UvA Staff for a New University
[Dutch follows English] The recruitment of two new members of the CvB has started. ReThink asks that the candidates that step forward to lead the UvA/HvA clarify their positions about the key issues that are currently under debate. In the spirit of transparency, accountability, and responsible leadership, ReThink has designed a handy visualization tool, so […]
L.S., Met meer dan enige verbazing las ik de concept kaderbrief 2016. Bijgaand alvast enkele vragen. Op pag. 10 staat de curieuze zin ”De huurprijs per vierkante meter v.v.o. wordt (…) jaarlijks verhoogd met maximaal de inflatie, daarnaast tot en met 2022 daarenboven met 3,5%.” Dit leidt na zeven jaar tot een huurprijsverhoging van minstens […]
The most illuminating lesson that I have learned from my PhD-supervisor was to differentiate between a successful scientist and a good scientist. The golden qualifier-duo of “good” vs. “successful” is not just for categorizing celebrated scientists. It can serve as an eye-opener for a much broader domain. It is like a magnifying lens with which […]
My thoughts are based on the observation that education systems deeply reflect (whilst themselves enforcing) basic social norms of the society that is hosting the system. So, what might be these basic norms that you can see in the Netherlands?: a) Dutch people seem quite willing to undergo courses of technical training – in learning […]
Today, DNU blocked the entrance to the Maagdenhuis to support the rights of UvA flex-workers and oppose their impending redundancy. The action came as a surprise to ReThink UvA. Nonetheless, today’s action highlights the tension between longterm ongoing institutional processes within the university, and urgent problems that require immediate response. ReThink UvA supports UvA flex-workers’ struggle […]
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5 June 2015 – 18:27
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Lieve medestudenten, docenten, sympathisanten, maar bovenal vrienden, Dat ik hier sta is niet vanzelfsprekend. Ik ben 1 van de 10 mensen die zaterdag is opgepakt. 5 van deze helden zitten nog steeds vast. Ikzelf ben opgepakt terwijl ik iemand een knuffel gaf. Ik gaf iemand een knuffel op het Spuiplein, ver buiten het Maagdenhuis. Wij zijn […]
I arrived at the Maagdenhuis. The students were packing up the few personal possessions they had. No one, myself included, seemed to know what we should do. Prof G and Assistant Prof E arrived. E got us some coffee. We began talking with the students. We decided that the festival would go on but now […]
Short speech given by Prof. Amade M’charek (Anthropology, ReThink) on April 13th, 2015 Dear colleagues, dear students. Thank you for being here in such large numbers. We are 3.000 people here. This is truly amazing! I read this as a defeat for the CvB And a victory for us, the University. For we are the university, Louise. We are here today […]
The UvA CvB has brought about a bitter and violent escalation by ordering the recent eviction of the Festival of Science and Humanities at the Maagdenhuis (11 April 2015). As a flurry of petitions and letters seeking the board’s resignation have underscored, and as the numerous participants at yesterday’s march have shown, that outrageous move is […]
In an open letter published this morning in NRC Next, UvA professors Ewald Engelen and Olav Velthuis criticize the Executive Board of the University of Amsterdam for insisting on the forceful eviction of the Maagdenhuis even after the students had stated that they would voluntarily leave the building at the conclusion of the Science Festival. […]
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13 April 2015 – 09:12
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Staff from ReThink will be present and participating at the Festival of Sciences and Humanities, and, insofar as would be necessary, contributing to the safety at the Maagdenhuis. Students of The New University have invited the whole academic community to come to this event. They have scheduled an ambitious program filled with various seminars and workshops. We […]
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10 April 2015 – 23:55
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The United Faculties Panel seeks to showcase how the spirit of the Maagdenhuis protest is spreading in workplaces across the UvA and other universities. At the first United Faculties Rally we heard many inspiring stories of local initiatives being taken across the UvA based on similar concerns. What has happened since – and where do […]
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10 April 2015 – 00:04
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Backroom dealing is a phenomenon to be discouraged in any public institution. It limits participation by perpetuating the concentration of power in few hands and stifles open discussion by effectively widening the gap between the desire of constituencies and their leaders’ agendas. Perhaps more importantly, it creates distrust, encourages protectionism, and in extreme cases it […]
On Friday, 3rd of April, the Rethink UvA general assembly discussed the process of setting up the two independent committees together with the other groups involved. The principles that we find important for the work of the committees are: diversity; hospitability; active and decentralized outreach; deliberation-based work; attention to ongoing processes; and inclusiveness. It was […]
While the dust of the much-polarizing Maagdenhuis rally is settling down, a certain group is emerging as the unrivaled champion of the last eventful five weeks; a celebrated group called “the whole academic community” (“de gehele academische gemeenschap” in Dutch). From challengers (De Nieuwe Universiteit, Manifest) to the incumbent (De 10 punten van het CvB), […]
My impression is that many of our goals are ‘glocal’, i.e. local as well as global in character. Hence it is no coincidence that many of them have directly been taken over by protests at other universities. Not only that. Many professionals in other public sectors recognize our problems as similar to theirs. Everywhere the […]
Het Maagdenhuis zoals het nu is, is een goede plek om na te denken over de vraag hoe het komt dat een bepaalde maatschappelijke orde langdurig kan voortbestaan, maar ook, en soms onverhoeds, radicaal kan veranderen [1]. Een van mijn lievelingsschrijvers, de filosoof, socioloog en historicus Ibn Khaldûn (1332-1405) heeft hierover langdurig nagedacht. Hij had […]
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