Protesting students still have a lot to learn about the world
On July 28, a group of University of Hong Kong students charged into a governing council meeting in protest over the council's decision to defer the appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor - an action which was both illogical and illegal in my opinion.
As only a portion of students took part in this action, I am certain that the majority of HKU students do not agree with the reckless and violent protest that took place.
Throughout history, members of the university's governing council have been people of significance, leaders in their respective fields who have operated the council according to its respective rules and policies. Students should be focusing on their studies, instead of breaking the rules set out in society.
Society may encourage and allow youths to express their personal opinions, but this does not equate to giving them the power to enact change or make decisions on our behalf when we have established systems in place.
University students are undoubtedly intelligent and are an important segment of our society, but they must first gather wisdom and knowledge from their studies to enable them to make sound and logical decisions. From this event, it can be observed that they were only able to judge the situation at a superficial level. Giving the situation more thought, would HKU's governing council defer such an appointment without proper and valid reasons?
The decision likely involved confidential information.
For instance, there have been some questions surrounding Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun's involvement in [an investigation into the] handling of donations raised for Occupy Central.
If the university is to appoint him to the position of pro-vice-chancellor, it must be under a situation in which all these questions have been resolved.
On the day of the protest, several pan-democratic supporters stood behind the students, encouraging them to start the protest.
Meanwhile, these same supporters stayed motionless, leaving it to these students to suffer the consequences of their own political actions.
History has shown that students who do not get involved in such demonstrations are able to graduate with good degrees, and go on to achieve great success in the political sphere.
Students who are passionate about politics should reconsider their actions and involvement to avoid being used as political tools by others to achieve their own aims.
