As you are aware, the OSA has recently undergone divisional restructuring. Part of this restructuring included the elimination of the Head of CCA and Campus Climate. We were informed that the reason this position was chosen for elimination was not any further relevant to the OSA. Recently, we have observed a worrying trend of women being fired without any warning at LUMS while LUMS touts gender equality. In addition to this, it doesn’t make any financial sense to add so many administrative deans and associate deans at the university level to do the same work being done by staff being paid much less.

We believe that before the removal is final, Ma’am Hiba Iqbal’s contributions to the societies must be reviewed. We have seen how this position is directly responsible for the leadership and administration of Student-led societies. Ma’am Hiba Iqbal Zakai is seen as an advocate of diversity and inclusivity to ensure professional and personal growth including cultivating critical-thinker student leaders for student groups along with monitoring and promoting the co-curricular activities within LUMS. From celebrating religious festivals such as Diwali, Christmas, and Holi, to organizing community engagements with students belonging to every field of life, Ma’am Hiba was seen leading from the front. On top of this, she has maintained community and other relationships in an efficient and fitting manner.

All of this has been achieved because many years went into building the department to the international standard of student affairs under her supervision. The fact is that she is the only one in the country with the experience, training, degree, and background in Student Affairs. We can testify to the improvement in environment and campus Climate since 2017 after several demises the campus faced.

We would also like to inform you that during this whole fiasco, the societies were not taken into any consideration and were not even consulted before taking such a step. Imagine how the newly elected Executive Councils and OSA’s relationship will evolve with the latter being ill-informed of the basic understanding and needs of the societies. There is a growing concern about the mistrust between the student body and OSA that might hamper students' experience at LUMS.

Under Ms. Hiba, several impactful programs were introduced including the Hostel Life Fellowship, Campus Climate Leaders, and the Civic Engagement course and program. Dozens of student participants of the Civic Engagement partnership with Karakoram International University (KIU) can speak with you regarding the logistics and terms of the partnership, now going on past 3-4 years which included humble accommodations in hostels by the host university and sponsorship for transportation by Dean OSA office. These partnerships were part of both the Civic Engagement program and initiative of the Culture Society, as Noor Muzzamil, President of Culture Society, 2019 will attest.

As the process of restructuring is unclear, we would like the opportunity to discuss with the OSA and those involved in the decision-making of her removal. We believe that she has unique skills and relevant experience that will continue to maintain and manage the Campus climate, which we know is of utmost importance to our Institution and sets us apart from the other universities.

Kindly sign this petition on behalf of your societies to show your support for the reversal of OSA's organizational restructuring.