JULy In September

The "one and only" ideologist Ph.D. Mira Markovic, at the formal session of the academy, which in fact was the promotion of the left coalition and its presidential candidate Zoran Lilic, has sent the message that "the ideas of progress and creativity will dominate the Belgrade University thanks to the left-oriented students". Her long speech, which got great publicity in the regime media, will be remembered by the unreal claim that the left wing is older than politics, and also than science?! Mira Markovic has confided to the young left wingers that she has long believed that the Belgrade University was the most beautiful place in the world due to the Yugoslav and cosmopolitan spirit, but now "in this difficult and turbulent time the Belgrade University is facing the danger of conservatism and destruction." Is this the reason why Ph.D. Mira Markovic, professor at the School of Geography, hasn't given a single lecture to her students in years? As the director of the JUL's Directorate she accuses her political opponents (among other things) for having suspended the sciences from the University!? She has sent word that the left-oriented students will promote the new and the humane, and return science to the University!?

As all grinds who lack talent, the members of the party in power have repeated the same words during many rallies: the future steps will be energetic and humane, which is "more humane" than the tactics recommended by Mira Markovic in her diary: "Only the radical and aggressive left wing may reply to the radical and aggressive left wing. There's no other solution if it is to exist at all."

The minister of education Jovo Todorovic (nicknamed "the wax minister", probably because he hardly breathes of stage fright at the rostrum) has joined in the stirring of the JULy fires, although not even the skilled film editors of the regime media could make a coherent sentence out of his confused statements. He has warned that the last year's problems must not reoccur, and that "the ministry will take legal steps against those teachers who forget their role and become involved in the bad politics". Minister Todorovic has taken from where the unpopular rector Velickovic stopped: he claims that only 10% of students protested last winter and estimates the participation of his fellow teachers in the protest as "the small number of noisemakers telling empty stories". And only causally, but yet to make clear that which follows, he announces the reform of the educational system immediately after the parliamentary and the presidential elections, which will encompass the entire system from elementary schools to university. Slobodan Cerovic, president of the Belgrade's City Board of JUL, has supplemented the minister: "We support the complete reform of the educational system." Whatever that may mean, it certainly has scared people away from the educational system, because the "revenge of the pupils who are repeating the grade", as the academician Pavle Savic used to call some of the previous educational system reforms, never brought anything good. Cerovic has stressed that the Yugoslav left wing will never let the students and the university workers take part "in the anti-government events, in the propaganda that is directed against this country," and also that "it will not be allowed that our students carry foreign flags". That is why the groups of left activists are formed in all schools of the University, with the goal to fight against "the political seduction of the students".

This is obviously yet another "death leap" in the public attitude of the ruling party which has, up to now and at least declaratively, supported the law which banned the activities of political parties in the University and in dormitories, but who has even in the platforms of the University Committee of JUL stressed that JUL will "support in its programs the protection of the educational system against any political, especially party influence"!?

Commenting on the latest events at the University, Ceda Antic, one of the leaders of the Students Protest 96/97 and the Students Political Club, says briefly: "It seems to me sometimes that the position of the communists is their greatest and most authentic disqualification."

The Student Parliament has issued an announcement concerning these events, in which it says that the students of the Belgrade University will never try to prevent any organization or political party to freely express its beliefs. However, "the threats of Mr. Cerovic confirm that the Yugoslav left wing is not the party with democratic orientation and that it is not the party to whom the young people will offer their confidence." By means of various minor happenings, the Student Parliament is trying to remind the public that the spirit of the Students Protest still exists and that it will win. Their happenings "What are your children doing, Mr. President?" and "The students' duty free shop", they have tried to focus the public attention on the fact that some kids have nice lives, own the biggest discos in the Balkans and duty free shops, that may allow themselves to crash about dozen expensive cars, while the vast majority owns nothing.

In reply to this criticism, the loudspeakers of the left wing say that the left wing, allegedly, has nothing against the political involvement of students, but that it is against the political manipulation of the young people conducted by "quasi- students" or "the people who purchase the university student's booklets in the bookstores and then wave them in the streets."

As it can be seen on the government television, Minister Todorovic appears regularly at all meetings of the left wing and visits elementary schools, but he is absent from the University, from scientific gatherings, and he doesn't even reply to the memos from the Association of the Physicists of Serbia to help an important scientific gathering, as is for example "Electron - 100 years of its discovery" which was supposed to help promote the physics in high schools. So it seems that the message of the left wing about their care for science and the slogan "One's Knowledge to One's Country" is merely pre-election propaganda.

In the midst of this JULy's offensive at the Belgrade University, seven candidates have applied for the position of rector of this oldest high education institution in the country. During the Students Protest 96/97, the university has clearly articulated its request that the government must not force those who are suitable but incompetent, people who lack scientific reputation, personal integrity and moral support of their associates. Let us recall that Ph.D. Dragutin Velickovic, professor at the School of Agriculture, became rector in spite the fact that he was supported only by his school, and that 28 other schools voted against. As it is well known, the rector career of professor Velickovic was terminated by a scandal, unprecedented in 160 years long history of the University of Belgrade: thousands of students and 3500 teachers signed the petition for his replacement.

After several months of meetings, public statements and secret deals, the Council has adopted the Declaration which, among other things, says that the candidates for rector and assistant rector must receive votes from a minimum of 13 high education institutions. Four key persons from the Students protest 96/97 made it to the finals: the dean of the School of Philosophy Marija Bogdanovic (28 votes), the dean of the School of Chemical Engeneering Fedor Zdanski (20) and the acting rector Dragan Kuburovic (24). Professor Kuburovic was associate rector to Velickovic, has changed to the students side and was elected acting rector at the extraordinary meeting of the University's Council. Rector Velickovic suspended Kuburovic, because he "has caused further destabilization of the University and violated the Law and the Statute by convoking the extraordinary session of the Teachers Council."

The majority of the candidates have emphasized de-politicization of the University: no party or personal interests may jeopardize the operations and autonomy of the university and the university must be independent of daily politics. Most of them also tried to offer solutions for the extreme financial crisis, ranging from rationalization to closer co-operation with other European universities.

Although at first glance it seemed that the new institutional procedure was adopted, the old practice hasn't been discontinued; important party activists offered the following deal to individual schools: "Choose the one whom they offer, or the one whom they want!" Most of the schools have difficulties to survive (the government hasn't paid the money for material expenses from the beginning of this year!), the wages are not only insultingly low but also chronically irregular, the scientific work has made "one big step into the past"... so the staff is trying to figure out whether it is better to fight the already "lost battle" or to accept what "the feeding hand" is offering, which, however is becoming a fist. Intimidation is present in the academic circles, as well as bribery. Many are dismayed: should they vote for a candidate who is acceptable for the government? In this case it is the acting rector, Ph.D. Dragan Kuburovic, who has spent already three mandates in various offices of the Rectorate and is very skilled with finances, or should they vote for the candidates who have honorably supported the students last winter, which will result, as the left wing promised, in the "aggressive and radical" reaction of the same. And everyone understands the meaning of this message.

The students, but also some of the colleagues of professor Kuburovic, remind that while he was trying to persuade the students to cease the protest, he promised not to apply for the position of the rector. There are also more malicious comments that he is "the man for all times" and that the battle for the autonomy of the university will be in vain if the old-timers start leading the university again. This is also the way in which the somewhat unusual proposal of the Board for Defense of the Democracy at the University should be red, which supports the option that the University should have only one candidate for the rector, the one who will have the greatest support "because of the need to preserve the unity of the University which has been successfully achieved during the winter protest 96/97." The Board appeals to other candidates to withdraw their applications and this way contribute to the unity of the University of Belgrade. Some have estimated this proposal as undemocratic. Fedor Zdanski, dean of the School of Chemical Engineering, has withdrawn his application, but professor Kuburovic doesn't give in. He says he feels that he can return rhythm to the University, and some find it even more important that he can improve the financial state of the University! Professor Radivoje Grbic from the School of Medicine has also withdrawn his application, but he also did not have sufficient support of other schools (only 10); on the other hand, he lists as the favorite of the party in power. In some academic circles, this has even more enforced their belief that the candidate whom the government wants to see in the Kapetan Misa building is the already confirmed person - professor Kuburovic.

However, the University hasn't even started to run at full pace: its new, fragile infrastructure of various student, union and teacher associations is warming up slowly and somewhat nervously, in fact giving in to the party in power. As the amoeba of the divided student organization, and as opposed to the elderly professor Kuburovic who believes to have "felt the rhythm", they still can't "bring back the rhythm to the University". The hope only remains that this is not the permanent "physical fatigue", but as with those who strolled entire winter, resignation and political melancholy.