{"id":127684,"date":"2021-06-04T16:32:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T14:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=127684"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:40","slug":"two-thousand-students-shouted-themselves-hoarse-while-protesting-student-loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/06\/04\/two-thousand-students-shouted-themselves-hoarse-while-protesting-student-loans\/","title":{"rendered":"Two thousand students shouted themselves hoarse while protesting student loans"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, some two thousand students joined a protest rally on the Malieveld lawn in The Hague, near the seat of the Dutch government. They demanded that student loans be abolished and that those students who were unfortunate enough to attend university during the years in which student grants were replaced with student loans be compensated. The rally was cheerful and socially distanced, although VVD (the Dutch liberal party) came in for a lot of booing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHuge debts are absurd! Students, make yourselves heard!\u201d The shouts of hundreds of students taking part in a protest rally could be heard loud and clear even from the deepest level of the underground car park at Malieveld. They were yelling other slogans as well, such as \u201cWhat do we want? To be debt-free!\u201d (it rhymes in Dutch) or \u201cDebt-ridden generation? Hey, we\u2019d like some compensation!\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the motto #nietmijnschuld (#notmyfault), the National Student Union (LSVb) and the FNV Young & United trade union have been campaigning against student loans for nearly two years now. On Thursday afternoon, they came to The Hague, along with hundreds of supporters, for a major nation-wide \u2018student strike\u2019.<\/p>\n

Crush barriers<\/h2>

Initially, the event felt more like a festival, atmosphere-wise. It was sunny, people were putting on sunscreen, there was a major stage and there were crush barriers. Students wearing bright-coloured vests were handing out lunch boxes and making sure that everyone was properly distanced.<\/p>\n

However, the message being conveyed was serious. The protesters demanded the opportunity to attend university without incurring huge debts and also asked that those students who were unfortunate enough to get a degree after the abolition of student grants receive full financial compensation. \u201cToday we\u2019re not leaving anything to chance!\u201d LSVb chair Lyle Muns yelled from the stage. \u201cNot my fault!\u201d the students shouted back.<\/p>\n

When the event began, some 1,200 students had gathered in front of the stage. However, the organisers announced from the stage that train service had been interrupted by a technical glitch, so more people were on their way. Later in the day, the police counted two thousand protesters. The students waved banners and held up signs bearing slogans such as \u201cI\u2019d like to be able to get a mortgage later.\u201d And of course they shouted themselves hoarse, yelling \u201cNot my fault\u201d over and over again.<\/p>\n\n\t

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