Dr Melih Bulu, an outsider and an academic closely aligned with the government, was appointed as the Rector of Boğaziçi University with a Presidential Decree on January 2, provoking a process of contention and resistance. Even though he is dismissed again with a Presidential Decree, academics are continuing their struggle and are demanding an electoral process to be set for the position.
Dr. Melih Bulu, an outsider and an academic closely aligned with the government, was appointed as the Rector of Boğaziçi University with a Presidential Decree on January 2, provoking a process of contention and resistance. Even though he has been dismissed again with a Presidential Decree, academics are continuing their struggle and are demanding an electoral process to be set for the position.
Since the day Bulu was appointed, Boğaziçi University has faced massive contention as the protests for his appointment led to a huge police presence in the university and police brutality. More than 10 students were arrested at different times during the protests that continued for more than 7 months, and dozens of students were faced with disciplinary investigations and penalties.
Regarding the protests launched against him, Bulu stated that he never thought of resigning. While many saw his resignation as a sign of success, academics and students have underlined that the struggle is still continuing.
Esra Mungan, an assistant professor and an active participant of the protests at the university, said that, as Boğaziçi University faculty members, they will continue their struggle for a democratic academic environment.
In her statement to Boğaziçi TV, the academic argued that there needs to be a process whereby the rector is determined through democratic means. She added that “It was great to mark this achievement together with our graduates and students.”
She also said that “it was clear that it (Bulu’s reign) was temporary. We learned that he requested his resignation not once, but twice. The second resignation request was made a month and a half ago.” Underlining that the presidency did not answer his requests she stated that “there are various sensations in places where there is no transparency, but he obviously wanted to quit this job. As you know, the head of the mafia named Alaattin Çakıcı wrote a handwritten letter to Bulu in January (2021) not to resign. We resisted, now Melih Bulu is gone, but we have more work to do.”
Evaluating Melih Bulu’s actions during the 6-month period Mungan underlined that he was “on duty” and she was expecting all kinds of measures from him, hinting at the institutional framework that has been set in the last ten years. She also stated that they were “not at all satisfied” with the current system of the rectorship. Mungan lastly argued that “the Turkish public understands much better what the ‘one-man regime’ is in this process. These disasters happen when a person manages a huge structure, be it a university or a country. That’s why our dream is that we want to form a rectorate team, not to appoint just one person.”