[An update on President Peter Mathieson’s statement to student protesters.]

It looks like Mathieson had a change of heart.  Here’s his latest email to students:

To : All Students and Staff

Subject : A personal appeal from Peter Mathieson, President & Vice-Chancellor, issued at 1.45am on Sunday 5th October, 2014, to students and staff through social media:

I appeal to all HKU students and staff to leave all protest areas immediately. Please stay calm and leave in an orderly manner without delay. I am making this appeal from my heart because I genuinely believe that if you stay, there is a risk to your safety. Please leave now: you owe it to your loved ones to put your safety above all other considerations.

Peter Mathieson
President and Vice-Chancellor

I wonder what sort of institutional pressure went on behind the scenes to force such a reversal. Agency, it seems, has lost the day to the structures of power.

[update: 8:20 pm] It looks like the whole HKU institution is behind the “get the students off the streets” plan. Here’s an email from the Dean of the College of Education, Steve Andrews:

Dear Students,

You will have seen the message sent by the Vice-Chancellor. I would urge you to take note of that message and stay away from the protest sites. At this point, your personal safety must be your number one priority.

Please take care

Steve Andrews

The discourse of “safety”—or its implied absence— is a bit frightening, especially when it comes from those in power.