{"id":172041,"date":"2024-10-02T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T13:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=172041"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:30","slug":"hope-for-solidarity-from-the-executive-board-in-protests-against-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/10\/02\/hope-for-solidarity-from-the-executive-board-in-protests-against-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope for solidarity from the Executive Board in protests against cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

If it\u2019s up to Ana Uribe Sandoval, academics at Erasmus University will soon be taking to the streets to protest the severe budget cuts in higher education. She hopes the Executive Board will stand in solidarity with the protests.<\/p>\n

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Ana Uribe Sandoval cutting little red felt squares.<\/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\tElmer Smaling<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

She\u2019s already busy cutting out the red felt squares, reminiscent of earlier WOinActie protests. Uribe Sandoval is a lecturer at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication and a member of the Erasmus Labour Council, where union representatives regularly meet with the Executive Board to discuss working conditions. While nothing has been officially confirmed yet, Uribe Sandoval foresees difficult times and perhaps reorganisations will happen at various faculties. Support services are also expected to be hit hard. For her, this is reason enough to call for protest.<\/p>\n

Why should there be a protest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cuts mean fewer resources. If we don\u2019t find a way to work smarter, it will simply come down to fewer people doing the same amount of work. Larger classes mean you can no longer explore complex subjects in depth with students. This will lead to a decline in the quality of education. In addition, there will be penalties for students who take too long to graduate. I\u2019m not sure if students fully realise the impact this will have on them. Protest might make them more aware of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

How would you explain to outsiders why cutting the higher education budget is a bad idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCutting higher education also means cutting medical care, producing fewer well-trained doctors. It affects business professionals and engineers who innovate, which will make the Netherlands less competitive. Ultimately, it will have negative consequences for society as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd these cuts will only deepen social inequality. Tuition fees will increase. If, in the future, only children from wealthy families can afford to study, it will only widen the gap between rich and poor. Unfortunately, there\u2019s a broad societal trend of a total lack of respect for science and education. But these things are essential for our society.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of protest do you envision?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m already making red felt squares to hand out. But that\u2019s symbolic and not enough, as we\u2019ve learned in the past. Striking is an option, but what happens if we don\u2019t teach for a day? Nothing, right? Maybe we need to move beyond the campus, perhaps hold classes at the central station. And we want everyone involved: the representative councils, programme committees, students, and I also hope the Executive Board will support us. Maybe they could even say, \u2018Today, we\u2019re all teaching outside.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Executive Board doesn\u2019t usually take to the streets, it tends to limit itself to \u2018quiet diplomacy\u2019 via the Universities of the Netherlands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Quiet diplomacy\u2019 is just a polite way of saying, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, the experts will sort it out\u2026\u2019 But we need to see that something is happening. Quiet diplomacy is doing nothing. If you stay silent, you allow bad things to happen and keep on happening. Let\u2019s hope the Executive Board joins us this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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