Students from multiple faculties at the University of Novi Sad occupied the University Rector’s Office on Thursday.

All university faculties in Novi Sad are currently under student blockade, except for the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, whose students have announced plans to join the protest.

After entering the Rectorate building, Mila Pajic, a student from the informal group STAV (Students Against Authoritarian Rule), asked all employees to leave the building and declared it under blockade.

Students are demanding the resignation of Novi Sad University Rector Dejan Madic, with chants of “resign” echoing through the building.

Novi Sad University chief, Rector Dejan Madic told students that he would never resign. He spent 2 hours locked in his office before coming out to talk to the students.

On Wednesday, hundreds of university staff members also called for Madic’s resignation after he and several deans signed a statement condemning the student protests.

On Thursday, students across Serbia, including in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, and Cacak, held road blockades from 11:52 am to 12:06 pm, commemorating the victims of the November 1 train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad that killed 15 people and seriously injured two others.

Students outside various faculties held up banners with messages such as “I’m blocking because I want to stay in Serbia,” “I empathize, therefore I exist,” and “Protest is an exam.”