{"id":176475,"date":"2025-03-04T09:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T08:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=176475"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:43","slug":"occupy-protests-against-shell-sponsored-wine-tasting-on-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/03\/04\/occupy-protests-against-shell-sponsored-wine-tasting-on-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupy protests against Shell-sponsored wine tasting on campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students and staff from Occupy EUR protested at the Pavilion on Friday evening. Study association STAR was hosting a wine tasting there in collaboration with Shell.<\/p>\n

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Inside the Pavilion, study association STAR was holding a wine tasting.<\/span><\/p>

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Thirteen protesters gathered at 6.00 pm on Friday evening on the Plaza, in front of the entrance to the Pavilion. \u201cGet Shell out, and we go!\u201d, they shouted at the top of their lungs. Inside the Pavilion, study association STAR was holding a wine tasting, an orientation evening for master\u2019s students, sponsored by Shell and featuring speakers from the company.<\/p>\n

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Thirteen protesters gathered in front of the entrance to the Pavilion.<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cIt\u2019s outrageous that a company like Shell is welcome on our campus\u201d, says Elli, spokesperson for Occupy EUR. According to her, it is unacceptable that the university portrays itself as a sustainable institution with its own climate strategy, while at the same time allowing the fossil fuel industry to take part in events on campus. \u201cWe have a glass bridge here with the slogan \u2018positive societal impact\u2019, but where\u2019s that positive impact when Shell is sponsoring events here? The university says we need to become critical global citizens, but at the same time it gives a platform to companies that contribute to climate disasters and wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going inside<\/h2>

Elli brought a megaphone and delivered a speech on the Plaza. \u201cToday, Shell \u2013 the very symbol of environmental devastation, exploitation and corporate greed \u2013 is welcomed onto our campus. They call it wine tasting, but let\u2019s call it what it really is: a recruitment for destruction pipeline. A spectacle of corporate greenwashing. A desperate attempt to sell us future drenched in blood, oil and ecological collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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At one point, a protester sneaked inside and gave the same speech to the wine-drinking participants.<\/span><\/p>

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For an hour and a half, students demonstrated in front of the glass wall on the side of the Pavilion\u2019s conservatory, where the event was taking place. At one point, Elli sneaked inside and gave the same speech to the wine-drinking participants. \u201cThey were quite friendly\u201d, she recalls. \u201cSomeone even asked me: \u2018hey, would you like a glass of wine too?\u2019\u201d, she laughs. \u201cI declined. I also tried to ignore the security staff and just carried on with my speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s their right to protest\u201d, responds Vigo Wijers, president of STAR. \u201cBut it\u2019s also our right to organise this event.\u201d According to him, the association holds evenings like this \u2018so students can make an informed decision about the direction they want to take their careers\u2019.<\/p>\n

Pavilion unaware of Shell\u2019s involvement<\/h2>
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Although security was on standby, the protest ended without incident.<\/span><\/p>

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The Pavilion\u2019s spokesperson states that they were not informed in advance about Shell\u2019s sponsorship. \u201cWe had no idea. RSM organised this event, so we were not aware that there was a risk of a demonstration. We are completely neutral, and the safety of our guests and staff is our top priority. So if we had known there was a risk, we would have taken safety measures or even cancelled the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although security was on standby, the protest ended without incident. Elli left after making her point. Around 8.30 pm, the demonstrators left the Pavilion, while the event carried on.<\/p>\n

The university must draw a line<\/h2>

Occupy EUR has no intention of policing students, Elli explains. \u201cWe just want them to listen to us and understand why we\u2019re doing this\u201d, she says. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to dictate what every study association should do, but the university needs to draw a clear line. Some companies simply don\u2019t belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do understand what they stand for\u201d, responds Vigo. \u201cBut I also hope they understand why we\u2019re doing this: we mainly want to leave the choice to the students themselves. We don\u2019t want to decide for them where they should work or which companies they should engage with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elli: \u201cAs long as Shell and other destructive companies like Google, Nestl\u00e9, Amazon, ING and Rabobank are welcome on this campus, we will continue to protest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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