Governor of Khuzestan: Action Should Be Taken Against Those Ignoring the Demands of Shahid Chamran University Students

The Governor of Khuzestan reacted to student protests at Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz due to the malfunctioning cooling system in dormitories, calling for action against those responsible for ignoring the students' demands. According to ISNA news agency on Friday (June 16), Gholam-Reza Shariati stated that the university president informed him that 'the necessary funds for purchasing new chillers and repairing the existing ones have been allocated, but the relevant officials have not taken any action.' Shariati added that for this reason, 'I have asked the president of Shahid Chamran University to seriously address those who have been negligent if this issue is indeed true.' The student news website reported on Thursday (June 15) that a protest by a group of female students at Shahid Chamran University over the malfunctioning cooling system escalated with the intervention of the university's security. According to Tasnim news agency, this gathering began on Wednesday evening after the dormitory supervisor threatened the protesters with disciplinary action. One protesting student stated that after the 'air conditioners' broke down due to 'pressure and heat,' students protested to the dormitory supervisor, and after not receiving a satisfactory response, 'they went towards the control room where the security and dormitory staff locked the entrance and exit doors and did not allow anyone to leave.' According to this student, following these protests, Babak Mohammadian, the university's student affairs manager, appeared among the students and 'yelled at the students to silence them.' As reported by the student news website, the officials of Shahid Chamran University have been spending about one million tomans daily to resolve the cooling system issue in the female dormitories. The Governor of Khuzestan also stated in response to these events that 'if the students cooperate, I will mobilize all the province's resources to solve their problems.' He defined student cooperation as 'welcoming the measures taken to accommodate them in other dormitories.' Shariati added that a dormitory in the city center has been prepared for the temporary accommodation of some students, which 'has a capacity of about 220 people, but only about two to three students have agreed to settle there.' It is still unclear whether the female students of the Hazrat Masoumeh dormitory at Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz are willing to leave their current dormitory. ILNA news agency also reported that while the university officials have 'promised to address these issues,' the students have accused them of 'deceit' in their slogans. According to this report, the protesting students continued their demonstrations for the second night last night.