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| April 2000 Student participation Shifting tastes By Angel Hau RELATED ARTICLES: A survey was conducted by Varsity from 14 February to 19 February 2000 in seven local universities to explore university students’ opinions about joining school committees and societies. A total of 372 questionnaires were distributed to students from Year 1 to Year 3, with a response rate of 94.1 percent. The results indicated that the main functions of the student societies are gaining more experience through organizing activities and joining people with the same interests. Mr. Robert Chung Ting Yiu, research officer of the Social Science Research Centre of The University of Hong Kong, said there has been a shift in university students’ focus in organizing activities. “In the 1970s or 1980s, university students generally put more emphasis on the issues of mainland China and the outside world,” said Mr. Chung. During that period, the fate of Hong Kong was undecided and the students were concerned about their future. Mr. Chung observed that university students have shifted their concerns to issues like striving for students’ rights in school. Explained Mr. Chung: “It was mainly due to the political atmosphere at that time. In the past, university students had a greater influence in society. What they thought and what they did were more radical and innovative. “In the 1990s, political parties emerged and they took up most of the space in politics. Mr. Raymond Lam, assistant professor of the Department of Education at The University of Hong Kong, commented that the shift of the focus is natural. “It is a good sign that the students are realistically joining extra-curricular activities. They cannot always think about serving their fellow schoolmates. “They have to learn to work with teammates and get familiar with running campaigns. “After that, they can think about serving their schoolmates as well as society,” said Mr. Lam. He regards the quantity of students as a reason for this shift. “We have more university students now. This does not mean that we do not have outstanding students. “However, organizers have to lead larger numbers of students and it is difficult for them to maintain an efficient organization,” Mr. Lam said. Mr. Chung attributed this to the 3-year system of the universities. “If students could enjoy a 4-year university life, they could have more time to learn through joining the society committees and be more mature. “The present system just compresses the time of the students,” said Mr. Chung. However, Mr. Lam understands there is a necessity for the present university system. Said he: “The economy is more important now. In the past 20 to 30 years, job opportunities for university graduates were guaranteed. The students could therefore devote more time and energy to organize activities. “But as the unemployment rate rises, students are forced to be more realistic and they are supposed to emphasize academic performance. “This does not mean that students in the past were better, but it is true that they gained more experience in organizing activities. They were more skillful in arousing a response from their schoolmates,” said Mr. Chung. As for today’s students, they focus more on social intercourse and fun. Mr. Robert Chung is also a supervisor in a hostel at Hong Kong University. Said he: “The students are enthusiastic about running activities. “Yet, in the past, hundreds of voices echoed back to one. For now, just one shouts to hundreds.” |
Students' perceptions of the functions of student
societies.
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