Is it permissible to remain in a mixed-gender student council meeting for the development of the faculty after performing Istikhara, given the difficulty of withdrawing?

The fundamental principle regarding the mixing of males and females (ikhtilat) is prohibition, as it is a means to temptation (fitna). The Sharia (definition) has forbidden what is less serious than that, which is merely looking. Mixing necessarily entails falling into what we have been forbidden, such as looking at non-mahram (definition) women, and it is the closest means to falling into immoral acts. The obligation is to achieve the public good through permissible means, which is separation between the sexes. So, everyone expresses their opinion, but the best course of action is to withdraw from such a gathering, for nothing equals safety in religion, and Allah is most deserving of awe.