{"id":147844,"date":"2022-12-08T14:48:25","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T13:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=147844"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:33","slug":"students-arrested-i-tried-not-to-choke-but-the-police-saw-that-as-act-of-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/12\/08\/students-arrested-i-tried-not-to-choke-but-the-police-saw-that-as-act-of-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrested students: ‘I was trying not to choke, but the police saw that as an act of resistance’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten demonstrators were arrested by police when the Sanders Building was cleared on Monday last week. A week after the occupation and the police raid that put an end to it, three of the students who were arrested look back on their arrest and what happened afterwards.<\/p>\n

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Police arrest the ten remaining activists<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWouter Sterrenburg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t

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The three students featured in this article have chosen to use pseudonyms to prevent their names from being linked to data kept on file by the police. Their names are known to the editors.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

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A student is using the lunch break to read a book during the occupation.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Second-year student Pjotr was in the Sanders Building from 11.00 a.m. \u201cI could already see a couple of police officers standing in front of the building when I turned up. That unsettled me a little.\u201d According to him, the atmosphere was easy-going throughout the day. \u201cWe had some lectures and discussions, and plenty of breakout areas where you could take part in a workshop or activity, for instance. Everyone was in good spirits and getting on with things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Confusion<\/h2>

Second-year student Maria was in one of the breakout areas at around six o\u2019clock. She had planned to give a reading from a text on community healthcare, but was prevented from this by the police raid. \u201cA couple of people were preparing the scheduled General Assembly at that point. I was waiting for my soup, which had just been brought in by the Sustainability Hub, and coffee was being made. That was when I saw the riot police officers on the stairs, above the hall of the Sanders Building,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt scared me. We were gradually surrounded by a lot of police. I thought: oh my God, why are they here? Weren\u2019t we supposed to be talking with the Executive Board?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t