SHOULD WE STAND TO WRITE OR 'LIE' TO WRITE

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I have been silent  for a while on happenings on KNUST campus, not for the fact that, I have stopped speaking on matters affecting the student body. As it was said by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary speak and speak in such a way that people will remember it."
Let me go straight to the point, since "time no dey" (Time is not on our side). Just last two weeks, 9th September, 2018, when we had our SCC service at the Royal Parade grounds, the Dean of students (Dr. William Gariba) articulated emphatically that; let us also remind ourselves that, we have SRC duly elected by you (students), but some of us think we are wiser than the SRC and that, they (the supposed wisest) are the only people who can advocate for students......"  In the SRC constitution as amended in 2011, it is stipulated in Article (6) clause (a) emphatically that, the SRC is the mouthpiece of the entire student body of this university which buttresses what the Dean of Students lamented clearly.
There is also an adage which gives utterances to the fact that, " Y3soma Onyansofoo, 3ny3 anamontenten". Which literary means, we send a wise person, not one with long legs. The Students of this noble institution voted for an SRC which is to be the legitimate advocate for the student body (us). But, it is sad that the SRC themselves are even quiet on some petty issues affecting the student body. Their "interest" is to organize entertainment programs moving with huge budgets to, maybe, get something (money) for their own interests. Let us leave it to nature and its twin brother, posterity, to judge.
I would like to utilize this opportunity to greet the Vice Chancellor of KNUST for his passion to 'develop' KNUST since he was elected to occupy this office, notwithstanding the fact that, most of the developmental projects he embarks on are based/situated on-campus, neglecting about 70% of the population of KNUST off-campus. Just last week, I was nearly carried away by flood around the bridge behind the 'JERICHO WALL', adjacent Nana Adoma Hostel. This is just by the way. Though, it was visibly evidential to the sight of most students who use or visit that road...

This issue has been in existence since I came to the land of intellectuals, KNUST. Casely Hayford Building, popularly known as "EHC", has experienced shortage of chairs and tables which bother students, including myself, who attend lectures in there.
See Image below;

Upon my research, I contacted Mr. Oduro Baah, the head of cleaners, who is in charge of  making sure the place is tidied up for lectures. He made it clear to me that, there are eight (8) lecture rooms in the building which facilitate the provision of about 230 chairs and tables in each room for examination purpose. Even with that, there is shortage of chairs when examination is in progress. My point here is that, how many times do we write examination in this school? Most at times, three weeks. Meaning, majority of our stay on campus, we spend it in the lecture room. Bringing 230 chairs in a room which sometimes occupy about 700 students for a lecture is awkward and should not be the order of the day. I personally decided to count the chairs and tables in most of the rooms to verify the veracity of the man's testimony. If it is true, what is the new development? This was what I ascertained upon counting;
Lecture Room                            Number of Chairs                    Number of Tables 

• EH 202   DB1                               149                                               173
• EH 201                                          96                                                 184
• EH 202   DB2                                45                                                 40
• EH 101                                          169                                               211

Looking at this piece of work, I took four (4) of these rooms out of eight lecture rooms to make this exercise. You could realize that, majority of the classes do/did not even match up to the supposed 230 tables and chairs. What normally happens is that, since the chairs and tables are not enough, classes which have population of  about 700 will obviously carry the chairs from class A to class B where they are having their lecture. After their supposed lecture, the students will not return the chairs, since it has been the 'norm' of the youth we have found ourselves among, including myself. What I also realized was that, the chairs and the tables cover about 50% of the classrooms' sizes and most of the chairs in most of rooms do not tally with the tables; the furniture do not cover all the size of the classrooms. My question here is that, what happens to the remaining 50% of the room size? I do believe firmly that, the portion of the room sizes left unoccupied are neither reserved for PAA JOE extension nor for accommodation of some of our newly admitted KNUST-OBIRI DANSO pampered ladies.  Can't He (Vice Chancellor) provide us with tables and chairs so that the class  will be full to prevent or minimize the intake of chairs from class A to Class B? This issue is not happening in Casely Hayford Building only, rather most of the other lecture rooms.

I hereby call on the SRC to act on this matter as a matter of urgency to find a quicker solution to curb this situation, since it bothers most of the students. I believe that, when those who are empowered to speak on matters affecting us are not speaking, we will not be dumb and wait for them, but rather we will speak and speak until something is done!!!

Richard Amoh, senior, I greet you. I appreciate your thriving struggling hustle to impact lives with advocacy. I credit your support of my writing pieces.

GIdeon Amo-Agyei is my name. A Second year student reading BSc. Agribusiness Management and a proud farmer. I believe that, strong activism is the only tool that can change our sick status quo!