Why is SKC blocked?

Students who entered the Wednesday evening, February 12 Student cultural center They voted at the plenum blockade of that once iconic academic place and at the address "SKC in blockade" stated that now the building can only be entered with an index.

For Thursday evening, February 13, the students announced a plenum in the SKC Great Hall, which can be entered with an index.

 

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They called the citizens to gather in front of the building and said that they needed help from the outside in order to hold the building and protect themselves from all potential threats.

"We would also appreciate donations - sleeping bags, blankets, mats, food, heaters, lamps, extension cords." For now, only students can enter SKC, but we hope that soon we will be able to open the doors to everyone," the statement said.

Photo: Time

The students point out that the Student Cultural Center is alienated from the university and that there are numerous irregularities in the work of the Board of Directors, in which students and professors are a minority, which is why it does not work in favor of the students.

"We can rightly claim that the program has had a low response among students and citizens for years, and the capacities of these spaces remain unused." "SKC used to be the heart of Belgrade's cultural life, but now it is leased to private companies and it is only a matter of time before it will completely disappear," they pointed out.

They said that they want to breathe new life into SKC, to offer a free and high-quality cultural program, to free up space for critical thinking and self-education, to create a place for new meetings and exchange of ideas, a place to which they are happy to return and which is an integral part of their lives.

"We can't wait to open our doors wide and together create a place we will love." We hope to see as many as possible, because our place is here. SKC students", the announcement states.

Photo: Time

Why SKC?

Students occupied several concert halls, an exhibition space and numerous corridors and booths of a cultural institution - it sounds like they already had a similar space at their own faculties and are now just expanding the range of their blockades.

But SKC is not just that, just an ordinary cultural institution. It is the place where the student rebellion was born, developed and transmitted, long before today's students were born.

It is easy to understand from the name itself - Student Cultural Center. Its walls also remember the famous student protests in 1968, when the building was handed over to the University of Belgrade, and the corridors and hallways remember that the center was put into operation on Students' Day in 1971.

A place to practice

Until Slobodan Milošević came to power, SKC was the place of the main underground progressive ideas, where young people could express their artistic impression, but also their political opinion, which sometimes differed from the communist attitudes of that time.

Based on his model, Zagreb SKUC and Ljubljana ŠKUC were soon created.

SKC also hosted some of the most important bands from Yugoslavia, such as "Šarlo the Acrobat", "Elektricno Orgasm", EKV, who could also practice there. The real explosion was caused by the New Wave.

"At that time, young bands began to spring up around Belgrade like mushrooms - Limunovo drvo, Zvuk ulice, BG5, Butik, Igra glasnih perli, Pečat, Kako, Kvazar... At that time, you couldn't walk around the city without hearing some concert from some basement, usually very interesting," wrote "Vreme" earlier.

photo: Goranka Matić

The program also included art projects by numerous dissidents from other communist countries of the Soviet bloc. Thus, the "Days of Polish Culture" and the forum "New Polish Thought" were held, and there was also room for Western ideas and, of course, punk.

Momčilo Rajin came to SKC in mid-1977 at the invitation of Nebojša Pajkić, who at the beginning of that year became the editor of the External Program. About that time when SKC was the epicenter of all the events that would eventually give birth to the "Package Arrangement" he was talking:

"Perhaps it all started in the fall of '77, when within the program Sorting on young Slovenianculture happened the first meeting of Belgraders with what was called punk. On the first evening, Pankrti performed in front of surprised Belgraders reclining in the comfortable armchairs of the large hall, and played Sex Pistols songs. It was also a bit comical. Per Lovšin, who was trying to look really punk, was assisted on the instruments by ex-hippies. Nevertheless, it caused enough interest for us to start organizing concerts in 1978. That year and the following year, we had about 200 different actions, such as concerts, gigs after the show Theaters An event. I remember we played the Pistols album there Never mind the bollocks... the day before the album went on sale in England thanks to the promotional copy we received. Every first Saturday of the month, a Day for practicing was organized when all the SKC halls were open, and people brought their instruments and amplifiers and played. This was important for communication and provided an opportunity for all interested parties to meet in one place and exchange ideas. Many bands were born from that."

The new wave was gaining momentum at the time, and SKC embraced it. Punk, rock, ska, reggae - they could be heard at numerous concerts, which were even supported by the Union of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ).

From the New Wave to the New Right

It is also interesting that in that golden age SKC was led by Milorad Vučelić, today's editor of Večernje novosti and one of the media magicians of the serious and traumatic Milošević propaganda during the 90s.

When Milošević came to power, the SKC was taken away from the University of Belgrade and placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, which was led by SPS members, so the upper halls changed their musical taste and brought numerous folk musicians.

Nevertheless, the small hall of the SKC remained a place for alternative Belgrade, mostly unestablished bands, who played punk, heavy metal, hard core, hip-hop...

The commercialization of the SKC space began in the early 80s and that trend continued during the coming decades. Today, in the SKC building, in the place where the mentioned small hall used to be, there is a Delfi bookstore, the largest and by choice the most diverse bookstore in Belgrade.