Overview of Situation in Zadar (Croatia) & Call for Help!
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE MANAGEMENT OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ZADAR
May 13th 2009
The vast majority of classes taking place at the University of Zadar have been blocked since April 21st, 2009. The Independent Student Initiative, alongside with most of the acting Student Council, have started the blockade in order to accomplish their demands (free education for all, defining the fates of „Bologna“ bachelors, and investment increases in higher education systems). Nearly every other activity (tests, quizzes, consultations, terraine classes, guest lectures etc) has not been blocked. The organisational skills with which the students followed through with their demands in the first week of the blockade has been on a high academic level, thus earning the Management's support, as well as that of their teachers and the public.
From its first moments, the Management of Zadar University (and later on, The University Senate, after an emergency session which took place on April 28th 2009.) has generally supported the blockade and has shown understanding for the students' efforts, but have shunned at the methods with which those efforts were made, and have called upon students, before and after a meeting of the Rectorial council (April 28th, 2009) to end the blockade, thus successfully and legally ending the academic year.
The representatives of the Independent Student Initiative and Student Council have not accepted the Senate's conclusions at the emergency session (April 29th), continuing with the blockade instead. The situation being what it was, the provost has called for a third emergency session of the Senate on May 6th 2009., where upon it was decided to set up class alternative locations (outside of university grounds), or on the campus area if there are conditions to do so, due to the acting blockade.
The members of Management have followed the events as they unrolled from day one, remaining in constant contact with the Initiative's representatives, as well as the protesting students by personally attending the plenums, actively searching for solutions to end the blockade. Alas, no solution came into sight, even though there was a chance at one point that the representatives of the Ministry of Education would talk to the students and help end the blockade. However, the meeting never took place.
During the second and third weeks of class blockade, a severe division came to pass amidst the students- onto those who wished for the blockade to continue, and onto those who wanted it to end. The same could be said for the professors, who have, with each passing day, expressed an increasing nervousness due to the unpleasant situation to which they were brought. Meanwhile, there were some lesser incidents at some university locations, which threatened to become serious conflicts, and some students have been behaving in an unsporting fashion. Unfortunately, the plenums have not respected the wills of the student majority of several departments to termionate the blocade their classes, which we consider to be highly unacceptable, as the Independent Student Initiative has itself pointed out the will of the majority to be their guiding principle.
Day after day, the atmosphere on the student plenums has become ever so chaotic for the students who wished to end the blockade, as well for those who started it. Additionally, individuals who have not been identified as students or teachers of the university have started to attend its grounds, and the situation has grown out of control even in night time (bringing alcoholic beverages inside the university building for instance).
After the plenum held on May 11 2009., upon which a union trustee of the University affiliae openly called the protesting students to join the strike put into motion by the Independent Union of science and education, inviting them to the protest in Zagreb on Saturday, May 16th 2009., promising them free transportation- the Management has assessed that by doing so, the student protest was heading into the space of daily politics, which is considered to be unacceptable. Furthermore, people and actions have risen among the students which do not have a place on any university.
The first and foremost task of the University Management was (and still is) protecting the rights of every student aboard the University of Zadar and ensuring conditions to end the academic year. Due to all of the aforementioned reasons, the Management cannot and must not give legitimacy to decisions which are made on student plenums and has accordingly brought a decision to temporarily ban the usage of faculty grounds for assemblies of any kind.
Since this morning, classes have begun yet again on university grounds. All employees who wish to join the Science and higher education Union strike, are welcome to act according to their predispositions.
May 13th 2009
We, the Independent Student Initiative Zadar, feel obligated to react on the statements made by Administration of the University of Zadar on a press conference held on May the 13th 2009. At that press conference it has been stated that students were very organized and at very academic level during the first week of the blockade and that they deserved full support of the administration, great number of professors and public in general.
We would like to state that this academic level has been maintained during further weeks of the blockage. As for the administration and it's move to lock up the University buildings at night, changing locks, hiring security guards, co-ordinating performance of lectures/classes on alternative locations can hardly be called academic level. We consider that their accusations that we are politicized and that we brought alcohol onto the University’s property are unfounded and ridiculous. We would like to point out that none of the students brought any alcohol to the University and if some of the administrations’ members saw someone bringing alcohol we should remind them it could only be a delivery man from the catering business ''Iksica'' which has business legally on the University's territory.
Furthermore, it is necessary to point out that ISI cannot forbid declaring support to their action as well the Independent syndicates whose support we have not asked. The student plenum decided that ISI will support Independent syndicates in their demands so we cannot realize how these two organizations can be involved in any context to some political party which both are disassociated with - if someone has problem with the word 'independent' than that someone can look it up in every dictionary.
Secondly, it has been stated that during second and third week of blockage some serious conflicts begun to happen. We agree with that statement completely, but we must point out that those situations have been initiated by some professors and students who beside the verbal violence started physically settling the problems with stewards. The orderlies have successfully evaded that kind of confrontation. We consider that the University management should have solved that incidents with their employees rather than blame the Independent Student Initiative for causing these kind of situations. When the members of management appeared on the plenum they haven't mentioned any of the problems, or any related matters, incidents, but they did not waste time to state the threats of losing semester and/or a whole year, not being able to participate in mid terms, exams etc.
Thirdly, it has been stated also that the will of most of the students from particular departments to stop the blockage of their department hasn't been respected and honoured. We should remind that our University is integrated and beside that there was no majority who would voted to stop the blockage of the University. All in all, we consider this statement of the administration to be false and deceptive.
We consider it to be extremely wrong to call a situation, in which everyone use and have used the right to express their own opinion, chaotic. It is obvious that some people don't like the fact that individuals can think on their own and are willing to express personal opinions.
We also react to the absurde statement that there are people in the University who are not students or professors. As it is well known the University is a public institution to which absolutely everyone must have access to. As lectures are public and open to anyone, and not just for students, so is the plenum, but only the students from University of Zadar have the right to vote.
The management also states that they don't accept the legitimisation of decisions made on student plenums. If the administration gave their support to the plenum in the beginning, and the way it works and communicates has not changed since then, we ask why such a shift of their opinions, statements and acts. In addition, we must point out that the University Students' Council of Zadar, as a legal representative body of all students from University of Zadar, supported and still supports every decision made by the students' plenum, so its legitimation is not questionable in this case also.
The statement of the management that today most of the students are on lectures just confirms the managements’ lack of correct information, considering that the classrooms in the University are still empty.
Finally, if the main and most important task of the administration of ones University is to protect the right of all students from the University of Zadar, then we have the right to expect that the administration also fulfils that task.
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On April 21st 2009., students of University of Zadar gathered in the Independent Student Initiative, blocked classes at the University with aim to achieve the following goals:
1. We call for legislative regulation of the right for free higher education for all, at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level. We consider that in negotiations with superior bodies can be discussed should this right be regulated by changing or adding already existing acts, special laws or constitutionally. When we use the term free education we find our basis in the Croatian Constitution. If it is clear as to what is considered free education in article number 65. of the Constitution, than it should also be clear as to what is applied by the term free higher education for which we ask. We ask that the study of all who enrolled their courses regularly and fulfil their obligations towards them should be fully financed out of the state financial budget of the Republic of Croatia.
2. We call for making a clearly defined strategy of high education which would change the present practice of bringing fast, new and corrective decisions
3. The Independent Student Initiative calls for determining bachelor status and qualifications. Today's labour market does not recognize the term bachelor, resulting in the same consequences in Croatian economy today. Bachelors are quite interested in finding out where can they be employed with their current status.
4. The increase of investments in high education, the regulation of distribution of funds and staff for increasing quality of studying. We ask for regulation which will control and replace today's practices of marginalizing smaller Universities through a strategic plan of directing higher education with a more realistic distribution of working places and adequately investing in necessary infrastructure while keeping the level of the student standard.
Students from Zagreb, Rijeka, Pula and Osijek have stated their requests similarly. We decided for this method because we weren't able to achieve our demands and goals in any other way. It is necessary to point out, that while the University was blocked , only the lectures were blocked. Regular office hours, midterms and exams are continued normal on schedule. In the very beginning of this action, we had the complete support of our Management and faculty and during this time our demands were send to the Ministry of science, education and sport. After four days ministers' assistant decided to step forward by calling us ''brats'', and our demands unclear. The day after, Minister Primorac placed all responsibility to the Universities and called for an urgent meeting of the Rectorial assembly. The assembly condemned students' methods and all responsibility was transferred completely on the members of faculty who are in charge of the departments and to establish the regular classes. After that, different stories, situations and results occurred in the towns all over Croatia.
We ask your help because we don't know how to achieve our rights. The blockade of University is ongoing for fourth week now. The Minister is defending himself in regard to the demands claiming that those demands have nothing to do with him and he doesn't want to implicate the functions of the University. The Management of Zadar University has turned their back to their students and their methods after agreeing with them in the first two weeks. They have decided to transfer their classes into high schools and elementary schools across town, predicting that they will manage to continue all the lectures for 6000 students in five classrooms across different locations in town. Some of the faculty rejected this manner of working conditions.
On 12th May 2009, professors and students have been ''welcomed'' in the morning with locked doors of all University buildings. The night before, students who were sleeping in the University and had the function of orderlies have been expelled from the property of the University by the dictate of Management. No lectures, exams or consultations could be held during that day. The management failed to give any explanations. The next day, May the 13th, University was unlocked and University Management held a press conference whose conclusions are stated in the another attached document. After that, in an effort to respond to accusations stated by Management of the University, Independent Student Initiative held their press conference. That same day, at about 3 p.m. a new formal decision by the Management has been posted at the University gates declaring that only students who have some identification of being a student of the University of Zadar can enter its grounds. Students who didn't have documents stating that they are students of the University could not enter the building. Parents and friends who came to see their children graduating could not enter the University. The Management failed to explain this decision as well. The University is surrounded by security guards which limit the freedom of movement throughout the space of the University for students.
Professors of the University started to form their own letter and petition of support the students of University of Zadar and, at this time, there are more than 70 professors on that list. It is expected more of them will be joining soon.
We consider that these kinds of decisions and acts are a violation of our basic human, civil and student rights. we have come to a position in which we ask for help and advice from anyone who is able to provide it. We ask you for help, some act of support, legal advice..anything you can offer us. The media are ignoring us completely, and when they do a report about us we are presented as brats, vandals, drunks, communists etc. This is transmitted to people from within Ministry and Management of Universities who then emulate those statements. We can't move through our University freely, we are forbidden to enter the University if we don't have some sort of evidence that we are students, media is not responding adequately, we are falsely accused, we are threatened by sanctions and we are even being physically attacked in some cases. We really don't know what to do anymore.
Independent Student Initiative Zadar
nekomercijalizacijiunizd.blog.hr (local site)
slobodnifilozofski.org (international site)
"One World - One Struggle; Education is not for sale!"
