Prof Guo Zhongshi from HKBU speaks at the High Table Dinner

First year students from IJ, GIR, and PRA programmes donned long dresses and suits and polished up on their etiquette skills for this semester’s High Table Dinner on 28 March. Guest speaker Prof Guo Zhongshi from the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University shared his opinions on coping with campus life in the first year of college.

Prof Guo was introduced by Prof Mei-Hwa Sung, who delivered the opening remarks and explained the history of UIC’s High Table tradition, modelled after those of Cambridge and Oxford universities.

Guo’s speech focused primarily on striking a balance between academic and social life. As far as academics, he pointed out the disconnection between what students want to learn and what teachers know. In his opinion, it is not necessarily feasible for professors to teach students about what they learned in school, as such information may be outdated and not applicable to today’s world.

The second point he made had to do with a student’s ability to think critically. Prof Guo believes that Chinese students today tend to memorize information for a test rather than learning the concepts themselves. He defined critical thinking as the ability to judge information for one’s self rather than taking what professors say at face value.

Guo reminded students that college is about emotional intelligence and personal growth just as much as academics. He mentioned that the biggest shock to first year students is usually to live with other people. Connecting with others who have differing viewpoints proves difficult, and campus acts as a testing ground for learning to survive in the real world.

Students had an opportunity to ask questions before the four-course dinner was served. A student from the IJ programme asked Guo about how to improve social skills, to which Guo responded, “Be yourself.”

Other students asked about how to handle conflicts between principle ethics and social forces from a journalistic point of view. Guo responded by saying that a good journalist will conceal his thought and opinions cleverly, and should learn how to insult people without insulting them.

Other members of UIC administration attended the event in their academic robes. UIC President Ng Ching-Fai presented Guo with a souvenir from the evening, a set of sterling silverware in a gold box.

Guests at the High Table Dinner

Reporter: Catherine E. Stolz, Zhang Fan (ELLS, Year 1)
Photographer: Liang Jianhao (IJ, Year 2)
Editor: Deen He, Samuel Burgess
(from MPRO)