The Cookbook is currently being translated into several languages. At the moment, all but the final few chapters have been translated into English, and the Introduction has been translated into Spanish. For a full page version of the English translation follow this link, or simply click on the link to any of the chapters listed below.

English

Contents
Foreword by Boris Buden
Introduction
The Organization of Student Control at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
How to Organize a Plenum?
The Plenum
The Rules and Guidelines of the FHSS Plenum
Code of Conduct During the Student Control Over the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
The Plenum Minutes
Delegates and mandates
The Media Strategy, the Media Team and the Media Working Group
The Operational Tasks, Logistics and Security Team
The Program and the Program Team
The Inter-Plenary Working Group
The Plenum Technical Issues Working Group
The Document Analysis Working Group
The Mini-Actions Working Group
The Working Group for Spreading Direct Democracy
The Blog/Portal and the Blog Team

Spanish

Prefacio

This evening, the same decision was made at the plenary session held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The classes will resume as normal starting tomorrow.  The next plenary session will be held on Tuesday, December 8th.

The protesters were peaceful but they refused to let them pass, and some of the Ministry’s employees verbally, and even physically, abused the students who were preventing them from leaving. The people were trapped in the building for a while, until police arrived and dragged some of the students away making room for people to pass between them. The police were not violent and none of the protesters were arrested. You can see below some of the photos from the protest.

since November 23rd

• The University of Pula (ended December 4th)
• The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka (ended December 6th)
• The the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (ended December 4th)

since November 24th

• The Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb (ended November 30th)

since November 25th

• The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split (ended November 30th)
• The Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka (ended November 28th)

At the last plenary session at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka, held on November 19th, it was decided that today one lecture hall will be occupied. The plenum will be held at 6pm to decide on further actions. As we have learned, the lecture hall has been successfully occupied but the students have had a confrontation with the acting dean who has verbally abused the occupiers, threatened to throw them out and disconnected the internet connection in the lecture hall that is being occupied. He has also decided to employ security guards who are suppose to confirm the identities of the students who enter the faculty building before tonight’s plenary session!

Meanwhile, at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb the students have taken the largest lecture hall – D7 – where a plenary session is currently in progress. At the last plenary session, held on November 17th, it was decided that we will occupy D7 on Monday 23rd at noon, after which a plenary session will immediately be held at which students will decide whether to occupy the entire faculty building or rather undertake alternative methods of fighting for the right to free education.

At the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split students are planning to hold a plenary session tomorrow, on November 24th, at 6pm, at which they will decide on the possible occupation of their faculty also.

The order subordinating both human needs and rights gained in previous periods of social struggle to the indiscriminative calculus of the profit incentive operates beyond national borders and administrative territorializations. The force and violence of its unfolding – relentless as it is – obliges us to confront it at the level of universality it itself has chosen. We have to oppose the universality of the ideal of social egality to the false universality of capital’s demands, together with the unrepenting defense of fundemental social rights. This obliges us to no longer confine ourselves to the parochial and shortsighted view of the world. This is a luxury we can no longer afford! Therefore, your struggle is truly our own. May we succeed in it together!

In solidarity,

The Plenum of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (Croatia)

The demand was simple: free education available to all on all levels (including postgraduate studies) immediately. The students got a lot of support from all strata of Croatian society and became a respectable political force fighting not only against the commercialization of education but also for the protection of social rights in general. There have been some attempts to engage in a wider front with workers and peasants but this still remains an important task for the future.

During the protests general assemblies called plenums emerged on the faculties. All decisions during the faculty occupations were made by the method of direct democracy. This proved to be one of the sources of students’ great political strength and it has also been one of the maintained legacies of the spring revolt. Regular plenums are still being held in different universities and they maintain to be political organs of students fighting for free education.

Currently, the government is preparing a new law on higher education for which it is clear in advance that it will not be what the students want (in a pre-revolt poll 76% of Croatian students expressed the opinion that the education should be completely publicly financed). That is why the students are already preparing for the inevitable upcoming battles. In Zagreb, during the weekend of October 23-25 a mega-meeting of the Croatian student activists will be held. There, the students from all over the country will discuss the problems of the commercialization of education and possible actions for the future (ie. possible occupations of the faculties this autumn).

It is difficult to say what lays ahead but one thing is certain. The fight has only begun.

Letter to Alain Badiou

We are very sorry to hear that you will not be able to realize your planned visit to “our region”, i.e. the geographical and political consequences of the violent death of what you seem to defiantly continue to call “Yugoslavia”.

No doubt, it is a region in dire need of new emancipatory projects, of theoretical and political events with the power to upset the logics of a situation whose foremost mark is that the freedom of choice it grants us is the freedom to chose between two equally false choices: the obscurantist withdrawal into the confines of ethno-chauvinist autisms on the one hand, and the euphoric surrender to the false universality of capital’s free roaming on the other. The first project bears the name of “the Nation”, the second that of “Europe” (or of our “becoming European”). One subordinates the idea of collectivity to the dictate of traditions, identities and places (regardless of whether “authentic” or recently fabricated), the other rejects the notion of the collective as such, proclaiming it the dangerous residue of a fallen and now defunct “totalitarian” promise.

You will of course have no difficulty recognizing the impasses we have just tried to sketch, since your voice has been amongst the most distinct and intransigent challenges raised against its logic and coercions. This only deepens our regret that you will not be able to realize your plan to visit us next week. Yet, we do not give up on the hope to be given a future chance to learn from you (or with you) in person. And catch something of that virus of your persistent rejection to make peace with the status quo.

In the firm belief that we will be your hosts in the future, we wish you a quick recovery and swift restoration of your full strength. We intend to continue drawing from it in the future.

The Plenum of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, October 8, 2009

Note of solidarity with the students of the University of Pittsburgh

We too have witnessed the arrogance of the brute force you have been submitted to. We have witnessed it via the internet and through personal messages sent to us by our American friends. At first sight, it may seem as a reversal of the accepted logic of distribution of places in the world: students from Croatia – a country still at war hardly more than a decade ago, then figuring as the window into the past the West convinced itself it had left behind forever – witnessing with disgust and disbelief the violence enacted upon their American colleagues.

Yet, the scenes of special police forces thrashing on peaceful and confused students may be something even more worrying than a flashback into what allegedly has no place in any democracy worthy of the name. It may be a window into a future held in store for all of us. The United States is still the privileged state where the fate of the rest of the world is being rehearsed. The scene of unarmed and peaceful young people being swept aside by force to protect the powerful with paranoid ferociousness – even where no visible challenge to their power has been put forward – is more than just an opportunity to express anger and disbelief. If we do not want such scenes to become a regular part of our collective future, it also has to be understood and accepted as a call to struggle. Passivity in the face of uncalled-for violence is a step towards its passive acceptance and normalization.

So we do as we must and we speak out on this occasion! Both in solidarity with what you have suffered and in the firm belief that this challenge will not frighten you into passivity and silence. We too would be losing in the latter case.

The Plenum of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, October 8, 2009

You can watch here the video depicting students who are being treated by the police as rioters and subjected to tear gas, rubber bullets and sound cannons and even arrested, even though they are not causing trouble but mostly standing in the street and watching.

we, students and citizens gathered on the 46th Plenum held on September 22nd have voted unanimous support and solidarity with organised students of the University of California in your fight against budget cuts.

After listening about your problems with shortage of teachers, canceled classes and forcing to early graduation we have seen how things might develop here in the future if we don’t continue our fight. Your example is just a piece in the global situation of student rebellions against neoliberal politics we are starting to comprehend and your power to fight the situation serves as an added motivation.

We share a common concern regarding the way politics have let go of the control in the sectors where commercialization and market interests can hurt people the most. We started our fight in the education but, same as you, recognise this to be just a piece of the larger problem. Our goals are the same and our methods similar. Our last action was a five week long occupation of the Faculty of humanities here in Zagreb and we wholeheartedly recommend the method of organising it, direct democracy.

The support of your teachers and public workers who see this as their fight, too, can serve ours as a good example. We can see a revolutionary power in you and hope that you see it too. The problem is not to be solved in one day but in a continuous fight and we hope that you will soldier on.

Hoping to hear about you joining us in the Global Week of action this November, we send you our solidarity.

Independent student initiative for the right to free education

Zagreb,  Croatia

• Before the session began, the plenum listened to the one-hour radio drama by author Ljubo Pauzin – which he created from audio recordings of past plenary sessions – and gave him the permission to broadcast it on the Croatian Radio.
• The concept of plenum and the ongoing student struggle for free education needs to be presented to undergraduates who have enrolled at the Facutly of Humanities and Social Sciences this year -  the workgroup for distributing information will meet on Thursday to discuss how best to do that.
• Members of the plenum were informed of student activities around the world. In California, students are protesting budget cuts and rising tuition fees – the plenum will send them a letter of support to express solidarity with their struggle. A UK-based organization invited members of the plenum to join their Google group where they can exchange experiences and talk about the need for publicly funded education – the group can be accessed at http://groups.google.co.uk/group/project2012.
• The International Students Movement has drawn up a petition demanding publicly funded education accessible to all,  emancipatory in nature and free from corporate, private or goverment interests – if you agree with this demand,  please sign the petition here.
• The plenum discussed the decision of the Faculty Council concerning the writing of two final papers for double major graduate students. The workgroup for analysing documents will meet on Monday to write a letter to comment the Council’s decision.
• Despite the fact that this past spring the Faculty Council claimed that it supports the students’ demand for fully publicly funded education, at its last session members of the Council were going to vote for tuition fees for next year, as they do every year. The student representatives  vetoed the vote, demanding that the Council insists that all students enrolled at the Faculty study at the cost of the Ministry of Education. The decision on tuition fees was postponed for the next session, which should be sometime next week. The workgroup will meet on Friday to decide how to react to this.

The session ended at 23:13.

We, the undersigned students, faculty, staff, parents, and concerned citizens worldwide stand united across all divisions of nationality, race, religion and field of studies to declare our support for the aims and objectives of the “Education is NOT for $ale – Global Week of Action” called for by the independent “International Student Movement”.

We are united in working to ensure that:

• Public education is accessible to all and recognized as a fundamental right; NO to tuition fees!
• Public education is free from exploitative corporate practices and state interests which conflict with those of the individual and the public interest.
• Public education primarily serves democratic and public interests, instead of private, business, state and/or labour market interests.
• Public education empowers individuals to become emancipated and autonomous people, able to critically evaluate themselves and their environment, and thus be actively involved in a genuinely democratic society.

If we are to have such a society we need general public discussions on the role of public education systems: Whose interests do they – and should they – primarily serve?
The “Education is NOT for $ale – Global Week of Action” will spread awareness regarding the global nature of the problems linked with the increasing commercialization and corporatization of public education around the world. It will unite activists, groups and movements involved in the struggle for free and emancipatory public education accessible to all and protected as a fundamental human right – Worldwide.

Please sign and forward this petition if you share these demands for public education.

For more information on the “International Student Movement” and/or the “Education is NOT for $ale – Global Week of Action” feel free to send a mail to united.for.education[at]gmail.com or visit emancipating-education-for-all.org
“One World – One Struggle; Education is NOT for $A£€!”

Disclaimer: This petition is not directed at any particular political institution, but designed to bring to light the global nature of the struggle for free and emancipatory public education, inspiring activists and concerned citizens worldwide to unite in their efforts.

The “5 do 12” mini action is a performance in which participants stand in a line that extends from the clock at the main city square pretending to wait for something. They gather at 11:55 and and stand in line for 5 minutes. At the strike of noon they leave post-it notes on the clock with messages like “Free education” and “One world, one struggle” etc, and then quickly disperse. (You can watch a short video of one such mini action here.) On this occasion, the line was formed in front of the Omnibus.

The plenum was informed of several events in the past few days in which students participated:

• On Monday several students in Split went to support the workers of the closed down factory Salonit who are protesting in front of the Commercial Court. (The workers were employed to clean up the factory from asbestos. The clean-up is not finished, but the Court declared that, according to the new law on waste management, the factory manager has an obligation to announce a public bid for the job. The Court thus concluded that the manager had the right to fire the 140 workers – even though they are probably the most qualified for cleaning up the factory because most of them worked in the factory for years or decades before it was closed down.)
• A delegate of the plenum participated on Friday in a panel discussion entitled “Joseph Beuys – struggle for the free educational system and direct democracy” organized by the Omnibus for Direct Democracy.
• On Saturday, as part of the Omnibus programme, students performed the “5 to 12” mini action on the main city square. 
• On Sunday, a garden party in celebration of 340 years of the University of Zagreb was held in the Botanical garden. Present were the president of the University, Minister of Education, and numerous other distinguished guests. Also present were several members of the student initiative, who used the opportunity to present the president, minister and distinguished guests with the latest issue of the student publication Skripta.

The plenum was informed that the work group for interplenary cooperation will meet on Wednesday at 4pm. The work group will discuss changes that might be introduced in some university or faculty regulations which would declare some student actions, such as the occupation of a faculty or university and others, punishable by a severe penalty.

The plenum has decided to send two delegates to a public discussion on direct democracy that is being organized by the Center for Civilian Initiatives of the city of Karlovac.

The plenum also discussed a decision made by the Dean’s Collegium in March of 2008 by which all students who are retaking a course will have to pay 150,00 kuna per every ECTS credit that course brings. Since the Faculty Council never confirmed this decision, the plenum will wait to see if it will be recalled at the next session of the Dean’s Collegium, if not, a memo will be sent to all members of the Faculty Council to express the criticism of this decision.

The next plenum will be held on Tuesday, September 22^nd, at 7pm. Before they begin the session, the students will listen to a radio drama created from audio recordings of various past plenary sessions.

The plenum was informed that the editors of SIC!, a student magazine edited by the students from Sarajevo, have invited students to contribute to their next issue, which will be dedicated to the subject of university, by writing a diary-type account of the student protests.

The plenum was also briefed on the development of the student radio show: it has been agreed with the producers of Radio SC that the students will be making a weekly radio show to be broadcast on Radio SC.

Members of the plenum were invited to join the meetings of two work groups which will be held on Tuesday, September 8th: the media work group will meet at 7pm and will discuss a new press release as well the subject of translating articles from English into Croatian, while the work group for “mini actions” will meet at 6pm. Members were also invited to participate in the “5 to 12″ mini action on Saturday which will take place as part of the Omnibus for Direct Democracy forum.

The plenum also discussed the announced citizen protests which are currently being organized by the Croatian Trade Union Association and are set to happen in several cities around the country. Despite the fact that at the last plenum, held September 2nd, members of the Association expressed their desire to include the students in the shaping of their platform and said they wanted members of the plenum to participate in their organizational meetings, the students did not receive an invitation for any kind of meeting over the past week. Therefore the plenum decided last night that they are unable to give their official support to the Croatian Trade Union Association demonstrations as they don’t have information about the Association’s platform, but the students expressed support for the workers and citizens who are fighting for their rights.

The next plenum will be held on September 14th, at 8pm.

The context and the goals of the occupation of twenty faculties throughout the country, the form and broadness of the student movement, as well as some novel aspects of its organization, make these topics quite worthwhile in regards of research and exploration. Therefore, we have decided to organize a student symposium in order to discuss what, how and why happened, as well as to weigh the potential implications for the future of higher education, general trends of commercialization of education and the dynamics of civil society in Croatia. We would like to emphasize the interdisciplinary and international dimension of this symposium and invite any interested parties or individuals to contribute to the creating of a more detailed picture of students’ protests and the struggle against the commercialization of education.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• faculty occupations and other means of protest
• plenum and other methods of organizing and decision-making
• the commercialization of education and the public sector
• protests’ impact on the public and politics
• education policies in the EU
• media representation and controlling the media
• protests’ results and consequences
• student movement and the civil society

The topic selection is open to other aspects of student protests as well, both in Croatia and worldwide, including those in 2009 and earlier: the implications of neoliberal market capitalism in education, the bologna context of Croatian education system, the organizational and political aspects of plenum decision-making, plenum workgroups and plenum mechanics, plenum as opposed to typical hierarchical structures, the present and future perspective of free education in the EU and worldwide, the political impact of forming the student body as a political subject, the relation between the student protests and civil society etc.

The symposium will be held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th November, 2009.

The deadline for submitting abstracts (up to 250 words) is extended to October 1st. Presentation-ready papers are due on October 15th. Abstracts and papers are to be sent in Croatian or English to this address: simpozij.kssd[at]gmail.com

The official language of the symposium is English, with the possible exception of giving the presentation in Croatian. Participation in the symposium is free (no fee). The participants will have accommodation and food provided for them with a partial refund for travel expenses for up to two presenters per paper.

Click here to download the application form.

Please forward this call for papers to any and all potential presenters and participants.

For any additional info please contact: simpozij.kssd[at]gmail.com

We’re looking forward to your papers and participation!

Also present at the plenum were members of the Croatian Trade Union Association who invited the students to join their protests planned for next week. The students have elected 6 delegates who will meet with members of the Croatian Trade Union Association’s and report to the plenum on their demands and goals of the planned protests. The plenum will then discuss if the demands are in compliance with those of the students and decide whether, and in what way, will the student initiative participate in the protests.