Serbia’s students lead the fight for justice after fatal roof collapse
The movement, which was sparked by a tragedy, has seen students combat government resistance as part of a nationwide movement.
On November 1, part of an outdoor roof collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad, Serbia, claiming the lives of 15 people. The shocking event soon became a catalyst for a powerful student movement that evolved into a national protest.
In the days following the collapse, students in Novi Sad organized gatherings, blocking intersections and observing a moment of silence for the victims. Soon, high school students and their teachers joined the vigils, spreading the movement’s momentum.
The roots of this movement were deep, fueled not only by the tragedy but by long-standing dissatisfaction with the Serbian government under President Aleksandar Vučić.
Agricultural workers, frustrated with years of neglect, voiced their support for the students. Similarly, the Bar Association of Serbia and theatrical artists, who had been silently suffering under the regime, began to join the protests.
Actors held banners reading, “The students have risen. What about the rest of us?” In Belgrade, the Serbian capital, 100,000 people gathered on December 22, 2024, at Slavija Square to stand in silence for 15 minutes in solidarity with the students.
As the protests grew, the faculty at the University of Novi Sad was joined by students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, who staged their own blockades. These actions soon turned violent, with members of Vučić’s party physically attacking the students.
The protests quickly spread, with medical professionals and artists leaving their hospitals and theatres at 11:52 a.m. daily to join the students in blocking the streets. Lawyers, seeing the justice in the students’ demands, lent their full support, advocating for a return to the rule of law.
The students continued to hold firm, standing, and united under four key demands: release of all documents related to the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station; the identification and prosecution of those responsible for the violent attacks on peaceful students and professors during peaceful vigils; the dropping of criminal charges against detained students; and a 20 per cent increase in the budget for higher education to restore dignity to knowledge production in Serbia.
The students, who had no formal leaders, operated based on a system known as plenum, or an informal citizen assembly. This allowed every student to participate equally in decision-making, ensuring the protest remained focused on justice rather than individual agendas.
The students protest daily, blocking streets and holding moments of silence at 11:52 a.m. The University of Niš and the University of Kragujevac, located in southern and central Serbia, soon joined the protests, creating a wave of solidarity that spread across the nation.
The situation became even more heated when, during a blockade on January 16 at the Technical Faculty, a car deliberately drove through a group of students, hitting a young woman. The incident sparked massive outrage, leading to a large protest at the Autokomanda intersection in Belgrade. While prosecutors classified the incident as attempted murder, Vučić dismissed it, saying it was normal for someone to drive through people in a hurry.
The Go-Change civil society movement stated that after the incident, it filed a criminal complaint against Vučić for repeatedly minimizing the responsibility of drivers who have driven into crowds of protesting students.
Meanwhile, a group of students were attacked with a baseball bat by members of Vučić’s party in Novi Sad, which prompted an urgent response from the Belgrade students, who marched to Novi Sad in solidarity, where they were greeted by tens of thousands of people, who cheered them on.
Though Vučić, in an attempt to appease the situation, organized council meetings, the students refused to back down, responding with chants of “Vučić, you are not important.” They rejected the idea that a single president could resolve their demands, emphasizing that their requests were addressed to multiple institutions—not just the president.
The non-violent nature of the movement has drawn widespread admiration, including from the international community. In fact, the students have even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, a testament to their commitment to justice and inspiring change.
As the protests continue, the students march toward Kragujevac, a city with immense historical significance. Kragujevac was the site of the first Serbian Uprising in 1804 against the Ottomans and played a pivotal role in the creation of modern Serbia. The city is also where the Sretenjski Ustav, Serbia’s first constitution, was adopted in 1831.In the wake of these protests, Serbia’s future has come into sharper focus. The European Union has acknowledged the importance of the student movement, placing Serbia’s European Union, or EU, accession process on the agenda and releasing an open letter, in which it stressed that the process requires the effort of all segments of Serbian society.
