Describing difficult economic conditions, restricted campus lives and a sense that their ¡°future is bleak¡±, Turkish university students say they intend to continue the protests that have rocked the country for several weeks.

Students have been at the forefront of the widespread?protests, initially sparked by the arrest of Istanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem ?mamo?lu, of the Republican People¡¯s Party (CHP), on 19?March. ?mamo?lu is the primary political rival to president Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The arrest came a day after Istanbul University revoked the degrees of 28 people, ?mamo?lu among them, prompting students at the institution to launch a call to action. Alongside vast protests in Istanbul and beyond, students at multiple universities have agreed to boycott classes, responding to a call from protesters at Middle East Technical University (METU), in Ankara.

Student groups also organised?an economic boycott on 2 April, which saw protesters refrain from making any purchases.

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¡°Almost none of our classes are taking place, because almost all of the students are participating in the academic boycott,¡± a philosophy undergraduate at Istanbul¡¯s Galatasaray University, who asked to remain anonymous, told Times Higher Education.

¡°If we don¡¯t have our basic rights, if our degrees are being annulled by the government without reason, then we are not going to class,¡± they added. Galatasaray business professor Naciye Aylin Ataay Sayba??l? was among those to have their degrees revoked alongside ?mamo?lu.

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¡°It¡¯s not a vacation ¨C we get together in the morning just like class,¡± the student said. ¡°We are having open classes about the history of the student movements, how we can have our voices heard, if boycotts work. We have forums where we talk about the protests, what we¡¯re going to do today.¡±

At Galatasaray, more students are taking part in the boycotts than in the broader protests, the student said, due to fear of police violence: ¡°They¡¯re scared of being pepper sprayed or of being arrested.¡± Last week, police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannon against student protesters at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, . Almost 2,000 people are believed to have been arrested, among them about 300 students.

Setting out their goals for the protests, the Galatasaray undergraduate said, ¡°We want our friends to get out of jail. We want ?mamo?lu to get out of jail. We want our universities to be free. We want the police violence to end.¡±

¡°We want to have better lives. Rents are too high, food is really expensive,¡± they continued. ¡°We don¡¯t have a good student life, and we know that after graduating we will still struggle. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do after graduation and I¡¯m studying at one of the top colleges in Turkey.¡±

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¡°We see that it doesn¡¯t matter that we study for many years ¨C our future is bleak,¡± the student added. ¡°If you do not know someone in the government or someone in a good position, it¡¯s impossible to get a good job.¡±

Turkish universities have seen multiple protests in recent years after academic freedom restrictions intensified in the wake of a 2016 coup attempt. Thousands of academics were subsequently sacked, while government decrees institutionalised Erdo?an¡¯s power to appoint university rectors. At Bo?azi?i, students and staff have maintained a daily vigil outside the rector¡¯s office for the past three years.

¡°Younger generations have been gradually turning away from the AKP, particularly in big cities,¡± said Katerina Dalacoura, an associate professor in international relations at the London School of Economics. ¡°So there is a perception on the part of the AKP that they have a problem with youth, and one way of addressing that problem, in their eyes, is to establish some controls on university structures ¨C especially the big universities which have had a tradition of liberalism.¡±

Ziya Meral, a lecturer in international studies and diplomacy at SOAS University of London, told Times Higher Education that?a lot of students in Turkey feel a ¡°sense of despair¡±. For many, he said, ¡°the main focus seems to be leaving the country and finding opportunities around the world¡±.

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¡°The protests are not really showing signs of stopping, and the discontent is not really showing signs of diminishing,¡± he said. ¡°This isn¡¯t merely a reaction to the economy, or a reaction against one particular political party. It¡¯s a reaction to protect democratic structures.¡±

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com