When situations arise where the grievances of students must be forwarded to the right channels for due address, it is only fit that we applaud the creation and sustenance of the Student Union and Student Representative Councils. However when our grievances and the subsequent actions taken on them only result to more grievances, we then have a problem.
Monday, 24th of May, 2021 was the day for the much talked about UISU Congress. At 5pm, links were sent out for students to follow the meeting online. With the turn out on the telegram group which had over 3000 students at a time in was a valid pointer to the pent up frustrations and eager expectations of the students. You would rarely find such a massive turnout for most school activities. It showed that Virtual learning and its attendant problems had ended up becoming a common ground for the entire UI student body.
The physical resumption and the subsequent accommodation fee were at the forefront of the battle. The congress did well in bringing to ears the important complaints of the students but did it equally do just well in solving them?
The Congress was a long but ineffectual process; if it were targeted at helping thestudents, it missed the mark. The event showed that the Student Union of our dear esteemed university has forgotten the actual reason for which it was founded and had become a figurehead. We saw those we had elected to represent us act like toddlers that can’t decern their left from right. We saw a very good display of ‘safe play’ which is actually too immature for people of their caliber.
Probably, the Student Union leaders need to be reminded of the spirit behind Student Unionism. It is not just a body that is there to govern but one that was created to act in respect of the interests of the students. If our agitations cannot be duly represented, then there is no need for the union. The motto says; Aluta Continua – what we see now are mediocre actions which will bring no victory.
The congress that was entertained with mixed emotions and the grand finish of the representative of the school management left many students disappointed. This is not to say, something positive won’t come out of it but would it?
At the end of the day, the students were told to wait for the Senate final decision and that is the irony. We have been waiting for a while now only to hear that accommodation is first come, first serve. Is this the agreement? This statement by the dean of students seem more like a threat.
If this congress goes without a definite positive result, it would be because our watchdogs have refused to bark while our own collective shouts are treated miserly like the sound of idle birds twittering at midnight.
We await but while we do so, we hope the Student Union and her sister bodies arise to their responsibility. Hopefully, they have a desire to leave a good mark when their tenure is over. They were not elected for sheer politics but actual activism only if they remember.
REAL 