Vindicat will be keeping its recently reinstated accreditation at the UG. According to the university and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Vindicat handled the fallout of the ‘Buitenspelen’ festival well.
That means that the association will be allowed to attend official UG and Hanze events this year. ‘We’re glad that the institutes feel that we handled things well’, says Sanne Veken, Vindicat rector.
Vindicat will have to make a plan of attack in order to accelerate the improvements the accreditation report demands, says UG spokesperson Anja Hulshof. That means they have to do better in tackling the problematic drinking and party culture. It’s unclear what will happen to Vindicat’s committee grants. The process of awarding the committee grants to all student associations is still ongoing.
‘We take the improvement process very seriously’, says Veken, ‘but the fact that the board changes every year does make it more difficult. We’re happy the institutes have acknowledged the effort and that we’ve been able to build that trust.’
However, in spite of that trust, Hulshof does say that the association will get outside counselling to help with the cultural change.
On Monday morning, Vindicat once again met with the UG and the Hanze to talk about members storming buses at Kardinge two weeks ago. After the annual festival ‘Buitenspelen’, several hundred students all wanted to go back to the city centre simultaneously. This led to a hostile atmosphere.
Drunk and impatient Vindicat members boarded buses while smoking and drinking beer. They didn’t wear face masks and took emergency hammers off the walls. Both bus drivers and other passengers felt unsafe, bus company Qbuzz said. In the end, the police had to be called to calm down the situation.
A day after the incident, Vindicat apologised to Qbuzz. The association also met with the city, the educational institutes, and the police. After this meeting, mayor Koen Schuiling cancelled a large sailing event and the accompanying party that were scheduled for last Friday at Kaap Hoorn.
Upon this decision by the city, Vindicat cancelled all events ‘until further notice’. The association also pledged to look for the members involved in the bus incident and to take action if necessary. Veken says it’s very difficult to find the members responsible.
‘The only way we’d be able to identify them is through security camera footage from the buses’, she says. ‘We don’t have access to that.’ Veken says the association would only get to see the recordings if Qbuzz presses charges. ‘They’re not doing that. So we’ve done everything within our power. I think the entire association is feeling the consequences of the incident.’