Historic university at the mercy of violent vandals

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) finds itself in the grip of vandals who refuse to show any sign of respect for the historic institution, whose halls, columns, bulletin boards and every corner are almost always covered in ugly graffiti, hinting that the battle for the protection of public buildings appears to be a losing one.

The photos of spaces in the NTUA's historic complex taken by art historian and exhibition curator Megakles Rogakos, which on Wednesday were doing the rounds on social media, "are a punch in the stomach," according to Rector Andreas Boudouvis, who stressed that students, especially architecture students, "must stand up."

"Without the reaction of the students, there are no grounds for hope," he noted, while also admitting the NTUA administration's "inability to deal with this particular expression of barbarity accompanied by the...