9 May 2023

To the members of the Board of the University of Groningen:

Jouke de Vries, Hans Biemans, and Cisca Wijmenga

We, a group of concerned employees and students of the University of Groningen (UG), joined by observers and colleagues at institutions around the world, are appalled at the University Board’s decision to call the police against peaceful student and staff protesters (1) occupying the Academy Building on 25 April 2023. This was an unacceptable use of brute force against the very people to whom the university has a duty of care.

This abusive use of power by the Police at the behest of the University Board is derogatory of universally guaranteed Human Rights under the UDHR (2), the ECHR (3), and the EU Charter of Human Rights (4) - all instruments the Netherlands is signatory and party to. It curtails students' and staff’s right to freedom of speech and expression as well as freedom of peaceful assembly in a clearly excessive and disproportionate manner, and has the potential to instil a disturbing chilling effect on the exercise of these rights that are so integral to any university.

The police eviction occurred during the university’s opening hours, while classes were taking place and the students had a legitimate right to be in the safe and secure premise of the University building. The students who were peacefully occupying the stairs in the Academy Building were threatened, intimidated and removed by force. The students were dragged out via the side entrance which is a long route including two flights of stairs, instead of the front entrance which was right in front of them.

Documentary video evidence (5) shows the police dragging a student down the backstairs of the building, with a failure to protect their head and putting them in grave danger. Another video shows a staff member being hit with a police baton outside of the Academy Building.

Students have reported that the worst events happened inside the building and were not filmed. Students report (6) that they were choked, pressed to the floor, pulled by their heads or legs, and coerced into revealing their identities. The police verbally abused the students, including threatening that they would break the students’ fingers or smash their heads on the ground if they refused to move.

After the students were thrown out of the building many of them broke down crying, some had to vomit. Since these events, students have suffered from shock, panic attacks and trauma.

The University Board made the decision to call the police. Staff members who were working in the Academy Building witnessed these events but did not intervene.

The students were calling for the reinstatement of Dr. Susanne Täuber, who, in her research, drew attention to the lack of social safety at the UG and unacceptable abuses of power. In this instance, the University Board demonstrated that, contrary to their own claims of always being open to dialogue, it is ready to resort to using disproportionate and brutal police force to quiet dissent. Moreover, despite the overwhelming evidence of police violence, the University Board completely failed to address it in their statement (7) following the events.

We believe that enough is enough.

This University Board has proven itself to be unfit to guarantee social safety at the UG. The Board’s decision to escalate a peaceful protest and respond with police intervention speaks of dysfunctional leadership that is unable to respond to criticism in a constructive way. Contrary to their own claims, the University Board demonstrated that it has no regard for students’ and staff’s social and physical safety, and it is not willing to enter an open dialogue and listen to its employees’ and students’ concerns. They have violated their own code of conduct (8) and the code of good governance of Dutch universities (9).

In light of these facts, we now call on the University Board to resign.

The relationship between the University Board and the people it employs, teaches, and serves, is damaged due to this unnecessary and violent retaliation in response to peaceful protest, and can no longer be repaired.

The current University Board should resign to assure staff, students and the wider academic community that the UG is committed to social safety, to restore the UG’s reputation as a safe and supportive environment, and to implement previous calls to action (10).

Staff and students at the UG feel afraid to sign this letter openly, due to the current University Board’s heavy-handed approach to criticism, including firing Susanne Täuber and calling the police on a peaceful protest. The University Board has created a chilling effect for staff and students. Therefore, we have called on colleagues across the Netherlands and internationally to sign this letter in solidarity.

Sincerely,

Staff and students of the RUG

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