Boğaziçi University

BIANET: Boğaziçi University Presidency Returns ‘Hande Kader’ Fellowship Donations

The Boğaziçi University LGBTI+ Studies Club had announced that they would grant a student [with the] Hande Kader Fellowship but the university presidency has said that the fellowship was not within their knowledge. The donations are being returned.

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Source: BIANET (ÇT/TK), http://bianet.org/english/lgbti/189274-hande-kader-fellowship-for-trans-students-at-bogazici-university, August 21, 2017

Following the statement by the Boğaziçi University LGBTI+ Studies Club (BÜLGBTI+) on the Hande Kader Fellowhsip, the Boğaziçi University Presidency has issued a statement saying that the donations were returned as of this moment.

Boğaziçi University Foundation (BÜVAK) and BÜLGBTI+ would grant the Hande Kader fellowship to a trans student this year.

A trans student at Boğaziçi University would receive 500 TL (125 Euros) of fellowship for 12 months as part of the Hande Kader Fellowship prepared through the cooperation of BÜVAK and BÜLGBTI+.

The fellowship would be formed through the donations that will be collected. The quota for the fellowship holders was planned to be increased and the 1-year fellowship was planned to be extended depending on the amount collected.

Boğaziçi Presidency: The donations are being returned

“[The] Fund and scholarship which have become the subject of reports in the media stating that a fellowship of 500 TL for 12 months to be provided by the ‘Hande Kader Fellowship’ to a trans Boğaziçi University student  as a result of the cooperation of BÜVAK and LGBTI+ Studies Club are not within the knowledge of BÜVAK and Boğaziçi University Presidency.

“There is no such a fund within the body of BÜVAK. For this reason, the donators and those who would like to donate shouldn’t be misinformed.

“The donations of the donators are being returned as of now”.

About Hande Kader

Hande Kader was born in Turkey’s southeastern province of Urfa in 1993. She was living in İstanbul and she was working as a sex worker.

She was last seen when she was getting in a customer’s car in August 2016. Her friends filed a missing person report with the Gayrettepe Security Directorate on August 4. On August 12, a body was found in Zekeriyaköy. It was determined that the body, which was burned from the waist down, was Hande Kader. Since the family didn’t want the body, Hande Kader was interred in an anonymous cemetery.

A year has passed since the murder. The investigation is still on-going and the perpetrators are yet to be caught. (ÇT/TK)

All gender bathroom initiative achieves success at Boğaziçi University

“All Gender Bathroom” initiative at Boğaziçi University yields its initial successful outcome!

Source: Ekin Keser, “BOĞAZİÇİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ’NDE CİNSİYETSİZ TUVALET PROJESİ SONUÇ VERDİ” (“All gender bathroom initiative achieves success at Boğaziçi University”), GZone, 11 February 2016, http://gzone.com.tr/bogazici-universitesinde-cinsiyetsiz-tuvalet-projesi-sonuc-verdi/

We first heard about this campaign in a press release on November 19, 2014, World Toilet Day. Signatures were collected, petitions were submitted, public forums were organized. Today, we talked to Beren Azizi and Görkem Ulumeriç of BÜ [Boğaziçi University – Trans.] LGBTI Studies Association about the “All Gender Bathroom” campaign, which officially yielded its initial successful outcome.

Could you start by telling how this idea came about, how you got started and when you first took action?

Beren Azizi: This idea emerged from analyses of the “violation of rights” that result from “deprivation.” Education is a human right, because everyone is equal; however in practice we see that things do not really work that way. LGBTI+ students drop out of their studies, do not come to school, they are depressed or “unsuccessful.” When you start asking what happened and what went wrong, you realize that places, where a fundamental right such as education is offered, are in fact filled with challenges and obstacles for the LGBTI+’s. Toilets, as we see from numerous scientific studies around the world, are one of those obstacles. Based on the feedback we received from LGBTI+ students, we realized that “All Gender Bathroom” is a right and we should demand it.

We took the first step on November 19, 2014, World Toilet Day. We sent out a press release. Of course, mental framework for this idea was in place long ago, in fact years ago.

Görkem Ulumeriç: LGBTI+ can face challenges while using binary gender bathrooms, changing rooms and dorm rooms. They either use the bathrooms while everyone is in class or never at all. We bring up such issues during the meetings of the LGBTI club and make it an active topic of discussion on campus. We organized forums, prepared banners, made press releases, wrote many pieces to the university’s Facebook groups. We submitted a petition with 400 signatures. The president’s office evaluated these inquiries and all gender bathrooms were already in place at the beginning of this semester.   

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Security officer at Bosphorous University insults an LGBTI Studies Club member, the university initiates disciplinary investigation into the student

A member of the Bosphorus University LGBTI Studies Club was subject to insult and degradation by the university’s security staff. The university opened an investigation into the student on the grounds that they refused to present an identification card and disputed with the security staff.

Source:  “Boğaziçi LGBTİ üyesine güvenlik hakaret etti, okul soruşturma açtı!” (“Security officer at Bosphorus University insults an LGBTI Studies Club member, the university initiates disciplinary investigation into the student!”), kaosGL.org, 15 January 2016, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=20909

Bosphorus University initiated a disciplinary investigation into a member of the university’s LGBTI Studies Club. “Declining to present an identification card to the security staff” and “entering into dispute with the security staff” were given as reasons for the investigation.

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The student member stated that the security staff assaulted them. They sent the following e-mail to the Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Assault:

This is my complaint about the assault I endured today around noon by the university’s security staff. I am sharing related notes about my experience:

I was not alone during the incident.There were students around. I know a few of them. They are also students at the university.

The incident happened three or four meters away from the stairs at the main entrance at North Campus after entering through the gate.

Some of the students who witnessed the incident stopped the security guard who walked up to me and said: ‘What do you think you are doing? You cannot act like this!’

Others said, ‘you cannot address people however you want. You cannot treat a student in this manner just for not showing their ID.’

Others tried to console me: ‘You are right. We know you are right, but if you continue to shout you will be blamed when you are in fact not guilty of anything.’ They were about 15-20 students who came to my support. I only know two of them in person.

I had come to school for my 13:55pm class.

“What should we call you? Are you an animal? Shall we call you animal?”

I came to school, went through the main gate at North Campus. As I was passing by, the security asked for ID: ‘Sir, can you show your ID?’ I did not respond [to being addressed as ‘sir’], and walked on. They said behind me, ‘Hey, sir, hey, ID, ID, we are talking to you!’

I again did not respond and continued walking to the building where my class was being held. At this time, the students who were there said, ‘they are calling you.’

I turned around. They said, ‘We called for you sir, and you do not respond. What are we supposed to call you?’ I said, ‘you can say ‘student,’ ‘or, excuse me’, or ‘friend.’

‘What shall we call you? Are you an animal? Shall we call you animal?’ they said. Meanwhile, a middle-aged security staff about 170 m tall, took out their cell phone and began recording me.

‘Go on, report this,’ they said. I thought about the previous report filed by the club I am a member of. I thought they might have heard about it. I said, ‘Of course, we will report it. You did the same to another student who is not from this university.’

I turned my back and continued walking. As I took a few steps, the security guard who was trying to record me on their cell phone cut in front of me. When that happened, people gathered around us, and other security guards gathered around me. Then another group with an acquaintance of mine among them intervened. The security staff said: ‘Your power reaches us. Go on, deal with it downstairs! You don’t have the heart to back down. We dare you!’

I did not want to hear more, I wanted to get away. I was scared, my nerves were shaking. At that moment, the security staff yelled at me: ‘Do not fuck with us!’ My friends took me away from the scene. I explained the situation to the club members. I was 15 minutes late to class. I had a terrible day after the incident. I was very agitated, wanted to cry, and could not focus on the class. I am considering getting therapy.

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Medeniyet University Rector Criticizes Bosphorus University for Hosting Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and Gets Response from Student Group

The chancellor of the University of Medeniyet [“Modernity”], M. İhsan Karaman, reacted to the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus concert in Istanbul. The response came from the Bosphorus University’s Council of Student Representation.

Source: Bianet, “Sayın Rektörüm Ne Olacak Ayol” [“Aww My Dear Chancellor, So What?!”], 18 June 2015, http://m.bianet.org/bianet/lgbti/165424-sayin-rektorum-ne-olacak-ayol

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, one of the prominent choruses in the US, was to arrive at Zorlu Performing Arts Center for a concert on 27 June [2015], a day before the 13th LGBTI Pride Parade. Vahdet, a newspaper in Turkey, carried the concert to its headlines as “Perversion Runs Free,” in which it called for a boycott against Zorlu Holding and pointed out both Zorlu Holding and Kaos GL as targets[1]. Consequently, ticket sales were halted.

Following the cancellation of the concert, with the efforts by the Bosphorus University LGBTI Studies Club, it was announced that the concert was going to be held at Bosphorus University’s South [Main] Campus.

“Concert in freedom in a free university!”

Screen Shot 2015-06-20 at 05.14.34İhsan Karaman reacted to the news, saying “We are waiting for the thousands of followers of Bosphorus University’s Council of Student Representation to protest the strategic efforts to paint homosexuality as if it were cute! NO to the gay concert at the Bosphorus!”

The Council of Student Representation replied: “Aww My Dear Chancellor, So What?! Concert in freedom in a free university!”

The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus will be in Istanbul [at Bosphorus University’s Main Campus -Trans.] on Saturday June 27th at 6:30pm. The concert will be open to public and free of charge. A sound system will be set up at the 1,500-people capacity venue for those who cannot find a seat.


[1] Turkey has a history of political violence, hate crimes, and political assassinations that followed a governmental authority figure and/or mainstream media singling out a person or a group out as rightfully injurable with impunity. –Trans.

LGBTI students want gender-neutral dorm rooms

Source: Çiçek Tahaoğlu, “LGBTİ Öğrenciler Cinsiyetsiz Yurtlar İstiyor,” (“LGBTI students want gender-neutral dorm rooms,”) bianet, 13 November 2013, http://www.bianet.org/bianet/lgbtt/151265-lgbti-ogrenciler-cinsiyetsiz-yurtlar-istiyor

LGBTI students at Boğaziçi University are demanding gender-neutral dorm rooms. Görkem Ulumeriç from the Boğaziçi University LGBTI community talked to bianet about the housing problems and the group’s requests.

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