In an expedited process, the Hungarian parliament passed an amendment to the Higher Education Law, that targets exclusively Central European University, my alma mater and intellectual home. Despite international protests and widespread opposition to the modification in Hungary, President János Áder signed the bill into law on 10 April, 2017. If no changes are made, CEU will not be allowed to accept new students as of 1 January 2018 and will eventually have to suspend operations in Budapest.
For more, please consult CEU’s website:
https://www.ceu.edu/category/istandwithceu
The Herder Institute, which just signed a memorandum of understanding with CEU last year, immediately protested against the bill. Director Peter Haslinger send a letter outlining his concerns to Minister of Education Zoltán Bálog on 1 April 2017. The Herder Institute’s Wissenschaftsforum’s staff publicly declared its solidarity with CEU five days later.
On 13 April 2017, I had the opportunity to explain the situation on Radio Unerhört, a free radio in Marburg. Please find the interview here:
http://www.freie-radios.net/82522
For some more context, please refer to these selected articles:
Randeria, Shalini. “Orbán’s Assault on Academic Freedom.” Eurozine (orig. Der Standard) (2017). Published electronically 5 April 2017. http://www.eurozine.com/orbans-assault-on-academic-freedom/.
“CEU Reacting to Hungary’s Proposed Legislation – Press Conference.” (29 March 2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XIkvfu2inc.
Halmai, Gábor. “Much Ado About Nothing? Legal and Political Schooling for the Hungarian Government.” Verfassungsblog – On Matters Constitutional (29 April 2017), http://verfassungsblog.de/much-ado-about-nothing-legal-and-political-schooling-for-the-hungarian-government-on/.
Uitz, Renáta. “The Return of the Sovereign: A Look at the Rule of Law in Hungary – and in Europe.” Verfassungsblog – On Matters Constitutional (5 April 2017), http://verfassungsblog.de/the-return-of-the-sovereign-a-look-at-the-rule-of-law-in-hungary-and-in-europe/.
VICTORIA HARMS 