Following Reactions to the Removal of Cinema and Sculpture Majors at Tehran University; An Official: It Was a Mistake, It Will Be Corrected

In response to widespread reactions regarding the removal of the sculpture and cinema majors from the candidates' selection booklet, an official at the University of Art deemed this a "mistake" by the Organization of Educational Testing, which will be corrected "soon." Saeed Seyed Ahmadi, the deputy of the University of Art, announced on Tuesday, August 21, that the mistake of removing the two majors from the candidates' selection booklet occurred due to the Organization of Educational Testing and will soon be rectified in an amendment to the booklet. Since yesterday, Iranian media, citing published images from this year's national exam selection booklet, reported the removal of the sculpture and cinema majors from Tehran's University of Art, with students attributing this incident to the prominent presence of art university students in the protests of 2022. The website "Didban Iran" wrote that the University of Art has not yet provided an explanation regarding the removal of the codes for the "Sculpture" and "Cinema" majors and the admission process for these fields, and there was no mention of the removal of these codes in the announcements from the Organization of Educational Testing. However, the newspaper "Jahan San'at" considered this event indicative of the continuation of the "Taliban-like approach" of Ebrahim Raisi's government, noting that in September 2021, the "Theater" major was also removed from the Sooreh Art School. This newspaper also sought the opinion of Alireza Sharifi Yazdi, a social pathologist, who stated that the consequences of removing the cinema and sculpture majors will affect society. Sharifi Yazdi considered students' recourse to private institutions for learning these majors and the inclination of students in these fields to emigrate as consequences of this decision. The website "Ensaf News" reported on this issue, quoting a student from the University of Art who stated that the cinema and sculpture majors were removed from the selection booklet this year, attributing the reason to the events that occurred during the 2022 protests at the University of Art. This student explained that last year, students of the sculpture major and their department head, Kourosh Golnari, "faced many problems." This student activist emphasized that this department experienced the most strikes regarding its classes in 2022. According to this student activist, "the university has had issues overall with faculty, the management of this group, and its students." However, the removal of the cinema major from this department occurred while the Organization of Educational Testing had also conducted practical exams for this major. Accordingly, a group of students from this university and professors who conducted the practical cinema exams have protested this situation. In this regard, one of the professors who conducted this exam told "Ensaf News" that "we were shocked" that the University of Art and Damghan University are the only universities in the country that offer a bachelor's degree in cinema. This university professor added that this removal of the cinema major was likely carried out by the university itself and not by the Organization of Educational Testing. The University of Art has also been in the news in recent months, and in the latest case, in a statement published by the students of the University of Art on Sunday, June 18, they wrote to government officials, "There is a sea of blood between us and you" and "We have nothing to say to you, except one word: no." In the statement from the fine arts students at Tehran University, criticizing the "radical and reckless actions of security," it was written that "every blow to the body of art students and other student sectors will, on a larger scale, harm the body of society, which will lead to anger and direct reaction." The confrontation of art students with government directives peaked when the mandatory hijab decree was issued. This decree indicated that starting from "June 17, 2023," the condition for entering the university would be the hijab for girls. This led to gatherings of some students at this university, and according to the university's information channels, on the morning of Saturday, June 17, ten students were arrested in front of the university. With the arrival of plainclothes agents and special forces to the students' protests, the atmosphere became tense, and Ali Sharifi-Zarchi, a professor at Sharif University, also wrote in a text published on Twitter that "students of the University of Art Tehran gathered inside the university in protest against the university's new decision to make the hijab mandatory for female students. The responsibility for creating any tension and psychological pressure on students, especially during exam season, lies with the university management." Nana Valajam: Students of the University of Art are at the forefront of the struggle for freedom; everyone must support them. A citizen's account of wall writing in support of the students of the University of Art: "One Iran, No." Expansion of support for the resistance of the students of the University of Art in other universities in Iran. Users' reception of the statement from the students of the University of Art Tehran: We have nothing to say to them except "no." Continuation of the "no" from the students of the University of Art; today a thorn in the throat of oppression. Continuation of student protests and a big "no" to the Islamic Republic; expulsion of an active student from the university. A wave of support for the protests at the University of Art; "One Iran, No," this generation does not turn a blind eye to "a sea of blood." Reactions to the removal of the cinema and sculpture majors at Tehran University; continuation of the "Taliban-like approach" of Raisi's government.