The outburst of violence during the IBA elections has taken its toll on all of us. As a result, the students have constructed their own opinions on the civics which had occurred in IBA. It wasn’t for long that the frenzy of the election would catch up on the lives of students, making it seem even more frenetic after the elections ended.
As media tends to describe it, ‘post-apocalyptic’. The IBA elections had changed the world. To clarify in detail, the newly recruited freshmen had a change of mindset after witnessing these issues. Some of which had been experiencing involvement in university politics for the first time.
The Chaos Before The IBA Balloting:
A major hurdle was bestowed upon the students of IBA, a few days before the elections. Students from various political parties breached their terms of discipline and engaged in physical brawls.
It was similar to a game of chicken, as senior writer Bilal Sajid Channa describes it in his article. It perfectly sums up the disorder faced that day by the students.
What happens when there’s an outbreak of an infectious disease?
First, there is a reaction.
The first reaction to the election frenzy came from the steady IBA alumni. To clarify, alumni from the 70s. As suspected, their complaints were similar to any neutral students’ concerns. The chaos had been damaging IBA’s reputation as a respectable institute.
Another reaction that came as an outcome of the IBA elections happened after the results. This was mainly the reactions of the students about how the results came out. To speak further on the matter, students took to social media to voice their opinions or in some cases, to mock certain political parties.
Then, there is action.
When there’s an outbreak, the first thing many people do is defend themselves. Similarly, after elections, several students affiliated with political parties started deleting their posts to avoid any examination on them.
Another important result of the IBA balloting was the outburst of violence. There was reporting of a clash between political parties outside campus, mainly due to the uncertainty of the results. The involvement of Rangers shows how dangerous it could have been for the students included.
Have we discovered an antidote?
The sides who claim we have:
At the start of an outbreak, there is turmoil. Chaos ensues in people and they fight, like animals. Nevertheless, as time goes on, people move along. They continue to opt for their survival as their priority, but they learn to live with the outbreak.
At the end of the day, people ended up celebrating the victory of the Hostel. It was an inclusive ceremony. Various people from opposing parties also happened to show up. With fireworks, dancing, chanting and a whole lot of joy, it was a pleasant evening for all.
Soon after, there is a cure. The people who happen to be patient enough to survive to this long, get the taste of a world without the disease.
In the monthly town hall, the newly elected Vice President, Bismah Akhtar, presented a logical conclusion to dealing with situations like these. She talked about how IBA should host anger management classes for students. As a result, students can deal with issues healthily.
The sides who claim we haven’t:
For many people, IBA is still suffering from the effects of the post-apocalyptic world. This realization comes to them through the major expectations built up by the representing study body before they got their respective positions. When the results were announced, there were assurances from those who had claimed to make IBA a better place. At the same time, the same student body faced major scrutiny over their actions.
So, the central problem which still predominates the mindsets of students:
Will they give us what they promised?
Looking at the candidacy statements in greater detail, there were highlighted elements. Starting from what’s apparent in the public eye, representation. Bismah Akhtar is the first female Vice President in IBA history along with candidates such as Zeeshan Niaz, the CFO, belonging to Gilgit Baltistan. However, the question prevails. Is the implementation evident enough to consider it good representation?
There can be several answers to this. Firstly, the student council talked about making IBA a safer campus for students of all sorts. Moreover, there were mentions of increasing acknowledgements of student complaints by the admin. So far, these have been fulfilled as insured. An email from Akbar Zaidi, executive director of IBA, mentioned three future developments. The appointment of a students’ affairs dean, the disciplinary committee being replaced with a student conduct panel and an anti-harassment committee looking more into harassment cases.
An excerpt of the email has been attached below:
But will the cure be available to everyone?
However, as human nature defines us, we’re always critical of others. There hasn’t been progress in certain aspects. For instance, many candidates assured the students of mental health counselling.
As someone who consistently observes students around herself, I have realized that many students are uninformed of the availability of mental health advisers. Although, emails have been sent for mental health counselling. Could this be due to personal judgments of the counsellor’s competency or ignorance in general?
Furthermore, changes in the allocations of the budget as mentioned by the Treasurer have not been visible to the public. To self reflect, I do consider most good work done is done confidentially. However, as a student concerned with issues about a university, it is reasonable to demand relevant information.
In conclusion, it is in everyone’s good health that IBA continues to thrive as a university. With the events of the IBA elections, hopefully, a lesson will be learned by the students and perhaps, we can work forward to achieve excellence.
