Despite many issues with the LUMS administration and other facets of the institution, the university has continued to excel in academics, producing graduates who have been the standard-bearers of the country.
For an outsider therefore, LUMS epitomizes academic excellence in Pakistan. The sheer efforts of the faculty and students deserve all the acknowledgment for upholding educational standards and establishing a name in international academia.
We also get to hear a lot about university enabling ethnic and other forms of diversity within its community and providing a liberal environment to its students. Recently, however some students have taken this diversity for granted and have actively contributed in making these hallowed halls a less safer place for all its students.
If you happen to scroll down your twitter newsfeed, LDF, or any major forum, you will likely come across the hashtag #LUMS. On a closer look at the trend, you will notice a flurry of activity happening. This has been surrounding a LUMS student Ali Zar who is a self-proclaimed public figure owing to his Youtube channel Inlaughing Colours. This status of a public figure is important here because it raises two important issues. Firstly, since he has voluntarily put up his life and opinions on the internet, that makes him fair game for people like us to comment on (long story short, you can’t sue us). Secondly, it begs the question that if Ali Zar uses his status as a student of LUMS in his content, does that mean he has the moral duty to be more careful not to channel ideas that might be problematic and therefore owing to a negative image of the institution.
Most people have argued that he has the freedom of speech to publish whatever he says. Another group has taken the route of saying that even though his content is problematic and completely not representative of the LUMS body, the onus falls on us the readers to not give him the attention which is his motive. They argue that we must simply ignore him and this will pass. The third group of people say that this point is moot because whoever consumes his content automatically imposes his point of view on us, the students of LUMS. This means that he must be more careful of what he posts on Twitter or Youtube.
Let’s look at Youtube first. Just about last year, as part of his vlog campaign: “Life at LUMS,” he was seen to actively endorse harassment in one of his videos. When the issue was brought on the university forum, Ali Zar unsuccessfully defended himself by arguing that as a host it is his responsibility to mimic the characters in his video. Which raised the question whether it was even reasonable to mimic a problematic personality and then post it publicly online to be viewed thousands of people?
Second comes the recent Twitter war that even some instructors got involved in. Ali Zar posted that getting in LUMS was more about merit than class or the privilege that stems from it. This is particularly tone deaf in light of the recent cuts in financial aid which have severely disadvantaged the students who aren’t as privileged in the way Mr. Zar clearly is. Therefore, he unfairly delegitimized their issues and as an extension made it the official stance of the LUMS student body in the eyes of the media and the world outside the university. No matter our outrage on LDF, we cannot convince others that we do not agree with his ideas because of his significant following.
One thing is clear, is that Ali Zar is widely unpopular for his work/ opinions and the recent tweet just added fuel to the fire to his already controversial personality. But let us now address his 3-point response and conclude that getting into LUMS is actually more about privilege than anything else.
When people talk about enrolling in LUMS as a significant milestone, they often miss the point that there is a long list of privileges that the particular individual enjoyed in their lifetime. True, that money on its own cannot buy you admission into the institution, but money helped you secure a place in one of the elitist schools in Pakistan, that prepared you well for all the necessary admission requirements. Money helped you get internet access and other cultural capital that the marginalized community can never possibly afford. Money aided you in seeking career counseling like Dignosco which cost almost as much as a kidney and avail evening tuition services so that you could perform well in your SAT. While, your financial capital may not have directly admitted you into LUMS, it surely did assist you in several other ways.
The case of NOP scholars and those on Financial Aid is a valid opposing argument to make but let us also not forget the proportion of NOP scholars at LUMS in comparison to the individuals studying on a full-tuition fee. Even with the National Outreach Program, the selection criteria is often set very high restricting the total number of beneficiaries. On the other hand, excessive red-tape measures involved with the Financial Aid request makes the process a task too arduous in its undertaking consequently discouraging many from applying to the program in the first place. More importantly, excluding nitty-gritty details, holding assets that may not directly exhibit your financial privilege and utilizing expenses for some essential work will eventually make the person ineligible for assistance.
Lastly, it would be absurd to argue that LUMINITIES have some “class” that makes them superior beings. This extremely nebulous and problematic term class is something more suited in our classrooms under the guidance of learned instructors rather than something to be thrown around carelessly to prove merit.
Removing Ali Zar from LDF is not a long term solution because that disowning from the LUMS body is not something the world is aware of. He cannot be allowed to speak for all of us using his public platform.