Campus attack highlights security lapses

Professor Sotiris Notaris, head of the Mathematics Department, described the harrowing incident that occurred during an oral exam in his office a few days ago.

“It was just after noon. I had finished an oral exam with a student when a group of 10-15 masked individuals in black stormed in,” Notaris recounted.

“One of them said, ‘Why are you bringing the cops to the university and targeting workers?’ Then the attack began.”

The assailants threw red paint and eggs, damaged office equipment, and destroyed documents.

“The student was terrified,” Notaris added.

“When their ‘ammunition’ ran out, they began smashing the office. At the end, a woman in the group said, ‘If you do anything like this again, we will kill you,’” he said.

Notaris believes the attack was linked to his opposition to the occupation of a canteen and shared spaces in the department.

He had acted to restrict unauthorized access, including locking a side entrance used by intruders to bypass security.

When the side entrance was forcibly reopened, Notaris reported the matter to university officials and police.

In response, a website affiliated with anarchist groups posted a “justification” for the attack.

Meanwhile, faculty members denounced the incident as a “cowardly assault” and staged a two-day teaching boycott to protest security lapses.

“This symbolic action aims to highlight the severe safety and infrastructure issues undermining both working and learning conditions at the university,” they stated.

University Rector Gerasimos Siasos has ordered an internal investigation into the attack.

Kathimerini