Staff protest against cuts to higher education: ‘Stop the demolition!’

Staff and students demonstrated on Tuesday against the government’s plans to cut more than 1 billion euros from higher education. Students, lecturers and researchers from Erasmus University and Hogeschool Rotterdam gathered at 12.00 in Willemsplein.

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According to the organisers, there were about 2,000 demonstrators. On the sunny square, free fries were distributed to the protesters. Cheerful nineties songs filled the air.

Many people wandered around with homemade signs and banners. “This is my very first demonstration”, said a third-year sociology student. “It feels really good to be here together with everyone and to make our voices heard. There are such severe cuts; I’m afraid my course will simply no longer exist.”

A group of students stood nearby. “The cuts are ridiculous”, said a student from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. A fellow student next to her held a cardboard sign reading “maybe we can rent our diplomas in the future”. “This is about our future”, she added.

Generations

The group of demonstrators was very diverse. Lecturers and researchers joined in, with both Dutchies and internationals present. On stage, city councillors, the chairs of the university and hogeschool, union members, and lecturers addressed the crowd. “It is very important that we are here today”, said Mina Morkoç, a city councillor for GroenLinks in Rotterdam and a law student herself. She is one of two students on the municipal council. “The cuts will affect not just education, but also the generations after us. Not just in Rotterdam, but across the world.”

At 13.30, the march through the city began. The crowd made its presence known with drums, whistles, and chants such as “Stop the demolition!” and “Books, not bombs”. “I am very happy to be here with so many people”, said a history student joining the march. Further down the pavement, a lecturer walked alongside in a ‘naked suit’. She carried a sign reading “Don’t strip education bare!”. “What would I say to the Prime Minister?” she asked. “Schoof it up your arse!”