Sexual harassment at MSU

These are the lessons they hadn’t bargained for when they joined the university. But sexual harassment, verbal and physical, is fast making nervous wrecks of girl students of M S University.

Things as innocuous as wearing jeans or sporting a trendy hairstyle are enough to attract unwanted attention, complains a final year student of the Department of History.

"Even if you’re just the tiniest bit shaky on a two-wheeler, you become the target of hoots and boos", adds a student of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication.

It’s easy enough to spot the hoodlums: their favourite hang-outs are the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya and the university cricket ground.

"The impunity with which they roam around makes us wonder if there are any checks at all", says a first-year student.

"Whenever I leave for college, I keep my fingers crossed that I don’t run into them."

Adds a student of History, "It’s the same faces everytime. Their only occupation seems to be ogling at girls. It’s disgusting."

While Vice-Chancellor Anil Kane says he has not received any formal complaints in this regard, and even students confess to just speaking to their professors about this, girl-students have been taking their own precautions. "I’ve given-up wearing jeans on week-days", says a student bitterly.

Others just prefer to ignore the obnoxious elements on the campus. "But even that doesn’t deter them", says the History student.

While the authorities and the student union are quiet on the controversial issue, a senior Science faculty member admits, "The authorities should look into the incidents and ensure better security", he adds.

That would be answering the girl students’ prayers in many ways, but no one is sure when it will come about.

Compiled from local news media