Facility staff threatened due to university's Israel policy

Before the summer break, the Campus & Facilities management evaluated staff members' experiences regarding the atmosphere at the university since the protests and occupations in favour of a boycott of Israeli institutions. The evaluation revealed that several people (including cleaners, receptionists, security guards and service employees who do odd jobs at UU) feel intimidated by those who oppose Utrecht University's policy on Israel. 

"It can be threatening if someone with a face covering is shouting at you 10 centimetres away from your face, while you are only doing your job and you are responsible for ensuring order, cleanliness and safety," says cluster manager Ceel Roozeboom.

But the aggression didn't only come from activists. It also came from UU employees who disagreed with the Executive Board's decision to close buildings earlier due to a risk of occupation. "People can then react very angrily and aggressively," says a facility employee. “They start arguing about a measure that was taken by the crisis team, not by us.”

The facility staff are getting the brunt, but they are only carrying out the assigned policy. Roozeboom calls his staff motivated and professional. “Our teams are trained to respond adequately to angry people, but activists are a bit worse sometimes.”

Inappropriate and unacceptable
Anton Pijpers, the chair of the Executive Board, attended a meeting with facility staff last week. In a blog post on DUB, he says he was shocked by the stories he heard there. For example, one of these employees was cleaning up graffiti from a wall when someone shouted at them: "So you are in favour of genocide."

The chair of the Executive Board says he understands that people are distressed by the circumstances in Gaza and they are looking for ways to express that. However, he finds it inappropriate and unacceptable that facility staff are getting the full brunt of it. The same goes for students and employees who are frustrated by the measures resulting from this tense atmosphere, keeping employees from working at the office. Pijpers calls on all UU employees to say something if they witness such a situation.

UU Encampment, the students of the pro-Palestine movement, endorse this message. “As far as we are concerned, it is unjust and unfair to hold UU employees, including facility staff, responsible for the policies chosen by the Executive Board. UU Encampment always distinguishes between UU employees and the Executive Board. We hold board members responsible for the policy. Students are also part of UU and we should not hold them responsible for the board's policy either. Therefore, we call on everyone in our community to treat UU employees without policy responsibility with respect.”

The students add that they have received signs of support from cleaners, counter staff, security guards and other facility employees. Nevertheless, the activists would like to mention that security guards have also used physical violence against them, which is against the rules.

Apart from intimidation, the protests and occupations generate extra work for facility employees. “Facility employees, such as maintenance staff and cleaners, always enter the building after an evacuation to verify the damage. They make sure the building is clean again and take inventory of what is needed to ensure classes can go on. If the building must be closed for a few days, they make sure classes are rescheduled,” explains Roozeboom.