The Student Council of the Faculty of Political Sciences announced the departure of professor Miloš Bešić from that faculty, and the announcement on social networks that the students of the faculty will organize protests as a result.
The statement signed by the President of the Council, Budimir Andrić, is transmitted in its entirety:
"All members of the Student Council of the Faculty of Political Sciences were elected in legal and legitimate elections held on October 11, 2012, the results of which were confirmed by the University Election Commission (UCC) and to which there were no objections. We were elected in accordance with the Statute of the Student Council parliament and all other legal acts that regulate elections for student representatives.We emphasize this because for a long time the media wants to present a false image that we do not represent the interests of students in the right way, but work against their will.
As members of the FPN Council, one representative of whom was elected as a student trustee of the University of Montenegro and a member of the UCG Senate, we want to present the facts to the students, but also to the general public, so that tensions do not arise between students and manipulation is carried out over them. In particular, we do not want to manipulate first-year students who, although they are insufficiently informed about the events at the Faculty where they have been studying for a little more than two months, are exposed to pressure and supported in attacks on student representatives who were elected in direct elections to represent the interests of students.
The legal regulation of the status and election to the title of professor Bešić is not an issue that should be dealt with by students and our organization, because it will be decided by the competent authorities of the Faculty and the University of Montenegro. But, in order to accurately inform fellow students, we point out that the verified information we have says that the Faculty authorities, the UCG Senate or any other official body did not discuss the status of Professor Bešić. Also, there is no written statement from Professor Bešić that he is leaving the Faculty and the University of Montenegro.
It is not clear to us why Professor Bešić is announcing his departure from the Faculty and the University, even though there is no written evidence of this, because it is only further heating up the already heated atmosphere that has been reigning at our Faculty for a long time. In order to eliminate any doubts, we would like to point out that as student representatives we are not in favor of Professor Bešić no longer being a lecturer at our Faculty. On the contrary, we believe that Professor Bešić, with a decision he explained for personal reasons, denied students the lectures and exams they were supposed to have this semester.
If he has the desire to continue teaching at our Faculty, it is clear that no one can deny Professor Bešić that right, because regardless of how his working relationship and status at the University of Montenegro will be resolved, he can hold lectures like many other professors. from neighboring countries who hold lectures at the Faculty. But the question arises as to whether Professor Bešić wants that, because this semester he did not hold a single lecture on master's studies. The same rules should apply to all professors and their status should be fully defined legally and in every other respect.
As student representatives, we strongly oppose attempts to manipulate students and exert pressure on them (there is evidence of the correspondence that Professor Bešić maintains on Facebook groups with students to whom he launches information about how we did not respect their will during the election for dean even though the voting was secret and supports them in efforts to organize protests for his return to FPN), because it is the last in a series of attempts to put pressure on us that has been going on since the first unsuccessful election of the dean in July.
And in the coming period, our only obligation and duty will be to represent the interests of students at the level of the Faculty and in the bodies of the University of Montenegro, in which we have been very successful so far, as evidenced by the numerous initiatives sent by the SVFPN that have been accepted in decision-making bodies. The pressure on student representatives in the Faculty Council, but also on other members of the SVFPN, to the great regret of the group that presents itself in the media as a victim of divisions at the Faculty, has not succeeded and will not succeed, because we know what our mission and our only task is, and that is protection and struggle for student rights.
Divisions and disagreements should be resolved by professors among themselves, and not involved in their conflicts, which often have no points of contact with the Faculty, involving students and manifesting their views. Students have their own bodies and representatives who are elected in direct elections, who will not succumb to pressure and for whom only students will be a priority. We invite a certain group of students who express dissatisfaction with the work of the SVFPN in the media to come to the SVFPN office and present their claims directly to the student representatives, which they have not done so far.
We are ready to support all the claims made in the announcement with evidence in front of the members of the SVFPN, all students of our Faculty, but also in front of the public," the announcement concludes.
What did the survey show?
The dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences was not elected at the session of the FPN Council in October, because both Olivera Komar and Nataša Ružić received five votes each, although Komar had convincing support among both professors and students.
To make the formal result even, it was the representatives of the students in the Council, Miloš Pavićević and Andrić, who voted for Ružić, regardless of the fact that the vast majority of students asked them to vote for Komar.
Although the voting was secret, it was previously known that Prof. Komar was in the Council. Dr. Sonja Tomović-Šundić, Bešić, MSc Uglješa Janković and MSc Mehmed Đečević.
For Ružić, since they formally proposed her, they were prof. Dr. Saša Kneževići and Assoc. Dr. Boris Vukićević. Along with her and the votes of Pavićević and Andrić, Ružić received the same number of votes.
Due to the information that student representatives are under pressure to support Ružić, several students of specialist studies at that faculty conducted a survey in which they wanted to examine the students' opinion about which candidate deserves the position of dean.
According to "Vijesti" information, Andrić and Pavićević initially opposed it, but in the end they agreed. The results of that survey, which were published on several Facebook groups related to the FPN, showed that Ružić was supported by 6,2 percent of students (33), while Komar received the support of 78,3 percent, or as many as 414 students.
Out of a total of 529 surveyed students, 82 of them did not know which of the two candidates should replace the current dean, Sonja Tomović-Šundić.
The responses of journalism students from all years, where Ružić teaches most subjects, were examined and specially processed. Out of 116 respondents, only 11 of them rated Ružić as a better candidate, while 80 students had the opposite opinion.
Bonus video:
