‘If there is a clear reason to enter discussions with them, then we will do so. But we have yet to see any indication of that’, says RUG vice president Jan de Jeu on Thursday during the University Council.
Faction chairperson Bart Beijer printed out the photos from the Vindicat and Albertus almanacs specially in order to show the members of the board how the hazing process goes. But De Jeu was not impressed by the photos, some of which featured students apparently being forced to stand against a wall with sticks in their mouths or being shoved against a table by multiple upperclassmen.
Independent
‘They are independent student associations and we have no insight into or influence over what they do. And that autonomy is a good thing. But we will discuss this with them if we feel there is a reason to do so’, De Jeu says. ‘But they are still associations that are connected to our university, and they in turn have influence on the reputation of the RUG’, Beijer continues. ‘The response from the associations is always that first year students are not deprived of sleep and that they are closely monitored. But the photos in the almanac tell a different story’, he says.
De Jeu refused to comment further, which effectively ended the discussion. The staff faction has called upon the associations anew to discuss the matter with the University Council. Beijer: ‘The associations should provide their last three years of almanacs to the council as public documents!’