Bulletin No. 2, 2020

Coming Closer at a Distance: Snapshots of CUHK in the pandemic 37 T he existence of cities and civilizations used to be taken for granted, and business went on as usual. But a pandemic in the 21 st century has wiped this complacence clean off the face of the globe. Willingly or not, we are thrust into the New Normal. The world enters the New Normal through a virus and comes out through hope and love. Migrating from the physical to the virtual, we depend on connecting with each other and sharing our notes. Listening with intent and formulating relevant policies will steady us amidst uncertainty and lead the way from Hong Kong to the rest of the world. We pass along knowledge, explore the depths of language, and bridge feelings and emotions. Technology takes us across barriers to meet on equal footing on the net. But what defines and determines the quality and effectiveness of education springs ultimately from the heart. Without the heart there is no understanding. Without understanding there is no community. How do we settle in and find meaning amidst all the fluidity and uncertainty? If bodies can be distanced and cities locked down by something we cannot see, what can we hold in our hands and what can we let go? The search for meaning is the ultimate education that is not handed down by a university but is left for everyone to choose. The meaning can lie in the diligence in preparing teaching materials so that the students can see a wider world through your eyes. It can mean making things happen and partaking in kindness, or it can mean that when the world wakes up from the nightmare you have been given a sound lesson of the heart. Fourteen members of CUHK have come out of the pandemic with their stories. What is yours?