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Hegemony in College Elections

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What are the factors affecting college elections and how they put the average student with political aspirations at a disadvantage?

It is important to keep in mind that student life and the functioning of a college is largely influenced by the elected student representatives.  These members wield immense power over the day-to-day functioning of the college. They have an essential say in everything ranging from the cultural events to be organized, the fests, facilities offered to students and more. For a lot of students, this is an opportunity to actively participate in student governance, and have a say in how the administration runs. It is important to keep into account that in politics, the beam always tilts heavily towards the side that has money, muscle power and influence at its disposal.

And while it would have been naïve to assume that college elections in the University of Delhi (DU) are free from these influences, the extent of power these factors exert is shocking.

1) Hostellers vs Day scholars                                                                               

It seems that in the College union elections, the beam always tilts heavily towards hostellers. Student’s studying in DU College’s that have both a hostel and elected students union know that in most cases, as far as elections are concerned, hostellers are at an added advantage. They have the benefit of not just being physically present on the campus at all times which allows them to contribute effectively and easily for the college welfare but also gain traction over scholars over the same. The fact that they are present in college at all times allows them to participate more actively in college activities. Hosteller’s also had a closely knit network and support group which opens up more avenues for them. The relevance of being a hosteller is particularly more in college’s that are not affiliated to DUSU, since this reduces the influence of political groups. Sanchita from the Daulat Ram College Hostel says “ day scholars are at a disadvantage because they can’t be present on campus 24*7. Hostellers are more available during fest season and other events which puts them at an advantage”

2) Student political groups

Another major factor influencing college elections is the association with parent parties and organizations that help create background support. Recently Chattra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing won 25 seats out of the 28 seats it fielded its candidates on, across DU. ABVP and NSUI are key players in these elections. A lot of support from parent parties is covert and goes into the background. Building traction, getting contacts, organizational support during the campaigning period are all ways in which these parties contribute and influence college elections. While this kind of backing may not be very public and may seem irrelevant, it ends up influencing elections in a major way. It is especially relevant in Delhi University Student’s Union (DUSU) affiliated colleges, where student political groups help leaders in their campaign to win college elections and subsequently these students help them in DUSU elections. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both the parties into gaining supporters.

3) Regional sentiment

Regional sentiment plays a significant role in these elections. A student belonging to a particular region is more likely to support a candidate from the same place.  Not just that the idea of community and regional pride runs deep in the conscience of the majority. Recently a video was seen on social media which showed the celebrations post the victory of Shivam Bhadana as the President of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College Morning. The victory was seen as not just the candidate’s but also his community’s, it seemed. Statements like #GurjarPower and “Gurjar is king “could be seen in the comments section, which showed how relevant community lines are for a lot of voters. Student politics does not exist in isolation and the kind of regional sentiment that is central in all aspects of national politics, cannot miraculously be absent from universities. A source from KMC that chose to stay anonymous says “This regional idea is very internal, it’s not really broadcasted with people saying things like- we are from Haryana or we are from UP, but it’s there and it has a big role to play”.

4) Wealth 

A bevy of SUVs, music, crackers to celebrate victory and the occasional brightly coloured sports car is a frequent sight at off-campus colleges during election season. Candidates charm voters by their army of loyal supporters, their flashy automobiles and the slogans, drums, and claps that accompany them, each attesting to their popularity and influence. These shiny toys come with a shock value and they provide the student body all the more reasons to talk about the candidate. It is an effective way to generate interest and grab eyeballs. To add to that election costs include the cost of posters, hoardings, pamphlets and more. These banners and hoardings are ripped out and damaged by rival candidates and their supporters and need to be replaced regularly. These additional costs that come with contesting and winning elections acts as a barrier that filters out the majority of students. It is a primary reason why student unions’ are not as effective as they ideally should be. These candidates, with wealth and resources at their disposal, may not always be able to comprehend and relate to the struggles of the average student, which makes them ineffective as leaders. Students with an active interest in politics and a desire to contribute to change are dissuaded from pursuing it because more often than not, these factors passively work against them. A lot of debate has been going about around the idea that student politics has somehow lost its relevance. Student politics has not and will not lose its relevance but it has become ineffective and the marginal benefits gained from it are continuously decreasing. The first step to making it more effective would be realising how it has become an elite institution which heavily favours a small group of students, where everybody does not stand an equal chance. Once this insight is present in the student body at large, they will be less likely to fall prey to tried-and-tested election campaigning tricks and this would allow more dedicated students with political aspirations to pursue their goals.

 

Feature image credits: Facebook page of Shivam Bhadana

Kinjal Pandey

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Bazinga

Faulty Voting Machines in Few Colleges: Biased Results?

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The entire University of Delhi is heaving a sigh of relief after the DUSU elections 2017. But now, what about the faulty voting machines?

Elections in colleges and universities are valued by every student.  The candidates for the various posts have to argue for the need of more advanced and automated voting systems. However, the design, construction, implementation, effectiveness, and security of electronic voting systems have proved to be problematic. The results of the DUSU polls were released last Wednesday. The outflow of freebies, goodies and movie tickets came to a fruitful end. But insiders have revealed that the voting machines were faulty in a few colleges. So, do we assume that the results were biased? First came the suspicions of vote flipping. And now, the stories and conspiracy theories have begun.

Sources have informed us that there have been reports of voters pressing one candidate’s name, only to have the opponent’s name light up instead. It is unnerving for the students. Have our votes got no value? After all the tohubohu in the university in the former half of the year, now we get to hear of alleged ‘rigging’ of machines. The colleges which got the faulty machines are demanding for another round of elections due to tampering of the ballot boxes. There is a popular demand to scrap the machines. The Chancellor has requested for a probe to look into this matter and the role of the officers involved in the entire process. It said that the machines were tested before the elections and recalibrated each day before voting began.

But the upheaval of students regarding justice in this issue has lead to a settlement: Now the winning party will be decided by a popular support rally, which is to be scheduled by the end of this month in DU’s North Campus. The working mechanism of this rally is described as follows: you have to register yourself under a party as their supporter, and then you must to join their rally walk from the prescribed time. The party with the highest number of supporters wins.

Statistics say more students came out to vote in DU this year as compared to last year.  In 32 of the 41-morning colleges, the voter turnout stood at 44% — a sizeable jump, when the overall voter turnout last year was 36.9%. But in a university like ours, we expect a higher number of voters. And if you could not vote this year, now you have another chance to have a say in the elections of your very own university. Also, increasing support implies another round of incentives to enjoy! Goodies are on their way, let’s join a rally.

**Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is a humorous, light hearted column that should only be appreciated and not accepted.

Feature Image Credits: Times of India 

 

Radhika Boruah

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DUSU Elections 2017

Results: Delhi University Students’ Union Elections 2017

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After weeks of campaigning, the Delhi University Students’ Union Elections 2017 were held on Tuesday, 12th September in colleges across the University of Delhi. At the end of the day, the voter turnout was said to be 42.8%, which was a huge improvement from last year’s turnout of 34.3%. The results for the same were announced on the afternoon of 13th September.

Rocky Tusheed and Kunal Sehrawat from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), affiliated to the Indian National Congress, won the posts of President and Vice President respectively. This was an enormous leap for NSUI, as they emerged victorious over Rajat Choudhary and Paarth Rana from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), affiliated to the Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS). ABVP has maintained monopoly over these 2 posts for the past 4 years in DUSU. The post of Secretary and Joint Secretary has been won by Mahamedha Nagar and Uma Shankar from ABVP.

However, in a recent turn of events, the counting of votes for the post of Joint Secretary is being taken to the Delhi High Court by NSUI. Neeraj Mishra, the National Communications In charge of NSUI, said, “The average NOTA vote count for the post of Joint Secretary had been declared as 5000, however ABVP claims the NOTA vote count to be 9000. Due to the discrepancies in these numbers, the matter of the final vote count will be moved to the High Court by NSUI”. The final tally of votes were, President: NSUI (16299), ABVP (14709). Vice-president: NSUI (16431), ABVP (16256). Secretary: ABVP (17156), NSUI (14532). The post of Joint Secretary has been won by Uma Shankar from ABVP as of now, however the final decision will be declared by the Delhi High Court.

 

Feature Image Credits: DNA India

Joyee Bhattacharya

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DUSU Elections 2017

National Green Tribunal issues notices to DU, DUSU and UGC over paper ban

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The National Green Tribunal is strongly set against the blatant use of paper in the DUSU elections in violation of its order abstaining the students’ body from using pamphlets and splattering the walls of the varsity campus with posters. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued contempt notices to Delhi University Students’ Union, Delhi University and University Grants Commission on the issue of wastage of paper during students’ union polls and sought responses. They were asked to appear on Wednesday. The tribunal in 2016 had asked the university and the student’s groups that participate in the elections to go paperless during the canvassing.
The directions came on a plea by Delhi University law student Nithin Chandran, who had approached NGT against indiscriminate wastage of paper during the students’ body elections. “On every election, tonnes of paper are wasted for canvassing by the candidates and their supporters. Wherein, there is no accountability for usage of paper and neither there is any norm or procedure for recycling of this waste paper,” the plea had said.
It had has also cited the Supreme Courts 2006 order directing universities to implement the recommendations of the JM Lyngdoh committee in their students’ union elections.

The NGT Act 2010 has provisions for a penalty under section 26 of the act in case of failure to comply with orders of the tribunal. Maximum punishment of three years imprisonment and Rs 10 crore as fine.

DUSU elections are scheduled to be held on 12th of September.

Image credits: DU Beat archives

Sandeep Samal

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DUSU Elections 2017

Lyngdoh Committee: The Recommendations Which Have Remained Mere Recommendations

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Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations are perhaps the most cited phrases in DUSU politics today. To understand its importance and relevance, it’s necessary to know that they were approved by the Supreme Court in 2006, to curb the use of muscle power and money in student politics. The aim was to reform the election system to make it more inclusive for students and involve fewer malpractices. Unfortunately, the guidelines have received brickbats from students and politicians alike, as many clauses are unrealistic and utopian.

Lyngdoh had aimed to keep political interference out from student elections but unfortunately failed to realise that this endeavour doesn’t exist without acknowledging the ‘political’ aspect of student political parties. To escape these restrictive guidelines, parties have identified loopholes, a few such examples being:
Clause 6.6.1: The maximum permitted expenditure per candidate shall be INR 5000.
Probably the most flouted clause in the recommendations, parties spend as much as lakhs to print countless pamphlets and hoardings that can be seen across the campus. The loophole that every party takes advantage of is that the guidelines restrict the candidate’s expenditure to INR 5000, but nothing has been mentioned for the candidate’s respective party. All major parties reiterate this reasoning to escape legal action.
Clause 6.7.5: No candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters, printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of canvassing. Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters for the purpose of canvassing, provided that such hand-made posters are procured within the expenditure limit set out herein above.
To cleverly counter this, parties have been releasing posters that misspell the name of its candidate but allow it to be distinguished back to the party as well. The use of an extra ‘A’ after the name would save it from any legal consequences.
Clause 6.7.9: During the election period the candidates may hold processions and/or public meetings, provided that they do not, in any manner, disturb classes and other academic and co curricular activities of the college/university. Further, such procession / public meeting may not be held without the prior written permission of the college/university authority.
It’s common knowledge that campaigners do disturb classes and disrupt routine workings in a college. It’s also never the candidate alone who partakes in this, more often the supporters do the loud sloganeering or get involved in brawls. Since the LCR specifies nothing for parties, political outfits do it as per their will, and candidates are absolved from all responsibility for its party’s action.
What could also be a major advantage for political parties is that the LCR are only applicable from the day the nominations are declared. Up until that day, parties can freely distribute pamphlets urging students to join their organisation.
Apart from one clause in the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines that calls for dissociation of student elections and political parties, there is no clause that directly links the entire party with the administration or puts it under the purview of the election officer’s power. This requires an urgent overview of the recommendations to make them more realistic to plug the loopholes and acknowledge the ‘politics’ in student elections.
Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Vijeata Balani
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DUSU Elections 2017

Throwback 2015: The rise and fall of CYSS, the student wing of AAP

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What was once termed as a force to reckon with, is now merely a shadow of its past. Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contested in the 2015 Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections but did not win. CYSS was the star debutante in the 2015 elections and was perceived at the time a strong opposition to the hegemony established by NSUI and ABVP in previous DUSU elections.
Students who were disappointed with the political climate then considered CYSS as a strong third alternative to clean up the murky politics. Despite huge hoardings of Arvind Kejriwal greeting students and asking for votes, CYSS did not win any seat and scored 16% of the total vote share. Barring a candle-light march to protest against ABVP’s hooliganism in the Ramjas row, it has been relatively absent from the DU political scene in 2017.

While it’s a speculative ‘fact’ that parent party’s win directly correlates to the chances of its student wing winning; why did CYSS lose in 2015, when AAP government raked a record 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi legislative assembly elections? The agendas of CYSS are largely similar in ideology to AAP’s, which pertain to everyday issues of a student and plan to ensure a corruption-free university.

Anmol Panwar, the CYSS spokesperson and Vice-President, in conversation with DU Beat, said, “We boycotted elections last year because we don’t support the current muscle and money power politics in DUSU. Once DUSU candidates are declared, countless pamphlets are thrown in contravention to the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations (LCR). University authorities are aware, complaints are filed, but no action is taken against the perpetrators. Because of this, independent candidates with great ideas lose out to the bigger parties. If the situation changes, we could contest this year too.”
Leading up to the 2015 elections, CYSS was involved in multiple controversies. In 2015, CYSS faced backlash for putting up ‘fake’ posters of opinion polls that it would win 45% of the total votes; the veracity of which could not be verified. Similarly, opposition parties alleged that more than 50 hoardings had been put up across the capital, which was in violation to LCR which states that candidates cannot spend more than INR 5000 in campaigning. In September the same year, a concert, ‘DU Rocks’ was organised which had celebrities like Jasleen Royal, Vishal Dadlani(AAP supporter) and Arvind Kejriwal himself addressing the gathering.

The LCR clearly calls for disassociation of student elections and student representation from political parties. These allegations, amid dwindling support and lack of trust for AAP government in Delhi back then moulded into a sticky situation for CYSS. There’s always a chance the party may make a comeback, the same depending on their ability to garner support through the LCR guidelines it accuses others of not following.

Image Credits: pumirror.in

 

Vijeata Balani

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Uncategorized

ABVP Organises Press Conference on the performance of outgoing DUSU Panel

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Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP), the student wing of RSS organised a press conference on 2nd September to discuss the work accomplished by ABVP-led DUSU last year. The panel consisted of Amit Tanwar, Priyanka Chhawri, and Ankit Singh Sangwan, the three outgoing DUSU office-bearers along with Monica Choudhary, ABVP’s National Secretary, Bharat Kumar, the State Secretary of ABVP and Saket Bahuguna, their National Media Convener.

During the conference, multiple achievements by ABVP in the past years were brought into notice and the rolling issue of discriminatory girls’ hostel rules was discussed. They further went on to talk about their role in a fight for printed mark sheets and hunger strikes held to promote students who had failed their last year of college. The outgoing Vice-President, Priyanka Chhawri spoke in length of the initiatives taken by DUSU in the past year, which included the DU paralympic sporting events and a university wide marathon being organised in North Campus along with cultural events and intellectual seminars under their hood.
Saket Bahuguna, ABVP’s National media convener touched upon subjects like DUSU’s controversial budget and the prevalence of violence across DU. Amid accusations, lies and slander, ABVP alleged opposition parties of putting forth “off-beat agendas to misdirect attention” and the university administration that had failed to competently handle the issue of permanent appointments in the staff. After a one-sided discourse on DUSU’s activities, questions were raised about ABVP’s involvement in the Ramjas issue and their stance on the thousands of posters defacing college walls throughout the campus. On this issue, Saket said, “It is practically impossible to cover all colleges that vote in DUSU in a span of 2 days. Even if we go by the cheapest means of transportation, we cannot cover all cost under 5000 rupees. Demands for a wall of democracy in every college has been placed in front of DU authorities, but no improvement has been observed.”
The conference concluded after the question-answer round and a hopeful parting note for DUSU elections 2017.
The party released its manifesto today.

Image credits: DU Beat archives

Vijeata Balani

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Aryabhatta College

Resolution to Affiliate with DUSU Fails in Aryabhatta College

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On 1st September 2017, a referendum titled “Should Aryabhatta College be affiliated to Delhi University Student’s Union (DUSU)?” was held. The students of Aryabhatta College voted for the motion. Out of the 733 votes that were polled, 583 were for the motion, 140 against the motion, and 10 votes were regarded as invalid. The DUSU Constitution requires an absolute majority of the total number of students to support the motion for affiliation. As per clause 6(ii) of the DUSU Constitution, “Students of a College/Institution may become members of the Union by a resolution passed by absolute majority of the total number of students on rolls of the College/Institution concerned on the last working day of July of that year”. So even if most of the students voted in favour of being affiliated with DUSU, since a majority of the collective student body did not turn up for the polling, the resolution failed.

A strong reason for the less-than-ideal turnout could be because the 31st of August was a holiday in most colleges due to the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) elections. The vote was scheduled on the 1st of September, with 2nd September being a Saturday and the 3rd being a Sunday. If students skipped college on 1st, they would end up having a four-day weekend. Some students believe that the college authorities had intentionally scheduled the voting on a date that would result in a low turnout. Yashank Bhutani, a third-year B.Com student from Aryabhatta College, said, “I think that this was a perfect plan made by our college authorities to get rid of DUSU from our college. As per the referendum schedule, 31st was the DUTA elections, 1st was the day of referendum, and the following days were Saturday and Sunday. College authorities knew well that students won’t turn up on this day due to which we got the following results. The main incentive behind not allowing DUSU in our college is that the authorities will form a dictatorship where teachers would rule like in a school.”

Being associated with DUSU for a lot of colleges means being involved with student politics and activism at a greater level. While DUSU does not come without its own baggage, it is undeniable that it plays a highly relevant role in shaping college life for a lot of institutions. DUSU affiliation means access to a platform to air one’s grievances, access to better fests and cultural events, and a the prospect of engaging on a wide platform of student politics.

In response to the failed referendum, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is currently in power in DUSU, alleged that the referendum was illegal on the grounds that voting in DUSU elections had been happening in the college when it was Ram Lal Anand Evening College until a few years ago.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Edunuts

Kinjal Pandey
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Campus Central

Did you know: there exists a DUSU Constitution

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A constitution is ideally supposed to be a set of laws and principles laid down by those with authority, as the basis for governing a group of people. We know how important the Constitution is in a civilised society, especially with regards to the fact that previous week that saw the ruling on whether privacy is a fundamental right. Even though ground realities may take time to align with the lofty ideals written in a constitution, having high standards of ideals helps in aspiring for a more just world and providing legal recourse.

But what about an institution which is driven by ideas, like the University? Did you know that the Delhi University Students’ Union also has a constitution of its own? It’s a rhetorical question, because why would anybody know that? Unless, you’re writing an article about it – which is one of the more interesting ways of spending your weekend mass bunk due to the unthinking violent actions of the supporters of a certain amino acid-acronym Guru.

The Delhi University website has a link to the Constitution on it. Upon clicking on it, one is directed to a 16 page, 8 chapter PDF document. For those uninitiated in the ways of DUSU (which I’m sure is quite a lot of us given the recent years’ voter turnout), a lot of the clauses are new information. For instance, the source of DUSU funds is 20 rupees from each student who is a part of colleges affiliated to DUSU. It is apparently included in the college fees given by the students. Think of those sweet 20 rupees that you haggle over with rickshaw-wallahs for. The 20 rupees you can use for 2-3 cups of chai, depending on the generosity of your college canteen. A minute’s silence for those brave, invaluable (not literally) 20 rupees should be observed. So selfless, that they are someone else’s chai or someone else’s rickshaw fare to beat up the nearest leftist event’s organisers. It depends on you that which cause you’d rather have your money go to, if at all.

Under ‘Aims and Objects’ (not objectives, and I am not linguistically qualified enough to make a joke on that), there is the real substance – the meat of the Constitution. Among other things, “a democratic outlook”, “intellectual development” and “a sense of unity among students” is to be achieved, along with “harmonious relations” among the student community. That has definitely been achieved, no doubt. There is absolutely no irony in the Student Union demanding unity in a university where it doesn’t even serve a good number of colleges. Nope.

DUSU also has the power to organise events, debates, cultural and social service events under ‘Activities’. It can also publish magazines, journals and “wall newspapers”, whose existence had been unknown to me till now but as per Google Images it looks quite hipster, so I approve. There’s also some interesting organisational information: The Vice-Chancellor (currently Yogesh Tyagi, thank you Google) serves as the patron of DUSU, the hierarchy of the Council from top to bottom is President, Secretary, Vice President, and Joint Secretary; a student having been a part of the University for more than seven years cannot be an Executive Council member, and that a notice for an emergency meeting must be served by a telegram (Isn’t telegram dead yet?) Yes. “Why?” you ask? “Why not” is my response.

Regardless, it turns out that there are quite a few things to learn about DUSU and its functioning. We’re blessed enough to have an easily accessible Constitution that neatly mentions its aims, meetings’ procedures, structures and information on telegraph-usage. So go through it because it’s interesting, the 20 rupees trivia is definitely a great icebreaker for a date, and with the rains all around you have nowhere to go.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Rishika Singh
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DUSU Elections 2017

Students from RLA, Rajdhani stand against the litter caused because of DUSU elections

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With DUSU elections looming around the corner, students from various colleges of the University of Delhi have pledged to not vote for any party that partakes in the littering or vandalising of its college premises.
An unnamed notice at Ram Lal Anand College campus read, “We the voters of Ram Lal Anand College pledge to not vote for any candidate or a party whose supporters are found defacing or damaging the property of our college.” Similar notices from colleges like Kirori Mal College and Rajdhani College have begun doing the rounds in social media, and petitions which condemn wastage of paper are being signed. According to Vaibhav Bansal, a 3rd-year Political Science(H) student at Rajdhani College, “We are not planning on boycotting elections, we just demand a cleaner and violence-free campus. If a record of the campaigners could be maintained at the college gate and their number limited to 5, there won’t be as many problems. It’s our campus that is being defaced, not theirs.”
Akankshya Mohanty, a second-year Statistics(H) student at Ram Lal Anand College feels that the situation at her college is grim and severe. She said, “College just got renovated and many processes are underway as well. These campaigners are causing just too much destruction, with flyers and posters everywhere in and around the college.” She went on to describe her first-hand account of campaigners involved in a scuffle with the police at her college, and how quickly the fight turned violent.
A complete boycott is extremely far-fetched, but this new initiative to deter campaigners from defacing college property is gaining huge traction. Hopefully, more colleges will jump on the bandwagon and challenge authorities to take action against the wrongdoers.
Image Credits: RLA.in
Vijeata Balani
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