The Dean of students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Mr. Stephen Frimpong-Manso has called on students in the country to support their leaders to better represent their interest. He said it was only when student leaders had the strong backing of their followers that they could resolutely pursue the agenda of students. Mr. Frimpong-Manso was speaking at a ceremony to swear in newly elected executive of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the institute. The Dean also stressed the need for student leaders to cultivate the trust of their followers by transacting their business in a transparent manner. He said people easily accept the decisions of leaders they believe act only in their best interest. The newly elected President of the institute, Mr. Dziedzorm Segbefia in his acceptance speech stressed the need for students of the institute to eschew apathy. He said the problems confronting the school needed strong leadership to tackle and gave the assurance he and his would provide. The new president said he was committed to dialogue with the school administration to resolve all issues bothering students but stressed he would not bow down to pressure. According to him, he would aggressively pursue the interest of students no matter what it takes. The outgoing SRC president, Mr. Samuel Owusu Afriyie cautioned the new leadership to disabuse their minds of any confrontational attitude towards the administration. He said they can always have their issues resolved without resorting to violence. The Coordinating Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Student, Mr. Vitus Gbang in a solidarity message appealed to the students to abide by the ethics of their training as communicators and work towards securing the peace being enjoyed in the country. He said it was important for student journalists to demonstrate commitment to abiding by good practices in their profession. Mr. Gbang thanked the students of the institute for conducting incident-free elections noting that NUGS was impressed by the mature manner in which students of the institute behaved. The newly elected executive included Yvonne Ablordeppey, Vice president, and Etornam Tsormey, External Affairs Chairman. The occasion was graced by the Acting Rector of the institute, Mr. Kweku Rockson. Story by Malik Abass Daabu