This Woke Teacher Was Terminated For Trying To Make BNU Better After Rushaan Farukh’s Death
After Beaconhouse National University, Lahore made headlines for firing a teacher for very outright and blatant sexual harassment of students, the university did a very not-so-heroic thing and it has come out to bite it in its lighthouse ass.
After it’s mensuration campaign back in 2016, and the army backlash on another project in 2017, the university made yet another headline, in early 2018 for firing one of the very few philosophy teachers of the country. The liberal arts university hid behind this very teacher for several years for its own lack of good faculty.
Comrade, Thinker and Lecturer Aimen Bucha helped refine BNU’s anti-harassment committee, and Shahzad Amjad, was to be penalized and reviewed under the committee until he resigned himself. While Bnu held various campaigns and workshops for faculty members on advisable and not so harassing behavior, its efforts were too scarce, too scattered.
BNU was celebrated as an unsung hero with zero tolerance for harassment nonetheless, giving people immense hope.
However, the same year, later on, 28 November 2018, Rushaan Farukh departed with a heavy heart and broken soul. Leaving the student body very shook and dismantled. Not only did this take the social media by storm but also, brought a shakedown for the campus because of its lack of community and bonding culture.
Students were traumatized, the fabric of the institute was disturbed to an extent that the campus remained empty for days, even though the campus was shamelessly open. The university held extensive meetings for the faculty to advise students on the subject, and the agenda was to make sure the students do not blame the institution.
Faculty was told to present a silencing narrative, the one that finds scapegoats within and tells students with the least subtlety that your issues are not issues, so shut the fuck up. Aima Khosa, News Editor at The Friday Times and ex-editor at the Express Tribune was fired for behaving otherwise. Turns out the liberal arts university is no place for those who dissent. Kyunke Capitalism yaar.
She already played an active role in the #studentssolidaritymarch and the Vice Chancellor of the university said, ‘it has caused us immense problems.’
Mark your calendars and join these young students in solidarity. Look up their charter of demands to understand what this is all about. pic.twitter.com/tOME29xbW9
— Aima Khosa (@aimaMK) November 24, 2018
The university has been struggling with PR crises, and in light of that, it decided one of the very few valuable minds left behind. And the Department of Liberal Arts, along with others alike are mouring for the loss.
Whether BNU is a perpetrator of Harassment, or a lighthouse of change is all a question of perspective. But, hiding behind budget cuts for failure to provide access to teaching material and toilet paper, And shutting down the faculty to help students unite is not going to keep it quiet. Truth finds its way anyway.
