It has been 9 days since Sushant took his life. And it took only 9 days for the students and alumni of our college, Amity Law School, Delhi (IP University) to band together like never before in a show of rare strength, unity and hope.
I have known this college and its students for a long time and never have I seen such spirit from my friends as I did over the past few days.
Sometimes, I fault myself for forgetting that everyone at ALSD is a budding lawyer, and the fact that everyone including juniors (who are way more active and perceptive than me or my friends ever were), seniors, alumni (Thank you for taking all that time out of your very busy schedules) and even ex-professors stood today in the glaring sun (Btw, who was the one warning us of thunderstorms today?) for a cause deserves applause.
All of us, even those who couldn’t participate on the ground but were very supportive online deserve the small victory we have today. Our director and She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named resigned today in the face of our efforts to make our voices heard.
Cheers roared when the news broke out in the crowd today. I joined in, and I think I wasn’t the only one to feel that relief pass over me, the relief and joy of having finally accomplished something I could be proud of.
But, should our effort and spirit die after having accomplished what we did today? No, of course not. In fact, it has only just begun.
There has been a perception, especially among a few of my peers online (You know who you are), of a campaign of false propaganda being carried out against a few professors.
They say that our cause should be rooting out the systematic rot and arbitrariness of our attendance policy. Fair enough but, it so happened that in this case, a certain someone was the system.
That certain someone’s whims and fancies and moods and perceptions became symptomatic of our terrible and unfair attendance policy. Our cause is to root out this arbitrariness but, the fact remained that it couldn’t be done until the faces were replaced.
I appreciate everyone who has participated until now but, this doesn’t end here. The system remains, living and breathing. It won’t just die by replacing the people handling the controls.
Make your voices heard, become the lawyers and activists you were over the past few days, and change the system.
Sit down for a moment and pitch in your ideas for what will make a truly unambiguous, flexible and clear policy on attendance.
Help build a participative structure in the college where students and teachers address each other’s grievances and qualms without Big Brother standing behind their shoulders.
Ensure that every student in the future, every budding lawyer who passes through the dry-walled corridors of ours is immune to any attempt at harassment or exploitation by anyone in a position of authority.
Finally, I urge everyone to lend their whole-hearted support to Sushant’s grieving family. It is beyond comprehension what his family must be going through and it is our duty to be the best support system we can.
It’s a shame that it took a tragedy to wake us all from our slumber. We can only blame ourselves for our silence in the face of what we knew was happening.
Let this be the last instance where we find ourselves silent and pliant. Sushant was a friend to a lot of us, and a model for many more.
Let us remember him for the son, sister and friend he was and the lawyer he could have been. Let us remember him for the memories he leaves us with. Let us remember Sushant for finally bringing the students of Amity Law School, Delhi together. Never forget.
#JusticeForSushant
Other Recommendation:
http://edtimes.in/2016/08/attendance-over-the-value-of-a-life-that-could-have-been-justiceforsushant/
