JU row: Students continue hunger strike, authorities seek advisory from Chancellor
Kolkata, July 7: With stalemate continuing in Jadavpur University over its decision to scrap admission test for six under-graduate courses, its authorities on Saturday sought a directive from West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi - the ex-officio chancellor - on the emerging situation, even as students continued their hunger strike.
Virtually backing the agitating students, the Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) sought an appointment with Tripathi and endorsed the stand of a section of teachers to stay away from the entire admission process.
University Registrar Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said a report has been sent to Tripathi on the prevailing situation, in the aftermath of the university Executive Council's decision to do away with the system of holding admission tests for six subjects in the humanities stream for the coming academic year.
"On Friday, our Vice Chancellor (Suranjan Das) and Pro Vice Chancellor (Pradip Ghosh) had called on the honourable Chancellor, who had asked for the report. Today (Saturday), we have sent it to him," he said.
Bhattacharjee said the authorities were now awaiting an advice or directive from the Chancellor.
"The rule is once the Executive Council comes out with a resolution, then for carrying out any modifications in the resolution, if at all it is done, we need a directive or advisory from the Chancellor. Otherwise, there will be legal complications. We are now awaiting some advice or directive from him," he said.
Meanwhile, 20 students were on hunger strike, outside the university's administrative headquarters Aurobindo Bhawan since 11 p.m. on Friday.
The students on Saturday threatened to escalate their agitation if the EC meeting was not convened and they did not receive a positive response from the VC by Sunday noon.
"We have given him (VC) time till 12 noon. If no EC meeting is convened by tomorrow and we don't get any response from him we will start an indefinite hunger strike," said a protesting student.
Accusing the state government of "interfering with the autonomy of the institution time and again", the student alleged that the university authorities were "patronising" such attitude.
On the other hand, a JUTA official said they have emailed Tripathi seeking an appointment to "discuss the entire matter with him".
"In some of the departments, some teachers have announced they won't be part of the admission process. We respect their sentiment, and endorse it," the official said.
The university, rated one of the best in the country academically, plunged into turmoil after the authorities - apparently under pressure from the West Bengal government - decided to do away with the system of holding entrance tests for admission to six undergraduate courses.
In a reversal of a decision taken a week earlier, the university Executive Council in a July 4 resolution said for the coming academic year "undergraduate admission in arts should be conducted on the basis of marks obtained in the last board examination alone, without conducting any written admission test".
On June 27, the EC had declared that admission tests would be held for six departments of the humanities stream - comparative literature, history, political science, philosophy, English and Bengali - and the merit list prepared by giving equal weightage to the test and marks obtained by the students in the previous board examination.
Earlier, the university witnessed an uproar following the decision to take the services of "external experts" in preparing one of the two sets of question papers for the admission tests, and the opinion of the Advocate General that the Board of Studies has no role to play in the admission process.
The latest EC decision came against the backdrop of state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on more than one occasion speaking out against the JU holding admission tests for undergraduate courses in some subjects, while admitting students on the basis of plus two results in some other courses
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US President Biden assures peaceful transfer of power in January
Washington, Nov 7: Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to ensure a peaceful and orderly transfer of power to President-elect Donald Trump in January and appealed to the people to accept the election results for the White House.
Biden made the comments during an address to the nation a day after Trump, 78, was re-elected as the 47th president of the US after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee.
Biden said he spoke with Trump and also with Vice President Harris, who he said ran an inspiring campaign.
Trump, who had lost the 2020 elections to President Biden, won this time both in terms of popular votes and electoral college votes.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory. I assured him that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition," Biden said in his address from the Rose Garden of the White House.
"That's what the American people deserve,” he added.
"For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world," he said, adding that the people vote and choose their leaders and do it peacefully.
"In a democracy, the will of the people always prevails," said Biden in his address attended by members of his Cabinet and senior administration officials.
Biden said he hoped the election could also lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system.
“It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose. I also hope we can restore the respect for all our election workers who busted their necks and took risks at the outset,” he said.
“As they did their duty as citizens, I will do my duty as president. I'll fulfill my oath and I will honour the Constitution. On January 20th, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America,” Biden said.
Rebutting criticism of his economic policy, Biden said his administration is leaving behind the strongest economy in the world.
Biden said he also spoke with Vice President Harris.
"She's been a partner and a public servant. She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character... She has great character, true character,” he said.
Biden added that Harris -- who took after Biden withdrew in July-- gave her "whole heart and effort" to her presidential campaign.
"I know for some people, it's a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it's a time of loss," he said.
Adding that campaigns are contests of competing visions and the country chooses one or the other, Biden said, "We accept the choice the country made."
"You can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbour only when you agree,” Biden said.
His remarks are seen as an attempt to heal a country that appeared divided into two groups after the results of the bitterly contested presidential election were out.
"I know people are still hurting, but things are changing rapidly. Together, we've changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish our term. Let's make every day count. That's the responsibility we have to the American people,” he said.
Noting that setbacks are unavoidable, he said that giving up is "unforgivable".
"We all get knocked down. But the measure of our character, as my dad would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up,” he said.
“That's the story of America for over 240 years and counting. It's a story for all of us, not just some of us," he said, adding that the American experiment endures.
"We're going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith,” Biden said.
