Students from Niš tell their colleagues that they are here and not to be silent. Although it took them a little longer to respond to the blockades, they show perseverance in their intention to reach the goal, which is certainly the fulfillment of the requirements. Some are worried about how they will pass the exams, and some are confident that they have passed the most important one - out of ethics and solidarity
On Wednesday, December 4, at precisely 11.52:12.07 a.m., students and citizens gathered in front of the University and Rectorate building in Niš paid their respects to those killed in Novi Sad with a fifteen-minute silence. At 22:XNUMX, the students went to the building of the University of Nis with the intention of submitting the requests, which they primarily sent to the email address of this institution, to the rector live. They demand that all the demands of the FDU students be met, related to the prosecution of the persons who physically attacked the students on November XNUMX during the peaceful tribute to the dead in Novi Sad. In addition, they stated that they are looking for "a reduction in pressure, violence and targeting aimed at students, as well as young people, high school students, professors and all citizens who publicly express their dissatisfaction and share their views". Also, one of the demands is the publication of all documentation related to the reconstruction of the Railway Station in Novi Sad, the initiation of criminal proceedings and the prosecution of those responsible for the fall of the canopy, and - "dismissal of the functions of those who bear political responsibility".
They were welcomed by the vice-rector for teaching, professor Dr. Miroslav Lazić. Lazić did not want to talk to the students about their demands publicly, in front of the media and in front of other students, so he invited Mateja Nikolić, a student from the Informal Group of Niš Students, to talk privately; he and the other students present refused. That is why the conversation was held in the Great Hall of the University, which was full of holes - there were students, citizens and some professors there.
The vice-rector said that he agreed with them, but that he was not the "right address" for the mentioned demands, while the students kept repeating that they were asking for public support from the Niš academic community. Also, they wanted to let the Vice-Chancellor know that their "wretched diplomas" are worthless as long as society is ruined. Mateja Nikolić then told "Vreme" that he believed that the vice-chancellor was on their side, as a professor and as a person, but that his reaction was very restrained. "We expect the other professors of the University of Niš to also announce themselves publicly. If the University as a whole won't, then at least the professors should come out publicly on this issue", he added.
BEGINNING OF THE BLOCKADE AND RHETORICAL QUESTIONS
After a public discussion with vice-rector Lazić, a plenum was held at which it was decided that on that day the students would occupy the University building and thus enter into a six-hour "warning blockade". Five days after the aforementioned blockade of the University building, the Rector's office officially issued a statement stating that they support the students' demands, but do not agree with the action of blocking the faculty. The highest representative body of students in Serbia, the Student Conference of the Universities of Serbia (SKONUS), is of a similar opinion, which condemned all forms of violence against students, but therefore invited students, professors and the entire academic public to address their demands to the competent institutions, ordering that higher education institutions are not places of political organization. "We emphasize that the demands placed in the media are not the initiative of all University students, but a smaller group that, calling for the struggle for the interests of students, is actually carrying out political action by usurping the University, higher education institutions and the teaching process," they state in one publication. SKONUS asked a question a few days ago - probably rhetorical considering that comments on the post are disabled - to students and professors, but also to the general public, which reads: "What is the actual goal of blocking the faculty?".
AN EXPECTED CHASE
The Faculty of Philosophy was the first on the list of faculties "for blocking", mostly because the most "philosophers" were present at the plenum. Last Friday, December 6, at 11.52:XNUMX a.m., a large number of gathered students, professors and employees at this faculty, together with other citizens, paid tribute to the victims in Novi Sad, after which they entered the faculty and declared it officially blocked. In the amphitheater, the dean Natalija Jovanović stated that she stands behind her students, that she supports them and that she considers their demands to be reasonable.
She told "Vreme" that the blockade means that the students have woken up and that they have a good understanding of their professors who teach them critical thinking. "This all shows that students have their own attitude, that they think carefully about things, especially those that are happening right around them. As we can see, those things are not good and the students have found a way to react to it", said Professor Jovanović for "Vreme".
The day before the blockade of the Faculty of Philosophy, she declared that she would support the students, after which certain media outlets started a media frenzy against her. They began to spread the alleged information that Natalija Jovanović was arrested in a police operation SBPOK in July of this year on suspicion of having participated in the commission of criminal acts of receiving and giving bribes, trading in influence and abuse of official position, as well as in rigging a tender in favor of a company from Niš.
The dean denied this and said that she will file a lawsuit against the media that published it, and she added to "Vreme" that she was not at all surprised by those attacks. In the amphitheater, she told the gathered students that "they can do whatever they want to her, and the students will continue".
The director of the Department of Communication and Journalism, Marija Vujović, says that, in her opinion, it is not a matter of the media, but a propaganda campaign aimed at Dean Natalija Jovanović: "It is clear that those media, which wrote about her, should have contacted her. Then, it is a complete lie. It is neither objective nor true. The event really happened, but Dean Jovanović did not participate in it. She was neither suspected nor arrested. So these so-called media are not media at all".
More than 170 professors and employees of this faculty signed a press release condemning the government's repression and offering unreserved support to the students of the University of Nis. One of them is Dušan Aleksić, assistant professor at the Department of Communication and Journalism, who said that the students are in the right place. "The most beautiful picture today is precisely the picture that left the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, because it shows how much power these young people actually have, how much energy and how much awareness they have about the current state of society. They are the ones who need to change it, because they are the only rare healthy tissue that exists here," underlined Aleksić for "Vreme".
WHO SLEEPS AT THE UNIVERSITY?, AND WHO TRAVELS TO BUDAPEST
At the plenum, which was held later that day at the Faculty of Philosophy, a complete blockade of this institution was voted until the aforementioned demands are met. Classes will not be held in any form, and neither colloquiums nor exams will be held. The students called on their fellow citizens to donate food, blankets, sleeping bags and basic necessities if they have the opportunity, considering that, as they said, the Faculty of Philosophy will be a home and residence for many from that day on. Some professors immediately brought their students, among other things, refreshments, coffee bags, kettles, plastic cups...
Student Kristina Milojević from the Informal Group of Niš Students says that the Faculty of Philosophy is theirs, that they are at home and that they are safe, which was confirmed by the professors and the dean. "What is a faculty if not students?", said Kristina Milivojević.
Different activities are organized every evening. Some students play guitars, other evenings are dedicated to other arts such as reading their own poetry or reciting their favorite songs. A movie night was also held on Monday; the students invited their colleagues to join them for a screening of the documentary Blockada, while Tuesday evening, when this issue goes to press, is reserved for literature, and the guest is the Niš writer Dejan Stojiljković.
Students also occupied certain rooms at the faculty and assigned them "functions". One of the classrooms is reserved for working group meetings, the other contains food and medicine, workshops and larger meetings will be held in the amphitheater, as well as watching movies, while the classroom on the first floor has been turned into a reading room.
Faculty staff regularly change hygiene and menstrual products in the toilets, and rules of conduct have been established that students must adhere to. Some of them refer to respect for house rules, garbage collection, if some food is not eaten, it is given to animals, minimal use of plastic, respect for faculty staff and faculty property... Mateja Nikolić describes the atmosphere: "We all get along well. We organize various events, from movies to poetry evenings. We have a separate room for studying and sleeping, while amphitheater 21 is our 'living room' and we are there all the time". He adds that they also fill their time with social games, making posters and coming up with actions and plans.
However, while a large number of students stay at the Faculty of Philosophy in sleeping bags, the Student Union of that faculty does not announce the blockade at all. Instead, they invited students to sign up for a trip to Budapest on December 14. The Association told "Vremena" that they do not want to advertise.
AFTER THE RESIGNATION OF THE MANAGEMENT, PMF BLOCKED
On the same day that the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš was blocked, news arrived that the entire administration of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics had resigned. The decision followed only two days after the teaching and scientific council of the PMF officially stated its position against the "Jadar" project. So far, there has been no public explanation of the resignations.
Exactly on Monday, December 9, at the plenum at the Faculty of Philosophy, the decision to join the blockade of the PMF was voted. The Informal Group of Niš Students announced that due to the PMF's negative stance on the "Jadar" project, they will hold an "integrity class" there. "As the PMF defended the entire society with this stance, we stand by them," they announced on their Instagram page.
After fifteen minutes of silence in front of the Faculty building, Dean Niko Radulović addressed the crowd, who submitted his resignation, but there was no talk about it. He said that he supports the students' demands and provides them with full support, but that the blockade itself carries with it a security risk, which is why he is against it. "Any obstruction of work can threaten the safety of all of us, as well as cause serious consequences for equipment and research processes. For this reason, the Faculty is open for professors and researchers seven days a week, 24 hours a day, in order to continuously control the safety of laboratories, experiments, as well as biological and chemical material. The physical blockade of the Faculty calls into question the safety of all of us", said Radulović. He then allowed the students to hold a plenum in the amphitheater at the Faculty, at which it was still voted to block the Faculty.
On Tuesday, December 10, at the time of writing, the Faculty of Arts in Niš was officially blocked; it is planned to hold a plenum at the Faculty of Electronics on Wednesday, December 11. Students of the Faculty of Electronics expressed concern about the Rulebook on Disciplinary Measures, which was passed in 2022 and which, they pointed out, was recently reinstated in an attempt to scare students. They also state that the Rulebook mentions the boycott of students as a serious violation of obligations. However, on Tuesday, the deans of the Faculty of Electronics said that students must not be punished for peacefully expressing freedom of opinion, and that no student will be sanctioned for attending a plenum or protest. Also, it is unofficially known that it is possible that the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture in this city will soon join the blockades.
The students from Nis "with their throats in strawberries" decided to tell their colleagues loudly and clearly that they are here and not to be silent. Although it took them a little longer to respond to the blockades, they show perseverance in their intention to reach the goal, which is certainly the fulfillment of the requirements. Some are worried about how they will pass the exams, and some are confident that they have passed the most important one - out of ethics and solidarity. They told their colleagues not to sleep anymore. More precisely, they sleep, but from now on only at their university.
Less than two days of blockade - that's how long it took to see how weak and powerless the public media service is, both from the outside and from the inside. At the moment of writing this text, it is the eighth day of the blockade, and the sixth that RTS is not broadcasting its program. They also seem to be facing a strike inside the house. And the essence of blocking RTS is not in what it publishes, but in what it keeps silent
In the months after the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad, the flames of rebellion spread throughout Serbia. The first protests started in Novi Sad right after the tragedy. The authorities responded with arrests, police cordons and intimidation, but instead of calming down the protesters, new protests followed.
The rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, has been the target of top state officials and regime tabloids for months, who label him as an insidious instigator of student protests, an opportunist, "the face of evil" and "the leader of the criminal octopus." How and why a rector became "state enemy number one"
"I'm standing in the cordon, and my daughter is shouting at me 'aw, aw, killers'. What should I do? If they ordered me - I would throw down my baton and bulletproof vest and stand on the side of my child," a police officer from the south of Serbia, who works as needed in the Belgrade Police Brigade, told "Vreme"
The recent formation of the Đura Macuta government is part of the regime's revenge and cynicism. This can be seen most in the "black troika" of new ministers appointed to deal with the parts of society that are the leaders and symbols of the big rebellion that lasted for several months, the cause of which was the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad, which claimed 16 human lives. Education, universities, unsolicited media and parts of the judiciary that refuse to listen to orders, either publicly, with announcements, or hiding behind legal procedures, should be dismantled. Those who will have no problem doing everything they are told, even reinforcing the orders with their own inventions, are chosen for this.
Who mentions the extraordinary elections when the rating of the party in power is falling, and according to all surveys, Vučić is not the most important political factor in the country, but the students?
The brutal beating of students and citizens in Novi Sad shows that the regime is not only ready to take revenge - it is actually carrying it out
If in reality the principle of balance is violated - the way the incompetent regime violated the relationship between the concrete elements at the Novi Sad Railway Station - reality will behave like a canopy: it will fail to obey
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The inscriptions worn by senior citizens at some anti-regime actions look touching, and on which the same message is written in different ways: "Students, please, save our country!" At the moment, about thirty faculties are blocked, with the tendency for this number to increase significantly, and the mass of demonstrators to increase, which is greatly contributed by the axis of Vučić's government. The strength of the student rebellion is expressed through the birth of a complex and innovative culture of resistance that has been so lacking until now, as well as through mutual solidarity
The court did not dispute that part of Jelena Trivan's disputed doctoral dissertation was copied without citing the source. But, as they claim in the verdict, only "experts" are allowed and can establish that - not journalists
"I was personally attacked by a thug who I later found out was a member of the ruling party. I also attended the attack on Pavle Cicvarić by another member of the Serbian Progressive Party, as well as on some other activists. It is a truly tragic scene: in one country, high-ranking officials of the ruling party are attacking students who are standing peacefully in the streets," Petar Seratlić told Vreme.
