What do the five student parties want?

Everyone agrees that Utrecht Science Park needs a bigger supermarket. And the university’s strict rules for resits remain an area of friction.

But what else do the five parties looking to represent students in the University Council want? What is their stance regarding the university’s collaborations with Israeli universities or student wellbeing?

DUB checked their election programmes, websites, positions expressed on social media, and the voting guide on UU’s website to write the five profiles below. We’ll start with the parties that have been on the council for some time.

Fire (Lijst Vuur)

Lijst Vuur has earned its spurs in Utrecht's representative democracy. The party has been present in the University Council for many years.

In its election programme, Lijst Vuur emphasises its aim to make the university more inclusive and democratic. It also stresses the university's responsibility to improve society and tackle the climate crisis. 

They believe that abolishing the requirement to score at least 4.0 to be allowed to resit an exam would contribute to reducing performance pressure, which could increase students’ wellbeing. In addition, Vuur believes that UU should actively work to protect the LGBTQI+ community.

According to Lijst Vuur, the university should also meet the needs of religious students, taking them into account when setting up deadlines around public holidays. At the same time, international students should be able to be part of the UU community by continuing to speak English inside and outside their educational programmes. They propose organising a Cultural Appreciation Week to bridge the gap between Dutch students and international students.

Furthermore, Lijst Vuur is highly critical of the university's ties to fossil fuel companies and Israeli universities that are ‘complicit’ in the violence perpetrated in Gaza. Other notable proposals include the introduction of anonymous exams throughout the UU and fully vegan canteens.

Learn more:
Website: https://verenigingvuur.nl/
Election programme: VUUR Central Election Program 2025 EN.pdf

Party for the Utrecht Student (PvdUS)

PvdUS has been a familiar face in the University Council for almost two decades. The party is committed to a vibrant student life and opportunities for UU students to grow as people. In their view, the university should give students as much room to do this as they can. One of the ways this could be achieved is by financially supporting students who serve on the boards of student associations, but PvdUS has also traditionally been an advocate of good sports facilities.

The party believes that a thriving student life benefits academic performance and wellbeing. As far as PvdUS is concerned, students working on association boards should be rewarded with a certificate that they could use when applying for jobs.

PvdUS also believes that a high degree of flexibility in the curriculum could help students develop in other ways, hence their strong support of the flexible study experiment. PvdUS also wants to get rid of the requirement to score at least 4.0 to retake a course as they too think that this could diminish performance pressure.

Like Lijst Vuur, PvdUS wants UU to commit to becoming a carbon-neutral organisation by 2030. The party proposes getting students involved in brainstorming how this could be achieved (through part-time jobs, for example). 

When it comes to internationalisation, the party attaches great importance to opportunities to go on exchange programmes and study abroad.

Learn more:
Website: https://partijvdutrechtschestudent.nl/

The Free-thinking Student Party (VSP)

VSP joined the Utrecht University Council for the first time last year, with two seats. The party, whose origins can be traced back to VU University Amsterdam, is growing and will also participate in the elections at the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University and the University of Groningen this year.

VSP portrays itself as a defender of academic freedom, opposing ‘cancel culture’ at universities. The two VSP councillors say they are concerned about the possible consequences of ‘censorship and indoctrination’ in the classroom, with conservative or religious students not daring to express their views.

The conservative party is also highly critical of universities' diversity policies and concepts such as quotas and safe spaces. In addition, VSP is in favour of rewarding performance and excellence, which means that it disagrees with proposals to abolish cum laude diplomas or the use of lottery systems to select which students get to join certain programmes.

The party believes universities should be proud of their history and Dutch identity. In their view, the influx of international students should be limited and Dutch should be prioritised as a language of instruction.

Additionally, the party advocates a pragmatic and realistic approach to the university's sustainability policy. In their opinion, plans should not lead to high costs for the institution or students.

Last but not least, VSP is opposed to banning meat from university canteens. The party would prefer to see ‘a varied selection, including halal options’.

Learn more:
Website: https://vrijmoedigesp.nl/

Fair Student Party (Rups)

Rups is a new party that aims to be a pragmatic alternative to its counterparts.

According to them, its positions are primarily focused on improving the daily lives of UU students. In an interview with DUB, the two founders said that the parties in the University Council are doing little to address the concrete problems faced by students.

One of the party's key priorities is ensuring that Utrecht Science Park gets a larger supermarket, a cause also being pursued by other parties.

Rups also wants UU to be clearer about how students can compensate for failing grades in a course. Currently, this varies depending on the programme. In their view, it should not be necessary to pass all course components, as long as the average of all grades is sufficient.

Furthermore, when it comes to important issues, the party would like the opinions of the entire student community to be gauged in a non-binding referendum.

Rups says it is averse to the ideological approach of other parties, though it indicates that it is pro-Palestine and pro-sustainability, thus positioning itself in the ‘left-wing progressive’ part of the political spectrum.

The party also supports diversity policy and advocates stricter penalties for misconduct such as distributing ‘slut lists.’ Lastly, Rups finds that the international student community should be more involved with the university.

Learn more:
Website: https://stemrups.nl/

Student Coalition Utrecht (SCU)

The second new party running this year is Student Coalition Utrecht, which mainly consists of Muslim students who want the university to increase the number of quiet rooms and improve their quality. They also want a wider and more affordable range of products in the canteens, including halal and kosher options.

The party believes that the university should sever all ties with Israeli universities. In an interview with DUB, party leader Amine Lakhal said that other parties have done too little to achieve this so far.

SCU is also calling for the abolition of the minimum requirement of scoring 4.0 to be able to retake a course. Another noteworthy proposal is to give all students free printing credit.

Furthermore, SCU would like the university to offer workshops for students interested in working on their physical health and students who are struggling with financial problems or debt.

The party also would like selection procedures to take into account the disadvantaged position of students whose parents have not received an academic education. Lastly, SCU finds that the university should take a more critical look at whether English is necessary as the language of instruction in Bachelor's programmes.

Learn more:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studentcoalitionutrecht/

The Vidius Student Union is organising an election evening in the Aula of the Utrecht University Hall on Monday evening.

Anyone who wishes to do so can argue in favour of a student who has put themselves forward for election to one of the councils. This can be done by pitching candidates and/or topics that should be discussed in the student council next academic year.

If you would like to speak at the event, please register via this link. Other interested parties are welcome to attend from 6:30 pm. Free snacks and drinks will be provided.

The event will be recorded and livestreamed. You can watch it here.