Students’ union condemns ‘police violence against students’

Cyclists on their way to Zernike will be able to cross the Eikenlaan more easily in the future. Groningen municipality wants to close Eikenlaan to car traffic. Only buses will still be allowed to drive there. Currently, some 8,500 cars a day drive along Eikenlaan, but by 2040 it will be 11,000, according to the municipality. The number of cyclists will then rise from 12,000 to 15,000. Already the crowds are causing congestion. The plan to build a tunnel at the crossing, will be dropped.

Groningen student union GSb has collected a thousand signatures against the UG's new regulations for demonstrations. These rules stipulate, among other things, that protests in UG buildings are only allowed until 7 p.m., that lectures and ceremonies must not be disrupted, and that protesters must remain in dialogue with the university. According to the GSb, these rules violate the right to protest. The union also believes that the rules were not established democratically. Although the university previously stated that the regulations were approved by the university council, the council had actually given a negative recommendation.

On June 18, 49 student associations affiliated with the National Chamber of Associations (LKvV), including Dizkartes, Cleopatra, Albertus Magnus, and Vindicat, will sign a code of conduct against sexual harassment, aggression, and excessive substance use. This is in response to previous incidents, such as lists rating female students' sexual performance and the neglected geese found in a Vindicat house last year. The associations aim to establish a reporting point and appoint a confidential advisor, as well as create protocols to discourage drug use. The code originates from the associations themselves and will be evaluated annually.

A combined team from the University of the North (UG, Hanze and Noorderpoort) won second prize in the RDW's Self Driving Challenge 2024 last Friday, June 14. With their car, which they converted into a self-driving vehicle themselves, they had to drive a lap around the course, competing against participants from other colleges and universities. They had to complete several tests. Besides stopping and starting at a traffic light and giving way at a zebra crossing, the car also had to be able to overtake and parallel park.

Student protest organisations for Palestine will not stop taking action until Dutch universities sever ties with Israel. So write three students, in their own words on behalf of 14 protest organisations (including those in Groningen), in a letter sent to newspaper Trouw. The actions will continue, the writers said, 'until our call for justice - boycotting and divesting complicit institutions and companies - is heard'.

Smoking is tolerated at the corner of Broerplein and Poststraat. ‘Anyone currently smoking in front of the University Library is asked to go there,’ says spokesperson Elies Wempe-Kouwenhoven. That spot is convenient because there is a rubbish bin. The UG is in talks with the municipality to make it an ‘official’ smoking area with an ashtray. Since the university itself is not allowed to facilitate smoking, such a spot has to be just outside the university's grounds. This also means that the municipality has to install the ashtray. The university is also looking at similar off-grounds smoking spots for other campus locations.

What can and should universities do (or not do) in wars like in Ukraine and Gaza? Some say a uni should stay away from that, while others want to see an outspoken position. This question is the focus of a debate evening on Thursday 27 June: The role of universities in geopolitical conflicts. There will be five short pitches and a discussion led by Marc Pauly (researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy). The debate will be held in the Geertsemazaal in the Academy Building and is from 17:00 to 19:00 hrs.

The move of researchers of the Faculty of Science and Engineering  from Nijenborgh 4 to the new Feringa Building is on schedule. This means that demolition of building sections 5117 and 5118 will commence on July 1. These areas will make way for the second and final part of the Feringa Building. ‘This won’t be immediately visible’, says managing director Esther Marije Klop. ‘The process will start with interior remediation.’ Nijenborgh 4 contains a significant amount of asbestos-containing materials.

Last week, the university cancelled four Lustrum activities for which people had to buy tickets or sign up. According to a spokesperson, this was because less than 10 percent of the hoped-for registrations were received. The university does not want to disclose which events were cancelled. It also does not yet know exactly how this will affect the budget of the already scaled-down Lustrum Week. In any case, the Lustrum party on Friday did go ahead. Of the 1,900 tickets available, 1,035 had been sold. In the end, about 750 people attended the party at the Suikerunie grounds.

The number of international college and university students increased by 5 percent this academic year compared to last year, reports Nuffic, the organization for the internationalization of education. This is the lowest percentage increase in almost a decade. Notable is the sharp increase in enrollments from China (+23 percent). In total, there are now roughly 128,000 international students studying at higher education institutions, representing 16 percent of the total student population. At the RUG, there are 9,429 international students, or 27.7 percent of the total student body. This is a marginal increase compared to last year (9,422 students), while the number of new enrollments actually decreased.

Unions and universities have yet to reach a result in the fourth collective labour agreement negotiations. The unions report that the talks are proceeding in a 'slightly more positive atmosphere,' but they also fear that the end-of-June deadline will not be met. This deadline was already extended from the end of March to the end of June last year to avoid constant delays. After the third meeting, the unions claimed that the universities had minimal input and considered most of the union demands non-negotiable. Despite this, the unions are hopeful for 'real results' in the fifth negotiation. Their demands include a 4.3 percent pay rise and an additional EUR 150 on top of each pay scale.

Researcher Raffaela Carloni (Science and Engineering) and student Jonas Göbel (Arts) are the winners of the Ben Feringa Impact Award 2024, an award for outstanding achievements in knowledge utilisation. Carloni won the award and a sum of 5,000 euro  for the MyLeg project, in which an above-knee prosthesis is being developed to mimic a healthy leg as much as possible. Göbel was given 2,500 euros for his research to create maps using location data, for example to better understand climate risks in remote and vulnerable areas.

The Academy building, recreated with 70,000 Lego bricks, has been brought back to Groningen for the university's 410th anniversary. The structure was created by 24-year-old former student Johannes Bey, who took it to his hometown in southern Germany. Now, the artwork has been purchased by the LEGiO Museum in the Groningen village of Grootegast and can be viewed there. 'I can hardly believe that a structure I built will now be found in a real museum', says Bey. Previously, UKrant made a video about the construction of the Lego structure.

Casper Albers will be the new dean of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences. Albers (1975) is currently professor of applied statistics and data visualisation at that faculty and research director of the Heymans Institute for psychological research. Previously, he was a columnist for UKrant. He succeeds Kees Aarts (1959), who is leaving as dean but will stay on as professor of political institutions and behaviour. Albers' appointment takes effect from August 1.

70 percent of employees at Dutch universities experience work pressure more than incidentally. They work on average six hours more per week than their contracts specify. At the same time, universities have no control over the hours worked. This is stated in a report by the Labour Inspectorate, which conducted research at fourteen universities. Unwanted behaviour is also a major problem. 54 percent of employees have experienced this in the past two years, and 69 percent have observed it among colleagues. This mainly concerns bullying and discrimination. The mentioned causes are the hierarchical structure of the university and performance pressure.

The Nobel Prize winner for physics from Groningen, Frits Zernike, has received a new stone for the grave he shares with his sister, Elisabeth. The old gravestone was removed in the nineties, and Elisabeth's name was never even inscribed on it. Elisabeth wrote over thirty novels and poetry collections and in 1921 became the first woman to receive a literary prize from the Society of Dutch Literature. She died unmarried and without children, after which she was interred in her brother Frits' grave. The foundation for funerary heritage Terebint took the initiative for the new stone. It was unveiled on May 13 at Zorgvlied Cemetery in Amsterdam.

The Concerthuis at the Poelestraat has been designated as National Chemical Heritage by the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV). The café has been home to the Natural and Chemical Society (NSG) since 1831, founded by the Groningen chemist Sibrandus Stratingh (1785-1841) – known for creating the very first electric 'car'. Stratingh held countless lectures and demonstrations in the building. On June 13, a plaque will be unveiled on the facade. There will also be a mini-symposium on Stratingh and what the Concerthuis has meant to the field chemistry. Previously, venues such as the Oval Room in the Teylers Museum in Arnhem were selected. The Great Office of Dutch State Mines, formerly Gist-Brocades, is also on the list.