In the newly finished banquet hall at Zone B of the UIC Academic and Administration Complex, the 9th UIC High Table Dinner was held in the evening of March 18, 2008, assuming new importance for this regular event as it was the first held on campus.
At six in the evening, the lofty banquet hall was lit up by dozens of ceiling light. Over one hundred students in their formal dresses stepped into the hall gracefully. Six special guests, including the President of Bethany Lutheran College, Dr. Dan Bruss, Mrs. Lathy Bruss, as well as UIC Executive Vice-President Prof. Kwok Siu Tong, greeted them warmly.
It was just the right time for UIC to launch the new banquet hall on campus for High Table Dinners. As part of UIC's innovative experiment on societal education, the dinner had caused hot debates in the past few months. Much attention had been focused on the garments and venue, which were regarded as extravagant by the public. Prof. Kwok Siu Tong restated in his opening speech that to host High Table Dinners was not to show off, but to offer a formal occasion for exchange of opinions and learning from each other. He said it was a reflection of the liberal arts education philosophy, a practice of the Whole Person Education concept and Four-Point Education model, with a purpose to cultivate talent with international and local experience.
In line with the High Table tradition, Dr. Dan Bruss and Mrs. Lathy Bruss were invited to make speeches before the dinner. They talked about liberal arts education as a preparation for globalization, and emphasized the importance of cultural exchange in the background of the global century. Their speeches were well received.
Journalists: Liu Yinyin, Tong Xin, Wang Yuan
Media and Communications Center
