The first Tea Gathering on University hall policies has been successfully organised on 12/11 Thursday, where participants from different background had a fruitful discussion on the problems and possible solutions in the future. Main points of the discussion is summarised below. You are also welcomed to join our future sessions of tea gathering for further discussions on Students’ Union and University policies.

            Date: 17/11 | 20/11
            Time: 15:00 - 17:00
            Venue: LG5 Conference Room

Topic (not limited): “Improvement on SU Services”, “What Takes Us to be An SU ExCo?"

            *Other topics are welcomed
            *Free Refreshment Provided

Students’ Union is also conducting survey regarding HKUST Campus Affairs, you are welcomed to express your opinion here: https://goo.gl/8EQugL

* New TKO Hall *

There will be new Tseung Kwan O Hall places to be built by 2016, which is positioned near to the TKO shopping mall and MTR. 370 more hall places for HKUST students would be available, and free shuttle bus would be provided for transportation towards campus.

Some students mentioned that it will be good to incorporate the off-campus housing as a choice like Hall 1 to Hall 9, as students might not be aware of the off campus halls option. Regarding the theme of the new hall, students discussed that whether to make it as an "International Hall”, which would focuses more on cultural integration. This could be determined later with survey and further consultation results. Some international students also mentioned that they do not mind living in TKO off-campus halls.

* Subsidy on renting outside? *

Some students also raised idea for University subsidising students to rent houses outside campus. However, it was clarified that University is not appropriate to work on this, as the execution would be difficult and it would be hard to ensure that the subsidy is used well. It would be best for the University to use resources on areas which could help students in the most direct way, especially when they are from the government fund.

* Hall Activities *

Some international students mentioned that it was hard for them to join local activities, while many of them did enjoy the activities, such as the Halloween Night. It was concluded that more diversified hall activities being open to different students would make a better culture integration.

* Contribution v.s. Distance? *

Some students said that the additional score of past ExCos in the component “Contribution to School Life” might be a bit high, which might be unfair for students not being an ExCo and living far away from campus.

In response to these opinions, in addition to regular questionnaire results, Students’ Union would try to incorporate and reflect them in meetings with University departments.