Public room issue in discussion in DUCSU elections

Since the beginning of the DUCSU election campaign, Chhatra Dal has been repeatedly asked - will the mass room and guest room culture return to the university if they come to power? The organization has made the answer to this question clear in the first part of its election manifesto. Chhatra Dal says that they are determined to stop the mass room and guest room, forced political programs and oppression practices forever.

Chhatra Dal candidates have also been assuring students by visiting various halls of Dhaka University that the culture of terrorism, extortion and torture like in the past will not return. However, various rival organizations are campaigning that if Chhatra Dal is elected, that culture may resurface on the campus.

The mass room tradition was born out of the housing crisis at Dhaka University. Where many students had to live in a room. On the other hand, in the guest room culture, first-year students had to face abuse, mental and physical torture. The leaders of the student organizations of the party that was in power for a long time were usually involved in this torture.

This culture ended after the July mass uprising. Now the students expect that this practice of human rights violations should never return.

Although the panel was lagging behind before the announcement, the Chhatra Dal has gained momentum in its activity after the announcement. Their panel won the 1990 DUCSU elections. They are hoping for a repeat of that time in this election.

The organization is looking at the students' family political identity, regional votes, support for female students and the vote of Jagannath Hall as major factors in the campaign. Chhatra Dal's VP candidate Md. Abidul Islam Khan is from Comilla and is expecting the support of students from that region. Since GS candidate Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hamim is from Khulna, he is counting on the votes of students from Khulna division.

The number of women voters in this election is about 19,000, which is almost half of the total voters. Chhatra Dal has promised safe campuses, prevention of sexual harassment, freedom of dress and abolition of the 'evening law' in their manifesto.

There are 2,222 voters in Jagannath Hall, which is about 6 percent of the total votes. The current president of Chhatra Dal, Ganesh Chandra Roy, is a student of this hall. So they are expecting good results here.

Along with DUCSU, Chhatra Dal has announced panels in 18 halls, of which 14 are full panels. In its own assessment, the organization believes that its candidates are ahead in some halls. However, students have expressed doubts about the identity and lack of unity of the candidates in some places.

Chhatra Dal leaders are confident in countering the propaganda. GS candidate Sheikh Tanvir Bari said, “Various kinds of propaganda are being spread against us. However, we think that this time, DUCSU will be a repeat of the 1990s. Chhatra Dal will get the mandate of the majority of students.”