LAW BREAKERS

By Wesonga Quintas

Recently I took my precious time and read the famous green book that contains the rules and regulations governing students of Moi University. Most comrades including the most curious freshers have never taken such time to go through this book carefully as I did on this rare occasion. If you did you would be surprised to discover that most of us are law breakers. May be comrades are too busy and can not get such time; at university one is surely too busy.

What I concluded was that we have the most lenient administration in this country. This is so because if these rules were to be followed to the letter, over 90% of us would be sent packing. May be the administrators themselves are also too busy to read the book and find this wonderful loopholes and weapon to send away most of us; especially those who pretend to be fighting for ‘rights.’ Just find time to read the green book and be surprised for free!

Article 3.1.1 (e) is very clear: students have to wear acceptable attire especially when attending lectures, other important functions and all the time. Just imagine if one day someone woke up and set eyes on this with view of implementing it. I can bet if this was done, the number of ladies who would remain in this campus will not be enough to fill the ground floor of Hostel J alone !The only loophole here is the definition of ‘acceptable attire’. Since this is not explained, we have nothing to worry about.

Article 4 outlines residential rules; and here is when I paused to thank God for the blessing of lenient administrators we have. In very strict terms, pirating, cooking in rooms, playing loud music and being found in an opposite-sex hostel at odd hours is prohibited. This is rule has been there when rumour has it that in a night more men than ladies sleep in Hostel J and K. This is where I thought campus would be left empty upon implementation and imagined is the reason why the green book has remained a reference book just like vision 2030. Simply if this happened, all students would be sent packing, university closed and what would become of peoples’ jobs?

To make things worse, is article 4.1 (b) popularly known as the ten to ten rule. Just imagine! knocking at your next neighbour’s door at 9.00 a.m, you have committed a crime! Bringing visitors to your room without consulting your room mate is just at his/her liberty. The day you will be reported, the green book will have more meaning than what I am saying here.

For those who do business in rooms, the book has this for you: It is illegal. In fact any advert to be made should be approved by the Dean of Students and should bear the names of the writer just like I have done. No anonymous advert! This is what article 12.4 says. Those who have been calling meetings in their rooms including Bible Study Groups have just survived at the mercy I’m narrating about; it is illegal to have meetings in hostels and in lecture rooms.

The most crazy rule that would finally lead to closure of this campus is article 10.1 which requires that any student leaving school MUST have a leave of absence, just the high school way. To make things even more tight, offences such as being drank, attempting suicide, abortion, assault and unlicensed trade (such as in hostels) are police cases and are to be dealt with by the police and charged under the penal code CAP 63 of the laws of Kenya.

Thank God these rules have not been strictly followed and I bet if these were displayed on the net and affected, no one would have come here except those who went through approved schools. Even for them, I don’t imagine if they would have accepted to move from one department of hell to another. In simple terms, the University would not be there. Have you now seen that we are all law breakers but we are still free? That is why you have to say a big AMEN.