Hundreds protest over ITB student expulsions
Hundreds protest over ITB student expulsions
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of students from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) staged a protest yesterday against the expulsion of two of their colleagues following an uproar over the death of a freshman during an initiation week recently.
The orderly, albeit noisy, demonstration started with a street drama at the ITB campus by members of the students' theater group. Six students, clad in black and carrying torches, yelled: "We don't know the meaning of truth and education".
Singing patriotic songs, the students also unfurled banners criticizing the rector's policy on the two students.
Through his decrees on Monday, rector Wiranto Arismunandar formally expelled Muhammad Ridjal and Budhi Sumarso, both seniors in the Department of Physics, who organized the initiation week last month.
"The decrees only create new problems," one of the students' banners said. "The rector's decrees are not educative," another read.
The sanction was imposed on Ridjal and Budhi because the two had reportedly gone beyond the customary practices of initiation weeks. They had reportedly asked freshmen to eat grass and forced them to do strenuous physical activities when they were already exhausted.
The rigorous 12-day initiation program had allegedly caused the death of Zaki Tiffany Lazuardian, an 18-year-old freshman in the Department of Physics.
At least two other students also had to be hospitalized, while the college's polyclinic reported that 176 first year students sought medical treatment after taking part in the initiation week.
Chairman of the communication forum for students organization Adi Purboyo and coordinator for the ITB student congress Lucky Djuniardi told reporters after the protest that they had sought a meeting with the college's senate of professors. Their request was turned down.
The students will lodge a complaint over the matter with the House of Representatives today.
Deputy rector in charge of academic affairs Liliek Hendrajaya and deputy rector for communication and culture Tresna Darmawan said they were not surprised by the students' protest.
"We have known that there was the possibility of it," Liliek said. "But please don't forget that the expulsion of the two students was part of our effort to take disciplinary measures."
"It was not carried out only because of the death of Zaki," he added.
Darmawan said the decision was not taken by the rector alone. A series of meetings involving the heads of the 15 departments and other institutes in ITB had first been held to discuss the situation thoroughly, he said.
"None of the meetings' attendants opposed the sanction," he said, adding that Ridjal and Budhi were not the only ones to be punished.
A commission entrusted with the task of disciplining students is currently evaluating reports of violations that occurred during the initiation weeks at the departments of Geology, Architecture, Geodesy and Chemistry.
Darmawan said the expulsion of the two students from ITB does not necessarily end their opportunities to continue their study at other universities.
Along with Ridjal and Budhi, three junior lecturers at the Department of Architecture were also dismissed for involvement in the initiation weeks.
Singgih Yoeni Hartono, Aulia and Ade Tinamei "were supposed to supervise (so that the initiation weeks did not get out of control), not to get involved," Darmawan said.
Deputy rector in charge of student affairs, Indra Djati Sidi, was not available for comment yesterday. A member of staff in his office said Indra had left for Jakarta to see Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro. (17/imn)