AKEED, Wasfi Khushman

Local media outlets reported a statement by the National Campaign for Defending Students" Rights "Thabahtoona" on expelling a student from the Faculty of Engineering Technology (FET)-Polytechnic after he, according to the statement, "passed by" a sit-in organized by the campaign to protest a decision by the Balqa Applied University (BAU) to raise engineering diploma fees. At the same time, the media outlets carried a statement by Dr. Rateb al-Issa al-Abbadi, dean of the FET-Polytechnic, saying that the BAU had decided to suspend eight students of the FET-Polytechnic.

The media published the two statements separately, with the exception of one site, which included the statement by "Thabahtoona" and the statement by the dean of the FET in one report, without clarifying whether the student mentioned in the statement by the campaign is one of the eight suspended students or not.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) observed that some media outlets published the "Thabahtoona" statement as is and adopted the tone of the statement, without using quotation marks, with the exception of one newspaper and one news site, which paraphrased the statement. The Monitor also observed that most of the headlines used the expression "historical precedent," without providing historical support in the body of the item to confirm that the expulsion was indeed a precedent in the history of Jordanian universities.

Most of the media outlets that handled the "Thabahtoona" statement did not seek a reply by the FET or BAU. Similarly, the news about suspending the eight other students did not contain another opinion, which is a violation of the principle of balance. AKEED further observed that the media, with the exception of one electronic site, had refrained from contacting Mohammed Mousa al-Ghoul, the student involved in the case.

AKEED called Mohammed al-Ghoul, who blamed the media for being satisfied with publishing the statement by the "Thabahtoona" campaign without doing any follow-up and without contacting the person involved in the case. Al-Ghoul, who is a fourth-year undergraduate student of mechatronics engineering, said that a fight had broken out on the FET campus, which is located east of the capital, Amman, during which shots were fired. This made a number of students leave the FET, fearing injury. He added: As I was exiting the gate of the FET, I noticed a "sit-in" that was staged to protest the BAU decision to raise diploma tuition fees. I stopped for "10 or 15 minutes" and then went back to the FET campus to attend classes.

On 19 and 20 February, some local media outlets published a story about a fight at the Polytechnic, during which shots were fired. This coincided with publishing a story about the sit-in by the "Thabahtoona" campaign.

The student added: I was summoned afterward to an inquiry committee and I was accused of being one of the organizers of the sit-in. The evidence was only a screenshot that proves that "I did a share on my Facebook page of the call for the sit-in." He said that the Deanship of Student Affairs informed him of the expulsion and that the penalty could not be appealed. Therefore, he got in touch with the "Thabahtoona" campaign, which issued the said statement.

Although al-Ghoul asserted that he was not one of the organizers of the sit-in and not one of its participants, he expressed support for the protest and rejection of the decision to raise tuition fees for diploma students. He said: "I am a BA student and the decision does not affect me, but I think that the BAU will increase fees for BA students later."

Dr. Fakher Daas, general coordinator of the "Thabahtoona" campaign, expressed satisfaction with the way in which the media, especially news sites, handled the case of the suspension of Mohammed al-Ghoul. He explained why the media adopted the tone of the statement and the information in it, saying that "the campaign, which was launched around a decade ago, enjoys credibility with the street and the media alike," adding that "the campaign has never provided erroneous or false information." Daas refused to link the expulsion of the said student to the suspension of the eight students, since these are "two separate cases." The students were suspended because they were involved in a fight on campus, during which shots were fired. A higher disciplinary committee adopted the suspension decision, while Mohammed was suspended because he "passed by" the sit-in staged by "Thabahtoona" outside the FET gate.

Daas reiterated that Mohammed was a student with proven academic and social commitment. He did not participate in the sit-in and was not one of its organizers. He added that "even if he had participated, this is not a crime." The Jordanian Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to express their opinions peacefully. Also, His Majesty the King always promotes the political participation of youth. The general coordinator of "Thabahtoona" defended the use of the expression "historical precedent" in the statement, saying that he had not observed during the campaign, which he has been leading for 10 years, a case of expelling a student because he "passed by a sit-in." Daas wondered: Why was Mohammed the only student to be suspended although other students took part in the sit-in?

For his part, Dr. Rateb al-Issa al-Abbadi, dean of the FET-Polytechnic at BAU, criticized some media outlets "that adopt what the "Thabahtoona" campaign issues without giving academic institutions a chance to present their views." Contrary to what Dr. Daas said, Dr. Abbadi confirmed that Mohammed al-Ghoul was one of the eight students who were suspended because of violating bylaws and regulations after appearing before an inquiry committee, which met all the necessary conditions. He added to AKEED that all the students were confronted with conclusive evidence confirming their involvement in acts that violate the Student Disciplinary Regulation at BAU.

Article 4 of the Regulation speaks about "acts that are considered disciplinary violations," all of which have to be committed on campus or at an outside event or activity in which the university takes part. However, Dr. Abbadi said that although the sit-in was outside the gate of the FET, it "confused the teaching process."

On the statement by "Thabahtoona" and what the student himself said to the effect that he was passing by the sit-in without taking part in it, Abbadi stressed that there is video evidence proving that the student was a participant in the sit-in, in which students from other universities took part. He noted that the FET observed students from the Hashemite University while "committing violations." We contacted their university to penalize them. The dean of the Polytechnic said that the law gives each student the right to appeal the penalty imposed on him, but Mohammed al-Ghoul "failed to provide anything that proves that he is innocent of the charges against him," as he put it.

Asked whether the expulsion is a "historical precedent," Abbadi said that any student who is proven to have committed a violation is penalized. Universities expel violating students regularly. There is nothing in the case of al-Ghoul that could be deemed a precedent.