Residents of Commonwealth Hall at the University of Ghana say contrary to public perception, they are not hostile to female visitors who enter the Hall in red outfits.

According to them, the assertion is an erroneous one which must be dismissed by all.

Speaking in an interview on the maiden edition of Joy Campus on Sunday, the residents popularly known as 'the Vandals', lamented the unfortunate perception the general public has about them.

One of such widespread perceptions is that when female students visit the Hall, they are hooted at and sometimes harassed; especially when they are in red outfits.

But speaking to host, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, one of the concerned residents explained that since the Hall's traditional colour is red, the residents only get excited when they see their female guests in red.

'Zygod', a resident who spoke to the Joy Campus team further stated that the presence of female guests in the Hall sparks 'the feminine part' of the Hall, which is fully inhabited by male occupants.

"The thing is that we don't hoot at the girls. When the girls come and they're in red, we praise them. We praise them simply because, we believe that our colour is red. So if a lady should be in red, it means she's one of us. So we praise her by singing 'ɛyɛ kɔkɔɔ …'.

So we praise the girls. We don't hoot at them. This should go straight to anyone out there, that we never lay hands on girls. Never. Because when the girls are around us, we feel very happy. We feel the feminine part of us", he emphasised.

He added that, compared to other halls at the University of Ghana, Commonwealth Hall records the highest number of female visitors in a day, due the hospitable nature of residents.

Some of the residents also debunked the assertion that Commonwealth Hall is known for violence and riotous behaviour.

In this regard the residents said they are only passionate about activism and advocating for the rights of the marginalised; a posture which should not be construed as unruly behaviour.

The tour by the Joy Campus team also revealed some details about the Hall. Raymond Edem Tamekloe, a resident who spoke to the team explained the letters of the nickname for Commonwealth Hall residents.

He said as 'Vandals', the 'V' stands for Vivacious, 'A' for Affable, 'N' for Neighbourly, 'D' for Dedicated, 'A' for Altruistic, 'L' for Loyalty and 'S' for 'Solidarity'.

The maiden edition of all-new TV programme, Joy Campus aired on Sunday, 24th July, 2022. Subsequent editions will also air on Sunday at 11 am on the JoyNews channel.

Here is the first episode of the show which focused on the Vandals, who pride themselves in being the sons of 'Father Bacchus'.