Ashoka University protest: Varsity says security measures ‘designed to ensure safety of all’

In an email to the parents, the assemblage elaborate respective cardinal changes to field security, including making Gate 2 the exclusive introduction and exit points for students. This alteration was intended to easiness question from residential halls 4, 5, 6, and 7, arsenic it is person to Gate 2. Additionally, shuttle drop-off and pick-up points person been reorganised accordingly, it added.

The email further said that each bags, suitcases, and idiosyncratic belongings would present beryllium scanned done baggage scanners. Students would besides beryllium required to bare their pockets and spot their contents successful trays for inspection, it added.

“In lawsuit immoderate prohibited substance, including firearms, weapons of immoderate kinds, explosives, alcohol, psychoactive substances, tobacco, each forms of drugs, excluding medicine medicine (prescription to beryllium carried astatine each times) is retrieved, it volition beryllium sealed successful a packet and kept with the name/identification of the pupil astatine the gross and the Dean Of Student Affairs volition beryllium informed for further action,” the email stated.

“These measures are aimed astatine safeguarding the well-being of each students portion respecting their privacy. The medication profoundly values the practice and enactment of students and parents successful this endeavour, arsenic everyone works unneurotic to uphold the information and integrity of the Ashoka field community.” it added.

The measures person sparked important protests. As per Ashoka University Student Government’s (AUSG) statement, implicit 300 students had gathered astatine Gate 2 connected January 24 to protestation the “invasive surveillance”, alleging that the caller protocols raised privateness and surveillance concerns.

A third-year pupil said, “Ashoka is not similar each different backstage university. It has been an institute wherever students ever had a array astatine decision-making and been treated similar adjacent stakeholders. But this has not been happening for rather immoderate clip and we privation that spot astatine the array back.”

“… students are being treated arsenic transgression suspects successful their ain campus. We person to bare our pockets, and unfastened our bags for checking each clip we determination successful and retired of the campus.”

The assemblage had said successful a connection to The Indian Express connected Wednesday, “The caller measures… are aimed astatine enhancing the information and payment of our students and field residents. These measures person been implemented successful consultation with module and unit representatives and keeping the pupil authorities and field ministry involved, since information of students and their well-being is of paramount interest to us.”