I was undecided about posting on this issue. Then my brother asked about it yesterday and so here it goes.
The student politics on University campus can (and is) be truly vicious. Having been on many committees where I had to interact with students, I can say with confidence that the issue is never what it appears to be. Intolerance can be very high among the student groups maybe because at that age they are also very passionate about issues. Truth has many shades and even after inquiring deeply into the matter, the truth might never emerge. There are still cases where I have doubts about the veracity of the matter but I could not do much.
That said, it is also true that ghettos exist. Students from one particular caste want to be with students from their own castes only. The Dean of Students at my university has actively tried to this issue by making allotment of hostel rooms a completely random procedure which many students, including foreign students, did not like but accepted it when the administration refused to budge from their stand. In such a situation, feeling alienated is very common.
Most of the universities do not have any support system and in such situations student political groups become de facto support system. Political parties exploit the vulnerable. No political party is innocent.
My colleague who was at HCU also tells me that the caste politics at HCU is vicious. The Ph.D. supervisors come with their own baggage and might (or might not be willing) to help out students. I always tell my students that before joining a lab ask yourself whether you are comfortable with your supervisor and with the lab because you have to spend the next five years in that lab. They become like your family especially in sciences where you to have spend time in the laboratory. The interactions are more in such a situation and if the students in the lab are not friendly, your life can become miserable. Of course many times the students have no choice and they are forced to join a lab which they might not like. Many universities, including my department, make it difficult for the student to leave the lab or to switch the labs. In such situations, the political outfits on campuses become the sanctuary. The political outfits and the student unions can (and do) pressurize the department and the faculty.
I do not know what happened that lead the student to commit suicide at HCU. All I know is that I really wish that the political groups of all shades would exit the campuses leaving the students to get on with academics. Of course they need to engage in political discourses but do the political parties need to make the students to dance to their tunes?
The student politics on University campus can (and is) be truly vicious. Having been on many committees where I had to interact with students, I can say with confidence that the issue is never what it appears to be. Intolerance can be very high among the student groups maybe because at that age they are also very passionate about issues. Truth has many shades and even after inquiring deeply into the matter, the truth might never emerge. There are still cases where I have doubts about the veracity of the matter but I could not do much.
That said, it is also true that ghettos exist. Students from one particular caste want to be with students from their own castes only. The Dean of Students at my university has actively tried to this issue by making allotment of hostel rooms a completely random procedure which many students, including foreign students, did not like but accepted it when the administration refused to budge from their stand. In such a situation, feeling alienated is very common.
Most of the universities do not have any support system and in such situations student political groups become de facto support system. Political parties exploit the vulnerable. No political party is innocent.
My colleague who was at HCU also tells me that the caste politics at HCU is vicious. The Ph.D. supervisors come with their own baggage and might (or might not be willing) to help out students. I always tell my students that before joining a lab ask yourself whether you are comfortable with your supervisor and with the lab because you have to spend the next five years in that lab. They become like your family especially in sciences where you to have spend time in the laboratory. The interactions are more in such a situation and if the students in the lab are not friendly, your life can become miserable. Of course many times the students have no choice and they are forced to join a lab which they might not like. Many universities, including my department, make it difficult for the student to leave the lab or to switch the labs. In such situations, the political outfits on campuses become the sanctuary. The political outfits and the student unions can (and do) pressurize the department and the faculty.
I do not know what happened that lead the student to commit suicide at HCU. All I know is that I really wish that the political groups of all shades would exit the campuses leaving the students to get on with academics. Of course they need to engage in political discourses but do the political parties need to make the students to dance to their tunes?
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