Iranian Academic Official: Students Fear Free Expression

A few days after commenting on the 'reluctance' of students to engage in political activities in Iran, Farzin Halabchi, the Deputy of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, stated on Saturday, ahead of December 7, Student Day in Iran, that 'students fear expressing their opinions freely in forums for free thought.' In an interview with the ISNA news agency, Halabchi identified 'the fear of expressing students' opinions and the lack of feeling safe after voicing their opinions' as some of the problems in holding free thought forums at universities. He emphasized that 'university officials have no problem with the freedom of students to present their views in free thought forums and will support students.' In January 2018, coinciding with the escalation of nationwide protests in over a hundred cities in Iran, intelligence and security agencies arrested more than a hundred student activists at various universities. According to some members of parliament citing the arresting authorities, the detention of some of these students was 'preventive.' Legal cases were formed against 50 of the detained students, and ultimately, heavy judicial sentences were issued for some of them in June and July of this year, leading to widespread protests. A severe criticism from 68 student organizations in Iran against the sentences issued against students occurred, to the extent that in some universities in Tehran, several professors joined protesting students against these judicial rulings by canceling classes. At that time, the Minister of Science and other government officials related to universities were criticized for not taking effective actions to uphold students' rights to engage in political activities freely and to dismantle the 'security atmosphere' prevailing in universities. In contrast, less than a week ago, Hossein Salimi, the president of Allameh Tabatabai University, stated, 'Students no longer have an interest in political activities.' According to Salimi, 'Currently, about 60 to 70 percent of the programs of student organizations that receive permits from the supervisory board are not held.' He noted that 'a specific type of political activity has gone through its time in the social space,' adding that 'expressing political issues in an emotional and crisis-driven manner does not have much demand in social arenas.' Salimi attributed this to 'the society entering the conditions after the information and communication revolution' and 'social and public issues.' He stated that 'concern about job prospects in the current conditions forces students to seek more skills, which has influenced their reluctance to participate in political activities.' At the same time, Salimi acknowledged, 'Concerns about freedom of expression may also be another influencing factor.' The celebration of Student Day in Iran, which previously served as a platform for political criticism, has increasingly turned into non-political celebrations accompanied by entertaining ceremonies in recent years, which has drawn criticism and even become a subject of humor and mockery among social media users. Hassan Rouhani, during the 2013 presidential election campaign, promised to reinstate students deprived of education to universities and to eliminate the 'security atmosphere' in universities. However, various student groups have repeatedly protested against the 'security maintenance' of university environments and the continued 'starred' status of students. Sources: ISNA News Agency, Radio Farda.