New Delhi: Prior permission from police, mandatory registration of student attendees and entry only with college ID cards — these are some of the new rules being set-up by the Delhi University for holding any event in its affiliated colleges.
The new guidelines, issued after getting a clearance from the police, were released days after some men allegedly jumped over the walls of Miranda House during a Diwali fest on the campus and indulged in ‘cat-calling’ and ‘sloganeering’.
Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, however, told ThePrint that it would not be right to assume that the guidelines were issued in the light of incidents that took place in the college.
“Since the number of admissions in DU colleges has increased over the years, accommodating all students has become an issue due to restricted spaces. We welcome the move and would encourage the use of bigger spaces like auditoriums and big grounds for conducting open events,” she said.
The guidelines also state that only a few students from DU affiliated colleges/departments should be allowed to attend events held in any college. “It should not be open for all,” it notes.
Entry will be permitted after registration for the event with a student ID of an affiliated college.
“Deployment of volunteers is also required at the time of events. Hence the number of volunteers may also be intimated to the police,” the guidelines further state.
The organisers are also required to obtain permission from electricity and fire departments. The rules also state that in case of any untoward incident, the college or department will be held responsible.
Allegations of groping, harassment
A student of Miranda House had, on 15 October, posted a video of some men climbing the college walls to attend a fest held on the campus. She alleged that the men also resorted to cat-calling, sexist sloganeering and groping.
Men climbing over the walls to get into Miranda House during an open fest. What followed was horrible. Cat-calling, groping, sexist sloganeering and more. Men entering safe spaces to harass gender minorities is nothing new, but they out do themselves every time. pic.twitter.com/UkMAuJZKVU
— Sobhana (@sobhana__) October 15, 2022
The video sparked outrage, with Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, sending letters to the Delhi Police and the principal of Miranda House. The police later filed a case against ‘unknown students’, while the college authorities said it was conducting its own inquiry into the incident.
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