This month, France celebrates the 40^th anniversary of Mai 68, a series of massive protests which originated in the universities of Paris. Disillusioned by traditional society and university administrations, thousands of French students took to the streets, causing government to dissolve and hold fresh elections.

I first learnt about Mai 68 while learning French in secondary school, and although my proficiency in the language has dramatically atrophied since then, that particular lesson was one of the most memorable of my student career. The 1968 protests shaped my perception of university life. University now appeared to be a haven of idealism, activism and independent thought. The mythical campus would be a marketplace of ideas, and with both youth and awareness on their side, students would go out and change the world.

Needless to say, when I enrolled, fresh out of sixth form, in the best educational facility my parents’ taxes could pay for, I couldn’t wait to start. Rather than hoping school never started, for the first time in my life I wished for the summer holidays to end. In my mind, university life promised more excitement than a brothel during shore leave.

Witnessing the abundance of student organisations setting up stands on campus during Freshers’ week made for a great start, and the whole experience seemed to confirm my perception. But in time, the stands were dismantled and the excitement on campus died down. On this anniversary, therefore, I can only wonder: would our own student population be able to do such a thing?

Well, someone on Facebook invited me to join a group which wants to end club curfews in Malta, and over 1,000 people are members, which is an impressive number. But choosing to join is hardly activism, and even if the group leads a successful campaign, it would only be motivated by self-interest, by a desire to party all night long.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. But as university students we are, as a rule, young and well-educated. We also have more time and fewer responsibilities, as most of us haven’t started a family or even left the family home. As the events of Mai 68 show, if there’s anyone best suited to effect a change in society, it’s us.

The recent electoral saga illustrated just how we can’t seem to do so. True, we followed political activities, we checked the news and we did vote in large numbers. But when politicians were selling themselves to the public, we did not manage to make our views on society heard, and issues such as divorce, gay rights and sexual health policy, among others, failed yet again to make the grade in our political debates. We certainly have our own opinions when it comes to politics, morality and culture, among others, but if we do not forcefully express them, we simply allow others to shape society for us.

At this point, it must be said that the real history of the 1968 protests is slightly different than the myth that evolved. On some occasions, the protests degenerated into violent, destructive affairs. And even though they led to new elections, these only served to re-elect the people in power. Perhaps apathy is not such a bad thing after all.

However, the protestors still managed to influence French society. Their ideas may have been wrong, and they might have failed to reach their direct goals, but they took action, and in doing so, ensured that their voice was heard. While we condemn the few that resorted to violence, we should not ignore that it was the majority of non-violent protestors that gave the Mai 68 protests the numbers necessary to make history and that it was university students who made it all happen.

It certainly doesn’t seem possible here. As I write this, my time at university is practically over, except for the last mad rush of assignments and final tests. I have spent my fair share on campus, and I have even belonged to a student organisation myself for a year or so. On the whole, the experience for me has probably been pleasant.

Still, it’s not the experience I subscribed to. I can’t help but feel that the campus has not managed to create a vibrant culture of its own. The atmosphere looks promising at the best of times, but the potential always seems to fizzle out. It is sad to see student organisations struggle with a lack of active members, and not being able to meet their goals.

A famous poster from the 1968 protests sarcastically proclaims “sois jeune et tais toi”, be young and shut up. Shame to see it being taken so literally nowadays.