It was promised in the university elections on June 23th that a public garden* would be built at Yıldız Technical University (YTU) on the Davutpaşa Campus. Students’ opposition to the plans were not listened to and with the recent tweet of Mayor of Esenler Mehmet Tevfik Göksu the issue has resurfaced. Esenler Mayor Mehmet Tevfik Göksu shared four  images of the YTU Davutpaşa Campus. He announced that the garden which will be opened on the campus will be Turkey’s first “smart public garden” and made examinations of the site with the Rector.

The students had started a campaign, saying: “YTÜ is ours, it will not be a public garden.” They are opposed to the construction of a public garden on campus, the felling of the trees, the opening of the campus to the public and the students not being consulted on the plan. The students organized forums and hand clapping protests.  During the protests on campus, a disciplinary investigation was opened against a student who shared the contents of the protests with other students, and the student was suspended from the university for a month.

“If there is no barbecue, nobody will come”

The students reacted to the tweet of Mehmet Tevfik Göksu, Mayor of Esenler; “If there is no barbecue, nobody will come, there must be barbecues.” 

According to the information conveyed by the students, the details of the project are as as follows:

*The university (Administration) will decide whether the public garden is open to the public.
*The entire project will be completed in August.
*There will be a concert venue.
* There  will be a walking path starting from the School of Foreign Languages.
*There will be barbecue areas and tables with benches. (Source)

*Public garden: AKP’s project of creating green areas and recreation areas for the public. Within the scope of the project, 207 public gardens are planned to be built in 72 provinces.