o More funding in general, but specially for trans/non-binary support, (disabled) BIPOC
o Consider employing therapists with identifiable social identities
o More access to actual therapy (not just single sessions)
o Independent report to be requested to analyse social safety at universities in Amsterdam
o Takes into account: increase in surveillance (cameras), police on campus, “diversity & inclusion” promises made after 2015 Maagdenhuis occupation – did they actually lead to improvements in social safety?
o Uses as a basis the “Let’s do Diversity” report by Wekker et al.
Measures to improve gender equality/justice:
o More gender neutral toilets and changing rooms (sport facilities) on every campus, on all floors, transform existing ones
o Facilitate the recognition of people’s chosen names (no dead names), despite passport
o Courses for staff and students on inclusive language and efforts like introducing pronouns at the beginning of classes and meetings
o Inclusive language in all communication (Dutch and English), for courses and formal communication. (e.g. “they” as neutral pronoun)
o Free menstrual products in all bathrooms and across all campuses
o Gender as a criterium for hiring of (highly paid) staff/professor positions possibly through a (temporary) gender quotum
Universities must focus on well-being and care for people. Right now the focus of universities is to get rankings and use diversity and inclusion as a means to “capitalize” on people for good PR (public image).
o CDO (chief diversity officer) function = woman, non-binary, or genderqueer person (of color)
o FDO (faculty diversity officer) becomes full time function with whole team
o Mandatory education for students and staff on social safety, harassment, racism <>* more focus on this education (non-mandatory)
o Confidential people at uni: hire people of color too
o Cultural softlanding: info groups, buddy system
o More autonomous spaces where people can create, organize, socialize
o Diversity commissions must be paid
o Work on suicide prevention, and allow for flexibility in assessment for students struggling with mental health (VU case)
* the symbol "<>" represents that there are two visions that 'oppose' one another. We chose to keep both in, to show the different views in our coalition.
Better mental health support
Independent social safety report
Improve gender justice
Diversity, social justice and equity
Social justice, diversity, inclusion
Honor "Let's do Diversity" report
Steps towards social justice and racial and gender equality have been outlined in the 2016 report 'Let's do Diversity.' The failure of the UvA to effectively and meaningfully implement the report's recommendations illustrates where the university's priorities lie. As such, the university should immediately follow through and implement recommendations including:
- Anchor social justice and diversity
- diversity policy and action plan
- diversity unit: quota for gender and race (e.g. hire more non-male POC)
- dedicated university Meldpunt Discriminate (anonymous hotline for discrimination cases) and/or Ombudsperson
- Cooperate with other universities - e.g. Dutch diversity charter
o attract, retain, support and promote more people with minority background in order to increase their presence, visible portions and positions of power
- Conduct research into the (lack of) diversity of the staff body
- Include in this research the fallout (dropouts and terminated contracts) of POC and the rate of hired people vs total applicants considering race, ethnicity, gender etc.
o making staff application procedures more diversity-informed with respect to all ethnicities, genders, specifically people who are non-conforming, trans and women*
o increase student recruitment in Amsterdam and regional schools with pupils with minoritized background and students with families with non academic backgrounds structurally and ease transitions of HBO to university easier
o anchor specific obligatory objectives - results must be transparent
Diverse staff and student body
Enhancing social justice at the University
Take discrimination and racism seriously:
o Increase awareness of the impact of bullying/harassing jokes and attitudes - make them more visible and take action
o Create safe mechanisms to address and tackle instances of discrimination
o Consider the creating of small-scale teaching environments - reduce distance between teaching staff and students
o Review, with inputs from staff, students, and professionals, the role of the reporting process and bureaucracy in producing institutional barriers to justice and accountability.
o Any changes to university policy regarding social safety should be firmly embedded within an analysis of the power imbalances structured not only through seniority between staff and students, but also through gender, race, and heteronormativity.
o Address race in the "Diversity Policy" of the UvA
o Hire more POC for (highly paid) staff/professor positions, possibly through a (temporary) quota
o Universities must be inclusive for people of all religions
o Silent/prayer rooms more spacious and quiet
Community care
Socially just Education
"Diversity Literacy"
From “Let’s do Diversity” report:
o develop a non-threatening, non-stigmatizing vocabulary
o organise, promote and support ongoing conversations among students and staff
o learn from national and international expertise
o use frameworks such as decoloniality and intersectionality
o use diversity informed language in formal and informal communication
o disseminate this language through courses included in academic courses and BKOs*
*BKOs = Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs. It is the teaching qualification that is compulsory for all (university) lecturers, senior university lecturers and professors.
Decolonial, anti-oppression lens
Current European and Dutch standards for research ethics and integrity present an apolitical and ahistorical view of knowledge production. They present research production as a universal ‘good’ while obscuring the role of universities and western knowledge production in formulating and perpetuating 500 years of racial exploitation, genocide, and ecocide.
As such, future ethical and integrity evaluation of research practices and third-party collaboration and agreements should be firmly grounded in the decolonial critiques of the university levelled in this document and through the work of radical-Black-feminist and Indigenous scholars.
This shall be realized through the development of decolonial standards for research ethics and integrity, and firmly and conspicuously embedded within research, teaching, and administration.
Decolonial vision
Universities stand for justice in Palestine
Reports by human rights organisations (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Al-Haq, B'Tselem, United Nations) have called out the illegality of Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestine.
Universities must:
o Recognise Zionism as a racist, settler-colonial ideology
o Publicly endorse and cease the censorship of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campus, and immediately cease ties with all Israeli (apartheid) institutions.
o Fully comply with the Freedom of Information Act (Weten open Overheid, WOO) request lodged by The Rights Forum into links with Israeli institutions and lobby groups.
o Cease the censorship of, and actively support student organising for Palestine and campaigns for BDS.
Justice in Palestine
o give institutional value and viability to practices enriching diversity - teaching evaluations, course evaluations, research evaluation and promotion criteria
o researchers, staff and students should be aware of the positionality of knowledge and create space for divergent perspectives
o use of ‘curricula scans’ - monitoring and stimulating the development of diversity-rich courses (by in-house experts and trained professionals). They can also act as sounding boards for teachers in the development of their courses
o institutional protection for researchers and teaching staff who engage with progressive non-mainstream perspectives in their disciplines - staff who are critical of racist, misogynistic, and colonial practices of the university and academic disciplines
o develop courses in every faculty that reflect on issues as the genealogy of the discipline, positionality and the roles that gender, race, class and (dis-)ability play in the particular field of studies
o enhance awareness of the historical role of the UvA
o develop and stimulate participatory teaching methods
o draft a concrete diversity policy and work plan
o engage faculties in a discussion
o acknowledge that the western form of knowledge that is taught at universities is not the only form of knowledge. Actively diversify knowledge sources by incorporating indigenous knowledge (IK) systems and knowledge transmission into the curriculum.
o All scientific findings accessible to anyone - no paywalls, subscription fees etc. Efforts must be made to make jargons and academic language less of a barrier for non-academics.
Openness of knowledge
Our coalition remains sceptical of the university’s willingness to let go of its authoritarian control of knowledge production and dissemination. Therefore, it is the Coalition’s priority, not only to hold the university accountable to the demands listed in this document, but also to claim and cultivate a (physical) space in which to nurture radical, decolonial epistemological and pedagogical praxis, and offer staff and students the possibilities to reach for liberated futures.
This decolonial praxis also means taking a firm stance in solidarity with the liberation of peoples of the Global South and Fourth Worlds (Indigenous worlds/ territories), respecting the autonomy and sovereignty of all peoples, and the denouncement of militarism and imperial intervention.
A Luta Continua! (“The fight goes on!”)
Decolonize research
Sexual Harassment, gender-based violence**, Discrimination
As numerous cases have highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment and discrimination at Dutch higher-education campuses. The 2021 annual report of the confidential advisors records 91 reports of undesirable behaviour. The AAC recognises that the majority of cases of harassment, bullying, and discrimination go unreported, meaning that these 91 cases represent a fraction of the total cases. What is more striking however is that none of these reports lead to a formal complaint being lodged with the complaints committee, raising significant questions regarding institutional and bureaucratic barriers to justice and accountability. Furthermore, the majority of cases reported relate to interactions between staff and students, as such the lack of clarity provided for the university's stance on relationships and interactions between staff and students is striking.
o review, with inputs from staff, students, and professionals, the role of the reporting process and bureaucracy in producing institutional barriers to justice and accountability
o explicitly acknowledge rape culture as a cultural system producing gendered vulnerability to sexual violence in future policy
o Mandatory education for students and staff on sexual violence & consent, to be carried out by (paid) qualified professionals. <>* non-mandatory education
This must emphasize:
- the importance of consent and boundaries
- an up to date view of the gendered and racialised vulnerabilities to sexual violence
- a clear definition of the university's policies, reporting processes and support
- active bystander intervention training, especially for tutors and teaching staff
o any changes to university policy regarding social safety should be firmly embedded within an analysis of the power imbalances structured not only through seniority between staff and students, but also through gender, race, and heteronormativity.
* the symbol "<>" represents that there are two visions that 'oppose' one another. We chose to keep both in, to show the different views in our coalition.
**Gender-based violence = violence directed against a person because of their gender identity.
*University of Color - Maagdenhuis (occupation) group from 2015
Read here their demands!
Sources / recommended reading
Let's do Diversity report by Gloria Wekker et al.
to add: Indigenous rights manifestos (Aralez, CSC)
DECOLONIZE
The AAC recognises the long and enduring complicity of ‘the university’ (institution) - and western knowledge production - with European colonialism. The university has been referred to as the ‘soft means of colonisation’ - it spreads the knowledge required for colonialism to succeed. This mentality or ‘knowledge’ was built on misogynist, racist and heteronormative concepts, which places other peoples and cultures in an inferior position related to the white European ruling classes. This idea of superiority was then used to justify the destruction of ecosystems and the annihilation and assimilation of peoples. The dominance of western-colonial knowledge is reflected in the inequalities of global knowledge production, with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States remaining in the top six knowledge producers in the world. The sixth, Japan, is likewise a (former) imperial power. Far from resulting from any lack of capacity in the Global South, this reflects the university’s inability to accredit and respect the knowledges and ways of being of Indigenous peoples and the dispossessed. Instead, the colonised are treated as sources of information, commodities ripe for extraction. It is for this reason that ‘research’ is one of the dirtiest words for many indigenous peoples.
The UvA has been, and continues to be deeply implicated in Dutch colonialism. The university continues to manage the Bushuis/Oost Indie Huis, the former headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), an institution deeply implicated in the globalization of racial capitalism, and complicit in the genocide of San peoples in South Africa, and on the Banda Islands, Indonesia. Recent initiative to review this colonial history is appreciated but long overdue.
We therefore recognise the university in itself is colonial, so our challenge is to activate it as a meaningful and generative site of resistance towards the abolition of racial capital.
