Hiccups in DUCSU polls

After a hiatus of 28 years, the DUCSU election was held on Monday. There was a demand from the students, civil society members and also the general people for DUCSU elections for a long time and not too long ago, a student went on hunger strike to demand a student union at Dhaka University. The elections set a few noteworthy examples of political pluralism and student bodies aligned to different political parties, came to campus to carry out pre-polls campaigns. Peaceful co-existence of the different parties was observed during the preparation phase of the DUCSU election and leaving aside a few stray incidents, the pre-election environment provided an apparently conducive atmosphere for all sides to bring out rallies and organize programmes.

However, on the day of the election, several frustrating and unacceptable incidents tarnished the whole festive mood with a sack of filled ballot papers reportedly found in a women’s dormitory. Afterwards, the provost of the hall, who is also a faculty of the prestigious university, was withdrawn with voting suspended for an hour. It is really that a person placed in a responsible position should be found to have had some link to unlawful activity during elections in the most prestigious educational institute in the country.

The history of Bangladesh, its struggle to rise up against oppression, despotism and repression are intertwined with the evolution of the University of Dhaka. Every social movement in the country based on truth and driven by a passion to establish the just has had its root at this university. In the light of such an exalted position of the institution, sealed in the psyche of the nation, some incidents during DUCSU polls appeared to be incongruous to the spirit which the establishment had always propagated and nurtured.

There were also reports of agitation among students after the results were announced. This is unfortunate and unexpected. However, what is reassuring is that aberrations have not managed to overshadow the ideals which the university have always upheld.     On Tuesday afternoon, several student leaders, speaking to the media, appealed to the general students to accept the result in a sporting spirit, and they promised to work together to set an example for the entire country to follow.

Though some of the earlier incidents, emanating from students’ grievances cannot be condoned, the eventual move by student leaders to place the honour of the establishment before all else shows proper sense has prevailed. In the future, the lessons from this election should be taken into account to ensure that the image of Dhaka University is not sullied in any manner.

 

Hiccups in DUCSU polls

After a hiatus of 28 years, the DUCSU election was held on Monday. There was a demand from the students, civil society members and also the general people for DUCSU elections for a long time and not too long ago, a student went on hunger strike to demand a student union at Dhaka University. The elections set a few noteworthy examples of political pluralism and student bodies aligned to different political parties, came to campus to carry out pre-polls campaigns. Peaceful co-existence of the different parties was observed during the preparation phase of the DUCSU election and leaving aside a few stray incidents, the pre-election environment provided an apparently conducive atmosphere for all sides to bring out rallies and organize programmes. However, on the day of the election, several frustrating and unacceptable incidents tarnished the whole festive mood with a sack of filled ballot papers reportedly found in a womens dormitory. Afterwards, the provost of the hall, who is also a faculty of the prestigious university, was withdrawn with voting suspended for an hour. It is really that a person placed in a responsible position should be found to have had some link to unlawful activity during elections in the most prestigious educational institute in the country. The history of Bangladesh, its struggle to rise up against oppression, despotism and repression are intertwined with the evolution of the University of Dhaka. Every social movement in the country based on truth and driven by a passion to establish the just has had its root at this university. In the light of such an exalted position of the institution, sealed in the psyche of the nation, some incidents during DUCSU polls appeared to be incongruous to the spirit which the establishment had always propagated and nurtured. There were also reports of agitation among students after the results were announced. This is unfortunate and unexpected. However, what is reassuring is that aberrations have not managed to overshadow the ideals which the university have always upheld. On Tuesday afternoon, several student leaders, speaking to the media, appealed to the general students to accept the result in a sporting spirit, and they promised to work together to set an example for the entire country to follow. Though some of the earlier incidents, emanating from students grievances cannot be condoned, the eventual move by student leaders to place the honour of the establishment before all else shows proper sense has prevailed. In the future, the lessons from this election should be taken into account to ensure that the image of Dhaka University is not sullied in any manner.