Address of the Student Section of the Academic Senate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava
The address was delivered on the occasion of 17 November.
The address was delivered on the occasion of 17 November.
Dear academic community and dear students,
It is an honour to stand here today and address you on behalf of the student body. Today is not a day for empty words.
Studying art, studying art freely, expressing our thoughts and our positions – often highly critical ones – has not always been a given. We open up pressing topics, whether societal or personal. Before 1989, getting into university without the “right” cadre profile was nearly impossible. If you were critical of the regime and social affairs, you almost certainly drew the attention of the State Security. The consequences of your criticism affected your entire family, through intimidation, harassment, and blackmail. This is a deep trauma that we still carry from the previous regime.
Today, once again, we face a challenge that should move our country forward. Let us not give space to regressive tendencies that pull us back into a totalitarian regime. We are witnessing targeted attacks on minorities that have claimed lives; we are witnessing attacks on journalists that have claimed lives; we observe attacks on healthcare that deny scientific facts, and lastly, we see verbal attacks on students. Is this the democracy and freedom we want – the democracy fought for by courageous students and individuals in November 1989?
History shows us that as a society we move in cycles, and unfortunately, we also fail to learn from them. Yet we should not give up. A healthy, free, and democratic society can function only if we are willing to support it every day, even in difficult moments. For now, we can still be critical, because our academic environment allows it. But this is not a given, and we must be ready to stand up for this freedom again and again. Otherwise, we can lose it from one minute to the next.
In 1989, it was precisely students who sparked a wave of social change. Thanks to them, we can freely speak and create what we think and feel — and for that, they deserve our gratitude. We thank you for your courage, and for the sacrifices that this fight for freedom required.
