For the first time in several decades, Iran's president refused to show up at the Students Day celebration at the University of Tehran on Sunday, December 6. Meanwhile, one of the major academic centers in Tehran, the Allameh Tabatabai University reportedly exerted pressure on the students to cancel their gathering on the occasion.

The 6th of December marks the anniversary of a student protest in 1953 during which three students from among those who protested a visit to Iran by -then- US Vice President Richard Nixon were shot dead by the police. Since then, Iranian students have been taking advantage of the day to voice their protests and demand civil liberties.

In recent years, the occasion was highlighted by a visit to the University of Tehran by the President, during which student activists asked their questions and vented their frustrations.

On Sunday, the director general for cultural affairs at the Allameh Tabatabai warned the students that they might have to face "legal consequences" if they insist to mark the day.

The official added that any program needs a permit from the university's supervisory board. The students had planned a "live event" on the social media platform Instagram to mark the occasion. The "free-thinkers," a student group that had arranged a speech by student activist Fereshteh Tousi insisted that the event does not need a permit. But Sepehr Samadi Rad, the secretary of the group later tweeted that university officials have threatened him to stop the plans for the event.

A statement issued by the group says "No one supports the students as both the University and the law force the students to kneel before the despotic system."

Many other student groups have also been marking the Students Day virtually on social media as the Ministry of Science and Higher Education has said that there will be no official program or event for the day.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Gholamreza Ghaffari told semi-official news agency ISNA that the President's office has refused to respond to a call for taking part in a virtual celebration to mark the Students Day.

At the same time, reports from Iran say there are tight security measures in place around most Iranian universities although academic centers have been closed for some time now due to the coronavirus pandemic and there are no students on campuses.

Tehran University Professor Sadeq Zibakalam tweeted on Sunday that students faced security barriers by at the gates of the university. Security officials told Zibakalam the measure was meant to prevent the Students Day celebrations.

In the meantime, following recent arrests, several Iranian students are currently in jail or have been sentenced to prison time. IRGC security forces arrested Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Younesi two Sharif University students and academic award winners and they have been in jail since April.

The advocates of human rights in Iran have named sixteen other students who have been jailed or sentenced to imprisonment.

Other than tens of students who were jailed during and after the November 2019 nationwide protests, security forces have also arrested many other students for taking part in activities such as mourning for the victims of the downing of a civilian aircraft over Tehran in January.

Nonetheless, university officials have been denying the arrests and imprisonments. Hossein Salimi, the chancellor of Allameh Tabatabai University told the official news agency IRNA on Saturday that at his university "No student has been  jailed or convicted of political offenses for their political activity."

Ahmad Motamedi, the Chancellor of Amir Kabir University also told reporters that only one student from his university is in jail for his activities outside the campus. 

But usually Iranian officials call any political activity ‘sedition’ or ‘disturbing public peace’, and then claiming that no one has been prosecuted for political offenses.