Viral: UNY Vice-Rector Debates Students Over Banner Containing Criticism
A video has gone viral on social media showing a Vice Rector at Yogyakarta State University (UNY) expressing anger and labelling a student protest banner as ‘rubbish’. The banner contained criticisms regarding UNY’s potential involvement in managing the Nutritional Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG), also known as the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) kitchen.
In the video, uploaded by the Instagram account @gardabiru.uny, a Vice Rector wearing a white shirt is seen engaged in a high-tension debate with students. The Vice Rector was heard referring to the students’ protest banner as ‘rubbish’. The official has been identified as Siswanto, the Vice Rector for Human Resources and Law at UNY.
When asked for confirmation regarding the incident, a representative of the UNY Student Alliance, Andri, explained that the event took place on Wednesday (24/6). He stated that the group planned to hold the protest during the graduation ceremony at the UNY rectorate building to maximise visibility.
“The banner was large, approximately 2x2 metres. It contained the text: ‘Rector of education, knows nothing of education; a campus for cultivating thoughts, not for cooking MBG; we, UNY students, reject SPPG’. Those were the only three sentences on the banner,” Andri added.
According to Andri, the group initially intended to display the banner on the rectorate stairs briefly for photography purposes before removing it, as they did not wish to disrupt the graduation proceedings. After photographing the banner, they planned to move their main protest to the main gate of UNY.
“However, before we could enter the rectorate stairs area, we were intercepted in the rectorate corridor by several security guards and the Vice Rector. We attempted to push through,” Andri explained.
He recounted the interaction with security, noting that they were told they were not permitted to enter without being given a specific reason. This led to a physical confrontation where students were pushed out of the rectorate area, resulting in the verbal altercation captured in the video.
“The altercation began there. The Vice Rector said things like ‘this cannot happen here’, ‘this is dirty’, and ‘this is rubbish’, as seen in the circulating video,” Andri said. He expressed shock at the official’s choice of language, noting that such derogatory terms are rarely encountered during their protests.
Following the incident, students proceeded to protest in front of the main UNY gate with the banner. Although initially prevented from displaying it, they eventually managed to continue their demonstration.
When contacted separately, UNY Vice Rector for HR and Law, Siswanto, stated that his reaction was due to the unauthorised nature of the student action within the rectorate hall. He also claimed the protest materials contained inappropriate content.
“Yesterday, several students attempted to perform a theatrical piece in the Rectorate Hall without permission, even though the hall was crowded with students and parents following the graduation,” Siswanto said. He added that the materials used soiled the floor and contained inappropriate text, further noting that the students’ claims regarding UNY managing an SPPG are unfounded as no such unit exists at this time.