The Excitement of Iranian Students on 'Student Day'

On Saturday, December 17, a protest statement was released by students from 35 universities across Iran. If the criterion is a video clip less than a minute long that was published online on the same day, showing a small sit-in in front of the entrance of Tehran University, these two events reflect that, one day after the weekend closure, the day known as 'Student Day' has not been forgotten. (The mentioned video clip depicts a confrontation and dialogue between several students and at least two government agents trying to stop the sit-in and gathering). Even if the only university where the sit-in took place was the same one where 65 years ago three protesting students were shot dead by agents of the then government, leading to the designation of December 16 as 'Student Day'. Saeed Peyvandi, an expert on higher education in Iran and a sociology professor at the University of Lorraine (Paris), told Radio Farda that these two actions indicate that students' demands remain despite many of their requests not being met during Hassan Rouhani's presidency. This year's statement from the student guild councils of 35 universities across Iran begins by recalling the context of the naming of Student Day during the Pahlavi era and simultaneously criticizes both factions of the Islamic Republic of Iran (which the statement describes as having 'more than ever committed to depoliticizing the university'). The statement considers higher education in the current system 'serving the interests of the ruling classes' and the guild councils as 'the only lever of resistance'. It also criticizes the 'systematic repression of students', stating that 'repression does not prevent resistance in the slightest'. The statement emphasizes 'the unity of students and other sectors', placing 'students alongside workers, truck drivers, teachers, porters, and women' as 'common victims of profit-driven and opportunistic policies'. Mehrdad Darvishpour, a sociologist and professor at Malardalen University in Sweden, told Radio Farda that these remarks reflect a new leftward shift in the activities of student guilds in Iranian universities. In any case, the efforts of Iranian university students on the occasion of 'Student Day' can carry the message that even in the declining activity of student movements compared to the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 70s, contrary to the belief of some political observers, such efforts have not lost their spirit and enthusiasm.