Gujarat University Psychology Psychology students, who spend at least six hours on campus, are forced to use the washrooms on the ground floor that are extremely filthy or have broken latches apathy The ground floor loo at Bhasha Bhavan is in pathetic condition Kamayani We do not stop students from using the faculty members’ washroom. The issue of unclean loos is old. Every meeting we have ends with a discussion of the poor state of toilets at the varsity Ranjana Argade, Director, Bhasha Bhavan I am not sure who put the notices but students are not barred from using these toilets. I agree that the washrooms are not in a good state. We have made representation multiple times Rajasi Clerk, Director, Samaj Vidya Bhavan At, access to clean toilets seems to be the right of only teachers and administrative staff, not students. At GU ‘bhavans’ that offer various arts courses, the faculty washrooms on the first floor are clean but out of bounds for everyone else. The students, who are on campus for at least six hours at a stretch, have just two options: Forget using the loo or make do with the dirty, unhygienic one on the ground floor.Older notices pasted on the faculty washrooms in the Department of, Bhasha Bhavan, and Samaj Vidya Bhavan state, “Only for teachers.” The notices, which are visibly newer, issue a clear warning: ‘No student is allowed’.Students allege discrimination, saying the washrooms on the ground floor are so filthy that they raise serious risks of infection. “We spend at least six hours in the department. I was horrified when I saw the ladies’ washroom locked and the other washroom on the first floor barred to students. I rushed to the toilet on the ground floor and it was so filthy that I almost puked. Most of the toilets have broken doors and latches too,” said a student of psychology.The students do not know when the notices were pasted but “it has been there since we started our academic session”.“It is not possible to avoid using the washroom for the entire duration that we spend on campus. What stops the varsity from keeping the students’ washroom as clean as those reserved for faculty members? The university boasts about having a swanky campus.Having wide roads is good. But the varsity needs to provide students with clean washrooms. It is a basic necessity,” said a student studying at Samaj Vidya Bhavan.Students are scared of asking the faculty members access to the cleaner washrooms. “We fear repercussion if we ask authorities to open the locked toilet or allow us to use the toilets on the floor we study,” they said.Student leaders claim that suchis one of the reasons stopping meritorious and quality students from taking admission in GU.“GU has so many cases of discrimination, be it caste-based or other favouritism by teachers, but it is disgusting that the administration does not allow students to use clean wash-rooms. If they fear that students may leave the place unclean, they should hire someone to keep it clean,” said student leader Parthiv Raj Kathwadia.He alleged that discriminatory practices are not new for the varsity. “The higher-ups at GU developed toilets for VIPs at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh when M N Patel was the vice-chancellor,” he said, adding, “At that time too, students were using filthy toilets. Later, the varsity gave out a contract to repair the loo, but that project doesn’t seem to have worked out well for arts departments. This is yet another example of discrimination against arts students.”While Pyschology HoD DrMathur did not respond to our calls, Bhasha Bhavan Director Ranjana Argade said, “We do not stop students from using the faculty members’ washroom.“The issue of unclean loos is old. Every meeting we have ends with a discussion of the poor state of toilets at the varsity.”About renovation of toilets, Argade said it stopped and they have no information why.Samaj Vidya Bhavan head Rajasi Clerk denies that students were being discriminated against.“I am not sure who put the notices but students are not barred from using these toilets. I agree that the washrooms are not in a good state. We have made representation multiple times, hoping that it will get attention,” she said.Meanwhile, several attempts to contact GU VC Himanshu Pandya yielded no result.

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