Students of Ukrainian universities claim that they have been subject to pressures for their active civic stand. Deutsche Welle informs about so-called prophylactic conversations in deans’ offices and threats of expulsion. The students refused to get involved with political parties and announced the launch of strike committees in universities and protest actions, as they disagree with the pro-Russian policy of the president and the minister of education. The professors of some universities tried to convince the student activists to abstain from participating in radical actions during private conversations, Olha Salo, an activist from the Youth Movement of National Interests Defense, told Deutsche Welle.
Salo says that the administrative machine has not applied general pressure but preventive conversations were held with particular students. In many cases these conversations lead to a specific result. “There is another aspect of this pressure, which we rarely learn about. When the student is called in for a conversation to the dean’s or rector’s office, he is warned about its confidentiality. The student then refuses participation in the public movement without explaining the reasons,” Salo told. Unfortunately, such “conversations” work and the students do not want to risk expulsion. At least three dozen students from the Transcarpathian region were threatened this way.
The Youth Movement aims to find out the real reasons for possible expulsions of the Transcarpathian students, Salo says. According to her, Kharkiv and Kyiv students already faced similar issues. If the student is expelled for his views and beliefs, the public initiative is ready to offer legal assistance. The Youth Movement is convinced that the student protest actions will spread to all regions of the country with a bang.
