The police was called out on Thursday morning at the Law School in the city center, in order to block access to a group of students, who were believed to have intended to occupy the building. Two students were injured during the clashes, one of whom was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The Rectorate of the University of Athens and Athens University of Economics and Business requested police assistance in order to ensure that the buildings were not occupied for the 17th November anniversary, as decided by student assemblies. The Technical University of Athens will be the only institution that will be open on Monday for the anniversary of the 1973 student uprisings.
Riot police units were stationed outside the building of the Law School and the University of Economics early on Thursday morning and had to use tear gas in order to disperse a crowd of students that was attempting to enter the buildings. About 7,000 police officers are expected to be deployed for the three-day student uprising celebrations.
The decision to contact the police is indicative of the intentions of the new Rector of the University of Athens, Mr. Theodoros Fortsakis, whose decisions have escalated tensions with students. Meanwhile, the administrative employees of the University of Athens will walkout today.
Students decide to occupy buildings
Earlier, on Wednesday, student assemblies of the Schools of Philosophy and Law decided to occupy the buildings, demanding the reappointment of the University of Athens’ administrative employees who have been suspended. The student assemblies also object to the Rector’s decisions regarding building security and the expulsion of “eternal students.
Similarly at the National Technical University of Athens, student assemblies at the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and the Rural and Surveying Engineering decided to shut down between the 14th and 17th of November. Many other schools outside of Athens have also carried out assemblies ahead of the 17 November anniversary. The School of Chemistry at the University of Patra had already occupied and after briefly reopening on Wednesday, students decided to close until Monday.
