and be proud of it. Celebrations can be done outside,” said the TikToker.
Others, however, enjoyed the verve of the moment.
“Super fun! Loving it. Keep the spirits up,” said a netizen.
Another netizen was surprised at how uptight the critics were. “How many of us can truly pull off something like this? Why are there so many moral police in Singapore? At least try to be happy for others,” said the TikToker.
One netizen pointed out that it required plenty of practice to execute the kick. “Some say it’s rude but what I see is discipline, hard work in training and a young spirit, passion and guts in expressing (herself),” said the commenter.
Meanwhile, several netizens appeared amused by the MC’s reaction.
“Why’s your MC so funny, one?” commented one. “Yes but hahahahaha…why the MC like that, one,” another said.
The MC himself clarified in a comment that he didn’t say “aiyo” in disapproval. “I wasn’t disappointed at all – it was a very impressive kick. I was just so caught off guard, the ‘aiyo’ just slipped out. HAHA,” he said.
Stomp has reached out to Miss Lee for more details.
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