The University of Bucharest notified the protesters to leave the illegally occupied space

After a long silence, the University of Bucharest decided to react to a matter that concerned it directly. The University of Bucharest has notified the protesters to leave the protestors have notified the protesters to leave the space located in Panduri Road that they have been occupying in the campus for several weeks.

The notification of the University of Bucharest comes after the "vandalism actions in recent days" of some historical monuments and the premises of several faculties and the acts of "anarchy", as well as the "increasingly numerous complaints from students and teaching staff who claim including physical aggression" on students. Starting from May 20, several pro-Palestine protesters occupied a space at the UB rectory and set up tents. According to the educational institution: "If, at the beginning, the protest appeared as a peaceful one, and the university decided to accept this form of demonstration of some of its students for a cause that they support, today this protest is manifested through serious acts of vandalism and anarchist actions. (...) Therefore, today, June 20, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., a notice was sent to the protesters to leave the occupied space in the campus until this evening at 10:00 p.m., stating that the goods that will not be removed from the occupied area will be collected under seal and stored for a period of 15 days in order to be later picked up by their owners". According to the representatives of the university, the space occupied by the protesters is part of the heritage of the University of Bucharest, and in the immediate vicinity of the area there are both classrooms of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and of the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, as well as a dormitory that hosts UB and international students: "The acts of vandalism in the last few days of some historical monuments and the spaces of several faculties and the acts of anarchy, as well as the increasingly numerous notifications from students and teaching staff who claim including physical aggression against students who - they demonstrated against the actions taken by the protesters, but also the major discomfort they create, led the University of Bucharest to request this morning, June 20, 2024, the release of the space occupied by the protesters".

UB mentions that the protest was not authorized by the higher education institution and that no request was received in this regard. According to the same source, from the second day after the occupation of this space by several protesters, on May 21, the rector of the University of Bucharest, Marian Preda, appointed an adviser to the rector, who, together with a vice-rector and two general directors from The General Administrative Directorate of the UB maintained a permanent dialogue with the designated representatives of the protesters. In this regard, two meetings were held for discussions, on May 23 and May 30, respectively: "During these meetings, the publicly known position of the University of Bucharest was communicated to the protesters and it was decided to provide minimal services for the students protestors, such as access to toilets during the day and night at the nearby faculty premises, access to sockets, access to sanitation services, etc. In addition to these meetings, there were numerous other discussions of the UB administrative management with various protesters on specific issues. ". It also supports the management of the UB, although it was agreed with the representatives appointed by the protesters that, during the graduation ceremonies of the students from the faculties that have their headquarters on the campus at this address, which, traditionally, take place in the area occupied by the protesters , it should be released, following that, later, the protesters could return, the ceremonies were "disturbed" by the protesters through megaphone speeches and, including, by climbing the stage where the graduation diplomas were offered, as well as the hoisting of the Palestinian flag on Ana Davila's monument. At the same time, it is specified that the toilets at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences were "vandalized", including by inscribing "famous anarchist" messages and placards were installed with "Nazi" messages, but also with references to current parliamentary parties. The quoted source also claims that in violation of the specific legislation in force, foreign national flags were raised, posters were pasted and placards were installed on several buildings, on trees, on fences, on alleys, on directional signs in the campus and were placed leaflets on the cars in the university yard. "The protesters do not respect the minimum standards of cleanliness, as they are provided in the internal regulations of the UB", the representatives of the institution also claim. The University of Bucharest considers that the protest is not representative for the institution's students considering that, almost four weeks after the occupation of the UB space, none of the student associations and none of the students with a representative role have joined this initiative. The University of Bucharest notes the participation in the protest of several people who are not part of the UB community, they are neither students, nor teaching staff, nor members of the administrative staff.