THE press statement issued by Tabuk University after the death of the mother of an outstanding student whose dream was that her brilliant daughter would be a doctor is frankly a hurried one and void of credibility. The university's mistake started by ranking the girl's request to study medicine 10th in their electronic system, while the girl had made it her first choice. I think our student's choice of specialization at university can sometimes be decided by the stroke of luck, except for medicine, which is usually well-calculated and handled carefully by applicants. It is possible that a student may say that in the future they may become a banker, a public relations specialist, or a journalist, according to available jobs, but to say “I may become doctor” is impossible. Relegating wish to study medicine to 10th preference by a student is unbelievable, especially students have already expressed their ambition to become a doctor. In order not to falsely condemn the university, I may give it the benefit of doubt. I may say that that some electronic mistake may have happened in its ranking of preferences. But this doesn't hold up, as the girl herself appeared on Ekhbariya TV, saying openly that her preference of specializations had been changed. She said her first choice was medicine. On the same program, a spokesman from the university claimed the student's mother was transported to hospital by a university ambulance after suffering a heart attack on the campus after a heated discussion with the dean of admissions. The girl denied this claim and said her mother was transported to the hospital in the family's private car. The entire incident, caught on camera from beginning to end, has gone viral on social media. It shows one of the university's security guards asking his colleague to "call the ambulance." The other guard replies: "No need. Her own sons have transported her." This brief interaction between the two guards completely contradicts the university's claim that a university ambulance was used. It is as if the university is simply telling people not to believe their eyes or ears, but to trust its version of events. Whoever lies about trivial and small things can also lie about large, important matters. Tabuk University has put itself in an embarrassing situation in front of the student's family, the media and public opinion. To quickly issue a press statement was civilized, but what use is it without credibility, a logical explanation of events, or any respect for people's intelligence? This statement has only further aggravated Tabuk University's embarrassing situation. It dealt with people as if they had heard only verbally accounts of the event. The university has forgotten that footage of the entire event is still available to anyone online. The mistake that happened may be repeated many times over. It is human to err. Even with technology mistakes still happen. There is nothing wrong with this, but it is shameful to insist on mistakes and try to justify them with clear lies. I believe that Tabuk University could have set an excellent standard for Kingdom if it had openly admitted its mistake and tried to correct it.
