IIM SHILLONG - HARASSMENT BY STUDENT COUNCIL

We’ve stayed quiet for months. A lot of us have. But at this point, this is harassment.

IIM SHILLONG is a student-run campus. The Student Council of IIM Shillong is supposed to coordinate among 20+ Clubs and Committees (CnCs). Mind you, the Student Council is also just another CnC. These people are not GOD. They are meant to represent students, not police them, intimidate them, or financially pressure them.

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening.

CONTEXT

There is a fine called BEC – ‘breach of ethical conduct’ in this college. People are made well aware of it in the first month of joining. Certain sessions or activities where attendance is mandatory are BEC applicable sessions. The Student Council provides this BEC to CnCs for their respective sessions. This amount starts from 500 and goes as high as the wishes of the Student Council.

1. Student Council ‘Blacklisting’ students

Last year, out of a batch of around 400, only 3 people were blacklisted.This year? 15 people within six months.That’s not a coincidence. That’s WRONG PEOPLE IN POWER.

Even when people have genuine reasons, they are still asked to pay fines. And when someone tries to oppose this, they are harassed by Student Council members and eventually blacklisted.

Recently, two students faced such pressure that they had to reach out to the batch through email seeking support. When they tried to communicate through WhatsApp groups, Student Council member repeatedly deleted their messages and changed group settings so they could not interact with their own batch.

And once blacklisted, you’re effectively cut out of campus life: No event participation, No representation, No involvement across CnCs

And let’s talk about the money. These BEC fines are being taken on the personal UPI IDs of Student Council members. No official institute account, no receipt, no transparency. Nobody knows where this money goes or what it is being used for. Why would a place like IIM Shillong collect institutional fines through someone’s personal UPI?

And if this is about discipline, why are Student Council members and their friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends always absent from sessions but still marked present?

Some students were also pressurized by a Student Council member to make hefty payments within 30 minutes, or they would be removed from their committee without justification. People were asked to pay amounts as high as 6000, otherwise they would not be allowed to participate in events like Christmas, Holi, sports, etc.

2. The Attendance Fiasco and the Double Standard

Earlier this year, a member of the Cultural Committee was caught taking the attendance device to his friends so their attendance could be marked even though they were not in the class. The session was being conducted by the Chairperson Student Affairs herself.

As soon as this was discovered, action was taken. Within 2–3 days, that member was removed from the Cultural Committee. Immediate consequences. Clear message. Zero tolerance.

Now fast forward to what happened recently.

Two members of the Student Council, accessed a professor’s system using his password and marked their own attendance. This is not rumour. The professor himself addressed it. The entire batch knows because he teaches across sections and spoke about it. The professor also told the batch that both of them admitted that they entered his system using his private login details.

This happened more than three weeks ago. And till now, those two Student Council members are still in position. No removal. No official communication. No visible action. We want to ask : why are they not removed yet? How is this normal?

3. DOUBLE STANDARDS The Godsellers Incident

And if anyone still thinks this is all “misunderstanding,” let’s talk about what just happened recently.

There was an event conducted by the Marketing CnC called Godsellers. What the event is about doesn’t even matter. The point is it’s a student activity. As per the standards the Student Council keeps enforcing, if you are blacklisted, you cannot participate in student activities. That’s the rule. That’s what people are told when they’re stopped from events.

But guess what happened? A senior Student Council member, participated in Godsellers along with three students who were blacklisted last year.These three students were blacklisted by the Student Council last year itself. And yet they were allowed to participate. Not just participate, they competed as a team with a Student Council member and even won a cash prize.

So blacklisting applies when it’s convenient?

Because just a few days ago, two students who had raised concerns and sent emails were not allowed to play in the ongoing Legacy Cup. They were stopped on the spot and sent back. Earlier, another blacklisted student was also not allowed to participate in BPL, another sports committee event.

These people were selected just like any other committee. Their job was to help students. That’s why it’s called a Student Council. But all they have done is harass and misuse the authority given to them.