Professor Wieteke Willemen, Faculty of ITC
‘I am not joining the cortège this year (the formal procession of professors to the opening ceremony, ed.). The main reason is the invitation of Schoof as speaker. I would rather spend those few hours giving extra attention to my department, which is bracing itself for the reorganisation at ITC where 10 per cent of my colleagues will be made redundant. A direct result of Schoof’s policies. We are stronger without them.’
Elinor Meredith, postdoctoral researcher at ITC and secretary of the UT Postdoc Network board
‘My whole life has been turned upside down by Schoof’s policies. They have a huge impact on my career, mental health, and essentially my entire life. My contract is not being renewed. I no longer receive funding for research or conference visits. My professor has left, so I no longer get supervision for my research, nor can I obtain an embedding letter for future grant applications. I need to look for another university. In effect, my career is on hold. And this is the prospect facing many postdocs. The impact also threatens UT’s future. I foresee a major brain drain in Twente. Schoof publicly supports these policies. Of course I am not going to sit and listen to the person ultimately responsible. That would suggest this is acceptable, and it certainly is not.’
Hiska Bakker, programme maker and presenter at Studium Generale
‘I think the OAJ is a wonderful ritual, a celebration for UT. This year, for the first time in years, I am not attending. For me, keynote speaker prime minister Schoof symbolises disastrous and ill-considered cuts to higher education. At UT this was painfully visible in the redundancies at the Faculty of TNW, and also in the ongoing uncertainty about education and research that has affected everyone for months. At Studium Generale, science communication — towards students, staff, and the wider public — is increasingly under pressure.’
‘When I think of Schoof as speaker, I think of all the colleagues who have lost their jobs, or who wait in fear of dismissal. Why not focus on the future with a speaker? On hope, vision, and inspiration?’
Rianne de Heide, newly appointed associate professor at the Faculty of EEMCS
‘I have no wish to listen to the person who headed the cabinet responsible for the greatest dismantling of science in history. I also think of the 50 colleagues at TNW who lost their jobs, and of colleagues at ITC who still face uncertainty about their entire future in academia. Who knows who else will follow if all of the cabinet’s policies are carried out. What possessed the organisers to invite Schoof? For me, the opening of the academic year should be festive, with an inspiring speaker. This certainly is not.’
Thomas Groen, associate professor at the Faculty of ITC
‘I had to teach today, so I could not attend anyway, but otherwise I would definitely have cancelled my participation. I do not understand the choice of Schoof as speaker at all. Schoof made possible a cabinet with two parties that dismiss scientific research on climate and biodiversity, or worse, brand it as fiction. That shows they do not accept science when it does not fit their narrative. In my view, that is hostile to science. What is someone who was the figurehead of those parties doing at a scientific institution like ours, where truth-finding and facts do matter?’
Jasper van Doninck, postdoctoral researcher at ITC
‘What shocks me most is the complete lack of empathy from the UT and Saxion boards. As a postdoc I am temporary staff at ITC. Temporary staff were the first to suffer from the cuts of the Schoof cabinet. On top of that, we await the dismissal of 20 of our permanent colleagues. What kind of world do you live in if you think it is a good idea to invite the leader of the cabinet responsible for so much personal misery as the guest of honour at your festive OAJ?’
‘For me, and for many others, this feels like a slap in the face from our own board, while we are already down. I cannot express my feelings about this in words suitable for publication. That is why I am joining the protests instead of attending the OAJ.’
