Newsletter No. 11

CUHK Newsletter Ear ly Days at the Un i ve r s i ty : Watching Them Blast Stones Thirty-first December 1968. Benjamin Franklin Centre, thefirst building to appear on the central campus, was completed. Staff of the University gradually moved into the new building. Sha Tin in those days was sparsely populated and transportation in the region was extremely inconvenient. The only link between Chung Chi College and the central campus was Tai Po Road. How then did our colleagues travel to work? What did those who were isolated at Benjamin Franklin Centre dofor lunch? What were their pastimes? A few old timers drew on their memories and recounted their experiences for the CUHK Newsletter. We have woven the details together through the use of several fictitious characters, trying to reconstruct what life on campus was like in 1969, Delving into the Past 24th October 1969 The Health Centre 10 years ago The brand new BFC looked rather incongruous on a barren hillside The prosperous 'downtown' district of the young university - the Chung Chi campus in the late 60's Travelling to Work R-i-n-g! The alarm clock nearly jumps as it rings. Time to get out of bed, wash and change. My old habit of lingering in bed simply disappeared of its own accord with this change ofjob to The Chinese University. For one thing, the University bus which picks staff up outside the North Kowloon Magistracy does not wait. Heavens knows how you are going to get to work if you miss it! As I change, I can't help thinking of Wai Ling, who works at Inter-Uni- versity Hall on the Chung Chi campus. Come to think of it, getting up early to catch the university bus is probably well worth the effort. Wai Ling's commute is much more trouble, since there is only one train every hour, and she must not miss it. Moreover, she is not guaranteed a seat; when it is crowded, she has to stand for more than an hour before she reaches the University. On most days the trip is still bearable, but when it comes to a festival! A few days ago, she told us how crowded the train was during the Chung Yeung Festival, what with all those people flocking to the New Territories to visit ancestral graves. When I asked her how she managed to get onto the train (Chung Yeung was not a holiday then), she complained, ' I couldn't even get near the train door. There were people everywhere.' ‘Ah! So you took a taxi? Or the bus perhaps?' I asked. ‘No! A few male colleagues lifted me into the train compartment.' 'Lifted you in?’ 'Yes. Two male colleagues fought their way onto the train and stood by the train window, while others on the platform lifted me and other female colleagues into the train compartment one by one through that window. Those already on the train would of course have to help with the process. We usually have to do this when the train is crowded,' It is so hard to imagine gentle Wai Ling in her cheongsam to be put through such an ordeal On Lunch It's already a quarter past noon. I wonder what is for lunch today. The caterer in the canteen requires that we tell them aday in advance the number of people for lunch, but they never tell us in advance what we are going to eat. All those who work at Benjamin Franklin Centre are their customers; fortunately their food is good, and the price is quite reasonable. We've heard that the University has plans for a cafeteria, but it will be months before that can become reality. * * • Finally it is lunch time! The few round tables at the canteen are almost filled, but since the number at each table has already been fixed, you don't have to worry about not having aplace when you are late. The bursar and my boss are sitting at the next table and they are having exactly the same food as I ， a junior secretary, am having. Just when I am relishing my food, I discover that I'm scooping things into my mouth with apair of red chopsticks. How very embarrassing! Red chopsticks are ‘common’ chopsticks meant for serving and are not to be mixed up with 4