"ЋАЦИ У ШКОЛУ"

Ćaci is one of the slang terms of the ongoing anti-corruption protests in Serbia, caused by the Novi Sad raiway station canopy collapse on November 1st, 2024. It originates from the graffiti "Ćaci to school" (Serbian: "Ćaci u školu"), which was written on the fence of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium in Novi Sad.

On December 16th, 2024, the Gymnasium was blocked because of the decisions made by the school principal, Radivoje Stojković (1964), who sent an apology to the Prime Minister, Miloš Vučević (1974), since his son was forced out during the 15-minute silence for the victims of the tragedy. Students demanded his apology, but in response, he was kneeling and praying, refusing to answer the questions.

On January 9th, 2025, students handed over the school keys and officially ended the blockade after the School Board accepted most of their demands, except the apology. On January 22nd, an unknown artist, presumably a member of the SNS (Serbian: Srpska Napredna Stranka), wrote a graffiti, misspelling it using the letter Ć (Ћ) instead of Đ (Ђ) in the word "Students " (Serbian: "Đaci").

This was seen as an attempt by the ruling SNS to mock students, backfiring due to the illiteracy. It was awarded the "1st place for the worst knowledge in Cyrillic". The image spread rapidly on social media, inspiring memes and commentary. At first, Ćaci was just a slang term to describe students, but soon, it became hated.

On March 6th, 2025, a student organization known as "Students 2.0" who describe themselves as "Students who want to study", led by Miloš Pavlović (2004), who is a medical student at the University of Belgrade, formed a camp called "Ćacilend" at Pioneers Park in Belgrade. They organized press conferences and presented their demands, but many people saw them as traitors who work for the SNS.

The park was surrounded by metal fences and tractors, especially on March 15th, when the protest in Belgrade was announced. It also included the veterans of the JSO (Serbian: Jedinica za Specijalne Operacije), the special forces who carried out assassinations of political opponents of Slobodan Milošević (1941 - 2006), and who were also involved in instances of war crimes during the Kosovo War.

Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić (1970), supported for the Students 2.0 several times, that he was seen wearing a T-Shirt "I'm Ćaci too" (Serbian: "I ja sam Ćaci"), which led to even more hate. Soon, the student protesters created the new chant: "Whoever doesn't jump is Ćaci" (Serbian: "Ko ne skače, taj je Ćaci"), which is used to describes SNS supporters and those who don't want to fight for justice.