Around sixty students and staff demonstrated at Groningen station on Tuesday against the budget cuts to higher education.
A national demonstration at Dam Square in Amsterdam had originally been planned, but it was canceled due to the train strike.
Aline Douma, a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, said: ‘We are all quite disappointed that the big protest didn’t go through, but even now it’s good to show our presence. Who is going to fight for us if we don’t?’
It was pouring rain Tuesday afternoon, but the demonstrators remained energetic, held up signs with slogans, and chanted: ‘There are no ifs and buts in education cuts.’
Wilders
The strike follows a week of political turmoil after Geert Wilders and his PVV party withdrew from the cabinet. Elections are scheduled for the fall. For some, this offers a glimmer of hope.
‘I am here today because I have hope that the new parties will understand how important internationals are in higher education’, said Dinie Bouwman, policy advisor for internationalization and quality assurance and chair of the Personeelsfractie in the university council.
‘I’m an optimist’, said Lisa Herzog, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. ‘We need to raise awareness, and we have to keep pushing. This is a structural question: is our society ready to invest in education for the next generation?’
Small steps
Others are less hopeful. ‘I’m pessimistic. I don’t see a better future, not even now that the far-right has left the cabinet’, said Douma. ‘These budget cuts have been on the table for over a year. Wilders might be gone, but no other party seems to be seriously supporting our cause. These things are already in motion.’
She expects a long period of political uncertainty, regardless of whether the internationalization law is passed or not.
Results
Continuing to demonstrate matters, said university lecturer Sander van Lanen. ‘Our previous protests have had an effect’, he said. After the strike in November, the penalty for extended study durations was scrapped, and the following strike led to an amendment to the Internationalization in Balance Act (Wib).
‘The threat isn’t over’, said Van Lanen. ‘We’re not safe yet, but it’s a small relief. These are small victories, but they count. And we’re ready to keep fighting.’