A PROFESSOR’S EXIT NOTE

Believe it or not, I’ve only just realized that my very last semester—ever—has officially ended! 🤗

All that’s left now are a few final duties: the exam session, one master’s thesis defense, and one undergraduate thesis defense.

I entered university life with boundless enthusiasm—first as a student from worker’s family, full of curiosity and ideals, then as a professor, eager to inspire, challenge, and grow alongside generations of students. I believed in the university as a sanctuary for critical thought, creativity, and dialogue.

But over the years, that passion was slowly eroded. I have witnessed a painful transformation: the decline of academic excellence, the normalization of mediocrity, and the creeping militarization of the curriculum. The critical spirit has been replaced by conformity; independent thought, by alignment. I’ve seen the NATO-ization of academic discourse, where security narratives trump those of justice and peace. Most painfully, I witnessed the birth—and quiet death—of peace studies. It was once a bold promise; today, it’s a memory.

I thought I would greet this moment with nostalgia, even sadness. But no. If I will miss anything, it will be the brilliant, committed, and courageous students who reminded me daily why I stayed as long as I did. For them, I will always be around. They know how to reach me.

Right now, I feel like a child before summer break—except this one is open-ended and full of possibilities.

It’s time to decontaminate and detox, to reclaim joy, to create freely, to work on what I truly love, and to travel—both within and across new frontiers.

Onward, with clarity and peace of mind.