The student council of the Faculty of Humanities (UvA) has given up confidence in Dean Fred Weerman. The students feel that too little was done when complaints were made about a teacher accused of sexually transgressive behavior.
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Write that Foil in The Parool in response to an internal letter from the student council.
The Council finds it unacceptable that the faculty does not intervene against the teacher of the Master’s program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage. The teacher would harass students and make inappropriate jokes about sperm. “The situation has become unsustainable,” the letter said. In addition, the students find it disturbing that the teacher in question still provides thesis supervision.
According to the council, the faculty, including Dean Weerman, has failed to suspend the lecturer. The student council therefore finds a ‘changing of the guard’ in place, because otherwise change will be made impossible. “We call on you to make your position as Dean available to an academic who can count on broad community support.”
Confidence is not only lost in the dean, but also in that of the ombudsman, the central diversity officer, the faculty diversity officer, the complaints committee and the confidential counselor in question. According to the council, the complaints structure, the university and the faculty have failed. “As long as the discussion is about individual failure, the system change you say you are pursuing cannot take place.”
Protest
More than a week ago, the students of the university protested against the lecturer and the way in which the UvA dealt with the complaints. The students saw the case as exemplary for the UvA’s board culture, where people in positions of power would be protected too much.
A few days before the protest, the UvA announced an independent and external investigation into how the university responded to reports from students about transgressive behavior.
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