Atlantic Hall holds maiden general meeting
Chris Nunoo
Education
The alumni of the Atlantic Hall of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has held its maiden general meeting, with a call on them to be committed to the cause of the association.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Professor Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, who made the call, urged members to pledge their commitment because it was the only means to move the group forward.
General meeting
Prof. Edu-Buandoh advised members who made it to the meeting at the club house of the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG) in Accra on Tuesday, January 7 not to be discouraged about the attendance.
She said although numbers at meetings were significant, that alone could not move the association but the commitment of members.
“So even if those of us here are committed to this cause, we will be able to move the association forward. I, therefore, want us to pledge our commitment to the association,” she stressed.
Herself an alumna of the hall whose members are known as mariners, the UCC Pro Vice-Chancellor said “as an old mariner, I would continue to be a member or an affiliate of the marine city of the university.”
She, therefore, advised all old mariners across the globe to unite and join in the quest to position the Atlantic Hall in its rightful status, saying “we look forward to seeing the old mariners come home very soon.”
Background
The meeting was on the theme: “Reorganising for a stronger association” and was attended by some senior lecturers including the current Senior Hall Tutor, Dr Christopher Acquaah, and Dr Isaac Dasmani of the Department of Economics.
The Atlantic Hall was established in 1962 and its members are said to be very vociferous on the University of Cape Coast campus and among universities in the country.
The objective of the meeting which attracted scores of old mariners of various professional backgrounds was to promote the welfare of mariners and the hall, as well as the UCC.
Members took advantage of the occasion to socialise and reminisce about old memories on campus while members of the hall’s sacred choir also charged the atmosphere with the Atlantic Hall genre of hymns and gospel songs to the excitement of the gathering. There was a lot to eat and drink.
Experience
Sharing her first experience about the Atlantic Hall’s sacred choir, Prof. Edu-Buandoh said because she was the daughter of a reverend minister, when she heard people singing hymns at the hall for the first time she sang along but was taken aback when she later paid attention to the lyrics of the song.
She said students gradually got used the music and accepted it as part of the tradition of the hall.
“There are so many memories that we all have about Atlantic Hall because it is a special hall. It continues to be a special hall in spite of the challenges. Atlantic Hall has produced all of us here, very accomplished people,” she pointed out.
Prof. Edu-Buandoh further lauded the interim executive members who worked to make the meeting come off and said the decision to reunite all mariners was in the right direction.
Mariners
The acting Chairman of Mariners, Mr Derrick Agyei Gyamfi, appealed to all old mariners to use their backgrounds to mobilise support for the association.
The Head of the Institutional Advancement Office of the University, Mr Asante Fokuo, for his part said an office had been established to facilitate the processing of transcripts and other documents for past students.
He said his office would soon organise home-coming events for the alumni and involve them in the orientation programmes of the university.