The Bukit Timah Campus

Well, the campus then was in a very idyllic setting. You were surrounded by a fair amount of open park land. The campus was two quads that shared a common side, so you had inside quad space, nice grassy plains for students to be active in and whatnot. All the facilities were first-rate, even restaurants for the students were built and were first-quality. So we had sort of a community unto ourselves. First-rate facilities. I came in where we already had the first group of students and one thing I know for sure we had an incredible, enthusiastic student body, and that was an incredible amount of fun.

But it's a reflection of the spirit, and if you think of a student body coming into a new university, most students in the world come into a university and say, Gee, I want to join the marketing club or the finance club. And there's a club, and in fact, they get handed it on a tray. ìYou want to join? Go to the next meeting. Well, if you're a student, and it's a brand-new university, and you say that, well, people like me look at the student and say, Well, you'd better form a club, because there isn't any club, and it's supposed to be a student activity and responsibility. We don't feel particularly comfortable in managing the creation of a club because it ought to be what you want it to be. Oh. Well, rather than say, Take a hike, the students went super active, and before long, we had a lot of clubs, with, I'd say, minimum faculty supervision, and they worked out pretty well. And that's a rare event.