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Sweet Nothings
‘To kiss or not to kiss’ keeps Tweeters busy
Islamabad, Oct 19, PTI:
The hullabaloo over public display of affection at a premier educational institute in Pakistan refuses to die down with the tech-savvy now taking to Twitter to debate the issue.
The public display of affection — PDA for short and the academic nomenclature for a kiss — was first objected to by a senior woman student during the holy month of Ramzan. She spotted two students kissing and raised hell by circulating a mass email on the university campus mail system.
Tajwar Awan, a senior at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), shot off the email which has since evoked a mixed response from students. While some students “reconverted” to Islam, others poked fun at Awan for bringing it up. The university administration has promised to issue a code of conduct on the campus after Awan furnished “documentary evidence” of the kiss.
Khaver Siddiqi, known in the tweeting world as “thekarachikid”, had a good laugh over the controversy. “Ha. Ha. Ha. No kissing allowed,” read his tweet to his friends. Alisa Harris tweeted that she was glad she didn’t live in Pakistan.
Hafsa Arain sent out a “oh boy!” message after hearing the news about the proposed ban on the campus. Another student tweeted that the controversial kiss was not a kiss but a peck. LUMS students, most of whom seem to favour public display of affection on the campus, are ferociously blogging about the issue. Imran Baloch wrote on his blog: “As a LUMS student, I am sad to hear that the premier institute has taken away the personal rights of students.
“Socially if I look at it, on one hand there are many of my friends who do not shake hands. On the other hand, there are female friends who shake hands as well as kiss on the cheek. To me it is one’s personal choice and matter of comfort. No one should have right to dictate someone what is right or wrong”. “I expect LUMS would relook this ban, else student bodies should challenge the behaviour regulation,” he concluded.
Awan’s mail did elicit the desired response on the campus. A male student responded with a sarcastic “I have sinned” email. “I shave twice a week and my ‘painchas’ (trousers) hang obstinately below my heels. I have a penchant for ties that resemble the Christian cross and my satanic dress code is causing me to stray far far away from the straight path. “During the holy month, instead of attending Koranic recitals in the mosque, I was listening to the demonic sounds of (British rock band) Pink Floyd,” he wrote.
