The Yantai chess game
Counting heads
The Yantai discussion is beginning to sound like a record stuck in a groove, repeating the phrases ‘academic freedom’, ‘risks’, and ‘lack of information’. The first holes in the Yantai plan appeared two years ago, when faculties and the University Council complained about the lack of a proper foundation for the plans. The RUG does not seem to be able to get past this issue.
Two weeks ago, Lijst Calimero and the Personnel faction listed those arguments as the reason for why they would not consent to the proposal the university wants to submit to the ministry. So last Tuesday, the Board of Directors removed the plan from the agenda, meaning the Council would not be voting on it.
Tunnel vision
‘We’re just not convinced’, Lijst Calimero’s Daan van Dijk says. ‘Reading the document, it just becomes clear that there is no proper foundation. The plan was drawn up by no one but proponents. So it’s to be expected to suffer from tunnel vision, really.’
‘Some of them are explicitly against the plan, because it concerns China.’
His party thinks there are too many risks to setting up a campus in China, and the future is too uncertain. The Personnel faction’s views differ slightly. The faction is made up of individuals, each with their own considerations. ‘Some of them are explicitly against the plan, because it concerns China. Others feel that it is a bad proposal and there is no proper overview’, says faction chair Bart Beijer.
Pressure
So now what? RUG president Sibrand Poppema wants to use input from the parties to write a new proposal to convince the opposition. The plan should be finished by October. ‘We think that if we work on it for the entire month of September, we’ll be able to come up with a proper new application’, he recently said.
Applause voor SOG
Student party SOG is in direct opposition to Lijst Calimero when it comes to Yantai. The faction is express favour of the Chinese branch campus, and is angry that Lijst Calimero and the Personnel faction are against it. ‘Our constituency has told us how dissatisfied they are with the way things are going’, says vice faction chair Marco de Vries during a council meeting.
According to SOG, a majority of the students and staff at the RUG are actually in favour of the Yantai plans. ‘The University Council is just not functioning when it comes to this issue. Factions aren’t properly representing their constituency. It’s almost as though the Personnel faction and Lijst Calimero have lost touch with the people they represent, or even with reality’, De Vries told the Council. ‘All they represent is gut feeling, fears, and mistrust.’
SOG says academic freedom is not even remotely in danger at the future campus. The student party bases this on statements made by Tom Zwart, professor of human rights, as well as by former diplomat Tjalling Halbertsma, director of the Centre for East Asian Studies in Groningen. This centre works together with Hanban, a somewhat controversial institute that is part of the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Tension rose in the Council when RUG president Sibrand Poppema and the Science faction applauded the speech. But Poppema says he applauded because of the passion De Vries instilled his speech with, and not because he was siding with him.
But the Personnel faction and Lijst Calimero aren’t as confident. ‘October might be a bit hasty’, says Beijer. ‘The Board of Directors are putting a lot of pressure on themselves. I would’ve been happier if they’d said something along the lines of: “Seeing as the majority of the co-determination board feels this proposal is lacking, let’s make sure the next one is really good.” Because what we need is a good proposal. That’s much more important than a fast proposal.’
Van Dijk calls it ‘artificial hurry’. The Board of Directors wants the Council to make a decision, and soon, to prevent the preparation costs – currently at over 2 million euros – from rising. But the RUG is powerless without a legislative regulation, and the one they need probably will not be discussed until next year. ‘We’re not involved in the decision-making, we’re just pawns in a chess game’, says Van Dijk. ‘And this game is played on three fronts: the University Council, the ministry, and China.’
Seats
This political game will only intensify over the next few weeks. Not only does Poppema have to come up with a much better plan in a matter of weeks, but he will also have to convince even more people of it.
That is because the new members of the University Council took their seats last Thursday. And it appears that this change has decreased support for the Yantai plans even further. Proponent Lijst Sterk, which had one seat, has disappeared from the Council. And SOG, also a clear supporter, will have to do with one fewer person (they go from six seats, to five).
Newcomer DAG, which has two seats on the Council, is a strong opponent of the plans. Lijst Calimero retains its five seats, and the Personnel faction stays at nine. The Science faction is also stuck at their previous three seats. This party appears to support the plans, but has made no public statement proclaiming this.
If no one changes their mind, the opposition has a large majority (sixteen against eight). But a lot can happen in a month. The Board of Directors will do anything in its power to convince the council members. ‘They’ll lobby hard’, says Beijer.
Never say never
DAG will not be convinced to vote in favour of the Yantai branch campus, says faction chair Jasper Been. ‘We reject this plan as a symptom of the business culture at the RUG. Nowhere do the plans say how this campus will improve the quality of education and research in Groningen, and that is because it doesn’t.’
Can Lijst Calimero be convinced? ‘I try to never say never. But it would be a feat if they succeeded’, says Van Dijk. ‘Say we accept the fact that they can’t guarantee academic freedom. And say it’s just a small project, only involving the science departments. Say it’s all manageable, profitable, with a clear idea of the future, and a clear exit strategy. And say they’ll pay proper attention to the work pressure in Groningen, which will only increase when people have to be trained to work over there. Only then will we agree to the plan. But there is no way they’ll manage all of that in the next two months.’
‘Poppema is counting heads, too, and that only makes sense’
The new faction chair, Henk-Jan Wondergem, shares this view. ‘We are a new faction and we’re committed to formulating our own judgement. But everything we did over the past few weeks was in consultation, and we fully support it. The old and the new factions are in agreement.’
So that leaves the Personnel faction. Six out of the nine people in the new faction have clearly stated that they were either critical of the plans or against them. That leaves three people who are either indecisive, or refusing to say what they think.
This means there are currently thirteen opponents versus eleven possible proponents, the UK estimates. ‘Poppema is counting heads, too’, says Beijer. ‘And that only makes sense. He gave me his assessment, no problem, telling me who he thought was in favour of the plans, who were dead set against them, and who were critical of them. I told him I wouldn’t comment on his assessment.’
Plan B?
It will certainly be a close race. Of the 24 council members, thirteen will have to be in favour of the plans. The board could take the proposal off the agenda again if necessary, but not without the plan losing quite a bit of credibility.
Could there be another option? Is there a plan B, one where the University Council’s consent wouldn’t even be necessary? ‘Yes’, says Beijer. ‘They could start a campus in Yantai without our consent. The university can set up a private legal entity abroad and provide educational programmes. But if they want these programmes to be accredited and result in a RUG diploma, they will need our consent.’
The RUG board does not seem to be counting on having to resort to this back-up plan, however. ‘The University Council’s positive vote is absolutely essential to a properly supported decision about setting up the Yantai campus’, their spokesperson says in an email.