BY GIULIA FABRIZI AND INGRID STEPHAN
On Thursday, at least six hundred people, half of whom were staff, protested against the government’s plans to cut a billion euros from the budget for Dutch universities.
In spite of the confusion about the national protest in Utrecht being cancelled just one day earlier, the atmosphere at the Grote Markt was convivial.
The Utrecht triumvirate, consisting of the mayor, chief of police, and the public prosecutor, said a pro-Palestinian group planned to attend the protest and that they ‘wouldn’t shy away from using violence’, upon which the mayor advised the unions to cancel the protest. The unions obliged.
Various political youth organisations and the National Student Union decided not to heed the advice and travelled to Utrecht anyway. In the end, several thousand people protested there.
At the Grote Markt
While some people from Groningen had taken the train to Utrecht, most protesters were at the Grote Markt. They listened to the scheduled speakers and chanted slogans protesting the budget cuts.
To head off any potential disturbances, Organize the RUG, who set up the event, worked with the municipality to deploy extra people for security. Approximately twenty protesters wore yellow vests. They were a point of contact for people who had questions or for the police. One of them explained their main function was to ensure the situation didn’t get out of hand.
Frustrating and discouraging
Journalism lecturer Chris Chambers attended the protest as well. ‘Protesting is important, because what’s happening now is frustrating and discouraging’, he says. Just like the other protesters, he believes the planned budget cuts will severely impact education and research.
He says people have to make their voices heard. ‘The cuts are a political choice and most people who voted for the current coalition don’t care about the issue. That’s why we have to show up and show them we disagree.’
Not hijacked
Some people feared the protest would be hijacked by pro-Palestine protesters, but that fear was unfounded. A small group brandished Palestinian flags and some of the speakers included the geopolitical developments in their speeches.
This led to irritation and frustration among some of the protesters. ‘That’s not why we’re here’, several people yelled whenever speakers strayed from the topic of budget cuts.
No board
The UG’s board of directors, which had initially planned to attend the protest in Utrecht, also felt the protest didn’t focus on the budget cuts enough, the university says. That’s why the UG board decided at the last minute to not attend the protest at the Grote Markt.
‘While it’s a shame that the joint protest in Utrecht was cancelled, we feel bolstered by the large groups of people in the various university cities as well as the Lower House who’ve made their voices heard both online and in person’, says board president Jouke de Vries. ‘It’s very important that so many staff and students in both Groningen and the rest of the country support the protest.’
Walk away
Approximately one hour in, one of the speakers, who among UG staff was known for being part of the encampment at the Harmonie square this past summer, did talk about Palestine and the war in Gaza. Not everyone in the audience could appreciate this; dozens of people walked away during the speech.
‘Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to focus on Palestine so much’, a European language and culture student attending their first protest ever said. ‘I’m not saying that because I disagree with them, but because it gives the government the opportunity to dismiss this as just another pro-Palestine protest.’