After almost 2 months of being in blockades, Serbian students continue their heroic efforts in seeking justice and legal responsibility for the 15 people who tragically died on November 1 in Novi Sad after the concrete canopy on the Main Railway station collapsed. The tragedy in Serbian second largest city and hometown of the Exit Festival united the students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts [abbreviation FDU] on November 22 last year in Belgrade on a peaceful gathering to honor the victims. Unfortunately, they were joined by a group of ‘hooligans’ who started a fight and physically harmed some students and teachers. A few days later, the faculty announced the blockade, stopping the classes, exams, and any on-site activities planned by curriculums. Other Serbian faculties soon joined the movement in solidarity, blocking the universities for almost two months. Charges have been filed against officials over the incident, though the government still denies responsibility.
According to some local sources, yesterday, January 24, marked the biggest general strike in the history of Serbia, as the students were joined by other education institutions, health workers, majority of private companies, including bars, artists, and nightclubs. Besides almost 60 faculties, many institutions, companies and venues were closed for the day, and the events were canceled in solidarity. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across the cities in Serbia, demanding the government to claim responsibility for the tragedy in Novi Sad, legally prosecute everyone involved in poor maintenance and construction of the Train Station, release and dismiss the charges for students arrested at the protests and legally prosecute everyone who attacked students and teachers at the protests, confirming their identities.

We had a conversation with two Serbian citizens, one student of the University of Belgrade and another source describing the music industry reactions, who asked to stay anonymous, mainly to highlight the key messages – not the names.
Students’ New Order
After the blockade announcement at FDU in Belgrade, the reactions and support of other faculties started as a ‘tidal wave’, showcasing great collaboration, internal communication and organisation within the academic circles. With the initial slogan ‘Ruke su vam krvave’ (Eng. ‘Your hands are bloody’), students organised themselves in plenums and democratically voted for every decision and demand regarding the blockade, protests and key demands they asked of the head of the state. By definition, a plenum is the central decision-making institution that is completely controlled by students, where all decisions are made directly and according to democratic principles. Some plenums are closed just for members of the faculty, while some are open to the public and everyone interested in students’ activities, including classes, teachers, and finally, blockades.
During the past months, there were serious incidents, as non-supporters were attacking the students, individuals driving their cars into the masses at protests, and vandalizing the educational facilities with red middle finger drawings, that became a symbol for protest ‘opposition’. Even though there were various security threats and ‘scaring’ propaganda toward the students, they did not give up and stood united demanding institutions do their part in legal prosecution and criminal justice.
In conversation with a student from the University of Belgrade, whom we will name Saša for the purpose of this article, we spoke about their organisation, the deeper meaning of the blockades and their ‘new order’.
“We organise ourselves in plenums in which we all vote and discuss our future actions and current situations. While the government tends to accuse we miss classes, the whole teachers’ council is ready and has a plan to compensate for the missed classes and exams and make it up when our demands are met. While we are together in blockades at universities, besides debating and planning, we are spending more time with the truly wonderful teachers who are open for conversation regarding everything that interests students“, Saša explained, adding that besides teachers some actors, psychologists, podcast hosts, and others come to universities and discuss various topics with students, while there is always amphitheater reserved only for studying.
At the beginning of the whole movement, students refused to reveal their full identities and claimed the blockade and protests as ‘apolitical‘, a statement that caused a lot of discussion in the public. Even though they might not use the proper terminology, their motive was not to become a political party marking the political opposition, it was just about seeking justice for those responsible for the violence at students’ gatherings and the Novi Sad tragedy and highlighting the key messages and demands.
“We just wanted to emphasize our demands that are completely justified according to our laws and constitution. While protests are the key indicators of the issue, unfortunately, they do not create a change, while the blockade remedies the status quo, forcing the ones in power to pay much more attention”, Saša concluded.
(A)political Music Industry Reactions
As previously mentioned, the majority of clubbing and independent artists scene publicly showed their support for the strike yesterday, but some received significant public ‘guilt-trip’ from their industry colleagues. While the vast majority of the Croatian creative and music scene shows complete support to the students, our source debates that the situation in Serbia is slightly different, mostly because of the ‘imposed policies‘.
According to our source, the major record labels, event production companies, and industry magnates are tied to the current government officials, and the ones with contracts have clear instructions not to interfere in the current situation.
After the clubbing industry received criticism for not showing earlier support as students are mostly their target audience, the majority of clubs in Belgrade as Drugstore, Karakoma, KC Grad and 20/44 showed support yesterday and closed their doors.
“Our doors are staying closed this Friday and we believe that that is a statement enough. We are on the streets today in solidarity with the students and cannot provide any further comment”, claimed the management of 20/44 yesterday.
Some of the DJs who stood with students and shared their unconditional support are Andrew Meller, Luton & Šćepa, Runy, Cosmic G and Marko Nastić, who called out the management of Exit management to stand with their citizens, especially because they were formed as a student movement in 2000, in which they also fought for democracy and freedom.
The festival’s management disagreed with the accusations and published an announcement on their socials yesterday, stating that they ‘publicly supported the students on various occasions from November 1, 2024.’
While some are silent because of certain ‘restrictions’, some are vocal, and some are government supporters, it seems that the public is divided into three, but the constantly rising number of supporters and breaking the silence is promising, indicating that the Serbian public is ready for a positive change.
As my sources tell, there are so many layers and everyday happenings that somehow influenced the whole process, but it seems to me that the main message clearly stands out.
Unfortunately, the Balkan area is politically still characterized by corruption, with governments who refuse to take responsibility for their actions and stay on functions without any, or minimal legal sanctions. The Serbian students have shown the light at the end of the tunnel, implementing democracy to its fullest potential. They created a system in which the decision-making process is discussed thoroughly, comparing the examples, previous teachings, and the highest academic principles of industries. Their democratic efforts and restless actions were a motive for others to join and demand their rights, creating a movement that inspires so many other young people, even across their borders.
Author:
Gracija Plestina