‘Not water under the bridge’
The Guild Council at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona said it will not let up on its quest to get a thorough investigation of Sunday’s incident in which a student claimed he was attacked by a firearm holder.
Guild Council president at The UWI, Omolora Wilson told the Jamaica Observer that the incident is “not water under the bridge”, as further steps are being taken to address the situation.
“The situation is not water under the bridge. As a matter of fact we really want the investigations to be done, and whatever answer that comes from our investigations, we want to see through that. We don’t want to just sit there,” she told the Observer in an interview on Thursday.
“We have a situation in which claims have been made and students have put forward their concerns, and we really want the university to take it from there, to carry out a thorough investigation on whether these claims are true or not. It shouldn’t be the case where it goes around the campus for 10 days and then it’s done,” Wilson added.
On Thursday the Guild hosted an emergency townhall meeting for students to voice their concerns about the issue, which will be shared with the administration.
Wilson also noted that earlier this week the Guild Council met with the Office of Student Services & Development (SSD) and the director of security.
“The administration has adhered to our deadline, they have met with us, they have given us information. We are to meet with the principal and registrar next week after our townhall so that we can bring the concerns of the students to that body so they can address it, but so far it has been going well,”she said.
In a release on Monday the Guild made a few recommendations in response to the incident, including the immediate removal of the resident advisor alleged to have been involved in the confrontation, if the allegations against her are found to be true. It also asked that counselling support be provided to the students who witnessed and were exposed to the confrontation.
The Guild also requested that an investigation be conducted into the alleged role of the SSD manager in the matter, during which time she should be placed on unpaid leave until the investigations have concluded, and asked that their calls be addressed by Wednesday.
The incident, which occurred about 5:30 pm at the Mona Bowl during a sporting event between Chancellor Hall and Mary Seacole Hall, was followed by a fiery protest among students on Sunday night.
