Boğaziçi University: Appointed rector appoints men to all positions

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Appointed as a rector to Boğaziçi University by Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prof. Melih Bulu appointed Prof. Fazıl Önder Sönmez as the Dean of Student Affairs and the Coordinator of the Financial Aid Office yesterday (March 22). Prof. Sönmez was also appointed as a vice rector by Bulu on March 5.

Two positions at once

The appointment has been announced to the executives and department heads with an email. In the email signed by Melih Bulu, it is said, "Vice Rector Prof. Fazıl Önder Sönmez has been appointed as the Dean of Student Affairs and the Coordinator of the Financial Aid Office."

That being the case, Sönmez is now appointed as the vice rector, the dean of student affairs and the coordinator of the financial aid office.

This recent appointment of Prof. Fazıl Önder Sönmez to more than one position has brought Prof. Naci İnci to minds. A professor of physics, Naci İnci was first appointed by Melih Bulu as the vice rector, then appointed as a substitute to the Institute of Social Sciences.

These appointments are now regarded as "an attempt to make Boğaziçi local and national", a slogan frequently expressed by Erdoğan, as well as a "step to Turkify Boğaziçi" and "all trustees are men."

Uysal's resignation

Moreover, with this appointment, Melih Bulu has once again failed to observe gender equality. Before Sönmez was appointed as the dean of student affairs, Assoc. Prof. Zeynep Uysal from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature was holding the position. However, Uysal resigned from office in protest against the appointment of Bulu as the rector.

They are all men

In a message shared by the Rector's Office on Boğaziçi University's Twitter account today, it is seen that all administrators are men.

"Possible cooperations were discussed in the visit paid by Marmara University Rector Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar and his team who paid their wishes of success and good luck to our new administration."

Who is Fazıl Önder Sönmez?

Prof. Fazıl Önder Sönmez, a faculty member from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, did his BA and MA at Boğaziçi University and got his PhD at UCLA in Los Angeles, the United States.

Sönmez is one of the first disciplinary board members of the BURA - the People of Boğaziçi Association. The 1st General Assembly of the BURA on October 10, 2004 was attended by AKP politicians Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kadir Topbaş and Burhan Kuzu. The 15th Ordinary General Assembly on December 1, 2019 was also attended by Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop.

He is also an advisor to the Boğaziçi Islam Research Club (BİSAK).

What happened?

Prof. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University in a Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette on January 1, 2021. The appointment of Bulu sparked harsh criticisms among both the students and academics of the university as well as in the academic community.

Appointed to Boğaziçi, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, from outside its community, Bulu was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections in 2015 for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The students and several students' clubs of the university campaigned on social media under the hashtag #kayyımrektöristemiyoruz (We don't want a trustee-rector). The call of the students was also supported by the faculty members of the university, who released a joint statement on January 3.

"An academic outside Bogazici University community was appointed as rector (university president), which is a practice introduced for the first time after the 1980s military tutelage," read their statement.

Amid harsh criticisms of students and faculty members, Prof. Bulu shared a message on his Twitter account, welcoming his appointment to the position, saying, "We are all in the same boat."

The students protested the appointment of Bulu in front of the South Campus of the university in İstanbul on January 4. However, the police intervened into the protest with pepper gas and plastic bullets.

Next day, it was reported that there were detention warrants against 28 people for "violating the law on meetings and demonstrations" and "resisting the officer on duty." Later in the day, 22 of them were detained.

40 people in total were detained over the protests. All of the detained were released on January 7 and 8, 2021.

The protests of students and faculty members at the South Campus of Boğaziçi University have been going on since January 4.

Taken into custody over a picture of the Kaaba, a sacred site in Islam, with a Shahmaran figure and four LGBTI+ flags on its corners, two students were arrested and two were placed under house arrest over this picture displayed at an exhibition as part of the protests at the South Campus.

On February 1, police stormed the South Campus and intervened into the students' protests. Earlier in the day, the students gathered in front of the campus for the protest. Police hindered the protest while also preventing the students inside the South Campus from joining their friends outside.

With the 51 students taken into custody inside the campus in the evening, the number of detained increased to 159. In a statement released by the İstanbul Governor's Office in the early morning hours on February 2, it was announced that 98 students were released from detention.

On February 2, Boğaziçi University students gathered in Kadıköy Rıhtım for another protest, which was attacked by the police with plastic bullets and tear gas. 134 people were taken into custody by the police. Two of the protesters were arrested by the court afterwards.

On February 6, four more people were arrested and two others were placed under house arrest over their participation in Boğaziçi protests in Kadıköy.

On the same day, Erdoğan issued a Presidential decree to open two new faculties at the university. In response to this, the Boğaziçi Solidarity platform addressed an open letter to the "12th President of Turkey."

A day later, student Beyza Buldağ was taken into custody for allegedly administering the "Boğaziçi Solidarity" Twitter account and arrested for "provoking the public to hatred, enmity and hostility" and "provoking to commit crimes" over both the letter and other Twitter posts.

As of February 7, the Boğaziçi Solidarity platform announced that at least 560 students were detained, 25 were sentenced to house arrest and 10 were arrested. Students have been arrested on charges of "degrading or provoking the public to hatred and hostility" and "resisting to prevent fulfilment of duty" as per the Articles 216 and 265 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

CLICK - Why are 11 university students arrested?

On February 10, one more student was arrested. With the release of Beyza Buldağ and Muhammed Önal on February 12, there remained nine students arrested over Boğaziçi University protests against the appointed rector.

On February 22, two more students were placed under house arrest on the grounds that they distributed the letter of an arrested student to citizens.

At their first hearing on March 17, 2021, two students of Boğaziçi University arrested over a picture on display at their campus were released.

On March 22, three people were released. There have remained three arrested.

(DŞ/SD)

MELİH BULU ERA