HISTORY OF STUDENT’S DAY
By Oksana Trapezun
Who is a student?
A student (from the Latin studens –
person who works hard) is a former pupil
who does not want to work or hopes
that after studying at university he or
she will earn a lot of money without
working.
Usually a student learns a lot, eats
little, goes to bed late and gets up
early. It is just a small list of reasons
why a student looks very exhausted
and unkempt.
Before the exams the student is a
cheerful energetic person, but
after the beginning of the
session he or she magically
transforms into an unhappy
depressed creature.
But without joking, students are
purposeful people who
confidently build their future.
In fact, the beginning of this
party was much more tragic.
It all began with the
dispersal of a peaceful
demonstration by police and
SS units on the occasion of
the 21st anniversary of the
founding of the
Czechoslovak Republic on
October 28, 1939 in Prague,
during which Jan Opletal, a
medical student, was
seriously injured.
Unfortunately, he died on
November 11.
His funeral, which took
place on November 15,
turned into a protest
against the Nazi
occupation, which was
attended by thousands
of people. Clashes with
the police broke out
again. The next day, a
meeting was held in
Berlin with the
participation of Adolf
Hitler, at which it was
decided to close the
Czech universities for
"three years", although
in fact they opened only
after the victory over
Nazism.
University property was subject to confiscation. On November
17, mass arrests of Czech students took place in Prague and
other university cities.
Nine leading representatives of student organizations were
executed in Prague's prison walls, more than 1,200 were
arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen the next day.
Soldiers broke into the student`s
hostels, beat the students, then took
them to the outskirts of Prague, where
the violence continued, forced the
students to fall, and the Germans
stepped on their necks with their
boots. It was cold outside and some
students were in their pajamas. Hostels
where live foreigners and women were
not affected by the violence.
At its 1941 meeting in London, the International Student Council adopted a
statement declaring November 17 the International Students' Day in memory of the
events in the Czech Republic. Since then, international students have promoted the
idea of recognizing November 17 as International Students' Day at the UN level.
Nowadays, Student Day is not positioned as a
mourning day of remembrance, but as a
celebration of youth, thirst for life and great
achievements. After all, the students themselves
have always been an active, sometimes radical,
driving force in all countries, which could change
the state system and make a revolution.
Today, the most popular
form of entertainment on
this day is music and
dancing.
In principle, a student's day differs from
any other dance and music event in that
usually many people (students) gather
in one place, atmosphere and mood,
when everyone understands that he is
young and that life should be lived
happily.
Traditionally, almost every major
university makes its own format of
celebration:
self-organized parties in
the hostel
self-organized
parties at
universities
Apartments party
club-type parties
official events on the
occasion of the student's
day at the university
meeting in zoom
But also on this day, various conferences and other events
are held aimed at the development of student selfgovernment, which is the basis for future state-building,
which have the support of various organizations.
Thank you for listening!