“They told me, ‘Next time, be careful what you write.’ They are not looking for dialogue, they want to follow their instructions. They remind me of stormtroopers.” – says Vana to Nikolaid-Kyrianides “K”.. He called for non-toxic, non-violent protests.

He was talking about an open school, not closed rooms. For these reasons, a professor of political philosophy at the Athens School of Philosophy and president of the Faculty of Philosophy has become the target of a group of students who “cheat” her at school and on social media and demand her resignation from the presidency. The dean’s office of the Faculty of Philosophy put things in their place – in the decision, he expressed “categorical disagreement with the persecution of a colleague. We support academic freedom and the inalienable right of all faculty to express their views freely.”

Fast

“It started when I shared a post on Facebook saying that mobilization for the Tempe accident cannot be toxic or violent. This does not correspond to any protest, especially a rally in connection with a national tragedy. Some have come to the conclusion that I call all students fascists and that I am an enemy of the society that protests against the tragedy of Tempe. This is an unprovoked, completely extreme attack on my face.”

After her post, the students went to Vanas Nikolaidou’s office “to plead her obscene post in connection with the state murder of Tempos.” In particular, on her personal Facebook account, she stated that “hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded the center of Athens and throughout the country, with the main demand to bring the real culprits to justice, that they are fascists,” according to the Independent Philosophical Cooperation faction (SAF-EAAK ), which is part of the extra-parliamentary left. In fact, the faction criticizes the professor for “originally targeting the mass demonstrations themselves, the collective bodies, as well as the decisions of the student associations themselves.”

“I would like to have the opportunity to discuss with students, but with such mobilizations it is impossible to have a conversation. They scream, noisily and threateningly attack you, demanding to impose their opinion. They want to follow their instructions.” commented yesterday “K” Ms. Nikolaidou.

“Two Societies”

Yesterday, a poster was posted at the entrance to the Philosophy building on the Zograpu campus calling for the resignation of the professor from the position of head of the philosophy department at EKPA, and today this will be discussed at the new student meeting. In the same vein, Ms. Nikolaidou’s recent reaction to the philosophy department’s occupation, which resulted in the swearing-in of new graduates in a neighboring building, is alarming. “We had a lighted building filled with new graduates and their families, which was chosen because the main building is locked, dark, occupied. The celebratory mood at the swearing-in ceremony seemed to stick out their tongues brightly at those who were trying to catalyze the academic lifestyle. Two societies, two universities,” he said.

“I feel sad and very angry. I received messages from students thanking me for speaking up. At a general meeting, minority groups threaten a huge mass of students, intimidate them into not expressing an opinion that is the opposite of what these groups want to impose. It is a great grief at the university that a university lecturer is persecuted for daring to express his opinion,” she adds to “K”, emphasizing: “I also teach political philosophy in the magistracy “Integralism”. I do this work because I believe in certain principles that I want to convey to young people, and if they do not agree to do this by talking to me, not threatening me. No, I’m not going to back down. No”.