Harassment: Panel uncovers security flaws in Calicut University

KOZHIKODE: The seven-member committee of heads of departments of the Calicut University tasked with submitting recommendations on enhancing student safety on campus has detected shocking security lapses.
The committee completed a detailed inspection of the 500acre campus on Wednesday . Its convener, K Gopinathan, head of the philosophy department, said they found that several entry points around the campus gave unregulated access for anyone round the clock.
“We toured every nook and cranny of the campus day and night and found that there were virtually innumerable entry points to the campus that were unmoni tored,“ he said.
There were also no lights at night even in front of ma jor academic buildings like the Languages Block. “Even key areas of the campus were covered in darkness, which should be immediately addressed,“ he said, adding that constructing a compound wall around the campus would figure in the long term recommendations.
The committee was constituted after the girl students submitted a mass memoran dum to the governor seeking his intervention to ensure their safety on the campus. The girls had complained that despite lodging numerous complaints of harassment, no action had been taken by authorities. The students had given repeated complaints to varsity authorities that their movement on campus was restricted as they faced threats from antisocial elements.
Another member of the committee told on condition of anonymity that the unrestricted entry of public to the park in the university also posed safety issues. “It was found that the unregulated entry of visitors to the campus limited the mobility of women students. My opinion is that the park belongs to the university community and students alone should have access to it,“ a member said.
Students said the safety situation on the campus was extremely grim and that though 18 years have passed, the recommendations of the advocate Seemanthini commission instituted by the high court had not been implemented. “The two key recommendations of the commission on shifting the public roads inside the campus and providing security and lighting around hostels can significantly improve safety ,“ said P Vivek, a research scholar on the campus.
Committee members said students and teachers had been urged to submit their suggestions before December 30.