MASA expresses its full support for the students of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad and the informal organization STAV (Students against the Authoritarian Regime) who are fighting for fair and democratic elections in which every student of this faculty will be able to run for office and vote.
After three thwarted attempts to hold elections for the student parliament at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, students of the informal organization STAV on Thursday, June 13. blocked the building of the Rectorate of the University in Novi Sad, where repeated elections were to be held for the fourth time. This time, the students pointed out that the decision to hold the elections in the Rector's building is not in accordance with the rules adopted by the Student Parliament itself, according to which the elections are held in the faculty building. In the past, STAV members also blocked the holding of elections because, by setting impossible and unfulfillable conditions for candidacy, it was practically impossible for anyone except the student organization Student Union to run in the elections. Namely, the Student Union is the only registered student organization at the Faculty of Philosophy and all student representatives in the Student Parliament come from this organization. In order for an organization to be registered as a student organization, its registration must be approved by the representatives of the Student Parliament. An informal list of students can also run in the elections, with the condition that they collect signatures of support from over 500 students, all of whom must personally come to the premises of the Student Parliament for a list of support in a relatively short period of time. With this rulebook on the organization of elections, the Student Parliament has been preventing anyone else from running for years, and for a long time it has been the only list running for elections. Previous attempts by STAV to negotiate with representatives of the Student Parliament on the conditions for holding the elections failed.
It should also be noted that there are unequivocal connections between representatives of the Student Union organization and the Serbian Progressive Party, while the current president of the student parliament was first on the list of the Russian Party in the local elections in Novi Sad. All this indicates that there is a strong political will of the ruling party to keep under control the Student Parliament of the Faculty of Philosophy and use it as a lever of influence on making important decisions at the faculty.
MASA opposes any politicization of student organizations, especially when its goal is to influence academic institutions and brutally violate academic freedom. There is also a trend of politicization of student organizations at other university faculties in Serbia, which is unacceptable and is becoming a concern for the entire academic community. We support the courage and persistence of students from the organization STAV to fight for elementary democratic principles to vote and be elected. When justice bends like tin under the hands of the mighty, justice must be steel in the hands of the brave.
