Heightened Main Gate Security; AUSG Engages with Administration over Student Concerns

On Wednesday, November 5th, the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) sent out an email addressing student concerns over heightened security measures at the university gates. The mail addressed recent student concerns about students reportedly being asked to remove jackets and hoodies at the main gates of the university to be scanned, and several others found their QR IDs blocked when they tried to enter campus, as part of the latest  Residence Life infraction measures. 

These new measures come after significant anti-surveillance protests from students in response to the implementation of baggage scanners and metal detectors over the Spring ‘25 and Summer ‘25 semesters. 

The blocking of QR IDs upon infractions is in line with the recent penalties in the Residence Life Policy on infractions. Under ‘University Guidelines on Penalties and Disciplinary Proceedings, 2025’, the penalty for more than three main gate infractions by students on blanket permission is IDs being blocked for a week. However, Undergraduate Council member Karandeep Gill (UG ‘26) confirmed that the AUSG and the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) concurred that this was too harsh a punishment for main gate infractions, and are currently working toward better alternatives. 

“As the conversation on the alternatives is still underway, the ResLife Office decided to enforce the existing policy (QR blocking) in the meantime due to the rising number of main gate infractions,” explained Gill. “The AUSG pleaded that a more lenient interim measure be in place until the alternative is decided and enforced, and an appeals process was put in place that allowed students to get their QR codes unblocked,” he said. 

The AUSG announced that students with blocked QR IDs must submit a formal appeal to the Residence Life team, following which the IDs would be unblocked, though all appealing students would receive a warning for the infraction. The AUSG promised that the new ResLife Working Group was collaborating with the DSA to finalise alternative measures by Friday, November 7th. 

The AUSG further said that the directive to scan jackets came from the VC’s office, confirming that they had reached out to inquire about the rationale behind this decision and to request that this measure be revoked. Gill, who spoke with The Edict regarding the justification behind the new policy, said, “The Dean of Student Affairs alleged that the VC’s office released the jacket scanning policy in response to an increased number of CADI-related cases over the past two weeks,” he said. As per the new Residence Life Policy 2025, the Vice Chancellor holds discretion to “dial [main gate security] restrictions up or down.” 

Gill confirmed that the AUSG had “expressed its concerns about the action, and how it was implemented without consultation or informing the students beforehand”, though they had not yet heard back regarding next steps. 

The Edict interviewed Kashvi Bajaj (UG '29), a student who was made to take off and scan her jacket as part of the policy. “I had [the jacket] tied around my waist,” said Bajaj, “and staff at the gate told me to take it off for scanning, which was the first I was hearing of [the new policy].” Bajaj added that another student who was “wearing nothing underneath his jacket” was also asked to remove it for scanning. Bajaj further claimed that the measure was “invasive, humiliating, and reduced the trust an institution should place in its students.” 

The Edict was told that the additional precaution of scanning jackets was a one-day measure and would not be continued. Gill confirmed  that, as of Friday, November 7th, the AUSG received confirmation from the DSA that jacket scanning at the gate had been “paused”, and “further action would be taken only after consultation with the AUSG.”

[Edited by Fatema Tambawalla and Somansh Sarangi]