Iris de Graaf is UG Alumnus of the Year
Encouragement to keep being brave
Door Rob Siebelink
By Rob Siebelink
Iris de Graaf is a correspondent for NOS in Moscow who’s been reporting on events in Russia ever since that country invaded Ukraine. It’s not an easy job, said the former journalism student who graduated in 2017 and who received the UG’s honorary title at the ceremony.
Working in Russia had never been easy, she said. But ever since the war that Putin says isn’t a war, everything has become more complicated and, more importantly, more dangerous. Even when she’s in Groningen, saying the ‘military exercise’ is actually a war puts her at risk.
After the Russian invasion, she left her post in Moscow, like many other journalists who felt they were hampered in their efforts to independently report on what was going on and that they were in danger. She later decided to return. But the place is unpredictable; she’s worried about keeping her camera crew safe and whether she can protect her sources, she said.
Resilience
The theme of this year’s opening ceremony was resilience, 350 years after Groningen showed its historical resilience, when its inhabitants and students came together to fight off Bommen Berend in 1672. There’s a lesson to be learned here, said rector magnificus Cisca Wijmenga to the audience in the Martini church.
‘It’s easier to be resilient when you can work together with other people. Fortunately, society doesn’t always require us to literally risk our lives, but it does require us to come together and stand up to serious dangers.’
We need to be resilient, the rector said. ‘We have been put to the test the past few years. In the midst of the pandemic, we were confronted with the destructive war in Ukraine, increasing inflation and other challenges facing society nowadays.’
Cumbersome affair
The opening of the 2022 academic year started with the traditional cortège, where the university’s professors walked from the Academy building to the ceremony at the Martini church.
This year, the walk was a cumbersome affair due to the warm temperatures and the thick gowns the professors were wearing. Not everyone appeared to enjoy it.
‘I’m so warm’, complained dean of graduate studies Petra Rudolf as she fanned herself. ‘Feel how thick the gown is. It’s great for winter, but too much for this weather.’ Wijmenga kept her spirits up. ‘The Martini church will be cooler.’
Covid pandemic
Warm weather or not, it sure beat the previous two ceremonies. In 2020, the ceremony took place largely online due to the Covid pandemic, and last year, the cortège consisted of far fewer professors and only one representative for each student association.
‘Isn’t it great that we’re all here together?’ said brand-new university council member Ruber Wagenvoort (with the Studenten Organisatie Groningen) smiling, happy to be in the sun.
Student speaker Yasmine Bouzoraa, winner of the GUF-100 prize for Law, talked about what the pandemic years were like.
She spent the first two years of her academic career mostly in isolation; she barely saw her fellow students, she said. To her horror, she witnessed how society became increasingly polarised. She asked the people in the church to please stay open to debate.
Housing shortage
In the past, various groups connected to the university used the opening ceremony to showcase their grievances, for instance about the housing shortage facing students, or the work stress university employees experience.
But this year, it stayed relatively quiet. Four protesters with Shelter Our Students, which aims to combat the housing crisis, joined the cortège with their own banner but were quickly removed from the procession. At noon, Extinction Rebellion organised a die-in at the Academy building as the sirens that get tested on the first Monday of the month blared.
‘Time is running out, there is no planet B. But there is enough scientific knowledge to tackle the climate crisis now’, they told the UG.
1. Approximately a hundred professors gathered on the steps of the Academy building. Photo by Reyer Boxem
2. The cortège leaving the Academy building for the Martini church to celebrate the opening of the 2022 academic year. Photo by Reyer Boxem
3. Four protesters fighting the housing shortage in Groningen joined the cortège but were quickly told to leave. Photo by Reyer Boxem
4. Student associations pass by the old municipal library. Photo by Reyer Boxem
5. A representative of one of the student associations watches the cortège pass by the Martini tower. Photo by Reyer Boxem
6. The cortège enters the Martini church, watched by various student associations. Photo by Reyer Boxem
7. Groningen mayor Koen Schuiling, ‘troubleshooter’ Johan Remkes, and state secretary for health, welfare, and sports Maarten van Ooijen (ChristenUnie). Photo by Reyer Boxem
8. Sociology professor René Veenstra provided a presentation about bullying among children. Photo by Reyer Boxem
9. Former student Iris de Graaf, NOS correspondent in Moscow, is named Alumnus of the Year 2022. Photo by Reyer Boxem
10. Student orchestra and choir Bragi provided the music for the day, including a song about a pig farmer. Photo by Reyer Boxem
