Vice-Chancellor's Report 1978-82

of facilities and amenities was also an integral part of the College function. The University's location at some distance from the most densely populated areas of the city has its advantages and drawbacks. The advantages are the serenity and greenery of the Ma Liu Shui Valley and the atmosphere of cloistered academia where people can gather, discuss and do research on topics which excite their imagination without the interruption and intrusion of urban living. The drawbacks are that most of our students have long distances to cover every day from the four corners of Hong Kong and a lot of precious time is lost in travelling to and from the University with the consequence that there is less time for academic pursuits and extracurricular activities. The University has been aware of these problems from the outset and is committed to providing as much residential places on campus as is possible under the present constraints on resources. The task of administering student hostels falls on the Colleges. They decide on such matters as admissions criteria, fees and charges and are responsible for hall life and hostel management. Between them, the three Colleges administer the affairs of eleven residential hostels on the University campus. A new concept of hostel life was introduced in 1981 when United College started two non-residential halls wi th the support of the College endowment fund. The halls are named after Dr. the Honourable Sir Kenneth Ping-fan Fung and Dr. the Honourable P.C. Woo, former Chairman and current Chairman respectively of the United Board of Trustees, i n commemoration of their contribution to the University. To provide community life similar to that of residential halls, students are encouraged to organize their own Non-residential Hall Committees to look after the day-to-day management of the halls and organization of activities which i n 1981 included Christmas balls, dinner parties, hiking and other social functions. To strengthen student-staff relationship, academic staff are invited to join the halls and a warden is appointed to advise and coordinate hall activities. It is hoped that through these gatherings, tournaments and competitions and various other activities, constant interaction and the sharing of experience between students and staff of different faculties will follow and a sense of esprit de corps developed. Al though the non-residential halls are at an early stage of development, the establishment of such meeting places has made it possible for commuting students of the College to partake more freely of university and campus life. 32