Young people show us that we have to be better

Tanja Ćirković Veličković is a professor of biochemistry at Belgrade Faculty of Chemistry and a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2018. Her educational and scientific work is brilliant. She trained at numerous renowned institutions abroad, worked as vice-dean of the Faculty for two terms, and since 2014 she has been managing the work of the Center of Outstanding Values ​​for Molecular Food Sciences at the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade. He belongs to those university professors who are wholeheartedly and unconditionally support their students in the fight for, as he says, a better society.

"WEATHER" Is it you, as a university professor who has been in direct contact with students for a long time, their mass rebellion - surprised?

TANJA ĆIRKOVIĆ VELIČKOVIĆ: I must say that I am surprised. This generation of students surprised me at the beginning of this academic year. I teach master's studies in biochemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry and work with graduate academics, who are already fully mature people. At the beginning of the year, we meet, we discuss what their previous knowledge and expectations are, and I usually prepare an anonymous survey with a few questions. This year, one of the questions was where they see themselves in ten years. A large number of them answered that they wanted to work in industry, start their own companies or do science, and very few of them planned to go abroad. I have been working with students for about thirty years and, like many other professors, I am already tired of writing recommendations to the best academics, and not only the best, who go abroad for master's, doctoral and postdoctoral studies or apply for various jobs abroad. Most often they never come back. This is how things have been for decades, and now it seems that something has changed. I did not expect such results.

Do you think that the secret of the great student revolt is that they no longer want to surrender and go outside, but to try to create a normal society for their future and that of their families?

Yes, in my opinion, that is the essence of this movement, or rather, phenomenon. Phenomenon, it seems to me, is the right word. Students want to stay here and clearly tell us that they want to decide on their future and live in a better society.

Some say that the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad and the gruesome death of 15 people was only a catalyst for the enormous anger of young people, which was not visible until now...

I agree. The anger accumulated over the years, and for many of us it was not visible, among other things, because young people expressed it through channels that are not sufficiently accessible to us. If we look at the chronology of events, the tragedy in Novi Sad brought the whole society, especially young people, into a state of shock. After the tragedy, we felt that the students became silent - they were sad and talked less. However, the catalyst for these protests, in my opinion, was the event in front of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, when students were brutally attacked just for expressing their grief and paying tribute to the victims. By participating in the "15 minutes of silence" action, they wanted to send a message that the tragedy and what led to it must be openly discussed, that we must find out what mistakes were made, who is responsible and what we should do to prevent such a tragedy. never happen again. And then they were brutally thwarted in doing so.

That attack was the catalyst for a mass uprising that spread like wildfire. This is all the more so since it became known very quickly who the attackers were, and the institutions did not react adequately. The students felt that they were forbidden to express their sadness and concern, and then the sadness turned into anger. The reaction of the students is at the same time very emotional and very well thought out.

When you talk to students, and your colleagues too, what is it that they fundamentally care about in this society, in our country?

In principle, I do not talk to students about social topics, but about scientific ones. These days I ask them if they are okay and if they need anything. I don't want to expand the topic, among other things because I have confidence in them and believe in their maturity. When I talk to my fellow professors, we are trying to find answers to the question of how such a mass rebellion happened, as we are trying to understand what is happening. Our common conclusion is that the students matured extremely quickly after the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad. You notice maturity and determination in them. This society needs to take very seriously the messages that students and other young people are sending. There is not just one reason for rebellion, there are many. Let's say, we professors teach them to respect their complex university obligations, to study, to spend whole days at university, not to copy and cheat on exams in order to earn honest grades and win a diploma with hard work. We teach them that the difficult path, the path of knowledge and honesty, is the only correct one. And then they see countless affairs in higher education and how easy it is to get a diploma and a job. They understand what is happening, and that is one part of this, as I said, phenomenon, where they tell us that they no longer want to study.

photo: marija janković

Many professors from universities and other public institutes supported the students. For many, this is also surprising. Are the professors, apart from student support, they have other reasons for rebellion?

Countless faculty colleagues across the country stood by their students with almost incredible speed, without much thought. It is, I would say, an organic reaction. It is embedded in our DNA to protect the youngest, and students are the youth of the academic community. It is not only a human but also a natural reaction to protect them when they are under attack. On the other hand, the students voted to block the faculty in a completely democratic manner and informed the professors about it. They had a secret vote, they culturally informed us of their majority decision. We have no doubt that this is the view of the majority.

As for professors, it is much easier for them to fight for their rights and express their opinion. Many channels are available to us, we can act institutionally and try to change something if it is not good in our opinion. It was seen, for example, how we reacted strongly and unanimously after the announcement that foreign universities would start working in our country. Students do not have that option. They wanted their voice to be heard and found a way to do so. Their voice is getting stronger!

Power in different ways, sometimes directly, once isokola, priests "rebels". Are the professors who stood by the students afraid of some kind of punishment when all this is over??

Personally, no, and I don't believe my colleagues either. I believe it is clear that a problem that is solved by punishing students and professors will only produce counter-effects. For a long time, we believed that young people are not interested in what is happening around them - it turned out that we were wrong. They surprised us in a wonderful way with their interest, way of thinking, organization, and messages. They discovered the function of a plenum, an agreement, they formed a collective consciousness and a collective intelligence that is stronger than each of theirs and ours individually. They are smarter than all of us at this point. Superior. To believe that some kind of repressive measures can stop it is completely illusory. We are witnessing a historical phenomenon that will bring a lot of good to this society, I am convinced of that. And we as a society can be better, we must be better. Young people clearly show us that.

Yet, many professors stay away, and in the best case - they are silent. Why?

University professors are independent individuals, each approaching their calling in their own way. There are those who disagree with this kind of activism and that is their right. I would not judge anyone, we should be open to different views and opinions. It is natural that we are not all the same.

photo: marija janković

And is the fear finally defeated??

From the very beginning of the protest, the students were scared, it is visible. These children are afraid, but that does not stop them from boldly presenting their demands and protesting. When you see how they fight against their own fear, your personal takes a back seat. You have to be brave because of them.

How professors react when their students are called names "foreign mercenaries", parts "hybrid war against Serbia", when they spread information to argue about the distribution of money received from abroad and the like?

We look at it with great sadness and disbelief. The absence of a sincere desire to fundamentally understand the reasons for the student revolt is obvious. With each such statement or violent action, the rebellion only grows, because they understand that their demands are approached in a superficial way. Conversation is necessary, but it must be fair and with respect for their right to express their dissatisfaction.

They are also called "Đilasovci","opposition activists”…

They have repeatedly declared that their movement is not a party and that they have nothing to do with either the government or the opposition. They criticize society, institutions... By distancing themselves from the opposition, they send it a clear message that they are not satisfied with the opposition either.

Opet, on the other hand, the president of Serbia says that the demands of the students have been met, so housing loans are offered for young people, they are begging to return to the classrooms...

It's all from the same repertoire of moves that stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of why the rebellion arose. Until the relevant institutions properly address and respond to this problem, none of the attempts in this repertoire, from threats to pleas, will have any effect. They learned from their professors: an answer that is extensive but not complete and accurate will perhaps receive praise for the effort invested, but not a passing grade. Children are stricter teachers than their teachers. And they clearly say: this is not a good answer to our demands.

And what would be a good answer?

I honestly don't know. By analogy with studies, a student who fails an exam is advised to come to a consultation in order to understand what he did not understand. I just know that this social crisis will have to be solved quickly and that it will have to be solved, ie. I'm afraid it won't go away on its own.

How will this all end?, do you have any optimistic or pessimistic scenario?

I dare not predict. We have already said that the students surprised us. This phenomenon has its own dynamics, its own intelligence, its own awareness, young people function on a different level, which is not available to us professors either. They are autonomous, have their own social networks and choose their own content, you can't bombard them with propaganda. For us seniors, regardless of the fact that we have been using the Internet for decades, it is uncharted territory. Students themselves propagate their views and know how to do it. They also reach younger generations, high school students. I really don't remember high school kids starting to riot and sending such mature messages before. They look up to the students. We cannot understand all of this very well, so we can hardly predict what may happen, where it all leads.

And will they run out of energy over time??

There is a possibility, the holidays are coming, winter, there is pressure from parents for students from the interior to return home. However, the energy is huge, the students are persistent, they have discovered their voice and will not give it up easily. We have to listen to them. The maturity they have reached will certainly not heal.

One detail remained unnoticed by the public. Among the student demands, there is one that calls for a 20 percent increase in allocations for universities. Why was this request important at this time??

Students know that the situation at state universities is very bad, they hear that the faculties do not have enough money to pay the bills and maintain the infrastructure. At the faculties, it is also cold in the classrooms and laboratories in the winter. They are also aware that educators have low salaries. They wanted to help. Hence their request to improve the financial situation at state faculties and the proposal to increase state allocations by 20 percent. The answer to this request is an increase of 20 percent for the material costs of the faculty, which formally but not essentially responds to the students' request, because with annual inflation and increased costs for energy services and heating costs, this increase in the absolute amount for the material costs of state universities for 2025. year will not significantly improve the material situation. A concrete improvement would be felt only with a percentage higher allocation from the budget for education. At the moment it is less than three percent of GDP and is significantly below the European average. Similar to allocations for science and culture, far from the European average and real needs.

And why a country that boasts great economic success, in which huge amounts of money go into the construction of stadiums and some other megalomaniacal facilities, so little money is invested in science, education and culture?

They may think it's a cost because it won't generate an immediate profit. Investing in education and science is a long-term investment. Investing in education is an investment that shows positive effects in at least ten years, hardly sooner. And the buildings are erected in a year or two, that is something that is immediately visible. Investing in education, science and culture is an investment in the future. Look at, for example, Finland, Singapore or other countries that have strategically invested in education, as they have developed strongly. Those allocations are the only ones that can ensure the sustainable development and prosperity of society. Our young people know and feel it.

Therefore, it seems that this country is not interested in investing in its own future?

I can't believe it, I don't want to believe it. At the beginning of this year, in the SANU Gallery, we organized an exhibition dedicated to Sima Lozanić, our famous chemist, the first rector of the University of Belgrade, the president of the Serbian Royal Academy, a minister in two governments, the founder of the Faculty of Agriculture, a brilliant innovator. He realized many of his ideas, but some were too advanced for that time. Back in the 1905s, he suggested introducing artificial fertilizers into agricultural production. There was not enough understanding for this radical innovation at the time, which would have a strong and positive impact on agricultural production. At the opening of the University of Belgrade in XNUMX, Sima Lozanić sent a message appropriate for our time, which we should repeat without ceasing: "Our former belief that Serbia will be united not with a primer, but with weapons, was fatal for our national thought. I believe the opposite - that education will be the main factor in the solution of that important issue of ours, and that it would have already been solved if we had nurtured education better. I therefore believe that education is a force that reaches all directions. If our education was more advanced, everything in the life of our people would be more perfect and even more successful."