Academia feels strain as student protests enter fourth month

Student protests in Serbia, triggered by the collapse of a public building in November, are starting to have an impact on academic life in the country. Some researchers and lecturers have had activities disrupted by boycotts and demonstrations, which have blocked access to faculty buildings. Others have stopped work to join the protests, write Mio Tatalovi and Nenad Jari Daunhauer for Science|Business.

“I boycotted January,” a young researcher, who wanted to remain anonymous, wrote on a Facebook group for Serbian academics. “I find it really hard to pretend that everything is ok [. . .] It’s very difficult for me to continue with my activities, because it’s like I’m maintaining a glimpse of normality, and nothing is normal.” The cost for this researcher included missing a grant application deadline and not attending an international conference. And just thinking of academic deadlines at all amid the mayhem was a struggle.

The protests were triggered by the deaths of 15 people, including a six-year-old child, when the canopy of a newly renovated train station in Novi Sad collapsed on 1 November. The students see this incident as the culmination of years of bad governance and corruption, and are demanding that the country’s institutions start doing their work properly.
Full report on the Science|Business site