Distancing from the statements or positions of individuals on the one hand; support for students or authorities in Serbia on the other.
This is a brief summary of reactions from Kosovo to the student protests in Serbia.
For more than two months, they have been blocking faculties in this country, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the socio-political situation.
Currently, over 60 faculties are blocked, which operate within the University of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac.
The University of North Mitrovica - in northern Kosovo - also operates within the Serbian system, where students say that "there are no conditions" for its closure, but add that "we do not want to be silent observers."
Thus, on January 27, a group of dozens of students held a 15-minute silence in front of the Faculty of Philosophy in North Mitrovica, to honor the 15 people who lost their lives in the collapse of a shelter at the Railway Station in Novi Sad , on November 1 of last year.
They held banners that read: "Support for students and pupils from Kosovo and Metohija" and "If you have managed to buy an individual, you have spent the money on foolishness."
After the action, they did not want to address the public, saying that they had an agreement with their colleagues from Serbia, who on January 27 began a 24-hour blockade of Autokomanda - one of the main traffic centers in Belgrade.
Otherwise, this was the first rally in support of student protests across Serbia, organized by students of the University of North Mitrovica in northern Kosovo.
Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of North Mitrovica, Senka Kostić, said she "admires the courage" of the students who decided not to remain silent and to publicly show solidarity with their colleagues from Serbia.
She is among the initiators of an online petition in support of the student protests, which has so far been signed by around 350 professors from the University of North Mitrovica.
This university was relocated from Pristina after the 1999 war, and employs a total of around 800 teachers and teaching assistants, while around 9,000 students study in its ten faculties.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Professor Kostic said that "it is very true that someone can lose their job or suffer some consequences, because of their actions or because of freedom of thought."
She, personally, did not face direct consequences for supporting the student protest, but said there was "a little tension" over the contract extension.
"For now, I'm staying at work. When you stand by what you do at work, when they have nothing to criticize you for, then you can be yourself and have integrity," Kostić said.
The Rectorate of the University based in North Mitrovica announced in mid-December last year that it supports the right to free opinion, but distances itself from the views of individuals.
According to him, the academic community should not be politicized.
This announcement came after several professors publicly supported the students in Serbia, saying that with their signatures, they want to contribute to the fight for a more just and responsible society.
The Rectorate's statement stated that, "given the environment in which our institutions operate, we believe that any manifestation of instability could have unpredictable consequences for students and employees."
"We support President Aleksandar Vučić, the state authorities and institutions of the Republic of Serbia in preserving academic freedom, ensuring the rights of students and teachers, as well as the conditions for the normal work and functioning of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia," it was said in that reaction.
For Professor Kostić, the Rectorate in North Mitrovica should have been more supportive of citizens and students, and less of the authorities.
"I think they simply found a way not to stand with the students. In a cowardly way, they are hiding behind the current political developments in Kosovo. I believe they are under great pressure to come out and support Aleksandar Vučić's policies, but this has been a situation in which they did not have to bend their spine," Kostić said.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty contacted the Rectorate of the University of North Mitrovica to ask whether it supports the students who stood in solidarity with their colleagues in Serbia on January 27 and whether those who freely express their views may suffer any consequences, but, by the time of publication of this article, it had not received a response.
On January 24, the Student Parliament of the University of North Mitrovica called on students in Serbia to distance themselves from their support for Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti.
"He who supported you is killing us and expelling us," the statement said, among other things.
According to her, students in Kosovo need "Serbia to be strong and stable politically and economically - a country with strong institutions with the rule of law, which has understanding and friends in both the East and the West."
However, some students of the Faculty of Philosophy in North Mitrovica distanced themselves from this statement, saying that the Student Parliament has not met in any session and that the published statement is "shameful and malicious."
One of them was Jovan Zafirović, who is also known to the public for his aphorisms.
"At the beginning of the statement it says 'We students', which students? Is this the position of the majority of students? They have issued a statement without asking the students. The student parliament that signed the statement really has no right to speak on behalf of all students," Zafirović told reporters on Friday.
He said he has spoken to many of his colleagues who did not support the Student Parliament's statement, but that most were "afraid" to say so publicly.
Radio Free Europe contacted the Student Parliament to ask for comments on colleagues' accusations that the statement does not reflect the position of the majority of students, but did not receive a response.
Nemanja Biševac, an activist of the Serbian List - the largest Serbian party in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of Belgrade, was also a member of the Student Parliament for several years. He is currently an advisor to the rector of the University of North Mitrovica.
At the same time, he is also on the list of candidates for deputies from the Serbian List, who will compete in the February 9 parliamentary elections in Kosovo.
According to data that can be seen on the website of the University of North Mitrovica, at least five members of the Serbian List, including the president of this party, Zlatan Ellek, are members of the University Council representing the Republic of Serbia.
One of the members of this council is Goran Rakić, former chairman of the Serbian List and current MP in the Serbian Parliament, where he represents the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
The University Council is the governing body and consists of 19 members, ten of whom are faculty representatives, six representatives of the founders - namely the Government of Serbia - and three student representatives.
Several professors or deans of faculties at the University of North Mitrovica are also on the list of candidates for deputies of the Serbian List for the February 9 elections.
One of them is the professor and dean of the Faculty of Economics, Tanja Vujovic./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
