UU and HU lift sanctions against USC

According to the two institutions, USC is making an effort to improve social safety among its members. For this reason, they have decided to suspend all sanctions. 

Last year, USC was punished after two of its members made a list of members of the sorority UVSV, who were judged on their looks and performance. Best known as the "slut list", the document was distributed online and included not only the names of the women but also pictures and phone numbers. The list caused an outcry all over the country.

The sanctions were valid until the end of 2024. The two educational institutions promised to sever all ties with the fraternity if it didn't display enough willingness to change an internal sexist culture.

Now, both consider that cutting ties is not necessary. Since January 1, USC is once again allowed to apply for subsidies to organise social activities. As of the next academic year (2025-2026), the fraternity will also receive the basic subsidy and its representatives be allowed to attend university festivities again.

Culture change
"This is great news," says USC Rector Roeland Beelen. "Improving culture is an intensive process, especially within a fraternity. It takes time, obviously. We can't change it overnight but it is nice to get recognition for what we are doing."

According to him, the sanctions were a financial blow to the fraternity, but he doesn't know if any activities have been cancelled as a result. "I don't know if we were unable to do anything due to the funds being withheld. I didn't occupy this position last year, so I don't know how exactly the sanctions affected us."

Codes of conduct
The educational institutions demanded USC to work on a culture change. The fraternity is accused of being isolated and hierarchical, which exacerbates peer pressure and sexism.

Before the summer break, USC submitted an improvement plan to the two educational institutions. In this document, the fraternity vowed to be more active in promoting "respect, diversity, equality, leadership and fulfilment" as values in its student houses and events such as introductory days.

"USC has taken steps to make freshmen and seniors aware that they should treat each other and women respectfully. For example, they have drawn up a code of conduct for their houses and offered leadership training for senior students," says UU Rector Henk Kummeling.

Progress
Although the institutions find that USC is going in the right direction, they believe the fraternity needs more time to bring about a culture change. That's why UU and HU will continue to hold talks with USC about its progress.

It will be up to the fraternity to provide reports on its development. One of the things the fraternity should do is offer courses on social safety. "We depend primarily on their own reports," the UU rector acknowledges. "But we also receive reports from others. If we hear that things are not going well or if any incidents come up, we'll go back to the drawing board and see what is going on."

The rector is confident that the USC administrators will inform the educational institutions honestly and truthfully about its progress. "In all our conversations, I had the impression that the members of the senate are fully aware of their responsibilities and they have no interest in withholding information. My experience over the past few months is that as soon as anything crazy comes up or there are questions, they always knock on our door.’