HKU Hall Culture in Full: A Century of High Table Dinners, Committee Elections, and the Seniority System

On a Monday evening in 1916, in the dining hall of St. John’s Hall, HKU’s first hall of residence, candlelight flickered as staff and students sat together at the table—this was the origin of the High Table Dinner in HKU’s halls. Over a hundred years later, the same ritual endures, but hall life has long since expanded beyond it: executive committee members devote themselves tirelessly to an Orientation Camp; under the seniority system, a freshman may be required to visit more than eighty seniors within ten days; and two bullying incidents in 2017, along with a 2023 indecent assault case at an orientation camp, have reminded the outside world of another side of hall "traditions". This article focuses on the culture, systems, and daily life of HKU’s halls. For the institutional history, architecture, and notable residents of each hall, please refer to the Halls module (10-colleges); this piece will not repeat introductions to individual halls, but will focus on "what daily life in a hall is actually like".

To a certain extent, the hall is a more intimate identity marker for HKU students than their academic department—"I’m from St. John's", "I’m from University Hall". Such self-introductions are commonplace on the HKU campus, and behind them lies a whole cross-year, cross-disciplinary social network anchored by a residential unit. Understanding how this network operates—and how, in certain years, it has spiralled out of control—is an inescapable part of understanding student life at HKU.

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# 1. What is the Hall System? Why Does HKU Have "Halls" Instead of "Colleges"?

HKU’s residential system uses the Hall of Residence as its core unit, rather than the collegiate system of CUHK. According to Wikipedia^※, HKU currently has over a dozen halls of residence, established across a span of a century from the university’s earliest days to the present. Each hall has:

• A Warden and a tutorial team, responsible for the hall’s whole-person education and daily management;
• A Hall Students’ Association, operated by an Executive Committee elected by the residents, one of the "six major categories of societies" under the Hong Kong University Students’ Union;
• A variety of hall-specific cultural and traditional activities, including High Table Dinners, inter-hall competitions, and orientation camps.

Halls do not merely provide accommodation; they are built on the core ideals of "hall spirit", a sense of belonging, and "self-determination and cooperation". According to Wikipedia’s entry on University Hall^※, hall culture emphasises brotherhood/sisterhood among residents and mutual give and take—this is the underlying logic for understanding the subcultures of the seniority system and "burying the committee" discussed later: a hall is, first and foremost, a small community that a freshman must rapidly integrate into, not merely a place to sleep.

Beyond the traditional halls, HKU has also established Residential Colleges as a supplement to the accommodation system since 2012. According to Wikipedia^※, the four residential colleges established in 2012—Shun Hing College, Chi Sun College, Lap-Chee College, and New College—provide a combined total of approximately 1,800 places, of which around 67% are for non-local students. Residential colleges also retain traditions like High Table Dinners (see the New College website^※), but their organisational style is closer to a modern student dormitory, and old-school hall subcultures like the seniority system are relatively attenuated. Details on the buildings, founding years, and notable residents of each hall and residential college can be found in the Halls module.

This dual-track landscape of "old halls vs. new colleges" is, in a sense, a product of HKU’s residential system adapting to changing times: the traditional halls are steeped in history, with deep-rooted subcultures and vast alumni networks, but their seniority culture occasionally sparks controversy; the residential colleges were designed from the outset to emphasise a flatter management structure and a higher proportion of mixed local and non-local residents, attempting to absorb the needs of a new generation of residents with a "lighter" organisational form. The coexistence of the two models means that "hall life" at HKU today presents a diverse spectrum—two freshmen in the same cohort could have drastically different experiences depending on whether they choose a traditional hall or a residential college.

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# 2. The High Table Dinner: From a St. John's Monday Evening to a University-Wide Ritual

# 2.1 Origins: St. John’s Hall in 1916

The High Table Dinner is the most iconic ritual tradition of HKU’s halls, directly inherited from the Oxbridge collegiate system. According to the official HKU CEDARS page^※, the dinners aim to 「促進參與者之間的知識交流」 ("foster intellectual exchange among participants"), blending academic socialisation with ceremonial etiquette. The name originates from the British collegiate tradition where the most important people at a feast sit at a raised table at the head of the hall.

The starting point of this tradition at HKU can be precisely traced to 1916^※: HKU’s first hall of residence, St. John’s College, began holding weekly High Table Dinners, a practice subsequently adopted by other halls. According to Wikipedia’s entry on University Hall^※, hall discipline was strict in the early years, with residents required to wear gowns at dinner; in its early days, University Hall also held a High Table Dinner every Monday, mirroring the St. John’s practice.

# 2.2 How Do Practices Differ Between Halls?

The High Table Dinner is not a uniform template; frequency, ritual, and details vary from hall to hall.

According to the official St. John's College dining page^※, the college's dinner is held in the dining hall every Monday evening at 7:30 pm. Staff and students alike wear green gowns, seated by candlelight, with "laughter and conversation as the background music". After dinner, "HT Talks" are held, featuring alumni and scholars as speakers; the identity of the speaker is not disclosed externally and recording is prohibited to encourage open dialogue. A first-hand account on Fund for Education Abroad^※ notes that dinners are typically held three times a semester, with the final one serving to bid farewell to graduating residents. The event opens with an address by the Warden, reviewing the academic year's achievements, followed by the formal meal. Many students confess it is their first experience of a formal dinner, cultivating etiquette and deepening bonds between residents and academic staff.

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# 3. Inter-Hall Competitions and the "War Cry": Public Performances of Hall Belonging

Inter-hall competitions, covering both sports and cultural events, are another pillar of hall culture and the most visible arena for "hall spirit". Unlike representing the university as part of Team HKU, inter-hall competition pitches residents against "that hall next door", where victory and defeat stir emotions rooted in daily, face-to-face cohabitation rather than inter-university prestige.

According to the official HKU Alumni Day page on the Inter-hall Athletics Meet^※, HKU holds athletic and aquatic meets where halls accumulate points across events to compete for inter-hall championships. In terms of historical lore, according to Wikipedia^※, University Hall's hockey team won multiple inter-hall championships, helping University Hall capture the Malayan Cup in 1966 and 1968. This was part of University Hall's early image as a "cradle of student leaders": its record of sporting victories was an important way to build a hall's early prestige, mirroring its record of producing Student Union presidents. Cultural inter-hall competitions include Drama, Choir, Debate, and Bridge, allowing non-sporty residents a chance to bring glory to their hall and preventing the cultural ecosystem from being dominated solely by athletes.

Beyond the competitions, the most iconic tradition is the "War Cry" and cheering. According to Wikipedia^※, residents attend inter-hall competitions to cheer on their hall’s team; if their hall wins the championship, residents perform a war cry—a tradition that continues today and serves as a signature expression of hall belonging and "hall spirit". A war cry typically consists of the hall's unique slogans, rhythms, and movements. Freshmen are required to learn their hall's war cry during Hall Orientation, making it one of the first skills taught under the seniority system and a ritual marking the freshman's first public appearance as a "hall member". HKU also has a tradition of an Inter-hall Cheering Competition, for which some halls invest weeks of rehearsal, with the standard of cheerleading choreography itself becoming a point of rivalry. For the wider university sports representative system (Team HKU) and the "Big Two" athletic rivalry against CUHK, see the Athletics & Rivalry chapter.

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# 4. "Sheung Jong": A Year of Hall Politics and Emotional Investment

"Sheung Jong" (上莊, a Cantonese term for taking up a post on a student organisation’s executive committee) is a core concept in Hong Kong’s university student culture. At the hall level, each hall has a Hall Students’ Association, for which an Executive Committee is elected by all residents each academic year. This committee is responsible for hall welfare, activity planning, and external representation.

# 4.1 Why is "Sheung Jong" Called "The Most Important Experience of University"?

An HK01 analysis of sheung jong culture^※ notes that it "burns money, burns time, burns GPA"—requiring a massive investment of funds, time, and energy. Yet, the "passion and drive to act recklessly and ask for nothing in return" during the committee term, along with the members' shared memories of facing difficulties together, is considered by many to be "the most cherished memory of youth they'll miss most when they grow up".

# 4.2 How Are Elections Held?

Hall Students' Association elections generally come about through one of two routes:

• Interview-based: The outgoing executive committee assesses those interested in joining. This method is gentler and more common in halls with less competition or those seeking a smooth handover.
• Open Election: Interested residents form their own candidate cabinets and campaign for support during a "publicity period" (ranging from a few days to half a month), promoting their platform via posters, social media, and door-to-door canvassing. The campaign typically includes a "Con Day" (Confrontation Day), where all candidate cabinets, uniformly dressed in formal wear, publicly present their annual plans and budgets and interrogate each other. The mutual interrogation segment is often a public test of the cabinet's capability and team chemistry and a major occasion for all hall residents to discern the candidates' personal styles. Ultimately, all hall residents vote to determine the new executive committee.

There is no absolute distinction of merit between the two methods: interviews reduce internal competition and friction, facilitating handovers in halls with a manpower shortage; open elections can generate a more vibrant sense of participation but may also create factions within the hall over policy platforms or personal grievances. This lays the groundwork for potential follow-up issues like a cabinet's dissolution after electoral defeat or internal disputes. Such controversies fall under the broader umbrella of student organisational governance; see Student Power (Module 20) for details.

For many residents, the decision of whether or not to sheung jong is one of the first major choices they face after entering university. To take it on means shouldering immense administrative and financial responsibilities for the coming year (organising High Table Dinners, orientation camps, and inter-hall competitions all require independent budgeting and reporting to the Warden and the Hall Students’ Association General Meeting). It also means gaining priority access to the Warden, academic staff, and alumni networks. Choosing not to sheung jong leaves more energy for studies or other clubs, but one might also be perceived as having "missed out" on the most central part of hall life. This kind of "opportunity cost" trade-off forms the most common internal discussion topic among residents in the post-orientation, committee recruitment period every year.

# 4.3 "Burying the Committee": The Emotional Conclusion of a Year's Term

"Maai Jong" (埋莊, 'burying the committee') refers to the ceremonial moment marking the formal conclusion of committee duties and the completion of a term by the executive committee members. It is usually accompanied by a dinner, reflection, and farewells. For the members, this means drawing a line under a year’s (or a semester’s) shared work, an often intensely emotional moment. The camaraderie of a hall executive committee is sometimes likened to that of "comrades-in-arms": having co-organised High Table Dinners, inter-hall competitions, and orientation camps under prolonged high-pressure collaboration, members often forge bonds far deeper than those of ordinary classmates. However, some voices point out that this highly cohesive clique culture can sometimes lead to the exclusion of outsiders or excessive internal pressure, aspects that are more concretely reflected in the seniority system discussed in the next section.

The "sheung jong" culture of halls is part of the same continuum as that of the Students' Union and academic societies; hall students' associations once also sent representatives to the Hong Kong University Students' Union. For a university-wide overview of the student union system and "sheung jong culture", see Student Power (Module 20).

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# 5. The "Seniority System" and Hall-O: How Hierarchy Shapes a Freshman's First Semester

The "Seniority System", or "Sin System" (仙制, where "sin" is a Cantonese transliteration of "senior"), is a unique and particularly prominent internal hierarchy culture in many of HKU’s halls. It is a key differentiator between HKU’s halls and the dormitories at other Hong Kong universities.

Under the seniority system, an informal hierarchy based on year of study exists within the hall: senior residents (colloquially known as "dai sin" or "old ghosts") assume a dominant role in hall activities, orientation, and daily life; freshmen ("FM") are required to obey the instructions of seniors during Hall-O (Hall Orientation Camp). According to an InMedia analysis of HKU hall subculture^※, halls with a stronger tradition of seniority operate a system of "senior names", requiring freshmen to memorise the names of seniors at different levels and complete a vast number of "senior visits" during the orientation period, with over 80 such visits considered the benchmark for qualification.

According to an HK01 analysis by a past participant (2017)^※, Hall-O typically lasts 8 to 10 days. The high-pressure atmosphere aims to challenge freshmen's self-confidence and independence. It features a "Mass Orientation (MO)"—a large-scale interrogation session lasting 8 to 10 hours or even longer, where freshmen must face sharp criticism and pseudo-philosophical questioning from senior residents. Some participants report that such arrangements cause psychological stress and have led a minority to give up their residency. Not all halls enforce the seniority system with equal severity. According to interviewed residents, the rigour varies significantly by hall and has evolved over time along with each hall's traditions. Some newer halls or residential colleges, lacking the historical baggage of a "seniority system", adopt a much more relaxed orientation format, closer to pure social bonding activities.

Proponents argue that the high-pressure MO and "senior visits" force freshmen to learn to handle pressure and rapidly get to know a large number of senior students in a short time, serving as an "advance rehearsal" for future workplace and social encounters. Opponents argue that this kind of hierarchical pressure, exercised in the name of "tradition", can easily slip into a form of bullying, especially when individual "dai sin" overstep appropriate boundaries. Freshmen often find themselves with no recourse for complaints because orientation activities mostly take place in informal settings, lacking adult supervision and making it difficult for the university administration to intervene at the first instance. This tension forms the common backdrop to the controversial incidents detailed in Section 7. For the hierarchical distinctions between hall orientation (Hall-O) and university-wide or departmental orientation camps (O-Camp), the "group parents" system, and recent controversies, please refer to the dedicated article The Complete Guide to Orientation Camps.

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# 6. Daily Residential Life: A Slice of Hall Life from Canteen to Study Room

Beyond the "spotlight moments" of High Table Dinners, sheung jong, and the seniority system, the majority of daily life in a hall is remarkably mundane: residents pay hall fees by the semester to live in single or double rooms, sharing toilets, common rooms, laundry rooms, and study rooms. Each hall typically has its own canteen or snack bar, some self-operated by a resident cooperative, which also serves a social function—a late-night hot pot or supper session is often the starting point for friendships in the hall. Halls generally enforce curfews and visitor registration systems, jointly managed by the Warden and the Hall Students’ Association. Some halls have a "quiet hours" policy during the exam period to balance residents' need for rest and study.

The physical space of the hall also carries many informal traditions: corridors are plastered with posters for past "War Cries" and executive committee campaigns, the activity room walls are hung with past championship pennants and group photos, and the rooftop or common spaces are the fixed venues for late-night confessions and committee meetings. For many residents, the true vessels of memory in a hall are not necessarily the ritual of the High Table Dinner, but these trivial yet densely woven details of shared daily life. This is precisely why "hall spirit" has been able to sustain itself across a century, beyond the mere mechanisms of the institution. For practical information on specific room types, hall fees, and bedspace allocation mechanisms for each hall, please refer to the current-year announcements by the CEDARS Accommodation Office and each hall's official website. This database will not transcribe such data annually.

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# 7. The Dividing Line Between Tradition and Controversy: Three Documented Hall Incidents

HKU’s hall culture exists on a clear spectrum: rituals such as High Table Dinners, inter-hall competitions, and war cries are long-standing practices recognised by the university administration and cherished by students as a source of belonging. The extreme forms of the seniority system, the excessive psychological pressure in MO sessions, and the acts of actual bullying and criminal offences revealed in the following cases, represent the targets of external criticism. This section states only specific incidents recorded by authoritative media or official public documents, distinct from personal anecdotes circulating anecdotally.

# 7.1 2017: Hot Wax and Viral Video

Between March and April 2017, two hall bullying incidents at HKU drew widespread public attention.

According to a Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) report on 5 April 2017^※, a 19-second video circulated online showing a resident being pinned to a bed by two people while another person struck his head with his penis. This was reported to be linked to Simon K.Y. Lee Hall. The hall's student association subsequently claimed the act "did not raise bullying concerns" and labelled it an "isolated incident", but suspended the accommodation eligibility of the involved persons. Police also received a report and followed up on the case.

According to a HKFP follow-up report on 8 April 2017^※, another incident occurred at St. John’s College, where about 20 residents forced their way into the room of a student union election candidate and poured hot wax onto his genital area. This act was reportedly conducted in the name of "tradition", ostensibly as a "test" for the candidate. St. John's College subsequently meted out the maximum punishment: 3 students were expelled from the hall, 19 were suspended from residency, and 1 received a written warning. Master Wong Kwok-chun (黃國俊) made a public statement: 「無論以何種藉口或任何形式的欺凌，在聖約翰均無立足之地」 ("Ragging, under whatever pretext or in any manner, has no place in St. John's.").

The HKU Students’ Union subsequently convened an emergency general meeting, passing a resolution condemning bullying and pledging a comprehensive review of all student activities and practices. The union president also publicly stated that both incidents were "unacceptable" and did not represent HKU's hall culture. The resolution passed at the general meeting clearly defined bullying as: 「憑藉施害者所處的權力地位，故意令他人承受任何形式的殘酷、侮辱、羞辱、艱難或壓迫的行為」 ("Deliberately causing another person to suffer any form of cruelty, humiliation, embarrassment, hardship, or oppression, by virtue of a position of power held by the perpetrator."). This definition itself laid the groundwork for future regulatory frameworks.

It is noteworthy that both incidents were carried out in the name of "tradition". The initial response from the Simon K.Y. Lee Hall side described the act as "not raising bullying concerns" and an "isolated incident", while the perpetrators at St. John's called pouring hot wax a "test" for a student union candidate. This "packaging as tradition" represents a concrete case at the darkest end of the seniority spectrum described in Section 5: when a culture of seniority operates outside the supervision of the Warden and the university, and is given the legitimising force of "this is how it’s always been done", abusive acts are easily internalised as "convention" rather than "violence" until external perspectives—from the media, the police, or social media platforms—intervene to re-categorise them. St. John's College subsequently revised its hall disciplinary code and strengthened safeguards for new students in response to public pressure.

# 7.2 2022: Incident of Harassing Mainland Students While Drunk

According to reports by HK01 and Ming Pao in September 2022^※, several HKU hall residents, after drinking late at night, banged on the doors of mainland Chinese students' dormitory rooms, shouting phrases like "Hong Kong welcomes you". The HKU Mainland Chinese Undergraduates Association condemned the act as "campus bullying", and the university expelled the involved residents after an investigation. Although this incident occurred within a hall and was not directly linked in nature to the seniority system or orientation, it was similarly incorporated by public opinion into the discourse of "hall subculture spinning out of control". It serves as a reminder that within the high-density communal living space of a hall, beyond the orientation period's seniority culture, day-to-day group pressure, drinking culture, and identity-politics friction can equally escalate into controversies requiring administrative intervention.

# 7.3 2023: Indecent Assault Case at a Nursing Orientation Camp (Outside the Hall System, but Part of the Residential Life Controversy)

The indecent assault case at the HKU Nursing Society’s orientation camp in August 2023, though it did not occur within a hall structure (it took place at a departmental camp at a resort in Yuen Long), is often discussed alongside hall bullying incidents because it involved a "group parents" seniority culture similar to the hall's seniority system. For the detailed timeline, court verdicts, and university response to this case, see the dedicated article The Complete Guide to Orientation Camps.

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# 8. University Regulatory Mechanisms: From Punitive Sanctions to Systemic Safeguards

In response to the controversies over the years, HKU has gradually built up an institutional regulatory framework. According to the HKU CEDARS/LEAF orientation regulations^※, the current orientation rules include:

The Hall Orientation Guidelines are issued as a separate document, stipulating that organisers must attend a dedicated briefing and meet the standards before they can formally prepare for orientation. For the specific annual details of this mechanism, its enforcement effectiveness, and comparative measures at other institutions, please refer to The Complete Guide to Orientation Camps.

From the case-by-case punishments of 2017 to the mandatory training and declaration systems gradually taking shape in the 2020s, there has been a clear shift in HKU's thinking on the regulation of hall subcultures. In the early days, it relied primarily on after-the-fact punishment by Wardens and student unions (like the expulsions at St. John's). In recent years, it has shifted towards proactive institutional prevention—covering all orientation organisers with mandatory training, using the declaration system to give the university administration visibility over the specific arrangements of each hall's orientation activities, and lowering barriers for victims to come forward via reporting channels. This shift is, to some extent, a response to the long-standing external criticism that the problems with hall subcultures lie not so much with individual "black sheep" but with the structural space created by a lack of supervision.

The core distinction between ritualised traditions and controversial practices lies here: traditional rituals have a clear ceremonial framework and involve the university administration (e.g., the Warden presiding over High Table), while controversial practices usually take place in informal settings, are conducted in the name of "tradition" or "testing", and lack adult supervision. It is precisely this "veneer of legitimacy" that makes external intervention difficult and imposes a pressure of silence on victims—a cycle that the regulatory reforms over the years have sought to break.

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# See Also

• Halls Module (10-colleges) — Institutional history, founding years, architecture, and notable residents of each hall/residential college
• The Complete Guide to Orientation Camps — Hierarchy of O-Camp/Hall-O, the group-parents system, and orientation controversies over the years
• Athletics & Rivalry (Module 23) — The university-wide representative team system beyond inter-hall competitions
• Student Power (Module 20) — The position of hall students' associations within the student union system

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# Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is HKU a "collegiate system" or a "hall system"? What is the difference between the two? A: HKU adopts a hall system, not the "collegiate system" used at CUHK. Each hall has a Warden and a tutorial team responsible for whole-person education, with an Executive Committee elected by residents handling daily operations, forming one of the "six major categories of societies" under the HKU Students' Union. Since 2012, HKU has also established Residential Colleges as a supplement, which operate with a flatter organisational structure. The four residential colleges provide a combined total of approximately 1,800 places, of which around 67% are for non-local students.

Q: How are the executive committees for HKU hall students’ associations elected? Are there interviews? A: They are generally formed via one of two routes. The first is an interview-based process, where outgoing committee members assess interested parties—a gentler method common in halls seeking a smooth transition. The second is an open election, where candidate cabinets campaign and canvass for votes during a publicity period. The campaign typically includes a "Con Day" where all candidate cabinets, uniformly dressed in formal wear, publicly present their annual plans and budgets and interrogate each other, after which all hall residents vote to decide the new committee.

Q: What is the "seniority system"? Is it equally strict in every hall? A: The Seniority System (仙制, or 'Sin System') is an internal hierarchy culture unique to many HKU halls: senior residents ("dai sin") hold a dominant role in orientation and daily life, and freshmen must complete a large number of "senior visit" tasks during Hall-O (Hall Orientation Camp, typically 8–10 days). Some halls feature a "Mass Orientation (MO)" interrogation session lasting 8 to 10 hours. Not all halls enforce the seniority system with the same severity. According to interviewed residents, the rigour varies significantly by hall; newer halls or residential colleges, lacking the historical baggage, have a relatively relaxed orientation format.

Q: What documented incidents of bullying or misconduct have occurred in HKU’s halls in recent years? A: There are three incidents with clear media or official records: in March-April 2017, a sexually-charged bullying incident at Simon K.Y. Lee Hall captured on video, and a hot-wax bullying incident at St. John’s College (St. John’s subsequently expelled 3 students); in September 2022, several residents harassed mainland students' dorm rooms while drunk late at night, leading to the expulsion of those involved; the indecent assault case at a Nursing orientation camp in August 2023, though not within a hall structure, is often discussed alongside hall controversies due to its involvement of a similar "group parents" seniority culture. See The Complete Guide to Orientation Camps for details.

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