Last week a Radio New Zealand headline caught my attention “National University of Samoa denounces on-campus violence after video surfaces”. A video on social media showing students fighting at NUS has forced the institution to issue a warning against on-campus violence. NUS reminded students again that it does not condone any form of violence on any of its campuses. The fight appeared to be between two females, one of whom was wearing a student nurse uniform. The article continued to include how NUS is dealing with the issues including policies and processes to deal with any student, staff member or visitor who violates those rules.

Well, we can say it’s nothing new, this fighting among students is becoming more frequent and perhaps increasing in violence these days. With recordings and sharing of these videos online, it certainly looks like it is getting out of hand. Not only does the ground audience stand by and record without breaking the fight, the number of eye increase well after when it's widely available online. Then, you have their relatives, friends and peers add fuel to the fire by commenting, teasing, swearing, encouraging or gloating. How sad is it that we have come to this as a society? Taking sides and enjoying the debacle?

If the fighters include future nurses and doctors, what hope is there for change and improvement in that field? No one wins in a fight. You may win the physical fight if you are that nursing student, standing over your opponent but what are you losing in the process? If you end up suspended or kicked out of school, then all your hard work becomes nothing. University is a place for learning and igniting young minds to be brilliant in what they do. For us to foster this, safety is paramount for all staff and students. Learning is where we begin to master our skills and choose a field to work in, once the degree is done. Even then, it’s not over, there is so much more to learn.

My first question was, where are the security guards? The parents? What is being done to solve this especially since it’s been seven years since a fight broke out at NUS? More fights and students are being charged for the brawl. It may be easy for us to ask these questions but where do the fights really originate from? The reasons are just temporary, scratching the surface.

To students, you have your whole learning life ahead of you. You won’t achieve this by fighting each other. If you must fight, fight with your mind. Have self-control as to where all these things come from. Where does fighting come from? Everything flows out of the heart. No wonder God is interested in guarding our hearts, for out of it comes the spring of life. For that determines the course of your life. Everything starts and ends with the heart. Study hard, remember your parents’ hard work to pay for costly fees, work on yourself and remember the company you keep. If you are too busy studying, you will not have time to fight. There are enough challenges in your life to not get yourself involved with such rubbish.

The real question is not why we are fighting but who are we fighting? The enemy only comes to steal, kill and destroy. For the fight isn’t just a physical fight, but also a spiritual fight. Guard your heart, check yourself and work hard. While we enjoy another peaceful Sunday Samoa, remember we may not have all the answers and we are not designed that way. We each must do our own part in keeping the peace.

Manuia le Sapati.