NUMBED by the recent suicides of two sisters, City University law lecturer Erica Dollisson asked her students: 'What would cause a 16-year-old to take her own life?' The talk that followed revolved around the pressure on young people to achieve outstanding school results.
They agreed with her that parents often had high expectations of their children. And the result of the discussion was a poem written by Ms Dollisson called Nowhere to Go.
'They are concerned with the suicides,' she said. 'But the tragic events may not touch them as much. After all, they are the ones who have succeeded, who have managed to get a university place. Now they are busy getting on with their next issue.' Elaine Kong, a 21-year-old major in business studies, said her father wanted her to pursue a more specialised degree.
'Whenever I come across problems, I will only discuss them with my friends,' she said.
'I only tell my parents the decisions I've made.' Ms Dollisson said her students agreed with the message in her poem about the sisters' suicide, part of which goes as follows: .
Theirs was a good idea poorly executed.
