{"id":170407,"date":"2024-07-11T10:06:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T08:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=170407"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:25","slug":"looking-back-with-iso-and-lsvb-leaders-the-student-movement-was-in-an-uproar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/07\/11\/looking-back-with-iso-and-lsvb-leaders-the-student-movement-was-in-an-uproar\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking back with ISO and LSVb leaders: ‘The student movement was in an uproar’"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a tumultuous year for leaders of the student movement. Suddenly the government fell and it was all hands on deck for ISO and LSVb. And out of nowhere, the fine for slow students made a comeback. Both of them have now passed the baton: Demi Janssen (Dutch National Students’ Association, ISO) and Elisa Weehuizen (Dutch Student Union, LSVb).<\/p>\n

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Chair Elisa Weehuizen (Dutch Student Union, LSVb). <\/span><\/p>

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This is the quietest they\u2019ve had it for a long time. \u201cI remember I was busy trying to make my final study deadline last year when the news came in that the government had fallen\u201d, says Janssen. \u201cNeedless to say, my phone was ringing off the hook right away because we immediately had to get to work: what will this mean for students?\u201d<\/p>\n

They had to talk to political parties as quickly as possible: what were they going to put in their election programmes? How could they draw attention to topics relevant to students? \u201cWe suddenly boarded a rollercoaster and had to prepare ourselves for an entirely different political year\u201d, says Weehuizen. \u201cThat does require some flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amongst other things, they called for internship allowances, flexible studying and student wellbeing. Janssen: \u201cThose points made it into many programmes. But then you see the outline agreement and you couldn\u2019t be more frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fine for slow students<\/h2>

The new government wants to fine slower students. They will have to pay three thousand euros extra in tuition fees if they take longer than one year extra to finish their Bachelor\u2019s or Master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, they had not seen this coming. Janssen: \u201cIt\u2019s exactly the parties that are now forming a coalition that said they attached so much importance to livelihood. And then you introduce a fine that makes life difficult for informal carers or students with a chronic illness, for instance! That doesn\u2019t add up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fine turned students\u2019 worlds upside down\u201d, Weehuizen confirms. \u201cFrom unions to social student associations, everyone is very worried.\u201d The battle will cost a lot of time, she expects, and she thinks that\u2019s a pity. \u201cNow we have to focus on defensively fighting against those cutbacks and against the penalty for slow students, which takes a lot of time away from improving education. Our main priority at the moment is to make sure things don\u2019t come crumbling down in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demonstration<\/h2>

LSVb immediately organised a protest against this fine for slow students, in which all kinds of organisations and unions participated, including administrators of higher education institutions.<\/p>\n

But ISO wasn\u2019t there. It illustrates the difference between ISO and LSVb: one prefers to be at the consultation table, the other is activist in nature. \u201cPerhaps we\u2019re not as likely to be on a protest field\u201d, says Janssen, \u201cbut we do voice our opinions very loudly nonetheless.\u201d For example, ISO and LSVb joined forces with others to write an urgent letter<\/a> about that fine for slow students.<\/p>\n

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Palestine<\/h2>

The difference between the two student organisations is also evident from their stance on the pro-Palestine protests. Weehuizen: \u201cWhen those anti-genocide protests broke out, the student movement was in an uproar. Personally, I thought it was very cool that students could organise themselves so quickly. We expressed our support because we saw that some institutions didn\u2019t actually want to have a dialogue and didn\u2019t offer any transparency. So how can students create a counterweight? \u201cFor us, those protests are a symptom indicating things aren\u2019t right with democracy in education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janssen: \u201cAbove all, we thought it was important that students could voice their opinions and could have a dialogue. And we find it worrying that didn\u2019t go well everywhere.\u201d It\u2019s not a good sign if the police are involved or if students feel the need to go on hunger strike, she believes. \u201cStudents need to feel heard by their institution, in a safe dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accomplished<\/h2>

What did they accomplish? For one thing, they reached agreement with the higher education institutions on national guidelines on the reimbursement of students on the participation councils.<\/p>\n

Janssen: \u201cIt\u2019s very important that the board takes account of the opinions of all students and not just the ones that can afford to spend a year on participation. You also need to hear the students who are less well-off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those reimbursements are more than fair, LSVb thinks. \u201cIt\u2019s work and that means you have to get paid. As an institution, you actually benefit from students being able to form a counterweight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good advice<\/h2>

Now they\u2019re both going back to studying. Weehuizen studies sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam and will spend five months of the final year of her Bachelor\u2019s programme in Singapore. Janssen is continuing her liberal arts and sciences Bachelor\u2019s in Maastricht.<\/p>\n

Do they have any good advice for their successors? Janssen: \u201cRealise you\u2019re not alone. You have a team of representatives and staff around you, all of whom are very motivated. You also receive support from former student representatives. And do take a breather now and then. You do a lot for students, you have every right to be proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weehuizen: \u201cAs a student representative, be courageous! Accessibility of education is under pressure, now more than ever. This demands leadership that voices its opinions clearly and doesn\u2019t flinch in the face of political headwind. Hold your ground and don\u2019t forget to take good care of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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