At the opening of the academic year (OAY), last Monday September 1, protestors disrupted the event for about an hour, which ultimately led to the police removing the protestors from the Blauwe Zaal. We want to clarify why this intervention took place.
The right to demonstrate, as laid down in the constitution, is of vital importance, especially at a university. The university traditionally is a key place for debate and for diversity of opinion. This is in line with our CORe values , which describe our culture and define our behavior: Curious, Open, Respectful, Responsible.
This means that everyone gets the opportunity to make themselves heard at TU/e, but it has to be respectful. Therefore, we make space for protests, we are reluctant to impose restrictions, and we strive for dialogue and respect, as embedded in our ' Policy principles for manifestations on the TU/e campus and in TU/e buildings '. We acted accordingly at the OAY, with careful consideration.
The protestors at the OAY were given ample time to make their voices heard, even though it was an unannounced protest at a key event of the university. The protestors shouted offensive language at the minister and others. In doing so they blocked the continuation of the event for an hour, keeping the roughly four hundred guests waiting. The minister and the event also offered the protestors several times the opportunity to ask the minister questions publicly after his speech. However, the protestors refused to accept this offer for dialogue and continued their protest.
We consider the shouting, the abusive language and the deliberate blocking of this large event to be very disrespectful to the minister, the audience and the university as an institute for an open and respectful dialogue. It was a strong violation of our core values. That is why we eventually asked for the protestors to be removed from the hall, in close contact with the police and the mayor (the ' Driehoek '). At our university we encourage respectful and open dialogue, we don't tolerate disrespectful and aggressive behavior.
The Executive Board strongly disapproves of the nature of the protest and regrets it was necessary to ask for police enforcement. We want to express our gratitude and respect for both the minister and the audience for staying with us despite the delay and the turmoil in the event hall.
