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Synopsis :

The official opening of Sheares Hall at the National University of Singapore's Kent Ridge Campus begins with a concert by the students of the Hall. Master of Sheares Hall Associate Professor Lawrence Chia then says that it is a double honour for him to help establish a Hall named after the beloved former President Benjamin Henry Sheares and have it opened by his successor, President Devan Nair. Professor Chia is keen to see intellectual discourse and debate in Sheares Hall and wants to make the Hall a centre for intellectual activity. The Hall is trying out a pilot scheme to have a suite for the use of academic visitors. He hopes that this will be enriching for everyone. Also, there are moves to accept more post graduate students in the Hall. 115 members of Hall have decided to become kidney donors. He wants Sheares Hall to do its best for society and the nation. In his address, President Devan Nair says that as President of Singapore, Benjamin Sheares shared his professional and academic gifts by lecturing and holding consultations at Kandang Kerbau Hospital. He hopes that the former Dunearn Road Hostel justifies its renaming after President Sheares. President Nair says that halls of residence should be places for creative interchanges between students and between students and their masters and fellows. These halls are excellent venues for stimulation of inter-disciplinary cross fertilisation and provide students with opportunities to break out of closed worlds. He suggests that students from the same discipline should never be put in the same room in a hall of residence. Those from diverse disciplines should mingle together. Living in a hostel is not only intellectually stimulating but a toughening process. Sometimes, a student might have to listen to a roommate's droning monologue on his favourite topic. He also suggests that the Hall should not pamper its residents too much. Students should raise funds for Hall projects. Masters should be men and women of academic excellence and have empathy for the ones they guide. Non Singaporeans in the Hall can help to broaden the students' horizons.