{"id":33413,"date":"2023-03-20T16:26:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T16:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion"},"modified":"2023-03-20T17:09:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T17:09:31","slug":"violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion","title":{"rendered":"Violence at the Liberian University Campus: An opposing opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>About a month ago, the Liberian University\u2019s Student Unification Party (SUP) chased out and threw stones at Aloysius Howe, a staff of Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, from the University\u2019s grounds. SUP had done the same to Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor and former Solicitor General Syrenius Cephus. The organization alleged that Howe and the officials were involved in corruption and should not visit the campus. Howe\u2019s vehicle was said to have been damaged, and he sustained some injuries. SUP vows to stop those whom it considers corrupt officials from visiting UL, University of Liberia.<\/p>\n

Many concerned Liberians denounced SUP\u2019s recent action against Howe, saying that the University is a public ground and no one should be denied entrance. In an apparent defiance to SUP, Representative Acarous Gray of District 8 and member of the ruling Congress of Democratic Change party announced on his Facebook page within hours of the violence against Howe to visit the campus to lunch with students on March 13. SUP responded against the announcement, promising confrontation. The organization also said it would invite Representative Yekeh Kolubah to the University. He is a member of the opposition Alternative National Congress party. He regularly criticizes the ruling party and President George Weah. Kolubah was a former rebel commander for Charles Taylor\u2019s NPFL group.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, in 2001, the media and eyes witnesses reported that he, as operation director of the Liberian National Police, raided SUP on the LU campus during former President Taylor\u2019s rule. That invasion caused the death of two persons. Acarous Gray was a student at the University and is said to have been a SUP member.<\/p>\n

Against the advice of some individuals, Representative Gray, with some supporters, marched to the University. This resulted in violence, though Mr. Gray left before Representative Kolubah arrived. Kolubah also came with his followers and criticized the president. Many people, including some legislators, blamed Gray, saying as a leader, he should have exercised tolerance and acted as a respectable lawmaker.<\/p>\n

I support Gray\u2019s visitation. He is the congressional representative of the area where the University is located. Though he could have canceled the visit upon the advice, and that could have avoided the clash, he was right to have gone to the University. His action was deterrence to SUP\u2019s behavior. The organization has no right or power to stop anyone from visiting UL and determining who is corrupt. It is a student group. A silence to its behavior would give license to further unlawful acts. Next time SUP thinks of stopping anyone from coming to the University, it would consider an adverse action. People would more likely stop doing wrong if there is opposition or consequences.<\/p>\n

I am also disappointed in individuals and entities that kept quiet about SUP\u2019s exercise but are now condemning Rep. Gray. Fairly, they could have also advised SUP not to engage Gray. This could have prevented the confrontation. But the problem is that many Liberian educated elites are alumni of LU and were Supees, members of SUP. Therefore, their loyalty to the party may have blinded them from seeing SUP wrong. Current LU\u2019s President, Dr. Julius Nelson, is reported to have been a member of SUP when he attended the institution. This condition gives SUP a feeling of control, entitlement, or ownership.<\/p>\n

SUP\u2019s rival group at the University is the Progressive Student Alliance (PROSA), a party recently founded. Both organizations approach issues differently. However, they use Marxist Leninist revolutionary theory and jargon spoken by and learned from the 70s militants.<\/p>\n

SUP is a powerful student political group that started in 1970. The 70s were years of Liberian progressivism, which resulted in the 1980 revolution. Influenced by the progressive forces, the military overthrew the settlers\u2019 True Whig Party regime. During the 70s, SUP with research advocated and debated based on issues, not personality or sentiments. SUP\u2019s establishment was in response to the Americo-Liberian student power domination at the University. Progressive professors, including Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh and Dr. Henry Fahbulleh, motivated its creation. Its membership was predominantly of native students. SUP has benefitted from former students\u2019 support, scholarships, and a general tuition scheme. From student politics and advocacy, it has become an opposition agent to national politics.<\/p>\n

I also blame the University\u2019s administration or authority for not taking immediate measures to arrest campus disturbances. Its do- nothing-approach has heightened the crisis. I am glad it has now suspended student political parties at the University. I appreciate also the Ministry of Justice has called an investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n

I call progressives, particularly those familiar with SUP, to denounce the organization\u2019s unlawful and violent behavior. True progressivism respects the rights of all and stands for truth and fairness without fear and favor. It criticizes its own when its members act wrongly. Moreover, freedom of movement is a universal right, and no one or institution has the right to ban it. Also, opposition against violence should not be one-sided but holistic.<\/p>\n

The invitation to have Rep. Kolubah at the University was political, showing SUP\u2019s true intent. If SUP was interested in peace, it could have brought in a leader from the civil societies, such as the president of the religious council or a national elder. Instead, it invited an individual who is not neutral. Had Kolubah\u2019s and Gray\u2019s supporters confronted each other, it could have been more violence.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. About a month ago, the Liberian University\u2019s Student Unification Party (SUP) chased out and threw stones at Aloysius Howe, a staff of Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, from the University\u2019s grounds. SUP had done the same to Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor and former Solicitor General Syrenius Cephus. The organization alleged that Howe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-33413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nViolence at the Liberian University Campus: An opposing opinion - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"About a month ago, the Liberian University\u2019s Student Unification Party (SUP) chased out and threw stones at Aloysius How ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Violence at the Liberian University Campus: An opposing opinion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About a month ago, the Liberian University\u2019s Student Unification Party (SUP) chased out and threw stones at Aloysius How ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-20T16:26:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-20T17:09:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679317004.41.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"373\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Violence at the Liberian University Campus: An opposing opinion\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-20T16:26:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-20T17:09:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\"},\"wordCount\":921,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679317004.41.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/violence-at-the-liberian-university-campus-an-opposing-opinion\",\"name\":\"Violence at the Liberian University Campus: An opposing opinion - 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