Hyderabad: Harvard University recently withdrew admission letters given to 10 freshmen because they shared explicit memes regarding the holocaust, sexual assault and also contained racist content.
The cancellation was done to prevent further mischief and problems on campus.
“It is very difficult for us to check the background of students through his online and social media activity as it is done by foreign universities. Our criteria for admission are simple and whoever fulfills it will get enrolled in the college. We do not look at the student from a holistic point of view as they do so abroad, when they check his volunteering activity, extra curricular activities and others. It all comes down to privacy and some people share reposts and forwards unknowingly but I do believe that everyone is accountable for what they post,” says J.V.K. Reddy, faculty of Vardhaman College.
Students often complain of lack of privacy when post admission checks are done.
They claim that universities keeping a check on their posts after admission curbs their voices. Kavyasree Raghunath, a student of University of Hyderabad was denied admission to English Foreign Languages and University as she was an active participant during the Rohith Vemula protest.
Kavyasree says, “The proctor of EFLU said that he saw my photos on Facebook. I think it is ridiculous for a university to monitor Facebook posts. EFLU also takes an undertaking from students that they will not post anything against the administration. All this surveillance and scrutiny is totalitarian.”
