Our Duty; Our Right

Universal suffrage has come to Hong Kong! No, we aren't talking about the Legco elections; we're talking about right here in our own MST. On September 19, 2008, students were given a chance to experience what it's like to fulfill a citizen's obligation during the Student Union Election. Starting in late- September, promotions by this year's un-opposed cabinet candidates, SIMPATICO, have been overwhelming. Colorful posters have filled the boards to overflowing and cheers from SIMPATICO members have rung through the campus. Fortunately, the lack of competitors didn't result in SIMPATICO lowering their guard. "Just because we have had no rivals this year," the external vice- chairperson, Peter Lam from 6B explained, "we have had to work even harder to prove that we can earn the trust of MST students." The aspiration of SIMPATICO is to take this precious chance to provide the school with a wide range of services and to hold a myriad of activities. The aim of this policy is to bring the school, teachers and students even closer by focusing on relationships, and facilitating family-like bonds. Additionally, they hope students will build up their sense of belonging to the school by holding more activities for everybody to participate in. Their goal is nothing less than to make our school everyone's ideal school. The count of votes started after school on Friday and ended at about 4:00pm. The result was just like their slogan, "It's simple. It's SIMPATICO." SIMPATICO was successfully elected as the Student Union for this 2008-2009 school year. One amazing result was that it only received about two hundred votes of no confidence. "We are delighted and also satisfied with this result. Obviously, it shows that a large proportion of MST students are willing to support us. In the coming year, we must try our best to provide our students with the best services so as to fulfill our commitment and realize their expectation," Peter Lam, the external vice-chairperson, said. The Student Union is now prepared to come into service. As stated by Lam, they are driven by their determination, confidence, sense of belonging and zeal to make a significant contribution to our school. From the excitement the election stimulated, it seems that the majority of our students are looking forward to the establishment of the Student Union as well. Without a doubt, the election this year has provided students with a taste of 'one-person, one-vote' democracy and stimulated their critical thinking skills. Above all, we hope SIMIPATICO are capable of accomplishing their mission: bringing joy and fun to our school through various events in the following year. Like all good citizens, we will be vigilant in watching them to make sure that they return our support and trust with dedicated service. 6B Amis (Lau Chung Yi), 6A Carmen (Lam Hui Kwan), 6A Helen (Yuen Mei Ha) and 6B Junie (Ng Yu Tak)