Student Protest at Moholy-Nagy University as Chairman Fails to Appear
Students and faculty sought to advocate for academic autonomy in a public gathering that turned into a vibrant expression of dissent.
On Monday afternoon, students at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) were scheduled to meet with the chairman of the university's board, Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, during a public event on the campus located on Zugligeti Road.
However, Böszörményi-Nagy did not attend, which prompted a gathering of approximately 100 to 200 students and faculty members.
The attendees aimed to have Böszörményi-Nagy sign a 'social contract' articulating their demands, but this did not transpire, according to reports from Telex.
The MOME Front, a group composed of active and recently graduated students who organized the protests in recent weeks, requested that Böszörményi-Nagy commit to the fundamental values of academic autonomy.
They sought his endorsement of three demands that had been signed by 624 active students, 61 faculty members, and 548 alumni.
The specific demands of the MOME Front included:
- Full acceptance of decisions made by the university senate by the board of trustees.
- A prohibition on board interference in the university's operations.
- Limitations on organizational and structural changes to the educational framework to initiatives that originate from the university community.
As part of the demonstration, at 2 PM, the students projected a countdown timer on the university's wall, indicating the time granted for the chairman's appearance.
Following the expiry of the one-hour countdown, Böszörményi-Nagy had still not arrived.
Subsequently, the students signed the 'social contract' representing their citizenship within the university, framing it and displaying it on the wall alongside the unsigned copy intended for Böszörményi-Nagy.
In a further act of artistic expression, students covered the wall with red paint, marking it with handprints, Bauhaus logos, and inscriptions of 'MOME Front.'
The MOME Front, in a statement released after the event, characterized the response to the chairman's absence as transforming what was intended to be a formal contractual meeting into a spontaneous celebration of community expression.
They highlighted the significance of the space reclamation, noting that the campus, established in 2019, has seen restrictions on wall painting and considerable limitations on the free use of its spaces over recent years.
However, Böszörményi-Nagy did not attend, which prompted a gathering of approximately 100 to 200 students and faculty members.
The attendees aimed to have Böszörményi-Nagy sign a 'social contract' articulating their demands, but this did not transpire, according to reports from Telex.
The MOME Front, a group composed of active and recently graduated students who organized the protests in recent weeks, requested that Böszörményi-Nagy commit to the fundamental values of academic autonomy.
They sought his endorsement of three demands that had been signed by 624 active students, 61 faculty members, and 548 alumni.
The specific demands of the MOME Front included:
- Full acceptance of decisions made by the university senate by the board of trustees.
- A prohibition on board interference in the university's operations.
- Limitations on organizational and structural changes to the educational framework to initiatives that originate from the university community.
As part of the demonstration, at 2 PM, the students projected a countdown timer on the university's wall, indicating the time granted for the chairman's appearance.
Following the expiry of the one-hour countdown, Böszörményi-Nagy had still not arrived.
Subsequently, the students signed the 'social contract' representing their citizenship within the university, framing it and displaying it on the wall alongside the unsigned copy intended for Böszörményi-Nagy.
In a further act of artistic expression, students covered the wall with red paint, marking it with handprints, Bauhaus logos, and inscriptions of 'MOME Front.'
The MOME Front, in a statement released after the event, characterized the response to the chairman's absence as transforming what was intended to be a formal contractual meeting into a spontaneous celebration of community expression.
They highlighted the significance of the space reclamation, noting that the campus, established in 2019, has seen restrictions on wall painting and considerable limitations on the free use of its spaces over recent years.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
