College Students Gather to Contemplate Bulgaria's Future

College students from across Bulgaria, members of the National Representation of the College Students Councils (NPSS), are organizing Saturday a national summit under the motto "The Future of Bulgaria."

NGOs, supporting their ideas, are also going to join in, along with football legend Hristo Stoichkov, who has agreed to become one of the "faces" of their just founded "Eagles' Bridge" Movement.

College students gathered Wednesday evening near the lake Ariana in the central Sofia park Borisova Gradina and founded the Movement whose main goal is to oppose the status quo in Bulgaria through young, nonpartisan Bulgarians.

At the gathering, the college students decided to elect as their patron an individual who will fight with them for their cause without attempting to gain personal benefits; a person who has never been a politician, and who has no such ambitions.

The above led them to elect Stoichkov for the post.

The NPSS Chair, Angel Georgiev, says citizens and civil society must be united by proven national leaders.

"If you prove you are honest, speak the truth, look people in their eyes, then I am with you. But I don't want anyone to tarnish my name. Many have done it. I don't care about any government, any politician. I am nonpartisan. If people are disgruntled and protest, there must be a reason," Stoichkov is quoted saying.

The summit starts at 2 pm Saturday at the "Arena Armeets" facility in the capital. Student leaders say Stoichkov has paid the bill to rent the expensive venue.

On Friday, NPSS demanded a new law for college education to include a different financing model. They also want tuition fees to be frozen as there is a planned increase, and elimination of academic corruption.

The Dean of Bulgaria's oldest and most prestigious university, Sofia University, Prof Ivan Ilchev says these demands were just and reasonable.

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