Why It Is Important to Reflect on the Student Protests

Zašto je važno misliti o studentskim protestima 30ih godina XX veka
Debata (2011)

Student protests and blockades based on the principles of plenums—direct-democratic student assemblies—such as those held at the Faculties of Philosophy and Philology in Belgrade during 2011, have become increasingly common at universities in Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Novi Sad, and other cities across the region. The key demands of these protests concern the defense of publicly funded education accessible to all, the protection of university autonomy, and the promotion of student self-organization.

Although this fact remains little known to the wider public, struggles grounded in the principles of direct democracy were already a prominent form of organization within the progressive—or revolutionary—student movements at the University of Belgrade between the two World Wars, particularly during the 1930s. The capitalist system of the time, the economic crisis, and the general rise of fascism are only some of the parallels that can be observed between the social, political, and economic conditions faced by students then and those confronting students today. The historical significance of these earlier struggles is underscored by records showing that approximately half of all students at the University of Belgrade were involved in progressive student movements.

The discussion addressed the complex social, political, and cultural context of the 1930s in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, with particular focus on student movements of the period. It examined the specific events surrounding April 4, 1936, and explored aspects of media reporting and rhetoric, highlighting the parallels in the ways student struggles have been attacked, condemned, and discredited.

The discussion was accompanied by an exhibition of collected archival materials and press clippings from the daily newspaper Politika from the 1930s, excerpts from Student—the weekly paper of Belgrade students from the late 1970s—as well as contemporary documentation related to the most recent protests of students at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.

Participants: Milan Radanović (history graduate), Nebojša Vukelić (student, participant of the Faculty of Philosophy Plenum, Belgrade), Jelena Martinović (student, participant of the Faculty of Philosophy Plenum, Belgrade), Dušan Komarčević (journalist, E-novine)

Moderators: Vida Knežević, Marko Miletić (Kontekst Collective)

Support:

Ministry of Culture, Information and Information Society
Open Society Fund, Serbia
Municipality of New Belgrade
New Belgrade Cultural Network