Hong Kong Daily Press 1928-10-30
Mrs. Southorn hosted an "At Home" event at Government House yesterday to garner interest among local residents for a scheme to build a hostel for women students of Hong Kong University. A large number of people, representing various nationalities of the Colony, were present. The cause was eloquently pleaded by Miss W. I. Griffin, Warden of St. Stephen's Hall (the present, quite inadequate hostel), Colonel Skinner, Chairman of the Hostel Committee, and Dr. S. W. T'so, O.B.E., and the Hon. Dr. R. H. Kotewall, C.M.G., the latter two speaking in Chinese. Mr. W. W. Hornell, C.I.E., Vice-Chancellor of Hong Kong University, presented the Senate's perspective, stating that the body enthusiastically supported the scheme and would, if possible, provide a site for the building.
In her introductory speech, Mrs. Southorn expressed her pleasure at seeing such a large assembly, which she felt augured well for the new University Women's Hostel, the object of the meeting. She welcomed everyone on behalf of her husband and herself, expressing the earnest hope that the meeting would generate the means to suitably house the hostel. She emphasized that the hostel would be a great asset in the social development of women in Hong Kong, the Straits, and China. Having experience with those responsible for the hostel and those who benefit from the home it provides, she admired the spirit that animated them all.
Mrs. Southorn then introduced Miss Maude Royden, acknowledging the great privilege of her presence. She humorously noted that while they shared some commonalities (like mislaying eyeglasses), Miss Royden was perhaps the greatest woman speaker of the day, while she herself was but a humble and halting one. She thanked Miss Royden for sacrificing her rare hours of leisure to speak on behalf of the hostel. Mrs. Southorn then called upon Colonel Skinner to take the chair, noting their good fortune in securing him as Chairman and a strong Organizing Committee to assist him. Among others who supported him on the platform were H.E. the Officer Administering the Government (the Hon. Mr. W. T. Southorn, C.M.G.), Mrs. Southorn, Miss Maude Royden, Miss Griffin, Mr. W. W. Hornell, Sir Robert and Lady Ho Tung, Sir Shou-son Chow, the Dean of Hong Kong, the Hon. Mr. J. Owen Hughes, the Hon. Dr. R. H. Kotewall, Dr. S. W. T'so, and the Rev. C. B. Shann.
Colonel Skinner, Chairman of the Hostel Committee, admitted that when he was asked to take the chairmanship, he did not know much about the scheme or the young lady undergraduates it aimed to serve. However, he hoped those present would have the whole matter put clearly before them at the meeting. He then read out the names of the Committee members: Miss Atkins, Hon. Mr. J. Owen Hughes, Mrs. Creasy, Miss Griffin, Lady Ho Tung, the Rev. C. B. Shann, Dr. T'so, Mr. T. M. Chow (secretary), Dean Swann, Mrs. Bridge, Mr. Alves, Mr. Tang Siu Kin, and Mr. Boxer.
Miss W. I. Griffin, Warden of St. Stephen's Hall, spoke on "The Hostel and What It Stands For." She pleaded for the cause of higher education for women in the Colony, a cause deserving the strongest support, which had been loyally given by the Chinese community since the founding of St. Stephen's Girls' College. The erection of the University Women's Hostel, she explained, was the crowning effort of the Church Missionary Society on behalf of this educational enterprise, an effort consistently supported by His Majesty's Government and the Prince of Wales, who opened the new St. Stephen's Girls' College Building in 1922.
Miss Griffin recounted that in 1920, St. Stephen's Girls' College first appealed to the University to admit women. This appeal met with an almost immediate response, and in 1921, the first lady undergraduate was admitted. (The very student who made that appeal was, at the time of this report, taking her final exams in Medicine.) Shortly after, in 1922, Hong Kong University requested residence for women students. In 1923, the first woman student was welcomed and lodged in one room with a Warden. By 1924, a small house was taken for six students, and in 1927, this led to the occupation of the present flats in Babington Path, where fourteen students now reside in St. Stephen's Hall. However, the monthly tenure of these flats makes their position precarious, as finding sufficient or suitable accommodation near the University would be difficult if they were forced to seek it elsewhere.
Therefore, a permanent hostel for women students has become a positive necessity. They hope for a hostel that will house 30 to 40 students, providing a common room, a lounge, and a dining hall suitable for public functions and communal purposes. Beyond academics, they also aim to encourage "out of door training" and healthy sports development, noting that while they have budding athletes in tennis, basketball, and hockey, a lack of their own grounds handicaps them. They hope land will soon be leveled for this purpose. Above all, Miss Griffin stressed, the hostel aims to provide a Christian atmosphere. She appealed to friends to provide the means to make this work worthy of the Colony and the University of Hong Kong.
Mr. W. W. Hornell, Vice-Chancellor of the University, explained the Senate's attitude towards collegiate life for women students, beginning with figures. In 1921, there were two girl students; by the end of 1926, there were 18; and now there were 40, "and still they come." University regulations stipulated that a degree would not be granted unless a student had resided either in the University or an approved hostel for some period. When girls were admitted, no special regulations were drawn up for them, meaning a girl stood on the same footing as a man. However, the University had never provided a hostel for women. All existing accommodation had been the work of St. Stephen's Girls' College and the Roman Catholic Convent, which he described as "at best a hole and corner business." Suitable houses for rent were scarce, though some flats had been obtained. He thanked the Church Missionary Society of the Amalgamated Schools and the Roman Catholic Convents on behalf of the University for their efforts.
Regarding residence for women students, the University was not inclined to strictly enforce the condition of residence before granting a degree. As the University was young and Hong Kong a cosmopolitan community, while residence in a well-run hostel would be beneficial, a degree would not be refused if parents wished their daughter to live at home, provided that home was approved as a place of residence. Nevertheless, a hostel was very badly needed, especially for students in fields like medicine, where periods of study required them to live within easy reach of the University. The Senate enthusiastically supported the hostel scheme but would not prevent girls from living at home.
Concerning a site, the Vice-Chancellor clarified that this was not a University appeal, nor would the new facility be a University Hostel; it would be an approved hostel with its own warden and governing body, the warden being a member of the University Hostel Committee. He believed the University would be asked to provide a site. While it would be pleasant to do so, he could only state that if the promoters of the scheme could approach the University with the funds to build, he was assured that the Senate and Council would listen kindly, and land would be forthcoming if possible. He concluded by commending the scheme to their charity as a most worthy one.
Miss Maude Royden, after thanking Mrs. Southorn, expressed her great pleasure in both the occasion and the subject. She recalled her three years at Oxford as the period she would have least liked to miss, as nearly everything she valued had come to her during or as a consequence of that time. She spoke of the status of women at Oxford then, noting that despite being admitted to lectures, it seemed the general idea was that women were not "really there." Lecturers, with one exception, addressed the gathering as "Gentlemen," while the more courteous don would say "gentlemen and others attending my lecture."
She stressed that education meant a tremendous lot to China, to the women of China, and to women worldwide. The university age was crucial for forming friendships, developing the capacity for teamwork, and learning to value people who were not personally congenial. The corporate life of a hostel, she argued, was uniquely capable of teaching these lessons. She observed a great difference between colleges where students resided and those where they lived in lodgings; the former prepared students for public life, offering invaluable discipline and education through close contact with others. In Hong Kong, students had the added advantage of learning to understand other nations, which was tremendously important for any public work.
Miss Royden highlighted that a woman's life was too often bounded by her home, where she could become absorbed to the exclusion of wider claims. Unlike men, who learned to get on with others in business, women often chose their companions. This perceived inability of women to work together had been cited as a reason against their suffrage, but she argued it was not an innate vice but rather a lack of educated public spirit. It was difficult to value people for their contributions irrespective of personal attraction, a lesson men had more opportunities to learn. The influence of women, even in countries with less freedom, was so strong that it was absolutely necessary for them to learn this lesson, lest their influence be retrogressive instead of progressive. Collegiate life was therefore most important for women, even more so than for men, as men had later opportunities to develop public spirit.
Women, she asserted, had something very real to contribute to the world, not to work against men, but to offer a supplementary contribution that was greatly needed. She cited her recent visits to Australia and New Zealand, countries young in history but old in the influence of women. There, women voters had focused on the protection of children and mothers, resulting in New Zealand having the lowest infant mortality rate in the world (formerly as high as Great Britain's) and Australia the second lowest. This achievement, she noted, required an impersonal outlook, a fruit of collegiate life. "If," Miss Royden concluded, "I were a girl in China today, I would want to be a woman doctor." She emphasized that a woman doctor could do vital work anywhere, perhaps most vitally in China. "We must learn," she urged, "as a sex to look beyond personal ties to something large, if not, our influence will be reactionary. That spirit can best be fostered by hostel life, and I plead with you all to make this hostel possible."
Dr. S. W. T'so, O.B.E., and Dr. R. H. Kotewall, C.M.G., spoke in Chinese. Dr. T'so explained that Mrs. Southorn had thoughtfully suggested this, as many in the audience did not understand English. He spoke on the Chinese view of women's education and the advantages of the hostel system. He referred to ancient Chinese ideas of education and the discouragement of women's education due to the pedantic rules of propriety of a later age. The saying, "To be without knowledge and experience is a virtue in women," had been handed down as a truth in present-day China, though it might have originated as an expression of regret that able women led lives of useless self-indulgence. This idea of virtue, however, was now "exploded," and there were currently 40 women students on the University roll.
Dr. T'so affirmed that the hostel system was admitted by educationalists everywhere to be most beneficial to students. Without such facilities, many women could not come to Hong Kong for their education. For the sake of the future generation, he urged, they ought to do their best to provide women with every educational facility, and he asked the Chinese community to support the hostel scheme generously.