On the other are those not willing to lose or even share the privileged status within society granted to them by their lifestyles, which they owe to the "Turkish type of secularism." The country is living in a period marked by high tension. It has seen social division reach its zenith. A small but potent segment of society is doing its utmost to prevent Turkish democracy from catching up with its Western counterparts for fear of losing their privileges. On the other hand, it is not possible to say that the reformist majority will so easily throw in the towel in its struggle against this secular resistance. This being the prevalent atmosphere in Turkey, I will talk to you about a far more worrisome scene than this. Don't ask me, "What could be more disquieting than the current scene in the country?" Well, there is something more dangerous confronting us and, what's more, it's a threat not only for today and tomorrow, but also to the future of our children. Let's name this danger; it's the situation our university students are in.
While watching television, I used to think to myself, "No, they can't be this prejudiced and intolerant; these students must have been deliberately picked by the producers to create the impression that their ideas are widely accepted by young people." However, last Thursday night, after watching "32. Gün" (Day 32) on Kanal D -- broadcast live from one of the most distinguished private universities in Turkey, Bilkent University -- I became really pessimistic. Watching almost all the students who were given the microphone make exactly the same kind of remarks -- with the same intonation, emphasis, anger, hatred and disrespect, like specially designed robots -- I must confess, had quite an impact on me.
How could it not! Is it possible to not be appalled after seeing how Turkish universities, which are supposed to be the home of freedom of thought and critical thinking, ideologically train and format their students?
Apparently those who tried to format and redesign society with the Feb. 28 process launched in 1997 have been very successful in their efforts at the universities, even though they couldn't transform society itself the way they wanted. This process, in which unique thoughts were repressed and unique approaches and styles were punished, is tacitly continuing, not in society, but in universities. The results have been quite "successful." I am exasperated with the thought that today's university students will become tomorrow's administrators, engineers, doctors, teachers and lawyers, to whom we will entrust our future.
Although some of those on "Day 32" let out cries of joy upon seeing this terrifying scene, saying, "Here is a truly republican university we should be proud of!" it is obvious that we, as a nation, will be paying very dear prices for turning our universities into factories of ideological bigotry and zeal.
Unfortunately, the results of a recent reliable survey, which I have before me, conducted among university students confirm my concerns. According to the survey, which focused primarily on the removal of the headscarf ban in universities, 68.6 percent of the 66.8 percent who are content with their personal lives are unhappy with the current course of the country. The sole reason why these students are unhappy with the country is nothing but the ideological trauma the country has plunged into. This ideological trauma impacts the answers given to all of the questions. These rates show radical changes in the ideological identities of the students.
While 51.7 percent of the students support lifting the ban on the headscarf, 42.3 percent are against abolishing the ban. However, public surveys demonstrate 70 percent of the Turkish population as a whole thinks women should be allowed to wear the headscarf everywhere freely. The difference between the rates clearly indicates that university students are lagging behind the public in terms of liberality. These numbers belie the claim that university students are always more liberal than society at large.
Secondly, 44.6 percent of female students think the headscarf ban should be removed, while those who support the ban total 48.5 percent. While 41.8 percent see the headscarf as a political symbol, 50.4 percent don't. Thirty-eight percent hold, "Even if it may be a political symbol, it should be free in the universities."
Fifteen percent of the female students said they always wear the headscarf outside of the university or wear it from time to time. "If they allow the headscarf into universities once and for all, I'll wear it," according to 14.2 percent of the female students surveyed. This result also gives us an idea about what sort of attitude the female students in our universities would adopt if the ban was completely lifted in practice, proving that predictions like "If it is freed, the number of those who wear it will increase/decrease" are entirely ideological and speculative.
Nearly 54 percent of university students see the constitutional amendment for lifting the ban on the headscarf as a negative development, while 41.2 percent support the repressive attitudes of university rectors who continue imposing the ban despite the constitutional amendment and only 20 percent believe the amendment will eventually resolve the problem.
Here you have a core of solid truth about universities in Turkey. I don't know how we can call an institution that falls behind society in terms of freedoms and rights a university.
