Khaberni - What we recently witnessed at the Jordanian University is not new, and I believe the reasons are the same reasons that led to this violence previously.
I would like to review the study conducted in 1999 by Dr. Magdi El-Din Khamis, commissioned by the presidency of the Jordanian University, which concluded that the causes of university violence do not exceed three; the first is student idle time as many students wander aimlessly within the campus with nothing to do, with no libraries or activities available.
The second point or reason is the lack of relationship between professors and their students as each party is in its own world; the professor wants to finish his tasks and leave the campus, and the student is not much different.
The third reason is the clash between party and tribal groupings, which surfaces from time to time, especially during student elections.
To these aforementioned reasons, a fourth reason has been added which is university overcrowding where students jostle each other in spaces not planned to accommodate them.
In 2009, the Ministry of Higher Education re-examined the causes of university violence by commissioning a large team from the Center for Strategic Studies chaired by Dr. Musa Shatyyah, the head of the center at that time, and the extensive study distributed and published lead to the same causes identified by Jordanian University's study.
Therefore, it is imperative for the Jordanian University and Jordanian universities in general to investigate these three reasons because the cause of any conflict or student fight will not deviate from these three reasons. The universities need to address these issues fundamentally including reducing student idle time, strengthening the relationship between professors and students so that their interaction should not be confined to classrooms only but should include discussions about their mutual concerns and the issues worrying the students. It may have become necessary to reconsider the proportion of the number of students to the space of their university campus, and reduce the number of kiosks that some of which turn into something resembling cafes around which students gather and socialize. As for university discipline, it is a matter that cannot be overemphasized and must be applied strictly and fairly, with no acceptance of bias for those who are judged for starting or participating in such university fights.
This violence detracts from the universities' pursuit of excellence and their desire to advance on global university standards, as if we are building with one hand and demolishing with the other, even though it is supposed to be that everyone—students, professors, and administration—has the same goal: a prestigious university with a high reputation producing distinguished students.
