From the Editor

Home | Archives | About | Media Links

October 1999

Today's Students

It's unfair to compare students of today with those of the '60s; the times have changed.....

Gone are the days when student movements are all the rage; when demonstrations were as routine as traffic jams. With the change in the overall social environment and the springing up of new universities, today's university students are no longer the same kind of university students society had in the past.

Not only are they seldom praised in press accounts, but whenever university students come into the spotlight, it is because of some unpleasantness, such as the sex games during an orientation camp this year.

Being one-fifth of the population of the same age, university students are struggling to integrate their identities. On one hand, they are always reminded that they are no longer the elite of society. On the other hand, they are from time to time being compared to the past university students.

A series of student movements in this summer is a basis for comparison. University students in the '60s were street fighters. They were usually the first to speak up when there was any unfairness in society. However, today's university students are not buying this quaint notion any more.  We are no longer plagued by the burning urge to go boldly onto the streets like as past university students did.

Having said that, however, a fervour of nationalism swept the Special Administrative Region this summer. Generally apathetic university students attempted to do something. In one high profile move, some university students even went to Beijing to voice their opinions.

However, even this becomes the target of some pundits.

Of course, if the student movement is one way to show our passion about the community, it is also an easy way to leak the public the news about how disorganised and naive they are. Some may wonder if student demonstrations are free from gimmicks and whether or not this flush of patriotism has been exploited.

It is all too easy to be cynical to the students, especially when society simply doesn't give students room to hone their protest skills. Every year's orientation camp becomes our biggest function.  It doesn't beg the question of why they are so unskilled in handling events - or why they are so looesly orgainsed.

I am not jumping to conclusion that today's university students do not show enough concern for society.  Having only examination grades, part-time jobs or dating at the top of their list of concerns, there is little wonder why university students cannot shake off their image of being short-sighted and politically aapathetic.

Simply deploring today's university students does no good to the students, though. Students may have discovered the difficulties in organising such kind of activities and arousing others enough to join, but that shouldn't invalidate our enthusiasm in doing so.

University students marked history through all kinds of demonstrations; today's university students mark history in other ways. In the process, howlers may be inevitable, but they are not altogether humiliating. So, why can't the public give university students some allowances for what they haven't done well?

After all, university is still a place for learning.

Lousia Yan
Editor-in-Chief

Home | Archives | About | Media Links