On the 25th day of the protests, students attempted to set up tents to display their artworks mocking Bulu, whose appointment to the post via a presidential decree is considered a massive blow to academic freedom.
Initially, the security personnel on the campus prevented students from setting up their “resistance” tents and broke the poles of one of the tents. But as they faced fierce determination from students in their cause, they backed down.
This incident was the first intervention of the security personnel against students on the campus premises.
Boğaziçi Solidarity, a student collective coordinating student protests, released a video showing students protesting in front of the rector's building.
“Our resistance tent, which has turned into a routine of our resistance for weeks, is being tried to be obstruced by the hands of the police and private security personnel. We will not let this happen! Both trustees and police will leave, and the victory will belong to students who have been resisting for their living space,” it said in its statement on Twitter.
Haftalardır direnişimizin bir rutini haline gelen direniş çadırımız polis-ÖGB eliyle engellenmeye çalışılıyor. Buna izin vermeyeceğiz! Kayyumlar da polis de gidecek, zafer yaşam alanı için direnen öğrencinin olacak. #BoğaziçiTeslimOlmayacak #BoğaziçiAblukada pic.twitter.com/V9T7HLlx8e
— Boğaziçi Dayanışması (@boundayanisma) January 28, 2021
Bulu, who applied to be a candidate for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a 2015 parliamentary election, is the first rector chosen from outside a university since a military coup in Turkey in 1980.