Page 18 - Beyond COVID-19

Re-examine Purpose of Higher Education

arsity students participated in a joint In response to COVID-19, universities distance as well as depression is almost
Vevent with students and professors across the world have adopted online teach- inevitable,” Professor Vickers adds.
from Kyushu University and the University ing with the help of online platforms includ-
of Tokyo in Japan on February 19. The theme ing Zoom and Google Meet. Some describe Online teaching has been hailed as a
is Beyond COVID-19, what can we do for our it as an opportunity for top universities to revolution for universities, and some see
future? go worldwide, as the new mode removes COVID-19 as the turning point to wider the
the physical boundary of campuses. It turns application of this new technology. What
Professor Edward Vickers from Kyushu classes into resources accessible to anyone should be considered is whether this exces-
University talked about education in the with the Internet around the globe. sive attention on attending and delivering
pandemic era. He states that COVID-19 courses, or so-called “useful knowledge”,
makes us re-examine the real purpose of But is higher education all about classes? stands at the centre of higher education.
higher education. Professor Vickers points out that time out-
side of classrooms is also precious. Students
From his view, universities should not exist may learn more during informal conver-
according to the needs of the government sations with professors and classmates,
and upper-class elites. Instead, young people fostering socialisation and networking at
should be prepared to think and act as inde- the same time.
pendent-minded citizens who can challenge
established wisdom. “While having online classes, a sense of By Ryan Li

“

While having

online classes, a
sense of distance as

well as depression

is almost inevitable.

Varsity student Sarah Ryou shared how she produced a video story about university
students attending late night online lectures.

Mutual Aid Efforts in the Pandemic

n an online student colloquium Beyond cannot just count on the government.
ICOVID-19-what can we do for our future,
Jeff Hou, professor of Landscape Architecture Citizens must act. Citizens’ mutual aid
at the University of Washington in Seattle actions have already achieved good results
stressed that systematic inequality in society in many places. In Hong Kong, unions are
is highlighted in this pandemic. helping workers to work safely. In Seattle,
there are actions to help the homeless in
One example is some cleaners are more the pandemic. “
likely to be exposed to the virus during the Social inequality is
pandemic than others. They work long hours, In Wuhan, because of lockdown, it was
get low salaries, and now they have to bear difficult for people living with HIV to buy systematic. It may
the risk of infection. the medicines they urgently needed. Civic
organisations helped HIV patients buy drugs be seen in every
COVID-19 is a common issue for mankind, and send medicine to their homes.
as a student mentioned: Everyone is equal aspect of life.
when facing the virus. Every time a person Social inequality is systematic. It may be
is infected, the overall difficulties of the seen in every aspect of life. What can we do
society are aggravated. Risks of others will for the future? We can start from removing
also become our misfortune. these small inequalities.

Professor Hou pointed out that the govern-
ment’s response is often slow. To eliminate
this inequality and help these people, we
By Sophia Wu