Was it proportional?
University closed city centre buildings advised by municipality and police
A note announcing that the Law building is closed due to demonstrations. Photo: DUB
On May 30, all employees and students who had classes in the city centre were asked to leave the buildings to prevent an occupation by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. All doors were locked after that. The university didn't only close the buildings surrounding the University Library, where a pro-Palestine gathering was taking place, but also the building on Israëlslaan. Professor Ingrid Robeyns was one of the people who had to leave the building. She wrote to DUB that she wondered how proportionate the measure was and what social dynamics such a measure sets in motion. “For example, what does it do to the perception of how dangerous those students could be?”
This question was also discussed in the meeting between the University Council and the Executive Board, which happened on Monday, June 3. Rector Henk Kummeling explained that the university knew that a meeting with workshops, poetry and music had been planned, but they didn't know where. The location was only communicated last minute and it turned out to be the city centre library's courtyard.
“When we arrived, tents were being set up and people were walking around wearing face coverings. No one could explain to us why that was necessary,” he said. Since they feared an occupation, they closed the gates to the courtyard as well as all doors that gave access to it. People were allowed to leave the courtyard, but no one else was allowed to enter it. The gathering was then held on the sidewalk in front of the gates.
Student member Casper Bruijning asked whether the event's organisers had not told them that they would leave after the gathering. “No,” the rector replied. “Some even said that they would not leave until their demands were met. We had indicated that we would like to get in touch with the organisers so we could hold a meeting, but no one wanted to talk to us.” Casper answered by asking the board if he could put them in touch with the organisers as he knows many of them. The board accepted the offer.
When asked why they decided to close other buildings in the city centre, Kummeling stated: “We consulted with the municipality and the police. Since the courtyard was closed, they felt there was a high risk that another building would be occupied instead. We wanted to let people leave the buildings regularly, so first we checked if any exams were still planned in any of those buildings. There wasn't any, so we closed the buildings at 3:00 pm. after the lectures.”
