The Board of Mayor and Aldermen is mild about the heavy-handed removal of TU/e students from the university’s boardroom. This appears from answers to council questions from PvdD (party for the animals) and GroenLinks (green left party) on the settlement of the occupation.
11 May, climate activists – also TU/e students, occupied a boardroom on the university campus. They did so in the name of University Rebellion, which wants the university to break its ties with fossil fuel companies.
The university responded to that action by deploying firefighters and security staff in an attempt to get the students out of the room. That failed, but in the evening they left anyway, because staying overnight in the building is prohibited.
‘Limited view’
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen believes the assessment that the university “intervened with a heavy hand” is incorrect. “The posted videos give only a limited picture of the course of the situation”, the city council said.
The board does believe that physical confrontations must be avoided, that freedom of speech and freedom to demonstrate are paramount, but that laws and regulations must be respected in the process.
Preparation
In doing so, the students should have announced their campaign in advance, the college reports. This would have allowed the university to “prepare for its role”. Finally, the board reports that it hopes that the TU/e and University Rebellion will continue to talk with each other about the theme of climate change, and how to demonstrate on the university campus.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
