Failing in Architecture: In Defense of An-Najah

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The name of a student who had not been lucky in his high-school exam (Tawjihi) appeared on the list of those admitted into architecture at An-Najah National University. The list at the time included fifty names, and this student held position number 43. I contacted officials, and others contacted them as well, to ask about the matter and about who bears responsibility for it. We found no answer.

The university president, a professor, appeared at a press conference and spoke about the matter, laying the responsibility on outside forces made up of students who had been expelled from the university. This is an unacceptable justification. I would not have needed to write about this subject had responsibility been assigned and had those who did this been punished. Expelled students do not register new students, do not administer the architecture entrance exams, and do not receive the applications of high-school graduates. Who is responsible for that act? And who ordered such an act? Would a college dean dare, of his own free will, to do such a thing? Would the head of the architecture department dare to commit such an error? Or did the orders come from other quarters?

An act like this harms An-Najah National University and its teaching and administrative staff alike. I have heard comments on the Palestinian street that would make a university professor shrink with shame, and bring a flush to his brow. One person commented, saying: “You are first in everything — may God multiply your reward.”

…to the university. I had previously criticized the bringing of weapons onto campus, and a statement was issued against me accusing me of stirring up strife. Weapons continued to be brought in until a student was killed inside the university campus. I was right, and the authors of that statement were wrong.

I call on everyone not to behave in the manner of the Arab regimes, and I call on them not to turn a blind eye to violations or to go easy on them, because doing so undermines society and weakens the Palestinian people. And I say to those who issue statements: silence in the face of injustice is a greater injustice, and whoever wishes good for the homeland must not defer to private interest or to the power of an official. And I say that statements do not hold up against documents; statements are scattered by the wind, while documents endure forever. And I say to those who issue statements full of abuse and insults: they know perfectly well about the violations that take place, and some of them are complicit in them. These are violations that harm the university and everyone who works within it. And I hope no one tries to outbid me on the question of the university’s standing, because through my articles and my research, published on the university’s own website, I have contributed more than any other person to bringing large numbers of visitors to that website. My articles in 2010 alone received about 60,000 reads. So where are you, you who hurl abuse?

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “راسب في الهندسة المعمارية: دفاعا عن النجاح” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.