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Young people should have their say, but...
2007-12-27 09:39:23
By Edit
In any academic society, student protests are a norm rather than an exception. If there is any academic institution that is devoid of youth activism, then such institution can rightly be classified as a vehicle of academic illiteracy.
Students are primary movers within adult-led societies-that is-if they play their cards well enough. It is normal for university students to transform themselves into a community organizing for positive social change.
Meaningful student involvement has not always been that easy, because in many cases-and this is happening all over the globe-students have found themselves clashing with authorities and earning the full wrath of baton-charging police squads.
There was a time when former President Mwalimu Nyerere addressed students of the University of Dar es Salaam, who had staged an abortive protest march towards the city centre that was halted by the Field Force Unit at Manzese.
Fielding a question as to why their demonstration had been suppressed although they believed they had genuine grievances, Mwalimu Nyerere said that in principle, he was not against student protests, only that he wanted them to realize that if they were holding strong convictions on certain matters, then they should be ready to pay the price.
We recall this episode because there are times when student protesters had burnt their energy on flimsy causes or turned themselves into martyrs of perfidy.
In today`s world, a modern student protester-or youth anarchist for that matter-is expected to protest against corruption, racist views, human rights violations, defective education systems, bad governance, etc. There is no need for protesting just for the sake of it, or being bogged down by petty issues.
Recently, there was a furore concerning the awarding of Ardhi University degrees for the first time, after the University College of Lands and Survey ceased from being a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam and was accorded full university status.
The University Act clearly spells out that when such change occurs, students who were enrolled at a time when an institution was still a constituent college should get degrees offered under the new full status arrangement.
We give this example as a case in point, urging young protesters, if they indeed feel called to redress wrongs in the society, to pick valid agenda that can easily win them the sympathy of members of the public.
If they form the habit of protesting for the sake of protesting, then they are sure to transform themselves into an expendable social and political force.
By saying this, we do not wish to imply that young people should not have their say. What we are doing is simply to remind them that they should not detach themselves from pressing national and civic issues by diverting their energy on trivial brawls.
They should always ask themselves: Is this the real thing? Is this particular subject worth retarding my academic goals or achievements? Do I have to be radical just for the sake of it?
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