Cagliari, language students protest their mid-term transfer: "They're treated like pawns."
Anger explodes in the department: "No classrooms rebuilt, no guarantees. This is how our community is being torn apart."Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
"We're tired of being treated like pawns." This is a cry of frustration and anger coming from the students of the Languages degree program at the University of Cagliari. After months of waiting and uncertainty, confirmation has arrived: starting next academic year, the master's program will move to the Via Trentino campus, while the undergraduate programs will remain at the Aresu Campus. A decision that ignited the protests.
In a joint statement, the students expressed their opposition not so much to the transfer itself, but to the way it was managed: partial, unsupported, and above all lacking real logistical and structural guarantees.
"We no longer trust reassurances. Our safety wasn't guaranteed once, and we don't want that to happen again," they write, recalling the collapse of the Via Trentino campus on October 18, 2022, which forced the entire degree program to urgently move to the former Aresu Clinic.
Behind the opposition is a real fear that dividing the campuses will compromise the quality of the academic experience . "This way, a bond built over the years is being broken," they complain. "The largest classrooms, those that collapsed, have not yet been rebuilt. The forced relocation does not guarantee adequate space for either students or faculty, many of whom teach in both cycles. The risk is organizational chaos."
As early as March 2025, during a meeting at the Rector's Office , students had expressed their opposition to the "half-way" transfer, supported by a petition with 171 signatures. "But it wasn't taken into consideration," they complain. Another concern is the number of master's degree enrollments, which could drop dramatically.
"Those still enrolled in the undergraduate program but already taking master's courses," they explain, "would be forced to travel between two different locations every day, risking not being able to attend regularly."
The representative aspect also plays a role: "Starting next October, all student representatives will be attending the master's program, thus leaving the Aresu Campus without direct representation."
The university's response was swift. "Starting next academic year, the master's degree programs in languages will be held at the Via Trentino campus, recently renovated and equipped to accommodate teaching and laboratory activities. The undergraduate programs will temporarily remain in the current location of the former Aresu Clinic."
The University also specifies that the transfer was shared and communicated to student representatives during several meetings, during which the construction plan and related timelines were presented.