Asked about the men idling along the pavement, one student openly yelled: “Pathetic!” Another said: “Ladkiyon ko kaafi uncomfortable feel hota hai (Girls feel really uncomfortable).” (Photo generated using AI)Written by Khewa MalhotraStress level: 10 out of 10. A first-year MA English student at Chandigarh‘s MCM DAV College describes the simple act of stepping outside her campus gates on a weekday afternoon.At Sector 36, navigating roads isn’t a routine commute, but a tactical exercise in avoidance. Across the street, men idling in slow-moving cars offer a starkly different evaluation of the same space.At around noon, the footpath outside MCM DAV College for Women seems like a normal institutional stretch. Yet, the moment students walk past the gates, an atmosphere of intimidation descends that is hard to escape. Traffic doesn’t flow; it crawls. Luxury sedans are reduced to single-digit speeds alongside modified SUVs, turning the stretch along the campus into a casually moving parade of gaping glances.The student body at MCM has rarely stayed silent about the daily intrusion outside their campus gates. Asked about the men idling along the pavement, one student openly yelled: “Pathetic!” Another said: “Ladkiyon ko kaafi uncomfortable feel hota hai (Girls feel really uncomfortable).”But changing their outfits for college, carrying pepper spray along with books, and repeatedly ignoring men approaching them offers no protection against those who openly admit that they come to the perimeter just to watch women.Beyond the tinted glass and low-gear engine revs lies a spectrum of excuses. When confronted with why they circle a women’s institution during peak class hours, men shift fluidly between casual indifference and transparent lies.Story continues below this adFor some, the perimeter serves as an aimless holding ground. A group of SD College second-year students casually dismissed their presence outside the gate with a shrug: “Matlab drop hi hai humara, hum velle hai (I mean it is our drop year only, we are idle).” A professional commuting from his job to Sector 9 offered a defence rooted purely in herd behaviour: “Sab aate hain toh hum bhi aate hain (Everyone comes, so we also come).”Others present contradictory narratives. One group insisted that they had come for some university work: “Hum PU aaye hain (We have come to Panjab University).” Apparently unaware or unconcerned that the nearest scope of PU is kilometres away in another sector. Minutes later, the story shifted: “Hum behen ko pick karne aaye hain (We have come to pick up our sister).” They drove off moments later without picking anyone up.For women stepping off campus, the threat extends beyond comments: it follows them into the digital realm. Multiple students reported seeing vehicles trailing them with phones recording.“They make videos, so we have to hide ourselves,” a postgraduate student said, adding: “A friend recently discovered a video of her walking outside MCM uploaded on Instagram without her knowledge or consent.”Story continues below this adDespite police checks, primarily in the morning, the deterrence remains negligible. The moment patrol vehicles leave, the slow crawl resumes.Asked what the police are doing to safeguard students, Station House Officer at the Sector 36 police station Inspector Chiranji Lal said, “We are conducting regular checks for such persons, especially during college hours. Our patrol teams monitor the area regularly. If any complaint comes to our notice, we take prompt action.”(The author is an intern at The Indian Express, Chandigarh)