Below is the Student Union's speech from the university Academic Ceremony 2026, the 6th of February. Written and performed by Chairman Adam Hemdan and Vice-Chairman Alexandra Bokström Niflis.
The Student Union's speech
12 October 2023 I stepped into my first meeting as a student representative for the Swedish programme and subject council. I was nervous, but also curious. It was as if I was about to enter another world. One where I would get to see what happened behind closed doors. But would they welcome me? Would they listen to what I had to say?
Zoe Nikolaidou, chair and subject coordinator for Swedish, seemed surprised after the meeting by the fact that I had never been a student representative before. Because I had had so much to say.
After two and a half semesters in the communication programme, I had gathered this and that, and finally I had been given a forum where I could vent my frustrations but also my observations. I became part of the community. A colleague in the room. And I realised that it was possible to make a difference.
What carried me forward, from programme council to department board, faculty board, university board and student union, was the knowledge that I was not alone. Through the student union I found a community – others who, like myself, were searching for something greater. Who, like myself, also had a lot to say.
Both nationally and globally, we have seen how academic freedom is increasingly threatened, as governments across the world strive to control and shape the content of academia. More than ever, therefore, it is crucial that we remind ourselves – and each other – that academia is not merely a place for study, education and qualification, but also a foundation for the expression and development of democratic life.
It is easy to forget that the conditions and opportunities we have today exist only as a result of active choices. Passivity and academic freedom do not go hand in hand. We must continuously and consciously choose to safeguard the freedoms and rights that have been entrusted to us.
Academic freedom is often described as the right to think freely, speak freely and question.
But in practice, it is also dependent on time.
Time to ask questions. Time to get a response. Time to test ideas in conversation with others.
When teacher-led time decreases, it is not just teaching opportunities that disappear – meeting places are also disappearing. And without meetings between students and teachers, academic freedom becomes something abstract, a principle without practice. Increased teacher-led time is therefore not just an educational issue. It is a democratic issue. For without time to meet, converse and challenge one another, there is also no living academic discourse to protect.
Adam Hemdan, President 2025/26
Alexandra Bokström Niflis, vice chairperson 2025/26