UE/R Old Vandals against decision on Commonwealth Hall

Bolgatanga, May 9, GNA - The Old Vandals Association (OVA) of the University of Ghana in the Upper East Region has warned that it would use all means to fight against the decision of the Executive Council of the University to make Commonwealth Hall, presently a male hall, a gender mix hall of residence.

It would be recalled that in March this year, during the University's Congregation, some students of the Commonwealth Hall, popularly called Vandals, allegedly heckled and chanted songs in the face of the Vice Chancellor of the University, Mr Kofi Annan, making it unpleasant for the Vice Chancellor and invited guests, including guardians and parents of grandaunts.

Addressing a press conference in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region on Saturday, the President of the Upper East Chapter of OVA, Dr Francis Asannah, stated that when the incident occurred the National Vandal Association condemned the act and issued an apology to the Vice Chancellor. He said the association also endorsed investigations into the matter with the view of making those found culpable to face the full rigours of the Law and wondered why the University authority should use that as a case to turn the hall into a gender mixed hall in the ensuing academic year. He explained that Vandals, who passed through the hall usually, became close like family members wherever they found themselves, and that Vandals had only one home, being the Commonwealth hall.

According to OVA, the University of Ghana has in its status that the Commonwealth Hall shall remain a single sex male hall and so until that provision was expunged the Authorities had no cause to disturb the peace of students, members of the Old Vandal fraternity and the associate members. "The University of Ghana should allow matters to cool down, as early as possible or else it would create a further disaster to their administration". They indicated that, if persuasion failed, they would apply to the human rights court to place an injunction, restraining the University from implementing what they termed as a "bogus policy".

The OVA said they would also invite all old vandals both in the country and abroad to embark on a massive demonstration, after which they would organize a press conference to state their position on the matter. According to them, the OVA was a stakeholder in the University, in terms of the University's development, and wondered why they were not consulted before the decision was taken, saying that, members of the OVA had contributed in diverse ways, including purchasing of buses, computers and other academic materials and constructed a water storage facility, among others, to the University.

They indicated that currently there were about 4000 students in the hall and said their fate would be worse if the University failed to rescind its decision. A legal practitioner and a member of the OVA in Upper East, Mr Douglas Seidu said it was no wonder that a lot of tertiary education institutions in the country were losing their cases in court and said unless the University amends its status on the stand of the Commonwealth, it cannot under the law, turn the hall into a gender mixed hall. 9 May 10