"Universities should be a venue for dialogue. As student representatives, we are walking out of this venue in protest," a union leader declared loudly, interrupting a speech by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during an Oct. 16 ceremony that marked a belated commencement of the academic year at the University of Tehran — the country's largest higher education center.
The union leaders were infuriated by what they found as a "selective" process allowing only a handpicked number of students to speak at the podium. They decried the "show" and "an atmosphere of flattery" staged by Rouhani subordinates at a venue where many seats remained vacant.
