The professors of the Yerevan State University were not surprised to see that former rector of the university Radik Martirosyan did not get elected as president of the university board. Students, on the other hand, were predicting that that was going to happen anyhow. We can understand why the professors were surprised judging from the fact that Radik Martirosyan was the only candidate for president, but the students predictions are kind of suspicious. Students claim that the university needs reforms and that the rector does not play any role in making the reforms, but that doesn’t help them make predictions about the board elections. How did the students know that the board would leave the only candidate out of the game?
President of the Yerevan State University Student Council Mihran Hakobyan denies all rumors claiming that the student council has called on other forces to “remove” Radik Martirosyan and also advises not to make predictions.
“This was a closed election. Nobody can say who voted for or against, or whether it was the students of the university or others that didn’t elect him.”
According to the head of the student council, the results of the election shouldn’t have been a surprise to the former rector himself.
“We had some disagreements, we differed in opinions and we have talked about them in the media and also during the council meetings. We have always stated the fact that the university needs reforms both in the level of education and the transparency of finances,” says M. Hakobyan. “We respect Radik Martirosyan, what he has done for the university, and how he helped save the university when it was on the verge of collapsing.” However, the students don’t trust the former rector and his administration.
“They don’t see the university the way we see it. It’s time for the new generation to take control and make the reforms.”
According to the dean of the Journalism faculty Garnik Ananyan, the results of this election are being negotiated with one another.
“Some people are trying to get revenge with these results. I personally wasn’t expecting these kinds of results. It was not by chance that Radik Martirosyan was the only candidate for the board president. Many people thought that Radik Martirosyan had the right to put up his candidacy after many years of experience. However, we all know the results and I don’t think that we should have treated him that way. In my opinion, one generally strives for something new. In this case, people just wanted to see someone new who would somehow change the university,” says G. Ananyan.
Dean of the Philology Faculty Artsrun Avagyan took part in the board elections and was surprised at the results. He disapproves of the elected board members.
“I disapprove of this board because it’s humiliating to see elected board members who have nothing to do with education and sciences. Why do so many students have to be in a council? Do they come to the university to get an education or rule?”
Dean of the Sociology Department Lyudmila Harutyunyan believes that the university wasn’t ready for such elections.
“For many years, the rector of the university was appointed by the state; then the board started to elect the new rector but this system came too fast and stabilized. People didn’t have the time to realize that we were dealing with a new system. At the same time, elections took place, a board was board was formed and they moved on to other elections.”
According to Mrs. Harutyunyan, most of the people didn’t realize that they were voting for the board president and not the rector and to this day they don’t realize what it means to be the president of the board. L. Harutyunyan claims that what happened was like teaching the students a lesson.
“They learned their lesson when they saw that there was no other candidate besides Radik Martirosyan. This is not only because there were students who wanted to vote for him only (the students, ministry and government officials could have nominated somebody else), however, they should have thought about another step to take by electing one candidate and getting up to this point.”
Although there are a few days remaining until the next board president elections, there has not been a decision made as to which step to take next.
“They came and proved that the university can’t do anything. What is going to be the second step? Nobody knows. There are only rumors going around that they are looking for a new candidate. Where and who are they searching? Why don’t they search for a candidate in the university?” says L. Harutyunyan. She describes the event as a planned out form of politics in order to put the university’s reputation down without even caring about who will be the next university rector or board president.
“I think this is all provinciality. Everything is divided in parts, everything must be separated and nothing is united. It’s all based on who gets what out of it; they want to politicize everything, become clans. When we talk about the reasons for migration, we forget that our intellectuals did not leave the country because they couldn’t earn a living, but because they were protesting against this provinciality, protesting against making clans, not making the reforms and, in general, they left because the ones doing this had no idea of what it meant to make reforms and change the situation of the country,” says L. Harutyunyan.
So, while the university is in a state of uncertainty, people are nominating possible candidates for the board president and discussing the nominations too. According to the information given to the students, possible candidates include Alexan Harutyunyan and president of the Committee on Sciences and Education of the National Assembly of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan. They both denied those rumors. However, Mr. Harutyunyan confessed that he was shocked when he found out that Radik Martirosyan did not get elected, but he also said that “he usually goes along with any election results” and “let’s hope he doesn’t give up the fight.” Hranush Hakobyan said that she has been very busy lately and has not followed up on the rumors going around. She reasoned that “she has intimate ties with the university and that is why they think that I am going to be the possible candidate.” As a matter of fact, the fact that Hranush Hakobyan has “close ties with the university” amazed one of the professors who couldn’t imagine how she had managed to establish herself at the university and suddenly be nominated for board president.