Another round of sanctions for Vindicat

Student association Vindicat from Groningen will yet again not be receiving any administrative grants. Moreover, the association will not be invited for official events hosted by the university of applied sciences and research university this academic year. It might be next year.

Over the past few years, Vindicat has often made headlines because of the misconduct of its members. Last year the association did not receive an administrative grant either: those were withdrawn when it became clear that Vindicat had not reported an assault that took place in its association house.

The student association promised reforms, but the University of Groningen and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences have yet to see any real evidence of this. They are adopting the negative opinion given by the Groningen Accreditation Committee for the Assessment of Student Organisations . “The measures that were taken were not effective enough in bringing about a culture change,” states a press release.

Alcohol

It is implied that the student association does not do enough to tackle the problem of excessive drinking and surveys have indicated that a “significant number of members” perceive the association’s culture as unsafe. Moreover, Vindicat is not transparent enough when an incident occurs.

The student association will be given another chance next year. Apparently, Vindicat is already taking steps in the right direction: it states that it is conducting a yearly survey among its members and organising information meetings about subjects such as diversity.

“Our decision was mainly based on the association’s lack of willingness to change,” says Rector Elmer Sterken of the University of Groningen in a statement. “This willingness should be apparent if we are to establish a healthy and safe student community in Groningen.”