We don’t need no policing

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Some colleges have enforced fines on students found hugging or holding hands on campus in recent times. Other colleges have installed CCTVs around campuses to keep tabs on students’ behaviour. While it is absolutely essential to ensure a certain decorum on the premises of an educational institution, the move has left many students wondering how much control, on the part of the authorities, is too much?
The general consensus among students is that those in authority should stop treating them like children. “I think students of our age are sensible enough to ‘behave’ themselves,” fumes third year student Niyati Joshi. “Students do have that much respect for teachers. When we enter college, we are aware of the basic codes of conduct. We know how to behave and how not to embarrass others. We are not animals in need of so much control.”
However, students do agree that some teens do engage in holding hands, hugging or cuddling on campus. “PDA inside the college campus is wrong. You can’t blame college authorities for clamping down on it,” opines Class 12 student Nilesh Acharya. “But I think installing CCTVs on campus is taking things a bit too far. It makes things appear so sinister and it’s not nice to know that people are looking at you every minute of the day. Besides, they can’t install cameras inside restrooms, so students will just shift any of the activities they don’t want monitored over there. The whole exercise is pointless.”
Ishita Sheth, an engineering student, says even students at her all-girls’ college engage in hugging or holding hands on campus. She says, “It’s just about showing affection for your friends and it isn’t right for the authorities to impose a fine. Students will simply find other ways of doing whatever they ant to do. What is needed is for authorities to be more frank and open with the students. Students are fairly aware of what is good and bad.”
Agrees Nilesh, “Even if CCTVs are installed, then they should only be used for positive measures like preventing cheating during exams.”