Republic City University

Republic City University is a major educational institution which educates scholars throughout the United Republic and the four nations as a whole. The university campus dominates Republic City's Roku Plaza district.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 40.
== History ==
Republic City University dates back to the days of Cranefish Town, with the central hall and administrative offices being some of the oldest buildings in the entire city. Originally, the university was just a dream of an overworked librarian who wanted to preserve as much as she could after the Hundred Year War. Avatar Aang helped to bring scholars from all over the world to Cranefish Town, and the university was officially founded. Its first dean came out of retirement from Ba Sing Se University to help Aang set up the institution, and created up many of the policies that ended up defining the school.
The university became divided leading up to the Anti-bending Revolution, with some students supporting the Equalist movement. One Equalist was even able to pursue his revolutionary agenda full-time at a graduate student at the university.
In the years after Amon's defeat, a peaceful Equalist revival movement spread throughout the university halls. Professor Rabten, a philosophy professor at the university, was a key figure in the movement. The revival movement took pains to distance itself from Amon's violent principles, but while Rabten preached peaceful protest, animosity bubbled under the surface. Equalist revival demonstrations began to regularly clog Roku Plaza, and the professor was arrested several times for disturbing the peace. One protest in the mid 170s AG turned violent, and a bender student was hurt. Rabten was also actually being controlled by Yoshiro, the shadowy "Iron Dragon" who was the new leader of the main group of militant Equalists. Yoshiro's influence threatened to turn the peaceful protests into full-scale riots.
With the Equalist protests on campus, Dean Shihan attempted to open up communication between disparate groups. She organized monthly debates in the campus proper, where students from differing ideologies could come to air their grievances and learn from the "other side". The debates started peacefully enough, with most students there for academic exercise instead of confrontation. However, things soon began to heat up. Members of the Equalist revival party were due to be in attendance at one coming debate night. Professor Rabten promised that the students who supported the Equalists did not have violent intentions. However, the dean knew better, and worried that bad actors were likely to attend. The Iron Dragon wanted to revive Amon's tactics, and started co-opting the emotions of angry students to do just that, ensuring that the next generation of Equalists would get the "correct" education. The dean worried that the debate could end in violence, but knew that she could not stop the night from happening, and canceling the event would mean very bad press. Shihan had to find a way to keep the peace and weed out the violent Equalists from the normal student population.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 43.
In contrast to the unrest caused by the Equalist revival, students from all backgrounds spearheaded a Healing the City Committee, which organized rebuilding efforts and charity drives. The students involved in programs like this looked for a way to heal the scars of the Earth Empire invasion. However, it was a point of controversy that the Healing the City Committee was chaired by Iknik Blackstone Varrick, in addition to a senior student named Nima. Students worried that Varrick's guest lecturer position at the university was just the beginning, and that he would use the money he donated to influence university policy. The anger was directed at not just Varrick, but also toward the charity effort he helped to organize, as certain students believed that it must be corrupt, just like the businessman.
== Curriculum ==
Republic City University's policies are partially based on traditional Earth Kingdom education, with the university being partially modeled after Ba Sing Se University. However, through the years, these were shaped to fit Republic City, and the curriculum also ended up drawing from Northern Water Tribe forms of higher learning to inform a flexible yet rigorous education path for its students.
== Location ==
The campus is scattered around the Roku Plaza district, with its most important buildings being located just behind Roku Park.
=== Fang Dormitory ===
Fang Dormitory is the largest student housing structure in the district, and is built in the style of traditional Fire Nation architecture. It takes up an entire city block, and houses the majority of Republic City University students. The building has three eating halls, a central square, and its own mini-infirmary for students with minor ailments.
The dormitory is infamous for the raging parties thrown by its student associations. The Lion Turtle Club, the Pai Sho Association, and Unagi's Breath are some of the oldest and notorious associations. The dormitory's reputation for uninhibited youths meant that the housing nearby is some of the cheapest in the upper-middle class Roku Plaza district, as nobody particularly wants to live near students.
Despite Fang Dormitory's reputation, the university puts great effort into caring for the students there. Inhabitants are well-fed, usually arrive at class on time, and there is a student-led council to mediate any non-criminal disputes. This means giving the students a certain level of latitude to govern themselves and prove the university's trust is warranted. It works well for the most part, but some conflicts have always arisen between faculty and students about activities students endorse and allow inside Fang Dormitory.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2023, p. 41.
== Notable figures ==
=== Faculty ===
* Iknik Blackstone Varrick (guest lecturer)
* Metog (formerly)
* Professor Rabten
* Dean Shihan
=== Students ===
* Ceba
* Nima
* Protester
* Earth King WuDiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Hedrick, Tim & Hamilton, Joshua (March 10, 2015). "After All These Years" commentary. Book Four: Balance Blu-ray.
* Yichen
== References ==
== See also ==
* Republic City
* Education in the World of Avatar
Category:A to Z
Category:Establishments
Category:Locations
Category:Organizations
Category:Republic City
Category:United Republic