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(d)
The conviction that collectivism was
preferable to individuality as the majority view must prevail.
It must be appreciated that, for teenagers, it is easy to equate emotional conviction with truth. The experience of the students throughout the entire affair must have been extremely painful and disturbing. We only wish that those who were responsible for this grievous injury would reflect on their own responsibilities. We also hope that these students will not be penalised in the future when they seek employment or further education.
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Another group of individuals with whom we have considerable sympathy are the new teaching staff who were recruited for the 1977/78 school year. They were also not given a fair chance to perform properly and effectively as teachers. Unaware of the intense polarisation which had existed, most of them had unknowingly become targets of hostility from the more aggressive students and the teachers who were involved in the disclosure of financial mismanagement and the sit-in.
VII.
41.
The Closure of the School
There was every evidence to indicate that feelings on both sides at the School were running high shortly after the commencement of the new school year in September 1977. A series of incidents followed one another in quick succession, each one further aggravating the situation. It was natural that Miss Hilda Kwan regarded her immediate task, so far as she could understand it without being given à proper brief,
to restore normality by re-establishing school authority. On the other hand, the unrelenting pressure exerted by the
/students
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