An Accra Fast Track High Court has ordered authorities of the University of Ghana to stop an impending conversion of the all-male Commonwealth Hall, popularly known as the Vandal City, into a mixed graduate hall. In its ruling on Friday morning, the court said the university failed to establish a good basis for its decision, it also failed to prove that the conversion of the hall will help end indiscipline amongst students of the hall. According to the school's authorities, the behaviour of residents of the all-male hall over the years has cast a slur on the image of the institute, justifying it with an incident at the last graduation ceremony where it was alleged students from the hall heckled former United Nations Boss and Chancellor of the University, Kofi Annan. The students, therefore, initiated the court action after the authorities insisted they would go ahead with the conversion. The court ruled in favour of the Vandals, saying the hall should remain as it was for the 2010/11 academic year. Meanwhile, counsel for the Commonwealth Hall students, Nana Ato Dadzie, and students of the Commonwealth Hall have applauded the ruling. Even though the university authorities have started assigning fresh students to the various halls, they have left out the Commonwealth Hall, but a member of the students’ legal team Egbert Faibille says with the latest development, they will go for another court order to compel the university to reassign the freshers. He reiterated that the ruling restrains the university of Ghana, its executive committee, as well as its Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, from going ahead with any steps towards the conversion. He criticized the authorities for failing to consult the Old Vandal Association in its decision to convert the hall. However, he said the association is “prepared, willing, ready and able” to assist the university to ensure that the hall “remains the bastion of excellence at the university at whatever levels of study”. He admonished the students to be disciplined at all times, adding that the true meaning of their ‘vandalism’ is not about “destruction, it is about excellence, going forward within the law to seek your right”. Mr Faibille hinted: “We have picked signals from the university authorities that they would want the matter to go to full trial. Well, whatever happens, we are ready, as lawyers for the Junior Common Room of the Commonwealth Hall to ensure that the case is prosecuted to the very end for the right thing to be done.” JCR president of the hall Samuel Larbi has commended the court for the decision, saying “the ruling today is joy to everybody not only Vandals but to the youth of Ghana…that justice still exist”. He said since there are signals that the university was bent on implementing its decision, they will also “press on” for justice. “What we are saying is that if there must be justice, then there must be complete justice.” Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana