Like many other students who didn’t get a spot in the student residence hall, he rented a small house near the university campus. “Students from prestigious universities often see themselves as different, while locals view the university as part of their territory.”That sense of territorial ownership is visible sometimes in locals’ comments. At Jahangirnagar University in 2021, a dispute over a cricket tournament erupted when locals stormed the campus, injuring 25 students. In 2022, a heated argument among some Islamic University students and bus staff escalated into a clash between students and Kushtia locals, leaving more than a dozen injured. In 2023 and 2024, different clashes erupted at Rajshahi University, Begum Rokeya University, and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology over minor issues.