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Hier kun je discussieren over Will UvA's Leadership Deflect Responsibility for Institutional Racism?.
It all sounds too dramatic to be true, I mean, this is UVA after all. Nevertheless, these were my take-aways from the opening meeting. It took place on the beautiful bridge connecting ABC and D building. It had a stage setup for Peter-Paul (that is, our Rector Magnificus), Machiel Keestra (CDO) and Geert Ten Dam (President of the Executive Board).

All participants were invited to enjoy some snacks at their respective tables. The organizers extended a warm welcome, as Dr. Nosa Imaghodo took the stage to help facilitate bridge-building with some knowledge; Root cause of institutional racism comes down to policies. That should guide the questions around the tables, and include the leadership who were placed on different tables, to really engage with the community to gain insight to the topic of racism at UvA.
We learned, then discussed and engaged in a conversation with the stage. We were to talk about “What practices can the UvA build to ensure that those who experience racism are given a platform to share their stories”. Some people cried at the individual tables as they shared vulnerable experiences, some felt compassion and got irritated and some listened carefully to learn and unlearn. Mutuality was, everyone was there to help build this bride and engage in making our university better.

Okay, let me stop here for a reflection. The bridge was buzzing and many eyes were looking at the leadership to observe their involvement. It was as if the water beneath us had risen, and the ground was flooding. The discussions at the individual tables were presented to the stage, to the leadership, so they could leave the meeting with some constructive feedback to solidify the reality of racism at UvA.

But what happened next, still stands out as the very reason we were gathered that evening.

As the members took their seats on the stage, and a photographer flashed in for a photo-op, the audience got a chance to direct their table conclusions to the stage itself. “Depoliticization of a Safer-space, more training in implicit biases to the teachers and professors and better opportunities for students to share experiences in a safer space, was proposed. Sounds good? If you thought the responsible people for those policies, as Dr. Nosa talked about, were there to take responsibility - you thought wrong. As they were held accountable for personal experiences of racism at UvA from the tables, further questioned on the UvA’s flirtation with the police during the demonstrations – They were baffled. The knowledge-extraction that had been going on from the table-setup was not only unequally distributed, but also highlighted the unpreparedness from the leadership and their office. I posed the question “Why are we still here discussing IF UvA reproduce racism, when will you start acting on the obvious problem of racism under your leadership” to which the leadership deflected my question. Peter-Paul was happy to be at the meeting “so there could be more of them”. Geert Ten Dam turned the criticism into a “mutual task and not a us against the other”- kind of thing. It is obvious that these good intentions, the photography moment and their pure participation won't fix the institutional issues UvA has to deal with.
But of course, I agree, it is productive that we can gather and discuss topics that have a direct harmful impact on members of our community, but I disagree that we should aim at “more of them” given the severe consequences of having to have these meetings in the first place. I reject the “us against them”-narrative that I believe was a response to unforeseen criticism and not a serious response to the lack of responsibility - deflection, if you will.
However, I remain excited for the promised follow-up that Peter-Paul concluded the meeting by promising. Perhaps they actually will propose policy changes that will have a direct impact on institutional racism at UvA. We shall see on Peter-Paul’s stated deadline: April 13th 2023.
Put your countdown on and let's see what Machiel Keestra, Geert Ten Dam and Peter-Paul will do to make UvA inclusive and safe for all its members.