A protest has erupted outside the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade today after the dean requested students, who have been blocking the building for weeks, to remove their belongings by 4 PM. Traffic has been halted in front of the faculty, according to a Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporter.
Student Blockade and Admissions Exam
Students gathered in a plenum outside the main entrance of the faculty voted to allow the entrance exam for new freshmen to proceed. This decision comes after students in a prolonged blockade had previously voted for a total faculty blockade on June 6.
Iva Draškić Vićanović, the Dean of the Faculty, told reporters that students were informed about the upcoming admissions exam. “We have an admissions exam in four days, and they were told there would be no more sleeping at the Faculty of Philology and to remove their belongings, which they did not like, and they showed they do not want to leave the Faculty of Philology as a dormitory,” she said.
She added that the student plenum voted for a total blockade on June 6, and “they have been alone in the building for 40 days, and it doesn’t look good.” She also stated that students have cut off contact with the dean’s collegium and all professors. “I hoped they would realize on their own that they shouldn’t be sleeping here, that they should clean up, and welcome the high school graduates, the new freshmen who need to take the entrance exam,” she said.
Uroš Jovanović, a student at the Faculty of Philology, told RFE that students have been denied entry to the building since this morning. “We had no official information (until now) that we should help collect our belongings and remove banners,” he said. He added that students did remove some items from the faculty building, including “our couch and some items that were intended for those affected by the fire that happened in the past few weeks.” Jovanović noted the lack of communication between students and the faculty administration recently.
Broader Student Protests Across Serbia
Students across Serbia have been blocking faculties for months, demanding accountability for the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of the Novi Sad Railway Station canopy on November 1, 2024. Their latest demand is for snap parliamentary elections, which the Serbian authorities have rejected.
