Boğaziçi University bans 138 alumni from entering campus in last 9 months

Duvar English

Boğaziçi University has cancelled the alumni cards of 138 graduates since June 2022 and banned them from entering the university, according to reporting by the online news portal Diken.

Appointed to his post by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Boğaziçi rector Prof. Naci İnci had in 2022 cancelled the mass graduation ceremony to avoid the protests and sent a threatening e-mail to the newly graduates, telling them their cards would be cancelled if they participated in any kind of demonstration. Just two days after this e-mail, on July 4, 2022, the university management cancelled some of the newly graduates’ cards, citing their attendance to protests. The card cancellations did not stop here and continued afterwards.

On Jan. 12, 2023, Diken asked the Presidential Communications Center (CİMER) about the number of Boğaziçi University alumni who had their cards cancelled since June 2022. “On what grounds were the cards cancelled?” Diken asked.

The answer came from Boğaziçi University management on March 9. They announced that 138 alumni had their cards cancelled but refused to share any information with regards to the reason for this move.

Diken said that card cancellations were mostly based on the alumni’s holding an alternative graduation ceremony, but that “criticizing the (university) management and drinking alcohol on the campus” are also among other reasons.

For example, Boğaziçi graduate film editor Özcan Vardar’s card was cancelled after he criticized the university’s management during an award acceptance speech at the Antalya Golden Orange Festival in October 2022.