AT THE time of going to press there appears to be no solution to the conflict between the students and the university authorities in Legon. The students have refused to attend classes (not that many lecturers regret this) and there are reports of a hunger strike. The area around the Book- shop is the regular place of protest and, between brutal forays by the police, has been closed to traffic by the students. What has brought things to such a head? There are shortcomings in the University administration that can be infuriating not only to students but to senior members as well; and conditions are not made better by the tin gods of whom Legon seems to have more than its fair share who believe only in fiats. New government policies on education, particularly on scholarships, lecturer-student relations (thanks to the prospects of having sherry held out to the students by the chairman of the University Council), and a host of social and political problems affecting the Ghanaian society are matters about which an active, articulate and progressive student body can feel uneasy and express itself in many ways. Then, of course, there are many contemporary examples of “student power” to emulate. Some of these causes may underlie the present unrest at Legon. If that is so, it is a sad reflection on the student body that it has not succeeded in articulating its feelings beyond appearing to support a few of their colleagues whose aptitude for pornography can earn them a handsome living in that section of the literary world that specialises in it. This is in sharp contrast to “student power” elsewhere which expresses a philosophy of life or of the place of the student in a university.

The story as we have it is that four students of Mensah Sarbah Hall were suspended from the school for publishing obscene articles of diagrams and scurrilous attacks on Hall officers and tutors. One other student has had a degree withheld This action is retarded by the students as high handed, particularly as it means according to University regulations the loss of one year for the four suspended students. Absence from the University for 28 days carries this penalty The Sarbah Hall students staged a demonstration against the Hall authorities and this was followed by a police raid. The ripples of these incidents spread over the campus to engulf the entire student body. The law is often an ass and this particular University regulation certainly is. Its repeal or at least an amendment or interpretation to exclude cases of involuntary absence for more than 28 days could have opened the door to a settlement. But no; the University authorities would not budge; and the students would not either. Until Tuesday 22nd October the demonstrations were peaceful except for some acts of vandalism. But on that day the police carried out a raid which by all accounts was of considerable barbarism. This succeeded only in raising tempers and in making the students retaliate against the few unfortunate policemen guarding the Hall Master’s residence. An enquiry is necessary to establish who invited the police and in whose name such acts of barbarism were committed. If Ghana is to survive as a democracy, our police have to understand that every person resident in this country has a right of peaceful protest for any cause, however unworthy. On the other hand, our students have to learn that protests are protected by the law only if they are peaceful and do not involve undue interference in other people’s rights.

We hope the present difficulties will make the University authorities appreciate the need for reforms relating to student participation in decisions affecting their welfare. There is a further need to repair student-lecturer relations. There is little doubt that many senior members were little concerned over the fate of the students any more than the students showed concern for the unjustified attacks which were made on the senior members lately.