Students demand removal of dean ABHA – A meeting involving female students protesting alleged poor conditions at King Khaled University (KKU) here, saw students throw water bottles at a staff member and each other on Saturday. Security guards had to intervene and evacuate the campus. The fracas broke out during a meeting attended by the dean of the Science and Arts College, affiliated to KKU, it was reported in a section of the Arabic press on Sunday. The dean of the school had called the meeting but the students did not like the way matters were discussed. When the dean started to leave the meeting, a student threw a bottle of water at her, but missed. Then students started throwing bottles of water at each other. They then went to the dean's office and asked her to come out but she refused. More scuffles broke out but security guards intervened and evacuated the building. One of the students told Asharq Arabic daily that students did not like what they heard at the meeting. “Most students couldn't hear what the dean was saying because of the low-quality loudspeakers. Besides, students didn't like what they heard and got angry when the dean left the meeting.” Students are demanding simple things, the student added, including canopies in the courtyard to protect them from the sun, fixing broken air-conditioners, allowing them to bring food in because the food inside is allegedly of low-quality and costly, with a sandwich costing SR5. These demands were rejected by the deputy dean and that angered students, she said. Students also demanded that the administration open all the doors of the college instead of opening only one door which causes overcrowding. Some students from remote towns, about 60 kilometers away, asked the college to provide them with transport. Dr. Awad Al-Qarni, director of the information center at KKU, said female students wrote a list of demands and submitted it to the dean. Sources said the dean told students that the Emir of Asir region will meet their demands after his meeting with students of Abha colleges. All lectures at KKU will be suspended for a week. Students carried placards showing their loyalty to their country. They demanded that the dean of the college, Dr. Inas Abbas, be removed and for toilets to be provided. A source from Asir Police said the security situation was good and there was nothing to worry about.
