Let’s maintain our male halls in our universities

I just read on Citinews - July 14, 2018 - that the authorities of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) are seeking to render two male halls: University hall (Katanga) and Continental hall (Unity hall) mixed halls. The university’s argument is that following the introduction of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), there is a need for more females to be accommodated in the university. Obviously, I am not oblivious to the existential need to promote science education among females in Ghana and the world. I am convinced that the promotion of science and technology is sine qua non to the development of the continent of Africa. To save Africa from what has been described as progressive retrogression, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to promoting science, technology and mathematics education.

Even so, I think the university authorities are missing a very fundamental point. The university is temporarily the terminal point of education. It is at the university where one transitions from a pupil to a student. What that means is that university education initiates pupils into the real world of academic world. It also introduces students to the world of work. It is at the university level where students learn to appreciate the fundamentals of education. Not only that, university also provides a serene social environment for nurturing all forms of talents. Over the years, universities have been the breeding grounds for sports men and women who have made our nation proud. Future political elites are also nurtured at our universities. Most importantly, university offers freedom and also neutralises the paranoia parents have about their children mixing with the opposite sex. Concomitantly, most students find their spouses in the university. Others also learn to relate well with the opposite sex at the university. The real transition from childhood to adulthood occurs at the university. To state it bluntly: real student and young adult life is experienced on the university campus!

There is no gainsaying that the university space is not limited to just academic work. In fact, academic work is just an aspect of university life. It is on the basis of this that we must promote different cultures, including student cultures on university campus. I am a proud Casfordian (with alliance to Casely Hayford Hall of the University of Cape Coast). Over the years, the hall has been very instrumental in advancing the interest of students. In the 1980s when the nation was in economic crisis, which burdened the running of universities, fellows of Casely Hayford hall provided student leadership to Ghana. The blanket introduction of neoliberal policies, under the mandate of the Bretton Woods institutions, affected many students, and in the process Casfordians challenged the political elite at the time. One of such student leaders was Mr. Kwame Alorvi, who served as the president of the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers for many years. In our days, male halls in the universities serve as power blocks that dialogue and critique harsh policies from university authorities and the nation.

The academic stress at the university could be daunting. While all universities provide a rigorous academic atmosphere, the case of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) is very unnerving. Academic rigorism at UCC is such that many students easily get distressed and discouraged. In spite of the academic rigorism at the UCC, many students, who suffer stress and other academic-related traumas, hardly make use of the university’s counseling section. Over the years, Casely Hayford hall and Atlantic Hall, in the case of the UCC, have always provided cathartic release to students, through their ceremonial ‘jama’ (morale songs) and other forms of activities. Most students, including those who hold strong religious aversion to some activities of these two halls, have accepted the catharsis provided by the halls.

The halls also provide a space for solidarity. Human beings are gregarious, and at every point, we seek to belong. Indeed, Aristotle was right, ‘to live alone, one must either be a beast or a god.’ This sociality of the human person is well articulated in the Ubuntu philosophy: ‘I am because we are, and since we are therefore I am.’ Our gregariousness is a need that must be satisfied. Studies upon studies have shown that suicide rate is high among persons who are deeply anti-social. The male halls in our universities have provided enough space for students to bond with their fellow students. It is interesting to note that since the coming into force of the Supremo tradition in Casford, many students see in the Supremo a point of confluence for we-feeling. The traditional leaders of other male halls also serve as a valve for unity among students. This unity transcends religious, political, and ethnic lines. In some cases we have had inter-university alliances (Casford, Katanga, and Sarbah halls have their alliances, while Atlantic, Commonwealth and Unity halls have theirs). I suspect that it is the unity and attention that these traditional male hall leaders command that incur the ire of some university authorities.

There is also no gainsaying that these male halls provide adequate space for rare intellectualism. In my days at Casford, it was mandatory for all ‘hallers’ to be at the library at a certain time of the day. Traditional leaders and their other functionaries would go round the hall to make sure that fellows were at the libraries reading. The high point of such intellectual rigorism was what is popularly known as ‘Sharpbrain procession’. This procession was usually organised a few days to the beginning of every semester exams. Students would carry books and sing songs that express their intellectual preparedness to excel in the exams. I used to go on such processions even when I was a teaching assistant at the UCC. The procession had multiple effects on students. But two are key. The first is that it psychologically prepares students for exams, as it numbs their fears. The second is that it was a source of catharsis. But on the whole, students got challenged to bring academic glory to their halls.

There is no disagreement that over the years, some students have done the excess and in the process brought the image of some of these male halls into disrepute. The issues of ‘animalia’ (in the case of Caford) and ‘lowering the standard’ (in the case of Vandals) that involve stripping the buttocks bare, and the use of vulgar worlds have been rightly questioned by some university authorities. But even such practices are simply ways of challenging conventions, which is accepted. It is part of the deconstruction of the myth of the sacredness of the body and also a form of catharsis. Vulgarism is also accepted in our cultures.

For example, in the past, during Apoo traditional festival of the people of Wenchi in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, vulgarism was accepted. It was a way of being human! But both ‘animalia’ and vulgarism are not a routine practice for all students. But these forms of ‘deviations’ from the norm are part and parcel of every human society. To valorise and depend on such occasional deviations to banish an entire tradition is to overlook the fact that deviation is a social fact. There are also sometimes negative inter-hall rivalries, which take the steam out of these halls. For these reasons, Casford, Commonwealth, and Katanga have often come close to losing their status as male halls, because some fellows of these halls engaged in excesses. My concern is that the university should not essentialise the misconduct of a few students of male halls to overturn years of cherished traditions in these halls.

The above discussion point to one direction: the essence of tradition. All these male halls have a tradition that inures to the benefit of students. This tradition contributes to making the university environment the ideal place for nurturing human talent for nation building. The tradition of ‘jama’ (also called charging in Casford), intellectual and ethical rigorism, and challenging bad policies of university authorities must be sustained through the protection of our male halls from becoming mixed halls. In conclusion, I call on all the other male halls in Ghana to rally behind Katanga and Unity to resist the attempt to make these halls unisex halls. Even so, we must use dialogue, tact and wisdom in our resistance.

Long live all male halls in Ghanaian universities!

Satyagraha

Charles Prempeh (prempehgideon@yahoo.com), African University College of Communications, Accra