THE GIRLS' HOSTEL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 124, 24 November 1908, Page 8

THE GIRLS' HOSTEL.

SATISFACTORY REPORT. THE YEAR'S WORK. The annual report of the Council of the Women Students' Hostel Society states that since the last annual meeting of the society, held in November, 1907, the building and furnishing of the hostel liad been completed, and ft, was ready iov the reception of students when the .Training College opened for the session of 1908. Mrs. Thornton, the lady principal, entered upon her duties on 21st February, and the hostel was" formally opened on 28th February. A reference is made to the details of the inner history of the movement which resulted in the establishment of a Women Students' Hostel, and the institution, it is reported, has been justified by the results. To Mrs. Wallis, the original promoter of the movement, and to Mr. Aitken and other public-spirited gentlemen who guaranteed the bank overdraft by means of which the hostel was built, the society owes a debt of gratitude. Acknowledgments are also made of the kindly efforts of Mrs. Hislop and her band of lady helpers, the men students of Victoria College, and other friends whose contributions to a furnishing fund secured the proper equipment of the building. That the institution supphed a great and pressing need has been proved by the number of students who applied for rooms. The first session I has been a period of unqualified success and steady prosperity. Since the date of , opening of Victoria College every room at the hostel has been occupied, and numbers of applicants have had to be disappointed. The health of the 35 students in residence has been uniformly good. That the students have given a good account of themselves in their studies is attested by the results of the Victoria College terminal examinations, there having been only one failure amongst the hostel students, that being in the case of a first-year student, and in one subject only. Stress is laid on the social side of the hostel. The students, removed from household cares and associating mostly with those engaged in similar studies and pursuiCs, are able to give more undivided attention to their work and to develop a higher ideal for realisation in the larger world than those who are not so privileged. The lady principal, Mrs. Thornton, entered upon her duties with admirable zeal and ability, and this has been maintained consistently throughout the session. The men students of Victoria College, actuated by a line spirit of academic comradeship, have done much good work for the hostel. The financial aspect is satisfactory, a reduction of the bank overdraft being effected. At the last meeting of the society, the council was authorised to raise £110 on loan or on debentures in order to meet certain liabilities incurred in building the hostel, and not provided for by the bank overdraft of £3000. The balance to credit at the end of the financial year will enoble the council to pay off these debentures when they fall due, keep the hostel during vacation time, and also give a bonus to Mrs. Thornton. In conclusion, it is stated that it will ba well to consider whether the council ought not to set aside a special sum of money to cover depreciation, the cost of repairs, and so forth.