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At the beginning of 2011, students of the Kritische Studenten Utrecht (KSU) have organized
a tutorial 'How does the university work'
In the following months they did research together with students of the Utrecht University
and the University of Amsterdam on how one of the most important institutions of the
Netherlands is organized.
Together they've organized guest lectures, and some of them have filmed their research.
My name is Jasper, I'm a Master student at the University for Humanistics, and I'm one
of the co-organizers of this course
I think it's very important to analyze what has happened at the universities during the
last decades. The situation seems to be in a state of constant flux, without someone
stepping back and taking a proper look at what the consequences are. What are the ethical
and ideological principles behind those changes?
I've joined the course because I received an e-mail from a friend. He told me I would
find this interesting, since it's a course that's totally organized by the Kritische
Studenten (KSU), with self-directed learning.
It seemed very interesting to me, so I joined the course. My specific research is on the
motivation of students for studying, and how this is influenced by the university.
This was the idea. It's not just that you get a diploma for having studied anthropology.
Rather you're becoming an anthropologist, the best anthropologist you can be. And the
kind of anthropologist you want to be. And then you determined this together, it was
a very democratic thing.
Now things are determined by something very vague,
You're never quite sure on who is deciding what is decided.
You don't get the feeling there's a plan behind it.
Let me say this: in my view the layer of managers in the university is a much greater danger
then anything outside of the university, the political decisions and so on. And the people
in this layer are only there to earn money and prestige. Day in, day out they are busy
doing this, fighting their little wars. They're continually trying to shape the university
the way they want it. It's not just that they have an idea once in a while, it's their daily
practice. They're putting their energy into this. So when you reduce this to just differences
of opinion you have a very naive idea of what is going on.
The university we're progressing towards is a university where students are only being
motivated by external forces, like the fear of fines or losing study credits. The only
reason for studying would be not wanting to fail. So students won't be studying because
they want something, but because they don't want something.
I think there is a great danger of losing your sense of reflection. Simply being aware
of yourself as a social being in relation to what you're doing.
My research is about the cleaners and privatization in the public sector. I'm analyzing the differences
between those who work for the university and those who work for a different company.
The workers in building management are working for the university, and they have a better
collective work agreement than the cleaners who work for a company.
Once a day, in the Langeveld building we sometimes do it twice a day, because they make much
more copies over there.. a psychologist only believes what's on paper.
Compared to normal workers we have a better collective agreement with more leisure time.
My name is (...), I'm working as a cleaner for the Hago company.
People aren't supposed to be bothered by them, so they're creating a new social class of
people. And these people only work very early or very late, after all of you are done studying
or working. So it's easy to forget that they are the ones enabling us to do so.
Resistance against the budget cuts is a necessity for survival. You are actually fighting for
your life. So when you research how the university is working, you come closer to their way of
life.
It's an exploration: to not just to find out how the conditions are on paper, but what
it's actually like for those who may or may not be working together with you.
Now that the government is planning some very large budget cuts, there are a lot of students
who finally wake up and realize these cuts will influence their lives as well. And I
hope when they do they will also ask the question of what is behind these cuts. Perhaps there
is a pattern here which has been present for a very long time.
That there's not just protests but also constant debates and discussions, that the subject
is alive at the university.
If our experiment will spawn another experiment, there will be two experimental groups communicating
with one another. So then your environment is being organized in a way which is good
for YOU. I feel this experience is very useful to give people a sense of courage. It may
not look so flashy, it may be on a small scale -- but it's possible. And fun.
Translation: Jasper Ligthart