Multicultural associations dismiss board umbrella organization KASEUR

The board of KASEUR, the umbrella organization for multicultural student associations at the EUR, has been fired by the member associations. The associations no longer has confidence in the current board.

Last month, the Executive Board of the university had already indicated that it no longer wanted to cooperate with the board of KASEUR, which consults with the university on behalf of the multicultural student associations. According to the Executive Board, the link with KASUER was ‘seriously disturbed in recent years’. Communication with KASEUR would have been ‘very difficult’.

The Executive Board therefore proposed to the member associations a choice: appoint a new KASEUR board or communicate directly with the university per association. During the monthly KASEUR meeting, which took place on Tuesday evening, the future role of the KASEUR board was discussed.

No more confidence

During this meeting, the associations first wanted answers to questions about problems in the communication between KASEUR and some associations. According to the associations, KASEUR president Germain Fraser didn’t want to give enough openness about this. This led to an intense debate, after which the board members of KASEUR decided to leave the meeting. In the remainder of the meeting, the associations voted to fire the board.

In the short term, the associations now opt for the second option given by the university – communicate directly with the university – until a new KASEUR board has been formed.

'Not according to the statutes'

The KASEUR board doesn’t accept the decision of the associations to dismiss it. In an e-mail to all member associations and the Executive Board, the board announces that it does not recognize the decision. According to the board, the Tuesday evening meeting, in which the decision to fire the board, was not conducted in accordance with the statutes of KASEUR. As a result, no official decision would have been taken. In the mail, the board announces in turn that all associations will be dismissed as a member of KASEUR.

KASEUR would therefore no longer represent any association. What the consequences are for the future role of the association is not yet clear. The board was not yet available for comment.