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Who are we and
why were we established?
The International Society is a newly-formed student
organisation that aims to bridge the gap between local and
international students with opportunities and activities that
enrich life here at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). The
influx of exchange and full-time international students in recent
years means it is imperative for us to step forward and help
familiarise this group with the new environment and culture to
build a greater sense of belonging towards HKU.
English is used as a common language for communication,
meaning students’ networks can be enlarged and they can feel
right at home with the society's student-friendly approach.
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7 9
11 13 15 18 20
about Sapientia is an independent English language
magazine written and published by students of The
University of Hong Kong (HKU). Stemming from the
university’s Latin motto of “Sapientia et Virtus”, our
name translates as ‘wisdom’ and reflects our intention
to bring together writers from different backgrounds
with broad perspectives on campus-related issues.
Sapientia’s number one goal is to act as a platform for
students to develop and showcase their professional
writing skills and offer food for thought – more simply
put, wisdom, to all our readers.
Contact us at [email protected].
April 2014
credits EXECUTIVE EDITOR
SEUL JI KOOK
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CHRIS WEI
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
PHOEBE HUNG
MANAGING DIRECTOR
SAMUEL CHAN
WRITERS
ANDRA AU
CELINA GORE
JAMIE CHOY
JONATHAN WONG
LINDSAY QIAN
MELISSA LEUNG
OSAMA HUSSAIN
RYAN KILPATRICK
PHOTOGRAPHY
ALBERT OEI
DENISE CHAN
Cantonese at HKU: The Final Frontier
Ryan Kilpatrick
Easy “A” Courses Melissa Leung
Open Ears Celina Gore
HKU Pride Samuel Chan
Soap Cycling
Lindsay Qian
Student Satisfaction
Osama Hussain
7 Types of Students at HKU Jonathan Wong
Tales of May Hall Andra Au
What do you wake up to?
Jamie Choy
Update on the MTR
by Samuel Chan
I guess by now you’ve spotted the structures
for the new MTR station behind Centennial
Campus and Haking Wong Building that have
rapidly sprouted up over the last two months
despite having been virtually motionless the
past year (most the work before was going on
underground).
In a statement to Sapientia, MTR
representative Cherry Mak writes, “The WIL
[West Island Line] is expected to be put into
service in the fourth quarter of 2014 while the
specific opening date will be subjected to
negotiation with the government. Currently,
the WIL project team is working hard towards
the completion of the WIL in 2014.”
Fourth quarter is vague but fingers crossed
that this new MTR link will be completed on
time or even early, around the time the new
semester starts in September. This extension of
the Island Line known as the West Island Line,
consisting of three stations only: Kennedy
Town, HKU and Sai Ying Pun, will allow HKU
students and staff to travel to Central and Tsim
Sha Tsui in just over 5 and 10 minutes
respectively. Obviously, the MTR offers much
more frequent and reliable service (compared
to buses during peak hour) and holders of the
Personalised Octopus with student status even
enjoy 50% off standard adult fares (grab an
application form from your Faculty Office!).
Watch this space.
By Ryan
Kilpatrick Critics have long accused HKU of
having a blinkered devotion to the
English language, but to an extent this
position deserves our support: English
is the lingua franca of academic
research worldwide, as using it as the
sole medium of instruction is a large
part of what makes us Asia's top-
ranked university; maintaining a strict
line on this also makes it easier for
students who came to HKU from
around the world to feel welcomed
and integrated into campus life.
However, another critical factor for
students to feel welcomed here and to
get the most out of their time in Hong
Kong is to learn the local language,
enabling them to have more meaningful connections with a wider spectrum of people, and obtain a
deeper understanding of the richness - and uniqueness - of Hong Kong culture. Until this year, the only
courses open to people interesting in learning Cantonese were Cantonese as a Foreign Language I and
Survival Cantonese, neither of which offered routs for further study and do not even teach literacy in
Chinese, making the written language the sole purview of Putonghua. Whilst the courses' immediate
utility to incoming exchange students is beyond question, those interested in seriously studying the
language must do so without any help or encouragement from our foremost institution of higher
learning. Despite the efforts of School of Chinese staff, students at HKU are still unable to major in the
languages of the country in which they are studying - despite every top university around the world
offering these majors.
The School of Chinese currently teaches one third of all Faculty of Arts students, and is therefore
stretched extremely thin. Dr CM Si, Head of the School of Chinese, says that the university is
currently in the process of planning to offer a Chinese as a foreign language major, and he hopes
the programme will be actualized within two to three years. Since the establishment of the
Modern China Studies programme just a few years ago, the Putonghua as a foreign language
courses offered by HKU have expanded from two to four, from four to six, and now from six to
eight, thus offering a four-year curriculum for international students interested to seriously
studying the language. Cantonese lags far behind but is progressing gradually: this year a second
course was added and, with a major in Hong Kong studies newly established, Cantonese will
hopefully experience similar growth spurt to that of Putonghua.
The
1
Dr Si says that exchange students complain about courses they'd like to take only being offered in
Chinese, mainland students complain about classes offered in Cantonese, and local students are
liable to complain if too many courses are offered in Putonghua or use simplified characters.
Pleasing all three groups at the same time, he admits, is a difficult task. At City University,
disgruntled mainland students who registered for a Chinese course not realizing it was conducted
in the local language of the place where they'd chosen to study actually pressured the university
administration into changing the course's language of instruction from Cantonese to Putonghua.
HKU takes on over one thousand new exchange students every semester. Of these, only a small
handful are interested in studying Chinese and those that do are complete beginners who only
take level I Putonghua. Dr Si laments that international students at HKU interested in seriously
studying Putonghua or Cantonese to advanced levels are in fact a tiny minority, and despite their
passion they do not comprise a large enough constituency to justify the allocation of resources to
create new courses. Another option in the meantime is to expand the current offering of English-
taught cultural courses for exchange students, perhaps offering an introduction to Chinese
literature or Cantonese phonology. However, even mainland students who stay here for the full
duration of their studies show little to no interest in learning the local language (often regarded
dismissively - and erroneously - in the mainland, as elsewhere, as a trifling and unimportant dialect)
and thus Putonghua-taught courses in Cantonese are even sparser at HKU than English ones.
Final Frontier
Cantonese at HKU:
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2
HKU is not the only Hong Kong university that does not
offer Chinese majors for foreign students; in fact, none
do except for the Chinese University of Hong Kong. CUHK
has attempted to offer Chinese as a major but have been
confronted with a dearth of applicants. Without enough
prospective students, government funding for the
programme was dropped and as a result it had to
become fully self-financed, sending the fees rocketing up.
HKU also follows the trend all around the Chinese-
speaking world - in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan -
where every university Chinese department operates
exclusively in Chinese.
Teaching Cantonese as a foreign language is a highly
under-developed area, and is often regarded both by
locals and foreigners alike as a language that outsiders
are simply unable to learn, and should not necessarily be
expected nor taught to do so. The teaching of Cantonese
to ethnic minority Non-Chinese Speaking Students (NCSS)
in Hong Kong has long been a source of tension in local
education, with non-Chinese students often graduating
knowing no Chinese and facing grim career prospects as a
consequence.
Unlike in China or Taiwan where children first learn the
Hanyu Pinyin or Zhuyin Fuhao phonetic systems
respectively before progressing to characters, children in
Hong Kong are expected to begin their education in
Chinese at home, where they learn the pronunciation of
characters directly from family members without the aid
of an officially sanctioned phonetic system to ascertain
the correct way of speaking. For Hongkongers who do not
come from a Cantonese-speaking household, this
absence puts them at a great disadvantage. The two main
rivals in Cantonese phonetics are Yale and Jyutping, but
altogether half a dozen different systems vie for
supremacy throughout Hong Kong, with different schools
and universities using different systems. Cantonese also
lacks a standardized exam like PSC or IELTS and for many
Cantonese words there is no agreed-upon character that
should be used to render it in written Chinese.
In addition to this there are no official academic or
vocational qualifications for Cantonese instructors.
Cherrie, a Cantonese instructor at HKU, believes that
setting an official standard for romanization and language
training would be helpful in making Cantonese more
accessible and popular, and indeed her wish may be
coming true soon. BC Chow, coordinator of the
Cantonese programme at the CLC ad author of the widely
used textbook Cantonese for Everyone, says that the
Faculty of Education will begin offering a Masters in
teaching Cantonese next September. Ms Chow also
supports the idea of using Jyutping in schools and says
there's growing support for this, and also starting in the
next academic year Cantonese will be offered as a Senior
Secondary Applied Learning Course (ApL) for NCSS, with
teachers asked to use Jyutping. Although she believes
that owing to the sensitive nature of language politics vis-
à-vis Beijing, the official status of Cantonese is unlikely to
receive any government support, she does see progress
being made in Hong Kong's education establishment.
The School of Chinese has often faced criticism for not
operating in English, but the truth is that subjects such as
Tang poetry are best taught using Chinese - and ideally
Cantonese at that, since the cadences and rhymes are
often retained in Cantonese but lost in modern
Putonghua, as the former is far closer to classical Chinese.
The problem lies not with the School's offering courses in
a language other than English, but in the lack of support
they receive to enable more students to learn this very
language.
Aside from the fear that local students would join such
courses for easy grades, there is also a widespread but
mistaken assumption that language learning is only rote
memorisation and not an intellectual pursuit worthy of a
university degree, ignoring the conceptual and cultural
shifts that language learning promotes. Whereas Korean,
Spanish, Japanese and other languages have gotten
through the Academic Board levee, though, a Cantonese
or Putonghua major remains off the cards.
Hongkongers often feel their culture under threat, and
this feeling is both understandable and completely
justified. However, as a community under threat, they
should not succumb to the knee-jerk reaction of closing
ranks in order to defend the purity and integrity of their
identity. This is the time when it is more important than
ever to reach out to the world, to make greater efforts to
articulate and promote Hong Kong's values and culture
and to include others in the fold. HKU's School of Chinese
has a long history of teaching Cantonese to Hong Kong's
newcomers, instructing a long stream of Governors,
diplomats, missionaries and merchants who have made
Hong Kong their home for short or long over the last
century and a half. Dr Si points out that HKU will have to
face this issue in due course as a matter of
internationalization, and he hopes the university 'will
look into this matter and allocate more resources'. To
accomplish this, however, support is needed by both
administrators and students.
"The streets of Kowloon" by Alexander Synaptic (flic.kr/p/nb2TGm) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 3
Common Core Courses (CCs) were originally established to broaden students’ knowledge in
different areas including science, humanities, global languages and China. These courses
equip students with education of diverse fields and promote self-learning. However, do
students really gain a better education and do they really, as the CCs website states, “explore
issues of profound significance to humankind”?
Many students view CCs as a GPA killer and a waste of time. They seek courses that
ensure good grades and that have light workloads. As a result of this, at the start of
every semester we can hear friends talking about choosing a “good” CC to bump up
their grades.
The “Good” CC
What constitutes to a good CC? What, according to the students, is a good CC? Some
say it means the professor is lenient and gives good grades. Some say it means a total
workload of 500 words essay, a poster and a website only. Some say it means having
a final exam consisting of purely multiple choices. Or some say it means the course is
interesting, for instance the famous “Sex and Intimacy in Modern Times”.
Betty Fung, a year one student said, “every time I choose a CC according to my
interest, end up getting a bad score. So now, I always select courses according to the
course work, and the difficulty level.” Are interest and good performance mutually
exclusive?
Easy “A” Courses
Acommon core cornera
MELISSA LEUNG
"classroom" by Paul Goyette (flic.kr/p/77PDmR) is licensed under CC NC-SA 2.0
4
Many students view CCsa
as a GPA killer anda
a waste of timea
The Pursuit of Good CC
The common pursuit the good CC has given rise to many myths. The content below will
debunk these myths, in order to help you make a well-informed choice on the CCs you will
take in the next semester.
1. Newly founded CCs are more lenient.
This claim is not proven to be true. Although theoretically, the professors and tutors of new
CCs will want to make their course more popular among students to ensure that their
course will sustain for another year. We all know the power of the word of mouth, so if
students in a new CC all received a bad grade, that course will not be as popular in the next
year.
2. A CC with light workload is a good CC
This is not necessarily true. While students might have less work to do throughout the term,
the weighting of each component of the coursework will evidently be larger. If one of the
components turned out badly, the overall grade will be largely affected. On the other hand,
if there are more components, essays and presentations, the overall grade will be more
scattered. As a result, the chance of getting a good grade might be higher.
3. A CC that gave good grades last year will give good grades this year.
“I took a course that my friends said was a good grade CC. Then I got a C in that course,
while all my other CCs are in the B grade range. That taught me not to rely on good grade
recommendations,” said Marco Mong, a Year Two Mechanical Engineering student. While
your friends might have gotten a straight A in a particular CC last year, it might not be the
case in the following year. The workload, grading method and marker might be different;
hence a good grade course cannot be guaranteed from year to year.
In order to be more persuasive with our arguments, we attempted to ask the Common Core
Office for some marking statistics of CCs. However, we were declined as “the Committee is
of the view that it would not be appropriate to release the information requested.” We also
requested an interview with Professor L. George Tham, the acting Chair of Common Core
Curriculum, but were not given a reply as of publication. Perhaps, the curriculum
committee could consider being more transparent with their course information so as to
help students choose the appropriate course.
Key to Getting a Good Grade
“I got an A in that course. I didn’t go to the lectures at all.”
“Don’t listen to him. I got a C in that same course.”
Jonathan Wong and Isaac Cheung are both seated in front of me, debating whether
“Culture of War” is regarded as a good grade CC. While this discussion might seem
perplexing at first, everything becomes clear after a while.
“I always go through the lecture slides at home if I skip the lecture.”
“Yeah, I followed Isaac and skipped all the lectures but I didn’t read through the slides at
home. That’s probably why I got a C. “
At the end of the day, the effort you paid into the course will reflect the grade you get at
the end. Every CC can be a good grade one, if you have the heart to work for it.
5
13
With little or no hesitation, the decision to treat a broken bone or a toothache is a straight trip to the University Health
Services. But in the case of social adjustment or mental health issues, the door leading to professional support for some is
not as easy to open. The stigma of counseling and the expectation of self-healing can discourage students from stepping
forward to talk about their challenges with someone else.
The Counselling and Person Enrichment
Section (CoPE) under the Centre for
Development and Resources for Students
(CEDARS), however, tries to keep that door
open as wide as possible. As part of
CEDARS’s effort to be the one-stop resource
for students, CoPE takes care of
psychological counseling, personal
enrichment, and accessibility and support
for disability and educational needs.
Coming from diverse interests and
backgrounds in social work, clinical
psychology, and family therapy, its team of
psychologists and counselors are prepared
to address a variety of concerns that
students may have.
For decades, the counseling office had been
a part of student services at HKU. In 2006,
CEDARS was established, merging together
the Office of Student Affairs, Careers and
Placement Centre, and Personal
Development and Counseling, which had
duties similar to CoPE’s. Dr. Albert Chau,
the Dean of Student Affairs, said the
decision to combine came out of “the need
to provide a holistic and comprehensive
student support programme and to better
prepare for the 4-year undergraduate
curriculum.”
“Since the merge, the four sections of
CEDARS have been working as a team,” he
said.
Dr. Eugenie Y. Leung, the Director of
Counseling and Personal Enrichment, has
also seen the benefits of physically joining
CEDARS. In Meng Wah Complex, the
counseling centre is easily accessible to
anyone referred to their services from the
other student affairs offices on floors nearby.
“If there are things that we need to work
together with campus life to support the
students, we can work together more easily,”
said Dr. Leung.
An HKU alumnus, Dr. Leung has been with
CoPE for the past eight years after working
in a hospital psychiatric centre. Overseeing
the counseling services throughout the
years, she has identified four major areas
that students commonly seek help in:
adjustment problems, study stress,
relationships, and mental health problems.
With each need, Dr. Leung emphasizes the
CoPE’s commitment toward maintaining
the confidentiality and privacy of visitors in
order to make the choice to get counseling
less intimidating.
“I am trying very hard not to have [students]
waiting too long outside, or running into
visitors too easily,” she said. With the
university’s approval, the section keeps
counseling records separate from general
student records and private from anyone
seeking the information.
“We will keep all the information
confidential even when the person has come
to us or not, so this kind of assurance helps
students feel more secure coming to us.”
Strengthening Awareness Outside the Office
To encourage personal enrichment, the
CoPE offers programs to empower and
educate students to emotionally support
themselves and their community.
Mental health talks led by psychiatric and
counseling professionals are held for
audiences interested in specific
psychological areas such as counseling,
depression, and exam anxiety. Regular
workshops guide and inform students
about studying tips, personal image, and
relationships among other lifestyle and
development topics. Each semester, the
Mental Health First Aid programme trains
participants to be more aware in the
symptoms of common mental health
problems, and how and where to receive
help.
Recently, the CoPE has taken more creative
approaches toward immersing students in
mental health and personal development
through service projects.
In a former project, CoPE partnered with
the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Association and organized the HEA Kiosk
in Meng Wah Complex, promoting social
inclusion and equal employment. In the
project, student volunteers and trainees
recovering from mental illness together sold
fair trade and environmentally-friendly
products, as well as artwork created by
people in rehabilitation. Although only a
handful was recruited, participants gained
valuable knowledge on the workplace and
mental health.
“They will really have a firsthand
experience working with people in
rehabilitation, and that’s good for de-
stigmatization,” said Dr. Leung, who has
seen students from the business, law,
engineering, and science faculties
participate. The workers in rehabilitation
also benefited from becoming more
confident in working along side students
and in a new environment.
CoPE also promotes its services through
students who are concerned about someone
who needs counseling, but refuses to go.
Without naming the person, people can
receive advice on the services from its
counselors in order to facilitate the referral
process and persuade their friends to seek
help themselves.
Making Itself Known
Open Ears Celina Gore
7
University-wide emails, Facebook, and posters are the
most common ways that CoPE has tried to get the word
out on its counseling services, workshops, and events to
students.
In August, counselors attend each orientation program –
local, Mainland China, post-graduate, international, and
exchange student sessions – to introduce their campus
counseling services to the community.
CoPE also stresses that its services are free to students no
matter how many they may need, especially to the
foreign student population.
“The feedback from the international students is that in
some of the universities overseas is that the counseling
services are meant to be a short term one, so you are only
entitled to a certain number of sessions and then stop.
Here it’s always free, and you can take as many sessions
as possible,” said Dr. Leung.
One semester-exchange student, Angie, took full
advantage of the counseling services after her initial
weeks in Hong Kong sparked moments of homesickness,
culture shock, and doubts over her decision to study
abroad. In addition, she also sought professional help for
her depression, which had “exacerbated substantially”
since arriving, and the low self-esteem she had struggled
with as a child.
“Seeking help through counseling would be a means for
me to seek some sort of normalcy in my life when I felt
everything was unfamiliar, uncertain, and unstable,” she
said, knowing her past positive experience with
counseling.
Paired with a counselor, Angie found a comfortable
environment to discuss her concerns, as well as the
advice to improve her mental well-being.
“While my progress towards getting better has its ups
and downs, I feel like overall, I am better now than when
I first started, to which I give most of the credit to the
help of my counselor,” she said. “The people at CoPE are
ultimately there to help, and I think there's nothing
wrong with admitting to yourself that you need it.”
Compared to her generation, Dr. Leung feels that
students now are more open to counseling. She has seen
a range of locals, non-locals, and post-graduates of
different majors and years enter the office and use the
services. For anyone still looking for help, she hopes
their acronym – CoPE – will serve as a caring reminder of
the services.
“When you need some resources to cope with challenges
in life, then you can think of us.”
"The one thing that never waits." by Phoebe (flic.kr/p/ebE4yC) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 8
Photo by Phoebe Hung
9
By no means should this be seen as an attack, but rather
constructive criticism.
I’ve been here for almost a full year and not one person has
been able to answer to my satisfaction this seemingly simple
question: who exactly are we? Usually it is just a vague
response of “HKU students” that comes with a frown but
really, we have no actual terminology for people of our kind,
unless of course you count on the Hong Kong University
Students’ Union (HKUSU)’s interpretation that we are all
“HKUers” from the bags they sell at the co-op store
(personally, I am not so keen on this name).
Yes, I am envious of universities abroad, particularly in the
U.S., such as Yale (Yalies), Princeton (Princetonian), Purdue
(Boilermakers), USC (Trojans), even Oxford (Oxonian). You
see? Calling oneself a “HKUer” or a “HKU student” simply
cannot compare when talking about school pride.
Don’t get me wrong, HKU has been treating me well nor do
I have a grudge against the school (why else would I be a
Student Ambassador?), but this is just one of the things that
virtually everyone silently acknowledges while remaining
unresolved.
Would you personally be willing to paint yourself in dark
green, our official school colour, to show your pride? No, I
suspect.
By contrast, I know most current students and graduates
from so-called elite local secondary schools, me included,
would change their Facebook profile pictures almost
unanimously before the intense, annual Inter-school
Athletics Meet to a common icon of their school to show
their support and love. On-day, there is simply an incredible
atmosphere as everyone dresses up the official merchandise
and cheers their school on. There is simply no culture like
that here at HKU.
Now I am not asking us to go to the extremes of some U.S.
universities, but ask yourself: how familiar are you with the
HKU cheer? Apart from hearing it at the One Night Stay
(ONS) camp offered to all local secondary school applicants
and during my Student Ambassador orientation (which note,
is by the same division that runs the ONS), I haven’t heard it
since.
On the other hand, the halls appear to be where all the pride
is locked up. Starting with identity, every hallmate would
consider themselves a Swirian, Skyer, St. Johnian, Starrian,
etc. and would at the very minimum know the lyrics and
gestures of countless cheers often performed well by heart.
Inter-hall competitions, particularly with “new ball games”
such as hockey, lacrosse and softball, are – from my
experience so far – the only thing that comes close to
genuine pride.
Surprisingly, this is also the case at universities like Yale,
where students identify with their residential colleges until
they go beyond the campus and are instantly transformed
into Yalies again. A friend who went to Yale tells me, the
school pride comes primarily from competition with
Harvard and students tend to go insane during the Harvard-
Yale game (“The Game”). Sounds familiar? Yes, inter-school
competitions do indeed bring out the pride in all of us but it
falls short here in Hong Kong at least. Local universities do
compete for certain sports such as rowing and track & field
but obviously awareness or concern within the student
populations are not high.
On a more superficial level, I have noticed that hall and
faculty hoodies (notably throughout winter) are much more
common than the official HKU hoodies sold by HKUSU. At
Yale and many other universities, people generally adore
wearing standard university apparel, with hoodies, sweaters,
pullovers, sweatpants, etc. without any distinguishable elitism
or segregation implied.
To HKU’s defense, perhaps at the end of the day, this
freshman has no basis to step out of line and judge whether
or not HKU – an elite university focused on delivering
excellent academic education to its students – lacks in school
pride nor to tell you how to love and respect your school.
But honestly I believe you can feel it. How often do you
even see our university mascot, the lion? Apart from
graduation, it is almost never.
Now is high time for us to re-evaluate our identities and
drive change for the better to make it beyond a place where
you merely study. Asia as a whole is not so keen on sports
(though we have a close equivalent: a university rugby team),
but there is a difference when schools such as the University
of Pennsylvania have their own marching bands to further
boost school spirit during critical times. We should be
focusing more on that rather than ‘traditions’ like high table
dinners which do little to foster pride or boost allegiance. So
Marketing 101, let's begin by rebranding ourselves.
"Sapientian", anyone? You could simply take my comments
with a grain of salt, but what I hope to see is a passionate
student body prove me wrong.
I MY UNI?
10
No, this is not what you think. People do not cycle for soap, in fact, there’s no cycling involved
whatsoever. Soap Cycling is just another way of saying “Recycling Soap.”
Around two million bars of soap are tossed away by hotels in
Hong Kong every year, most of them unused. I mean let’s
face it, how many of us really use the scrawny bars laid out
on the bathroom countertop in hotel rooms? Most people
would probably just run the bar of soap through the tap once
or twice, and forget about it a minute later. Meanwhile,
children around the world under the age of five are dying
from pneumonia and diarrhea, diseases that can be effectively
prevented by washing their hands with soap. With the help of
student interns at HKU, Soap Cycling has blossomed into a
full-scale organization that is dedicated to running this social
venture with the aim of helping out the world, one bar of
soap soap at a time.
Founded by David Bishop, a senior lecturer of business and
law at HKU, Soap Cycling is an NGO that mainly works with
the hospitality industry to recycle soap. Whereas many hotels
choose to dump their slightly used bars of soap, the operation
team at Soap Cycling collects them and brings as many as
they can back to the warehouse, where volunteers sanitize
them in order to distribute the soaps to those in need. The
primary aims of Soap Cycling are to improve sanitation and
hygiene in underprivileged regions such as Vietnam,
Cambodia and the Philippines, not only to reduce child
mortality rates, but also to promote waste reduction and
green living.
So how does Soap Cycling work?
With the support of a growing number of hotel partners
around the world, Soap Cycling receives a great number of
donated soaps. Volunteers are encouraged to come to the
warehouse at Kwai Hing and help scrape the debris off the
soaps, all to a strict standard. After a certain amount is
accumulated, a processing machine is used to melt together
all the clean soaps and then a long tube of fresh soap is
produced, which is then cut up into smaller, decent sized bars.
Packed up neatly into boxes, they are then shipped to places
all over Asia to help raise awareness and prevent infectious
diseases.
soap
Lindsay Qian
11
There are many Soap Cyclers currently serving as interns and
course-takers. Each helper is grouped into a certain
department that is dedicated to do their best. One of the core
members of the marketing team interning at Soap Cycling has
voiced out her passion for it:
“I jumped at the opportunity to join Soap Cycling through the
social venture internship because I was excited about the idea
of participating in a course that was a total break from the
traditional classroom setting and course structure,” she said.
Having been heavily involved in social enterprise clubs like
Enactus, she was especially interested in the various creative
ways that reusing, recycling, and up-cycling have posed as
solutions to waste management.
“Soap Cycling is an extremely successful example of the
power of recycling, not only to reduce waste but also to
provide poor communities with a vital resource that we have
in excess,” she added. Social ventures are certainly becoming
increasingly popular in Hong Kong, with youths actively
participating in events offered by many different kinds of
organizations that provide the possibility of helping out parts
of the world through simple ways. Youth development is a
major prompter of Soap Cycling, as it is run by mostly
university students. By taking this course (or joining Soap
Cycling), students are given the opportunity to see how
NGOs are ran and learn to be quick on their feet.
“The most rewarding part of joining Soap Cycling is being
part of an organization that really helps people in such a
simple, yet meaningful way,” she continued. She also
emphasized that by getting soap to communities that don’t
have daily access to sanitation and lack education in basic
hygiene, Soap Cycling is truly making life saving
contributions.
This month (April is also known as Earth Month), Soap
Cycling held a three-day event that volunteers participated in.
The usual scraping and sanitizing was involved, but this
campaign was even more intense than the regular sessions
held at Kwai Hing every weekend. Everyone is welcome to
lend a helping hand, and just like what Soap Cycling’s tagline
says: Soap. It’s that important.
cycling
INNOVATION
FOR YOUTH
"Plastic Bottle Cap" by Phoebe (flic.kr/p/d1u6wy) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
12
The University of Hong Kong is one of the finest institutions of the
world; it has a prestige attached to its name and stands in the world
ranking as an internationally renowned university. Thousands of
students from every corner of the world are enrolled every semester
and many set indelible marks and make history. The question of yet
greater consequence is, “Are students of HKU happy?”
A number of students from diverse backgrounds and nationalities
were surveyed on the subject. Here’s a summary of what they had to
say.
Many international students are studying on scholarships (some don’t
even need to pay a penny); moreover, expenses, ranging from food to
accommodation, are reasonably subsidized. Notifications about
career opportunities and stimulating talks are always making their
way to your inbox. Many events and societies are specially working
for the interest of the international students.
Among all the other things, Chi Wah Learning Commons and
Centennial Campus are venerated and loved by almost every student.
Global Lounge is a haven for non-local students and holds numerous
cultural events representing highlighting the diversity of the student
body. International society is always looking for opportunities to unite
the students regardless of their nationality. The University Health
Service (UHS) caters to the needs of the students and staff in the best
possible way. In addition to the facilities for almost any sport, three
gyms are available at different locations.
The campus is adored by many as ‘beautiful’; its diverse makeup
ranges from the Victorian style main campus to the Centennial
Campus made by the modern man. It is easily accessible and the
university shuttles and the bus discounts serve the purpose of
keeping transportation costs to a minimum. Moreover, the MTR’s
West Island Line, expected to be completed at the end of 2014, will
make things much easier, at least for those residing at the Residential
Colleges.
As for the part that many of us may shy away from, the darker side of
HKU – there are some critical points, reasonably pronounced.
Although local students and international students are all happy in
their respective realms, lack of integration between the two spheres
is a fundamental issue. Opportunities for students of different
nationalities to come together are always available but it would be
better if they were conducted more frequently. As an international
student, if you live in a hall that is dominated by local students,
chances are that you might see some locals or Mainlanders, perhaps,
whom you don’t know at all. The language barrier seems to prevail in
almost every corner of the campus: staff members at halls may not
understand you or they may get irritated when you ask them to
repeat something; the medium of communication used for societies
and meetings is not English and it is also not a rare sight to see
posters on campus that are entirely inscribed in Chinese. Whatever
might be the cause, these things have the effect of compromising the
international standing of this university.
By Osama Hussain
STUDENT
13
Satisfaction Another problem voiced by the students, especially non-locals, of
some halls was about the “invasion of privacy” of the students. Word
has it that, in some halls, staff members enter anyone’s room if
there’s no response after two or three knocks. While students in
these halls may feel insecure at times, HKU also offers the Residential
Colleges, termed by an exchange student as a “maximum security
prison.”
Academic-wise, the curriculum is not considered very tough but the
competition is high, exceedingly so in some fields such as the Faculty
of Business and Economics; some take it as a matter of motivation
whereas some take it as quite the contrary. The focus paid on
studying is more than what is required and some students are often
surrounded by coursework. This does not only keep them from
enjoying their time, but it also inhibits the development of social and
interpersonal skills.
With the increase in Hong Kong’s population and the influx of non-
locals, the university is overcrowded and one often stumbles on a
queue in the campus. Perhaps a few more canteens and restaurants
could overcome that problem. Many tutors and lecturers are highly
intelligent and informed, speak proper English. However some are
inexperienced in terms of teaching, while others have a very strong
accent or are not proficient at all in speaking English. Moreover, the
exam papers are not returned. The question as to why that is so
remains a mystery. If you get a grade which is somewhat inferior to
what you expected and if you want to see your exam paper, you can’t.
If you think you deserved better, well, pay $200 and the concerned
department will recheck it for you but, as the re-appeal document
points out in bold and underlined text, “appeal against the academic
judgment of the examiners will NOT be entertained.” The money will
be refunded if there was any procedural or technical error, not
otherwise. The grading criteria also need in transparency, for many
students end up with grades that they did not expect, sometimes
much better and sometimes far from it.
When asked whether they would be better off at some other
university, the students responded along varied lines. Many full time
international students said that they were happy to be here but the
satisfaction level stood at different levels. The local students mostly
considered themselves highly fortunate and pleased to be here.
Students from Mainland China, given the rigorous competition they
go through, also reckoned themselves privileged to have made it to
HKU. The exchange students, not surprisingly, compare the standing
of this university to that of their respective home universities. Most of
them were happy to be here but did not wish to be full time students
at HKU for different reasons.
Reverting back to the question under discussion, HKU has had its
brighter moments and it is capable of procuring much more. The
perks that this university has to offer are nowhere near trivial and as
for the criticism, it cannot be condoned but I am certain that our
voices will eventually lead to reforms. That aside, I am incredibly
delighted to declare that most HKU students are happy to be here,
but as for who’s satisfied and who’s not, I would not venture to say.
"Victoria Harbour" by Phoebe (flic.kr/p/jkapPG) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
14
"Victoria Harbour" by Phoebe (flic.kr/p/jkapPG) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
What do
you wake up to? Jamie Choy
What do
you wake up to?
"vertical limit" by paul bica (flic.kr/p/bhdeLM) is licensed under CC BY 2.0
15
“Answer.
That you are
here—that life
exists and
identity,
That the
powerful play
goes on, and
you may
contribute a
verse.”
Walt Whitman’s cries: “O Me! O Life!” borne out of
existential anxiety is a crisis that most of us, albeit at
mere twenty-something are not entirely unfamiliar with.
Amidst corruption, tedium and his own foolishness,
Whitman asks the ultimate question:
What is the meaning of life?
16
“. . . medicine, law, business, engineering . . . these are
noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty,
romance, love . . . these are what we stay alive for.”
- The Dead Poets Society
Everywhere human beings are looking for meaning. There is an inexplicable need to know that our
existence holds weight, that we are not mere shadows. Hong Kong is a vibrant city, but in all her vitality she fails
to pause and look inside our hearts. When we think that we have searched every corner, yet the ultimate answer
remains elusive, we create our own meaning by trying to leave a mark. At this age, our ambitious selves search
for a suitable career, but what happens when our youthful passion comes into conflict with the shiny career goal
that society has planned for us? Should students part ways with their ideals and measure themselves according
to the capitalist standard for success?
Those who choose to pursue slightly less conventional degrees usually face patronizing appraisals: So what are
you going to do with that philosophy degree? What exactly is comparative literature? Sometimes, they are seen as
rash, reckless and idealistic. Here, in defense of pursuing what you love:
Motivation, the drive behind our actions Motivation is related to intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
It has been argued that whilst we seek extrinsic
reward such as good grades and financial pay,
intrinsic reward is what makes us persevere even
when the material gets difficult. An aspect of intrinsic
reward is finding inherent value in our task at hand,
which is to say that we need to believe our efforts are
not wasted in order to stay motivated1. This follows
that if you think that the ‘thing’ you are pursuing is
valuable in itself, you will probably work harder at it.
Hard work usually translates into a higher GPA which
also increases your desirability to employers.
Your degree should neither define nor
delimit you Unlike law and medicine, many degrees are not
catered towards a specific career. This is unsettling for
most students because amidst their future, then,
looms a misty cloud of uncertainty. However, there is
a common misconception that a degree that is not
narrowly tailored for a specific career means that one
is less likely to succeed. Many degrees such as liberal
arts majors help students develop crucial skills
pertinent to many areas of the career field. This
includes critical and creative thinking, communication
skills, attention to detail, rhetoric and many more.
Your degree does not always relate to
your job Many people learn how to do their job whilst they are
doing their job. Then, there are those who find jobs
completely unrelated to the field they studied in
university. In all honesty, this cuts both ways. I have a
1 http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-workplace/the-four-intrinsic-rewards-that-drive-employee-engagement#.UyFHI_mSzfh
friend who majored in history and is now a consultant
at a bank, which you may argue smells like hypocrisy
but he has no regrets because it was time well spent. It
can be problematic when students pursue a degree
that does not relate well to any career paths. With that
in mind, a compromise can be made by coupling what
you love doing with internships that let you refine
your skills and improve your resume. You can still
stand out.
Your satisfaction matters We already know the damage that stress can do to our
mental and physical health. There is also a correlation
between happiness and health. However, HKU
students’ love for all-nighters suggests that health may
not be at the top of our priorities. Quite frankly, when
we pick an area of study that does not necessarily
translate into a currency of material value, we are
picking a path that is not without obstacles. Panic,
anxiety, angst – feelings common to HKU students may
be intensified for those who are not studying
conventional courses. With this in mind, why does our
passion matter? Many of us have been taught that our
present misery is only a stepping stone towards a
futuristic utopia, but this is arguable. You must grab
happiness when an opportunity presents itself; you
need to guard it before the humdrum capitalistic noise
saturates everything and turns it grey. You cannot
plan every step of your life, but if what you want to
pursue gives you a sense of fulfillment, then, what
more do you need to ask for? This article alone cannot
persuade you to follow your dreams. First, you must
look inside yourself.
17
You were never a fan of socializing.
Face it: you might not be the hardcore
introvert type, but the mere thought of
talking to random strangers in campus is
enough to give you headache. Especially when you are just that fed up with
university life, paying attention to others’ affairs might seem like a luxury
when you can barely maintain control of your own.
Nonetheless, you are the optimistic type, so you still kept your head high, and stride into the lecture hall with all the courage that you can muster. After all, “a new semester means a brand new start” has always been your motto.
You sit down, yearn a bit, and turn to the person sitting next to you…
the Nerd It’s him again, camping on the front row of the lecture hall, staring straight into the professor’s eyes with a lust for knowledge that can never be sated. He’s never the one you wanted to befriend, especially with that extra thick pair of glasses that blocks off any chances in starting an interesting dialogue. However, you were taught to never judge a book by its cover, and being in the same group as him for the project seems to be a very sensible choice.
You wonder what GPA he managed to score last semester. It will certainly hurt your dignity as a student to know. Disagreeing on how he prioritizes things differently from you, and the fact that somebody actually pays attention to studying in University, you can’t help but say to him, “dude, get a life”. But when he turned to you with his flawless mid-term paper and seemingly mocks you by saying, “No man, you try to get a job after graduation”, you have then came to the sudden realization, that you might have been the one doing university wrong.
18
the Businessman You bumped into him the other day in University Street in his usual sleek attire—an over-priced suit, overly-greased hair, and a somewhat annoying, over-confident grin. Why is it even necessary to suit up when you are merely going to a lecture? While you were whispering this question to yourself, he was already swiftly approaching you, as a predator hunts down its prey. Even when he seems to be hurrying to some “business events” of his, he always still manages to slip a business card from his pocket into your hand. Heavens, it even has a watermark on it. “Hey, how’re you doing? Got a meeting to catch, though, can’t talk. Definitely should meet up sometimes!” You wish you could be as motivated and resolute as he is, but the thought of having to wear a business suit everyday for no apparent reason is more than enough to send sweat down your chin.
the Hippie You have never seen this person in her sober state ever since the first time you met her in the night club. On most Monday morning lectures, she reeks of alcohol, and might have been considered the incarnation of “hangover” itself. Truth be told, it would have been a miracle seeing her appear in the lecture theatre in the first place. Normally you would try to avoid getting in touch with her just to stay out of trouble, but there is one exception-- when you are desperately in need of some hardcore partying, then she would be the perfect choice for company. Her sense of humor, further complemented by her lack of humiliation, is beyond what your mind can fathom. Not bounded by any kind of decree or norm, social deviance is her inborn instinct. She takes no consequences into consideration, and the word “YOLO” (you only live once) seems to have become more and more of a lifestyle choice for her, rather than a joke. Get drunk, get wasted, and get laid. Everybody should try it once when they are still young.
the Quarterback You were never fond of this brawny barbarian back in high school, and, frankly speaking, the transition into university didn’t make that much of a difference. He used to bully you, snatch stuff out of your schoolbag and take all your lunch money. Now, he (not necessarily the same person though) is actually still bothering you, but on a whole new level -- by taking away all the attention of the girls. You know you definitely hate this guy. Especially since he gained access to the university gym in Flora Ho sports centre and has altered into a pile of muscled disfiguration. He is the team member of any university sports team you can name, and even the sports captain of his hall. Why is he even in university, which is supposed to be a serene and dignified place for pursuing academic excellence? Damn, you just loathe this guy.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
the Shakespeare Mostly the English major students, fantasizing their life as an epic play on the stage. You always thought that a sprinkle of literature every now and then could cleanse your mind and nourish your thoughts, but when you scroll through your friends Facebook timeline to see nothing but literary quotes and Macbeths, you know you have just acquainted yourself with a Shakespeare fanatic. The good thing about befriending with her? You can always delve into a bit of intellectual talk and make sure that you are honing your scholastic edges. The downside of it? She might turn out to be a grammar nazi, with an obsessive-compulsive disorder in correcting every single word you’ve said. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
the Couple These two have miraculously taken human evolution to a new level, illustrating to fellow mankind that two human beings can actually intertwine into one symbiotic entity. Never has there been a known case of the two of them being physically separated from each other. It might have been the sweetest thing seeing these two getting along so well the first week or two-- holding hands where ever they go, feeding each other while they are eating, registering for the exact same courses… That is, until their relationship got a bit “out of hand”. They suddenly seem to be making out in the public and flirting during lecture at a much more frequent rate, and that most certainly bothers you. Or is it just jealousy? You have no idea.
the Zombie After a long tiring day, you drag yourself back to your safe haven, relishing the numbness and agony coursing through your whole body. You can't muster a thought about what happened today, and yesterday already seems like a blur. You turn to stare at the calendar, only to be distressed about what will come tomorrow. If that is the case, congratulations, you have reached the final form of being a college student: the zombie. Yet as monotonous as your life is, you still manage to find a slight bit of contentment from meeting all these amazing people, people from all walks of life, learning and thriving together with them. You are grateful for the joy they bring into your life, because you know that they are the people you call “friends”.
19
“Fear cuts deeper than swords. Strong as a bear. Fierce as a wolverine.”
A well versed Game of Throne Fans might at once recall the scene where this quote is spoken. Among
things in HKU that induce fear: GPA, assignment deadlines or not being able to graduate or “chut pool”
(find a date), there are also the well-famed HKU ghost stories. And the May Hall ghost story was said to
be one of the scariest amongst other HKU ghost story.
During the day, next to Meng Wah Complex, is a very pleasant short trail from Eliot Hall to May Hall. Up
the concrete trail, penetrating the blowing foliage, shafts of sunlight gently shower on travellers’
shoulder like golden drizzles. Turn left and before you stands the 99 years-old May Hall. The three
storey high, Edwardian red-brick house, occupying a siren corner of the campus (when the construction
stops), shines shyly under the sun, behind the Eliot Hall and the Chong Yuet Ming Fountain.
May Hall at night is a different story: a peculiar white wall blocks the gloomy corridor connecting Eliot
Hall and May Hall with eerie yellow lights glowing around you. A perplexing cage-like structure half-
hidden in the trees, is visible from the terraces of May Hall’s second floor. Shadowy trees lurking behind
the building foreshadows the backyard of May Hall, which is used to be an old basketball court, looks
exactly a place for ghost stories.
There are several different versions of the story. The following one is a widely circulated on internet
forums around 2007, which is more or less similar to the one told during orientation camps.
Many years ago, May Hall used to be an all-boys hall, housing many Malayan students. In 1985, May
Hall became part of the Old halls (together with Lugard Hall and Eliot Hall) after Typhoon Wendy
seriously devastated the building. For students' convenience, the University built stairs connecting the
halls with Bonham Road. The dead spirits of those who were brutally killed at Bonham Road by the
invading Japanese during WWII, were guided by these flights of stairs to a basketball court in May Hall.
Tales of May Hall Andra Au
"Campus at night" by Sonya Song (flic.kr/p/4SJdnp) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
20
21
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It is said that a Feng Shui master said that these stairs were filled with "yin", or dark forces. The
University then decided to block the stairs with a white wall so to let the dead spirits have a place to
stay as well as prevent students from disturbing them. And at the end of the stairs, there was a
basketball court, yet it was rarely used and students usually went to basketball court far away from the
campus for practice. It was rumoured that the basketball court was not meant for the students, but for
"them", dead spirits of children, because the basketball court, without a rim, was too small. This
basketball court was the starting point of the ghost story.
The story begins with a male student practising basketball there. Whenever he practised, there was a
girl watching him. One day after practice, the male student followed the girl, who went up to the second
floor and went into the last room of May Hall.
The male student went to ask the hall curator who lives in that room, and was told that it was an empty
room. This puzzled him exceedingly. Unsettled by this mystery, the student then went to the library and
found in old news that a person died in that room many years ago.
The next day, he again followed the girl into May Hall. After the girl entered the room, he peeped inside
through the key hole of the door.
The thing he saw further puzzled him. What he saw was:
Red.
Red.
He went to the library again in search for an answer, which after that he never ever dared to go near
that room again:
When a person dies of hanging, the blood vessel in the eyes will burst and dye the eyes’ conjunctiva red.
The colour of the eyes will become red (conjunctiva), black (pupil) and red (conjunctiva).
The girl was looking at him at the same time through the keyhole.
Ghost story like this usually receive mixed reaction. When I told others of the story, I often got these
reactions..
One said: “Waa… that’s really horrible! The story sends chills down my spine. Do human eyes really
look like that if you hang yourself?” While another person replied saying, “I have heard of ghost stories
like that before, this story can’t scary me at all.
This is why ghost stories are interesting: some people believes it and some people don’t. There were
also many discussion online concerning the story, sharing their memories concerning the place.
Believe it or not depends greatly in what you believe in, but this story constitutes an important part of
student life.
“When you went into the orientation, you learn the secret. It was a scary secret. And yet now you have
it. And now you can scare other people with it.” Said Dr. David Palmer, who teaches courses in
Anthropology and Sociology here at HKU. “That is what initiation is like, a rite of passage. They (the
stories) scared you but by after scaring you, you became part of your group too!”
“So it’s a secret that at the moment you share it, the other people become part of you group.”
Though equipped with great knowledge and experience, a professor might also fallen victim of a good
university ghost story.
May
Hall
at n
ight i
s a d
ifferen
t stor
y.
Black.
21
“You scared me with it. I have an office in May Hall. Now, you know… I was a little... Even though I don’t
believe in ghost (and) ghost stories are scary, so now whenever I go to May
Hall I would think of that story. I never think about it before … It will
change my experience.”
“Now I need to live with this story. I need to overcome any fear. I
am not going to stop going to May Hall. I‘ll keep going there and I
will overcome my fear. In a sense... Just like a martial artist or
fighter. His fear is always there but he can always overcome it.”
said Professor David Palmer
Flipping through the magazines celebrating May Hall
Jubilee (1915-1965) or the 20 year anniversary of the Old
Halls Jubilee, there was only one mentioning of the ghost
story. A student belonging to the Old Halls said that ghost
story is one of the many impressions people have towards
May Hall, without explaining what kind of ghost story is it.
At the same time, there was several interesting things
recorded in the magazine.
Ragging Greenhorns (freshmen) was, apart from vigorous
student movements and competitions with other halls (e.g.
St. John’s and Ricci), one of the most important thing for
students living in the Old Halls. According rto the magazine,
Stephen C. L. Chan (陳載澧), past student at Lugard Hall who
later established the HKU General Education Unit (now based in
May Hall), said that the “Royal Flush” was popular during his stay.
The “ceremony” involved putting a Greenhorn’s head into a toilet
bowel and the seniors flushed the toilet. While the “Orange Squash” at
May Hall, was to smear orange juice onto the Greenhorns’ head, order them
not to clean their face and locked them in a room for a night. These memories: the culture and pride of
those living in May Hall/ the Old Halls, survived the great typhoon Wendy, but was gone as time went by.
One might not remember the “Royal Flush” nor the “Orange Squash”, but the May Hall ghost story might
very well live on, as each year, seniors (Joba and Joma) taught the freshmen this scary story.
“Ghost story is that kind of story, because of ghost is a
human being but there is an issue of death, suicide and
scary appearances. So it's not completely unimaginable,
and it's not normal, and appeals to our deep fear.”
Sadi Professor Palmer
P.S If you find this story very scary, do read this version. The version is the same except the colour the
student saw: green, white, green. What could this be? It was, in fact the girl/ghost, had some green
veggie caught between her teeth.
P.S.S Dear Ghostbusters, if you want to find out more, I highly recommend you to visit the General
Education Unit’s Gatherland in May Hall. It is a cosy place to hang out, to study or to simply drink some
coffee. Gatherland is opened from Monday to Friday 9:30am to 6:00pm, which is recommended by the
GE staff: “Come at night, and you will know”, said she.
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Hal
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