Boğaziçi students 'will not let Erdoğan's appointed rector through'

"Boğaziçi students will not let Erdoğan's appointed rector through," was among numerous messages chanted by demonstrators protesting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rector appointment, marching from the school's main campus to take a ferry across the Bosphorus on Jan. 6.

Azra Ceylan / Duvar English

"Your plane is leaving Melih (look, you're flying away)" read a sign held by a protesting student marching on Jan. 6 against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's appointment of Melih Bulu as Boğaziçi University rector.

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The students have been holding peaceful demonstrations against Bulu and the detention of some protesters on Monday for three days in a row now, with their cause echoing in higher education institutions across the country.

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A banner depicting Bulu's face in a lightbulb, the symbol of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Bulu's AKP membership is merely one among many grievances about him, although it's viewed as a direct interruption of academic freedom.

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One student noted accusations that Bulu's master's thesis was entirely plagiarized with a sign reading "Plagiarism is an academic crime," although the freshly-minted rector's scholarly shortcomings is not his only downfall in critics' eyes.

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