ITB off limits for campaigning

ITB off limits for campaigning

BANDUNG: The state Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
students community rejected on Saturday any election campaigning
inside their campus.

They said election campaigns on campus would adversely affect
students' study.

"The reason behind our rejection is that a campus is a venue
to develop sciences. The spirit of its neutrality should remain
intact," ITB Student Association's president, Alga Indria, told
reporters here.

Alga said if campaigning was allowed at ITB, one of the
country's oldest institutes, it could disrupt the students' lives
and affect their morale.

The rejection was not only directed at rallies but also
debates related to the election. The election law says a campus
could be a venue for an election campaign, with the approval of
the rector.

For the first time in Indonesia's modern history, eligible
voters all over the country will vote directly for a president
and vice president in 2004. A legislative election will also be
held in the same year. -- Antara