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On Tuesday, the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament held a hearing on the cause of the University of Theater and Film Arts, with two guests from the government and the university: László György, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Attila Vidnyánszky, Chairman of the Board. On behalf of the university, László Upor was appointed interim rector, and on behalf of the university students Hanna Milovits, vice president of the Student Government, was invited.
To avoid misunderstandings, university students have previously stated that these individual speeches do not mean that they will sit at a negotiating table with members of the new board of directors they do not recognize.
The committee did not classify the discussion with online participants as a discussion, but rather as an “exchange of views”. Sabine Verheyen, a Popular Party MEP who led the conversation, said there was a “critical situation” at the SZFE, as a serious accusation had been made of violation of academic freedom. “This is against European values,” he said.
Some technical difficulties arose during the meeting, Attila Vidnyánszky did not have an online connection for a long time, which he later described as metaphorical, referring to the inability to communicate between the board and the university: “The university has never had the strength to communicate with the maintainer. “In his speech, he said: these are not really recent issues, but they have been between 30 and 40 years old, because since then” a part of the profession has been constantly pointing out, it is not good that this institution is so closed, there are also constant complaints from film producers for lack of cooperation. ” (These allegations have already been refuted in a previous college newsletter.)
Vidnyánszky said: “Unfortunately, this issue has acquired a political dimension from the very beginning.
On October 23, 15,000 people, if there were so many, demonstrated not to show solidarity with the students, but because the left-wing political parties held an opening campaign.
He also claimed that students have long been “used as a tool” by left-wing politicians, as they were “trained by well-known left-wing movements to go to college in the summer.” (By this, he meant a summer university run by students.) He thinks that it was not really the 500 students, but “the nucleus that was trained to do that”, that did not accept the basic documents of the university that they made.
According to him, the teachers also play a double game, because although the students wanted to learn, the teachers wanted to close the semester. Furthermore, according to Vidnyánszky, László Upor “dehumanizes, calls it a human object” and members of the new leadership. “It is very difficult like this, but the board always indicates its good intentions,” added Vidnyánszky, who said that the MITEM festival he organized was a good example of its opening, where “much of European theater life has already taken a turn” . (It is true that one of the most famous theaters in Europe, the Berliner Ensemble, had just withdrawn from its participation in September, supporting the protest of the SZFE students and teachers).
At the same time, Vidnyánszky also claimed that they would leave everything as is, they would not fire the instructors – “We did not send them,” he referred to the dismissed teachers – they would only let in a different kind of voice. He said he found it unworthy that the media exaggerated his references to Christianity, although for him it was “a metaphor for openness, inclusion.” He contrasts this idea with the university, saying that “exclusion has reached such a level” that today “an important part of the teaching staff comes from two or three theaters.”
Attila Vidnyánszky later stated that they were ready for any trial, but “for that, of course, the first step is for the student to enter the university to the legally appointed rector, because the news from there is worrying.”
To demonstrate this, he put photographs taken inside the university building in front of the camera, showing a kitchen table full of bottles of mineral water and soft drinks, a tank full of cans and another photograph of the kitchen, the latter with a bottle of viscose and a can of beer. About the pictures:
The prevailing lawlessness at the university has already made the situation dangerous from the fire department’s point of view.
According to him, the tapes of the building on the façade of the university are also metaphorical: “It is symbolic that the already closed institution is closed with tapes. That needs to change, and that is what the entire profession needs. “Finally, he asked the university to” not repel them “,” trying to understand goodwill. “
In his speech, László György, ITM Secretary of State, highlighted that the model change was “fully in line with the Hungarian constitution and laws”, and that it was based on many successful foreign examples, and that “the new model it gives not less but more autonomy. ” He said that the change of model had already been successfully launched in eight universities, and in seven of these institutions everything went well, “there was conflict only in the case of SZFE”, although it is a good advance that “the most famous theatrical and businessmen of the country ”were members. He said there have been negotiations with the university many times and that they would quadruple the institution’s budget anyway. For the negotiations to be successful, “you need sensitivity, empathy, patience on both sides of the negotiating table.”
Upor: lost guarantees
László Upor, the rector of the university, who was previously elected by the university citizenship, was never appointed and then resigned in the summer, said that the SZFE had to undergo a “forced transformation”, at the end of which “we lost the guarantees autonomy “, although it must also be guaranteed by the European Constitution.
László Upor
© István Fazekas
“In fact, many universities have undergone a similar transformation, but there is a slight twist to calling the university private: The maintenance foundation receives public money without checks or balances.” Therefore, according to Upor
autonomy increases, but only the autonomy of the board of directors, not the university.
And because the board of trustees is appointed directly by the ministry and the government, “there is the possibility that the board of trustees will interfere with university life. And in our case, the Board took advantage of this opportunity: they took away the rights of the Senate to appoint, for example, the rector and department heads, that is, they deprived us of self-determination.
Upor also spoke about the fact that although there were “so-called talks” with the university, they did not listen to any of their requests, their opinions were never taken into account, and the Board communicated with them only through advertisements and “changed the rules in just one day ”. He recalled: “Last week, an arrogant attempt was made to solve the problem by turning off the internet and closing the hallways of the building. This has been completely unique in our history so far. “He concluded by saying that the university will not give up the fight.
In response to a later question, he reaffirmed that they had never acted on a political basis, “it has always been about autonomy.” He said of Attila Vidnyánszky, who, in his speech, “came up with three conspiracy theories” at the same time: he had ruined the reputation of the university, students and professors for many years and could not interfere in the life of a university.
Vice President HÖK Milovits said it was “unworthy” to carry out the transformation and the new leaders not only did not argue with the board members, but also rejected the description given by the students about what would guarantee autonomy like never before. any thoughts or suggestions they may have. “Our future and the future of our staff is decided solely by a body created by the government, and we have no democratic voice in that, although we just wanted a framework in which we could continue our education in a relaxed environment. Thus, we are forced to maintain the blockade, because autonomy is not guaranteed, and in the meantime, all the corridors in front of us have been closed, even where our decision-making body met ”.
He said they would like to negotiate with the ministry, “but only if they see us as equals and guarantee our autonomy.” According to him, all this “affects the freedom of the entire Hungarian society.” Responding to the allegations, he stated:
Our professors have never manipulated us, we have demonstrated for academic freedom, that it is a much more universal value than party politics.
Among members of the European Parliament, German socialist politician Petra Kammerevert said that the Hungarian government had long been trying to restrict binding European fundamental rights for all member states by joining the EU, and this included the SZFE case; The politician asked how the new rector turned off the internet at the university and closed the corridors in front of the students to attend to the appearance of various voices. Irena Joveva, a Slovenian member of the European Commission, assured the university students of her support, calling the possibility of an “ideological struggle” dangerous, according to Vidnyánszky’s references to national ideals, and then affirmed that cultural institutions should be policy-free, especially in Hungary. ”. However, Milan Zver, also a Slovenian member of the family of Fidesz’s European party, the People’s Party, spoke of the problem that SZFE was not “willing” to change the old and bad Eastern education policy, and was sure that it would not. These were spontaneous but politically motivated demonstrations. they were in favor of the SZFE, which was also made probable by the fact that Ferenc Gyurcsány threatened the members of the board of trustees.
Romeo Franz of the German Green Party claimed that the Hungarian government was not showing any sign of willingness to compromise, in fact “both the government and the protesters were hardened.” Responding to Vidnyánszky’s words, he said: “I am glad that the idea of Christianity is becoming a reality, but I do not believe that the state is subjugating cultural organizations.”
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