After Attack Against UL Vice President For Student Affairs, Sekou Konneh
PHOTO: UL President Dr. Layli Maparyan
If reports prove to be true through legitimate investigation that any of your members brought knives and sticks on campus and brandished them in the Office of Student Affairs or in any other area, such as a classroom, you will be expelled from the University of Liberia, because bringing weapons to campus is and has long been an offense punishable with expulsion.
Press Statement
UL PRESIDENT ADDRESSES SUP REGARDING ATTACK AGAINST VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS DR. SEKOU KONNEH
To the Students of SUP (and any others involved):
Let me be unequivocal: Your members’ acts of aggression, destruction, and violence today on the UL Fendall campus against Prof. Sekou Konneh, Vice President of Student Affairs, and the Office of Student Affairs are unacceptable and punishable according to both University of Liberia regulations and Liberian law.
If reports prove to be true through legitimate investigation that any of your members brought knives and sticks on campus and brandished them in the Office of Student Affairs or in any other area, such as a classroom, you will be expelled from the University of Liberia, because bringing weapons to campus is and has long been an offense punishable with expulsion. Whether or not you have seen the student handbook, I informed members of your organization about this fact at the Student Town Hall last month, because bringing weapons to campus is considered a grave offense punishable with expulsion without a prior warning letter or prior suspension. You will have to face the consequences of today’s actions.
Furthermore, the disruptions you caused to classes on both the Fendall and Capitol Hill campuses today, using fear-mongering to shut down teaching and learning, are likewise unacceptable. The University of Liberia exists to deliver education and not to serve as a political playground. Once politics extends beyond the educational mission, it is no longer welcome here. While these hooliganistic protests are likewise prohibited in the Student Handbook, the penalty, if proven after a legitimate investigation, is suspension, particularly if a prior warning has been issued.
Last week, you protested outside my office on the Capitol Hill Campus and let me know about your concerns regarding Vice President Konneh, particularly in terms of his handling of suspension letters that were addressed to various members of SUP and blocking the ID numbers of certain students.
You maintained that the VPSA Office has not followed due process and is violating the rights of students by issuing suspension letters without an investigative process, particularly since students have not received the student handbook and no one got a warning letter. I told you that day that “I hear you,” and I stated that I will investigate these matters. I also reminded you that, if any members of your group have engaged in violations of the student code of conduct or broken any laws, disciplinary action is acceptable and warranted in order to uphold the rule of law, which is the foundation of any system of justice, and you agreed with me in principle.