Summary Students were critical of security measures put in place for president's visit to their convocation
(Web desk) – Students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences have finally been given a relaxation in security protocols for their convocation scheduled for tomorrow after President Mamnoon Hussain, who was supposed to be the chief guest at the ceremony, excused himself owing to official commitments.
The LUMS convocation ceremony of 2017 will take place on July 8. The chief guest for the ceremony was President Mamnoon Hussain. For the purpose of his visit, the university had informed its students that strict security measures would be undertaken considering the safety and security of the president. The announcement was met with strong expressions of disapproval and severe criticism by the graduating seniors who were of the opinion that their graduation day was being ruined by these stringent security measures.
Students of LUMS had raised various concerns on social media groups and pages regarding the issue. The underlying concern was that the strict security protocol of the president would ruin how students and their families would want to celebrate their graduation day.
Among the security measures were a ban on cell phones inside the marquee where the event would take place, the closing down of the campus and all its facilities on the day of convocation, restrictions on free movement of students and parents, and a strict cap on the guest list with no additional guests allowed. Previously, students were allowed to bring two guests who would attend the ceremony and bring additional family members who would not attend the ceremony but would be present on the campus so students could take their photographs with them after the ceremony. This time, due to the rigid security protocol of the president, additional guests were not allowed and this restriction had been the major source of criticism from the students who had wanted to capture this moment with their whole family.
Meanwhile, the graduating students of 2017 had submitted an online petition calling for a relaxation of the restrictions put in place for the convocation ceremony. The petition had gathered around 300 signatures. The petition has deemed the security measures as “not only insulting but excessive”.
Although, the administration had started to bow down to the pressure of the students by relaxing a few restrictions, students were still apprehensive about the strict security arrangements, citing how students of the Institute of Business Administration and their parents had been denied entry by the president’s security team in a previous convocation ceremony in 2014.
However, students of the university received a pleasant surprise when they were informed by the administration that the president won’t be gracing the convocation ceremony with his presence due to a visit by a foreign delegation. According to an email posted by the LUMS Students and Alumni Action Committee, all the previous restrictions had been relaxed. Students have welcomed the news in a closed Facebook group dedicated to discussion about student activities.
Moreover, when contacted for information with regards to this, the vice chancellor of the university, Dr Sohail Naqvi said that the issue had been directly addressed a while back. He added, “In any case due to the visit of a high level Chinese delegation, the President will no longer be coming to the LUMS convocation.”
