At Wijnhaven, strict LU-Card checks are in place and external visitors are only granted access if they registered in advance. In addition, plain-clothes security guards are active and security personnel occasionally photograph people or record their conversations.
On an evening earlier this month , worried students and staff gather in the jam-packed lecture room 3.60 at the Wijnhaven building to voice their concerns. A picture of last May’s occupation by action group Students for Palestine appears on the screens: a large number of police officers can be seen on the escalator.
Also just visible in the picture: one half of Dean Koen Caminada’s face. The meeting is nearing its end when activist and discussion leader Antonio points to the half-visible face of Caminada in the picture, all the while looking the dean – who is also present in the room – straight in the eye. ‘I have a message for the members of the Executive Board, which you will surely report to them’, says Antonio. ‘We do not accept these measures. If they’re not lifted, civil disobedience will follow.’
Loud cheering and applause can be heard in the room. ‘If we have to occupy, we will occupy’, Antonio continues.
The crowd calls out: ‘Let’s go!’
Antonio: ‘We will not stop. And if you think we’re only focused on Wijnhaven, think again. We’ll just as easily go to Leiden.’
‘I want to let the Board know what happens when they send the police after their students’, says Korean Studies student Sarah, a member of End Fossil who took part in the occupation of the Lipsius building in Leiden last November. ‘It was a peaceful protest. When the police came, a few others and I stayed put. They grabbed me by the nose to make me stand up. And I was forced to do so, because I didn’t want to break my nose.’
‘The Board needs to understand that this is traumatising for students’, says philosophy student In-Sook of End Fossil. ‘From the beginning, we’ve had to deal with a lot of security. Certain groups are monitored more closely.’ According to End Fossil, there was most likely an infiltrator working for the university. ‘We’re pretty sure we had a mole who was also involved in the occupation. Through the windows at Lipsius, we saw this person talking to the university’s security after leaving the occupation quite early. And more suspicious things happened surrounding this person.’
It was not just students who spoke; there were also lectures by political science professor Petr Kopecky, professor of International Governance Kutsal Yesilkagit and assistant professor of Political Philosophy Matthew Longo. However, the main focus was on students sharing their experiences with security guards and administrators. ‘It’s shocking that the security targets the university’s own students’, says international relations student Nihal of Students for Palestine. ‘Who exactly is the university protecting with this security?’
Nihal also takes issue with the Board's statement that the university is not a political institution. ‘But now that there are funding cuts, that’s suddenly no longer the case and we’re being called upon to protest. I find that hypocritical. Apparently, the university is just not political when it comes to the fate of brown and black people.’
‘The university is a rather hostile place for black students’, says a member of the Afro Student Association (ASA). ‘We also constantly feel like we’re being watched more closely. Moreover, racist practices aren’t addressed by the university and are even condoned.’
‘Security is used against us as a weapon’, says another ASA member. ‘It’s difficult for us to organise things at the university.’
‘The security policy regarding Students for Palestine is politically motivated,’ argues University Council member and associate professor of history Joost Augusteijn. ‘I’m convinced of that. The political context is not favourable for the fate of Palestinians. We were informed about the security measures behind closed doors; I’m not allowed to talk about that, but you can gather from public information that the measures are aimed at pro-Palestine protests.’
‘Aha’, responds discussion leader Antonio. ‘So now we finally know.’
Nihal: ‘After the last big meeting about security at Wijnhaven, I was walking down the stairs with a small group of people. Suddenly, a man started taking pictures of us. A plain-clothes security guard saw it all happen but did nothing. Once I was downstairs, I started shouting at the receptionist: “Stop him!” A student managed to do so. The man refused to explain himself and left. Because we were agitated, the security guard responded with: “If you’re so emotional, I don’t need to talk to you.” It all felt very degrading. There have been five separate instances where I was recorded, and I’ve been photographed countless times.’
Complaints are not taken seriously, In-Sook concurs: ‘We’ve had a lot of discussions with university staff. They either ignore what we say or pass it on to another staff member who is supposedly responsible. And that’s the last you hear about it.’