On
Campus Is
DU a University
or a Political Centre?
A
sweet disorder in the dress
Kindless in clothes a wantonness…
I see a wild civility…
During
our first year at university, while giving a lecture on Robert
Herrick's "Delight in Disorder", Prof Syed Manzoorul
Islam asked us, "Do you see disorder in the university?"
All the
students immediately replied in unison, "Yes, Sir, everywhere!"
Like Ulysses,
a restless warrior, in our first year at DU, we were busy
all day long simply having fun. University was a new world
for us, DU being the centre of everything. But the joy didn't
last long. Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) called an indefinite
strike preceding the national elections of 2001. Now a 4-month
session jam every year has become common for us at DU. We
don't understand the need to close the university. Even during
movements, like those protesting the police raid on Shamsunnahar
Hall and the attack on Prof Humayun Azad, wouldn't the university
remaining open mean more people taking part in them?
In our
country, nothing is free from politics, including public universities.
Our university teachers are members of the White, Blue, etc.
panels. No other country in the world has teachers, the architects
of the nation, involved in politics as they are in ours. Students
of the Arts Faculty cannot concentrate in class because of
noisy political meetings and processions at Aparajeyo Bangla,
which sometimes feels more like Muktangon or Paltan Maidan
than an university campus.
One morning
when I went to my university hall office for some paperwork,
some JCD men stopped me and asked me to join a political procession.
"But I don't live in the hall," I ventured. "Shut
up! That doesn't matter," said a cadre angrily. They
stopped everyone entering and leaving the halls and made them
join the procession.
It has
now become an established fact that meritorious students get
admitted into DU and lose all their talent in the volatile
environment. They gradually lose interest in their studies
due to all the turmoil. They become frustrated even to the
point of taking drugs.
I am a
third year student. My third year exams have been postponed
three times already. Right now, it seems wiser to go to private
universities or else abroad for our higher education. But
both options are difficult for middle class families because
of the expenses involved. Those who try are either refused
visas at the various embassies or financial aid from the different
universities.
We don't
know what awaits us in the future. We are victims at the mercy
of the shameless and corrupt political parties and their wrong,
mindless politics.
Rahad Abir
Department of English
University of Dhaka
AUB's
Alumni
Association
I am a founder member of the Alumni Association of Asian University
of Bangladesh (AAAUB). The third convocation of AUB was held
on June 1 of this year. It consisted of a cultural show featuring
renowned artistes. The show was arranged with the aim of signing
up students who had graduated as members of the Alumni Association.
A large group of people learnt about the Alumni Association
for the first time and were very interested in it. We are
hoping to expand the number of members and are organising
various activities for he alumni.
Mominul Hasan Rintu
Dept. of Business Administration
Asian University of Bangladesh
Self-destructive
Student Politics
By the term "the dark side of the moon" we understand
that apart from its glorious side, the moon has its dark one
as well. The term "student politics" also has both
a good side and a bad. The better side of it refers to students
forming a committee in order to establish their manifold rights
including their overall welfare on campus. A committee accountable
to the university authorities. In short, the politics is supposed
to be for the betterment of the students. But, unfortunately
in our country, students are mislead and become involved in
violent and self-destructive politics. Student politics here
is simply a tool of the mainstream politicians with which
they take advantage of naïve students in order to carry
out their own evil designs and the students are merely their
victims. I felt the curse during my own university days. I
was not really involved in student politics myself, but I
witnessed the tyranny of the so-called student leaders of
the different political parties. These rogues were the terror
of the whole campus. Many were not even students and had no
academic background whatsoever. They would abuse students
without any party affiliation who refused to join in their
activities and would even throw plates at other students without
any reason or provocation. The ultimate result is the loss
of a number of lives, and utter frustration on the part of
the innocent students, struggling to deal with the harsh realities
of life and fulfilling the dreams of their families. It is
high time that students as well as the different parties ponder
over this issue.
Rafiqul Islam Rime
Agrabad, Chittagong
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(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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