'It is DUB's role to show what is happening within the university community'

In 1986, I was a Dutch student at UU and got interviewed by its newspaper, then called UBlad. On the front page, no less. I was asked about the lack of lecturers in my programme. ‘There are seminars for which ninety people sign up, but only fifteen students can participate in the end.’ Nothing new under the sun – to this day, students can't take all the electives they want due to a lack of teachers.

This is a good example of the work of a university magazine. This type of publication aims to address the problems experienced by students and/or lecturers, holding administrators accountable, which often leads to increased awareness of what is happening at the university. Sometimes, their articles also contribute to improving the situation.

A platform for new talent
In the early 1990s, I gained my first journalistic experience at Ublad, mostly writing reviews of theatre performances and conducting interviews about culture. One of my first articles was an interview with UU student Ronald Giphart. I visited him at the Overvecht Hospital, where he was hidden behind a large desk. He worked on his first novel, Ik ook van jou (I Love You Too), during his shifts there as a night porter.

This, too, is the role of a university magazine: to provide a platform for talented students by offering them the opportunity to write or by showcasing their initiatives in whatever field. 

After stints at the university magazines Mare, in Leiden, and Univers, in Tilburg, I had the opportunity to return to my old stomping ground in 2010. A lot had changed after all those years, but a lot had remained the same as well. 

As a farewell, I would like to make a few observations about the position of Utrecht University's independent university news outlet over the past 15 years.

1. From paper Ublad to digital DUB

When I applied for a vacancy at UU's news outlet in 2010, a real power struggle was going on behind the scenes. The university wanted to discontinue Ublad, a printed medium, and replace it with a digital version. Utrecht University would be the first university in the Netherlands to have a digital-only newspaper. The Executive Board strongly supported the idea, which was also backed by the editorial board and the then editor-in-chief.

Their main arguments for switching to digital were the sharp decline in circulation and the need to cut costs. However, the editorial team opposed this innovation. The university community was also critical of the change. They feared that the switch would mark the end of independent university journalism. ‘People will not read long-form articles on a screen. This is the death knell for in-depth, substantive journalism,’ said university council member Max Patelski, who set up a website called redhetublad.nl (saveublad.nl, Ed.). Some students even occupied the administration building in an attempt to prevent the printed newspaper from being abolished. In their view, the university administration was conspiring to eliminate a “troublesome” medium.

That's when I came in. Since then, my goal has been to ensure that DUB remains a critical, independent medium with a wide reach within the university community. I must acknowledge that every medium has its strengths. A print publication is readily available, while websites require people to visit them first. Moreover, a weekly magazine is something you leaf through, while visitors to a site often hop randomly from one article to another. On the other hand, a website is accessible to everyone, even those who are not at the university every day.

One thing that immensely helped the switch to digital was an agreement with the Executive Board that all staff and students would automatically receive DUB's newsletter, which provides an overview of the latest news, unless they requested to unsubscribe.

Today, DUB's reach is many times greater than Ublad's used to be. In recent years, the number of unique visitors per month has grown from approximately 30,000 in 2011 to around 100,000 in 2024. One factor that explains these high figures is that people can find our articles through search engines. For example, our 2018 piece The Student Dictionary", which explains Dutch student slang, has been our most-read article for many years, with 600,000 views and counting.

DUB also has a significant impact, content-wise. University Council members often ask questions of the university administration based on articles they have read on DUB about topics such as social safety, internships, teaching evaluations, temporary lecturers, and work pressure.

In my opinion, a good example of our impact is a story from 2016, in which a PhD student argues that the way in which Utrecht University converts grade lists to the American Grade Point Average is detrimental to students interested in studying abroad. Then rector Bert van der Zwaan acknowledged that UU was a tad strict, and Dutch universities have adjusted their grading systems as a result.

In addition, DUB's articles have been cited in various parliamentary debates, such as when GroenLinks (The Green Left-Wing Party, Ed.) MP Lisa Westerveld asked ministers about temporary appointments.

2. Ownership by the university community

As an independent medium, DUB is not the mouthpiece of the university administration. Instead, it is a platform for all students and staff. Professor Pieter Hooimeijer, chair of DUB's editorial board, emphasises this time and again: DUB's ownership lies with the university community. The editorial board, comprising academics, UU staff, students, and external journalists, oversees DUB's editorial direction, safeguarding its independence.

In recent years, the Communications Department at Utrecht University has undergone significant growth. It has also been adopting a more journalistic approach. However, one should bear in mind that their work ultimately aims to convey a certain message. While their goal is to spread the message that the university wants to convey as an institution, DUB's editorial team, now comprising seven members, first considers what students and staff need to know. Its aim is to provide that information, even when that is not good news for the university. 

Most Executive Board members are well aware of the difference between PR and journalism and respect DUB's independence. However, not everything we publish is received with cheers. It can be painful for board members when articles are written about them, such as those regarding their expense claims. Nevertheless, they were accepted with gritted teeth.

Only once did one of our articles lead to conflict. It occurred when the UU President at the time, Marjan Oudeman, had multiple side jobs. The article wondered how she could balance them with a full-time job and to what extent conflicts of interest could arise. The article was not appreciated and led to a temporary communication blackout. However, we felt it was a relevant story for the university community.

3. Fear of free speech

Universities are characterised by the free exchange of ideas. Academic freedom is highly valued. However, in recent years, I have noticed that this is not entirely true.

Around the world, administrators at various levels are afraid of losing their reputation. Here in Utrecht, they love it when DUB pays attention to their projects, but they are wary of anything negative being mentioned. This applies to both university and student administrators.

Many bloggers, opinion makers and critical employees have told us that they were confronted by a dean or other manager about what they have said on DUB. “It may be true, but now everyone can read it. We're not happy about that,” they were told.

We are also hearing more and more often that students or staff do not want to contribute to our articles because they are afraid of what others will say. They fear it could harm their careers, for example. Although it has never been proven that talking to DUB influences assessments or job applications, the perception persists nonetheless.

Fortunately, there are still students and staff who remain undeterred in their critical thinking. In my opinion, Spinoza Prize winner Birgit Meyer made a strong and brave statement when commenting on the austerity measures at the Faculty of Humanities. Another great example is the Skills Lab's response to the budget cuts. It gave the reader a counterargument and thus a broader perspective.

4. A community under pressure

If one thing has become clear recently, it is that you can no longer talk about “the” university community. The polarisation that is visible in society is also noticeable at our university.

For me, this became clear during a major project we set up in collaboration with other higher education media. All independent news publications of Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences joined forces in 2022 to conduct a survey diversity in times of polarisation. We aimed to gauge the perception of diversity and diversity policy across Dutch higher education institutions, where diversity was often a strategic priority.

Unfortunately, our survey was undermined by the "trolling" platform GeenStijl, which called on its fanbase to sabotage it by flooding it with fake responses. Despite this setback, our joint efforts revealed a great deal. For example, we found out that diversity officers themselves were often confronted with inappropriate behaviours simply because of their position. In addition, the responses from Utrecht University that had already been collected before the sabotage showed that many people were dissatisfied. One group feels that they are not taken seriously enough, while the other feels that diversity policy has gone too far, making them uncomfortable.

Another example of this was an article in response to the 2020 “Black Lives Matter” protests, in which students and academics described their experiences of institutional racism. In this article, one interviewee stated that every white Dutch person is essentially a racist, meaning that the white community has so many privileges and benefits that stem from a history of racism that they benefit from racism whether they are aware of it or not. However, many Dutch people believe that a racist is someone who discriminates against people on purpose. So, for many readers, that article was a kick in the teeth, and a heated debate ensued, which was painful for both sides.

This article turned out to be the harbinger of a new trend. DUB's team has also noticed that the differences between groups have become more pronounced lately. The tone used in the comments has become sharper, sometimes even aggressive or downright offensive. For this reason, we have been having to delete comments more often.

Pro-Palestinian activists also use harsh language. Though I can sympathise with their protests at the university, I find their tone sometimes intimidating, both towards the university administration and towards other students and staff in our community. They do not shy away from personal attacks, sometimes addressing people on the basis of their Jewishness or claiming that anyone who disagrees with their ideas regarding a general boycott of Israeli universities is complicit in genocide.

On the other hand, the number of students who identify with the far-right is growing at the university. They also use a harsh tone when opposing diversity policy and internationalisation. In an opinion piece about the austerity measures, a student defended the government's proposal to establish a fine for students who take longer to graduate by saying that some students "change programmes and genders four times”. This made many students, especially queer ones, uncomfortable.

I have always considered it essential to provide all parties in our community with the opportunity to express their opinions on DUB, even if their views are extreme. In my view, it is DUB's role to show what is happening within the university community. However, we must be careful about the limits of freedom of speech. When is a message too offensive? This has also been the subject of considerable debate within the editorial team.

Minor in Journalism
Ultimately, I would like to make a plea for the inclusion of more journalism in the curriculum. Journalism is under scrutiny, and a debate has arisen about its role in society. A journalism curriculum that reflects on the media's role should be an essential part of a university that aims for its education to contribute to a better world. Preferably, this would be done from an interdisciplinary approach.

We have noticed that many students are interested in exploring whether a career in journalism is right for them. They can gain journalistic experience on DUB by working with us as freelancers or interns. However, for those who wish to pursue a career in education, the options are very limited. UU only offers one course, but students interested in a Master's degree must attend one of the universities in Amsterdam, Leiden, or Groningen. Utrecht University doesn't even have a minor in journalism.

A few years ago, I raised this issue and developed a proposal to establish a minor in sustainable journalism. The rector at the time, Henk Kummeling, was enthusiastic about the idea, but the rule that such an initiative must be supported by a single faculty did not help, nor did the threat of budget cuts. Fortunately, an alternative is being developed, consisting of courses that are already being taught. I hope this can be a starting point, and that DUB can play a role in that minor in the future.

Inspiring environment
The university is a mini society, and DUB reports on it. We have built up a wealth of experience and are constantly confronted with dilemmas that arise within this community. University journalism can help the new generation of students develop their vision of society.

It has been a real pleasure for me to spend 15 years at Utrecht University, an inspiring environment where I have had the opportunity to talk to people from completely different backgrounds – from the receptionist who lost his permanent job to the activist occupying a building who worries about his exam the next day; from the fraternity student committed to charity to the administrator with sparkling eyes because he had become a grandfather for the first time; from the temporary lecturer who love to have an academic career to the student from India who was forced to return to her home country. I've experienced feelings of euphoria, but also of concern and frustration. Personal stories colour this university. I have learned a lot from them and will carry that with me forever.