Ex-Student Leaders Take UL Board To Task

Two former Pupil Leaders, Eddie Jarwolo and Martin Kollie, have taken College of Liberia (UL) Administration to job over threats of suspending college students politics, urging the administration to repair the issue as an alternative of issuing threats.
UL Board of Trustees final Friday reaffirmed its 2024 determination to droop all scholar political actions on campus, on account of what it termed current violent incidents at each Capitol Hill and Fendall campuses.
The choice has been met with sharp criticism from the pro-democracy advocates and former scholar leaders, who view the transfer as an infringement on college students’ rights.
Writing on his official Fb web page through the weekend, Mr. Eddie D. Jarwolo, who heads NAYMOTE-Liberia as Government Director, criticized the choice as “undemocratic.”
As an alternative, he known as on the UL authorities to hunt dialogue as an alternative of repression.
“Repair the issue, not threaten the scholars,” Jarwolo wrote. “The scholars have raised official points, together with calls for for reversing the holiday college coverage, addressing add-and-drop registration issues, enhancing campus amenities, investigating unlawful dismissals, guaranteeing transparency, empowering campus police, reviewing employment practices, and reconstituting the Board of Trustees.”
Mr. Jarwolo mentioned silencing college students as an alternative of addressing these grievances undermines their constitutional rights.
He famous that “As a former scholar chief, I help SUP. The Board of Trustees needs to be held accountable for failing to deal with the issues of scholars and enhance situations on campus.”
Including his voice to the difficulty was exiled Liberian activist and former Pupil Unification Get together (SUP) chief Martin Kollie.
He scolded UL Board of Trustees headed by Senator Numene Bartekwa of Grand Kru County.
He wrote: “Expensive Mr. Board Chairman Senator Numene Bartekwa, you haven’t any authority to ban scholar politics. Y’all have failed to enhance and financially help the U.L. The scholars have each proper to talk out and protest. Can your youngsters sit in that dust to be taught?”
The Board mentioned its determination by citing repeated disruptions to tutorial actions and violent confrontations between college students and safety forces on September 1 and September 11, 2025.
It has instructed the administration to instantly droop college students concerned within the clashes pending investigation and directed the creation of a Standing Disciplinary Committee to implement rules in step with the Pupil Handbook.