ABSTRACT
On 14 January 1923, Professor Iacob Iacobovici, MD, the rector of the recently founded Romanian University of Cluj, gave an interview in the students' newspaper, Cuvantul studentesc. In this interview, he reflected upon the reasons, differences, and similarities of the student protests that had been gradually inflaming the main Romanian universities of Cluj, Iasi, and Bucharest since the autumn of 1922. Starting from Iacobovici's analysis and using the University of Cluj as a case study, this chapter examines the evolution and outcome of the student movement in this city and beyond. Out of the four faculties functioning in Cluj—sciences, letters, law, and medicine—Jews showed a marked preference for medicine and law, which offered the possibility of a profitable career and independent work. The spark that ignited the ire of the students was a minor, almost insignificant incident. The first phase of the revolt took place within the walls of Cluj University, at the faculty of medicine, in late November 1922.
