University dilemma<\/p>\n
The Satya Wacana Foundation, which runs a quality university
\nof the same name in the Central Java town of Salatiga, might have
\nbelieved that it had indisputable reasons to sack Dr. Arief
\nBudiman from his position as lecturer. But the waves of
\ndemonstrations by the students and a number of senior lecturers
\nsweeping across the Satya Wacana campus to protest the drastic
\ndecision, raise questions as to whether Arief was the victim of a
\nsystem, or in the wrong even though he enjoys the support of the
\nstudent body.<\/p>\n
If hearing is believing, the chief of the Satya Wacana
\nFoundation said Arief, holder of a doctorate degree in sociology
\nfrom Harvard University, U.S.A., failed to show respect for the
\ndignity of the foundation and its university. Before the verdict
\nwas handed down, according to the foundation chief, Arief had
\nbeen warned twice to behave, but continued to challenge him.
\nArief is also accused of having written a misleading article
\nabout an internal campus problem published in a Jakarta daily
\nnewspaper. The article is said to have been based on inaccurate
\ndata and have contained comments on a secret decision made by the
\nuniversity rector.<\/p>\n
Reacting against the drastic action taken toward him, Arief
\nwas quoted as saying that by making such an ill-advised decision
\nit was the foundation that needed sympathy not him.<\/p>\n
Arief, who is known as an outspoken critic of the government,
\ndid show an impressive calmness as dozens of lecturers and
\nstudents protested his dismissal on the day it was announced.
\nThey accused the foundation official and the rector of being
\nundemocratic and of suppressing openness on the campus with an
\niron hand.<\/p>\n
Arief and many of his colleagues had accused the university
\nofficials of rigging the election in which the present rector was
\nchosen.<\/p>\n
Now we can all see that a prestigious university has failed to
\nresolve its internal conflict without much fracas.<\/p>\n
Disputes seem to have become the fashion on campuses today.
\nThe Jakarta-based National University, the country's oldest
\nprivate university, is still waiting for the court verdict on a
\nlaw suit it filed against the present rector, Dr. Achmad Baiquni,
\na respected physicist. Dr. Takdir Alisyahbana, the university's
\nfounding father and one of the most senior cultural and
\nphilosophical thinkers this nation has seen, passed away recently
\nwhile awaiting the court ruling. Like the dispute at Satya
\nWacana, the conflict at the National University also involved
\nlecturers and students.<\/p>\n
These campus people seem to have come to believe that
\ndemonstrations are an effective way to get a message across.
\nAlthough demonstrations are banned on streets outside the campus,
\nholding one inside to resolve an internal matter seems to go
\nunchecked. Apparently our society does not entirely frown upon
\ndemonstrations. Many former leaders of student demonstrations are
\nnow holding strategic positions in the administration.<\/p>\n
But at a time in which higher education is developing and
\nexpanding steadily, the dispute at Satya Wacana does not paint a
\ngood picture of campus life in our nation. A university in a
\ncountry which is trying to modernize itself has the role of
\nproducing an adequately educated future generation amid an
\natmosphere of academic freedom, tolerance towards dissension and
\nmutual intellectual respect. If a university fails to resolve its
\nown problems in an intellectual manner, the people involved
\nshould do some intensive soul searching to discover just what it
\nis that is lacking on the campus.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/university-dilemma-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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