In a distressing turn of events, several students of Ashoka University found themselves locked out of their campus hostels during the ongoing winter break, left stranded in the cold and foggy conditions of Sonipat with nowhere to go. The students, many of whom hail from states far away like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, claimed they were given extremely short notice or no clear communication about a new policy requiring them to vacate.
Students Stranded in the Cold
An undergraduate student from Uttar Pradesh recounted her ordeal on a cold December evening after the break commenced. "My home is 500 km away. I’m in Sonipat. It’s unsafe. Where do you want me to go? It is getting dark," she pleaded to a residence official after discovering her access card had been deactivated. She stated she had paid hostel fees for nine months, covering residence until December 31, and received no prior intimation about vacating.
She was later offered alternative accommodation in an off-campus facility usually reserved for PhD scholars and teaching fellows, but only upon making an additional payment. The payment was waived for the night only after the intervention of the Ashoka University Student Government. "There were no bedsheets and no heaters there… I couldn’t go anywhere else," she added.
A New, Poorly Communicated Policy
This was not an isolated incident. For years, students, especially those from outside North India or abroad, have routinely stayed back in hostels during such vacations. However, this winter, the university implemented a new 'Residence Life' policy. It mandated that students vacate campus during the break unless they received special approval through an appeal process.
Members of the Student Government said the communication around this policy was delayed, ambiguous, or entirely absent for many. A student from Karnataka said he had submitted an appeal with proof that his flight home was booked for December 29. Despite this, on December 28 evening, while he was in Delhi, he received an email barring him from returning to campus. "Is 5.5 hours enough to vacate my room and invent accommodation for the night?" he wrote in a desperate email to the administration.
By 11:45 pm, he and another student were standing outside the campus gate in cold, foggy conditions with disabled access cards. "Campus shuttles had stopped running. Sonipat felt unsafe," he said. Their access was restored only after they emailed the administration, copying the Vice-Chancellor, stating the university was "leaving us out in the cold."
University Statement and Student Backlash
In an official statement, Ashoka University said, "During the winter break, students who are required to be on campus for pre-scheduled official assignments, with advance information to the university and all international students are permitted to be on campus." It cited security and logistical concerns for restricting access.
The university asserted that communication regarding the policy was shared with all students at the beginning of the term and was acknowledged and signed by them and their parents. It added that alternative accommodation and medical support were provided to students who reached the campus late at night without permissions.
However, students and the Student Government refute the claim of clear communication. A representative stated this was unprecedented: "This is happening for the first time… A student would only leave the residence if they wished to during the summer break." The representative also suggested the drastic move might be linked to heightened scrutiny around student safety following the suicide of a student on campus in February last year, though the administration has not stated this explicitly.
The incident has sparked serious concerns about the welfare of outstation students and the clarity of administrative protocols at the premier private university.
