Hundreds of police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters around the Novi Sad university campus on September 5 as students gathered to demand reforms.
The mass protest was the latest marking 10 months of demonstrations around Serbia and beyond, calling for early elections and a crackdown on corruption.
Students argue that the lax enforcement of rules was a key cause in the deaths of 16 people in Novi Sad in November 2024, when a train station roof collapsed.
Protesters are hoping to oust President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party party but the government has not responded to the call for early elections.
Crowds for the protest gathered in Novi Sad near the entrance to the university’s Faculty of Philosophy, which has become a flashpoint in the movement for change as police officers have begun patrolling the campus.
Police say they are responding to student sit-ins and are only present to restore order but student ire has been rising, while some university deans are accused of collaborating with authorities to suppress dissent.
As one demonstrator put it while speaking on a stage at the event: “Student rebellion and a free university today are the last line of defense for education, truth, and dignity. If we allow them to destroy the university, we accept living in an absolutely authoritarian regime where there is no place for free knowledge, honesty, or the future of this country."
He also decried violent police tactics, adding, “Every act of violence unites us, because the idea of a free university cannot be beaten, cannot be arrested, and cannot be suffocated with tear gas.”
Olga, another student protester, urged demonstrators to stand strong: “Remember that self-defense is not an attack.”
“Here’s one for the dean,” she said, holding up a flag emblazoned with the Faculty of Philosophy’s seal.
Branislav Stevanovic said he came to the demonstration to object to the presence of police on campus and to support students, “just to show that we care about that autonomy, and to absolutely support them.”
Another protester, Ivana, said the demonstrations represent the most available avenue for students to make themselves heard.
“There are no institutions we can appeal to,” she said, adding, “the only way is to gather like this, and those kids have taken on the burden of leading this fight, and they are the ones suffering the most because of it.”
