Activist Party UvA
The Activistenpartij UvA, or the Activist Party UvA, aims to be a link between all intersectional, decolonial, radical, leftist and progressive students and student organizations at the University of Amsterdam. For the last 3 years we’ve been one of the most active and progressive voices within the UvA councils, working on cutting ties with fossil fuel interests, fighting for the rights of international students and aiding in the academic boycott of universities that promote genocide.
Click on any motion below to see the parties explination
The UvA should offer free menstrual products at each campus
Fully agree
It is important that students, regardless of gender, have their basic needs met in college. Although strides have been made in the provision of menstrual products over the past year by placing dispensers on several campuses, the Activist Party believes it is important that menstrual products be easily accessible: that is, in the restrooms themselves, not just at one point per campus.
As a way to curb the growth of the university, Dutch language courses should be a mandatory part of all programs
Disagree
Although the Activist Party is for accessible Dutch language education, the ability to learn a language should not affect the final grade of study if it has nothing to do with language.
All lectures should be available online for everyone
Fully agree
Unfortunately, in today's capitalist system, it is not possible for all students to study without a job, so lecture attendance is not always possible. In addition, there is also a large group of students for whom it is not always possible to attend lectures due to physical limitations, mental health or other issues. In order to make lectures and education more accessible, lectures should be recorded and available to all students without questions.
There should be mandatory attendance for tutorials
Fully disagree
For the same reason that students may be absent from a lecture, students may also be absent from a work group. The Activist Party does not believe that a student should not be allowed to pass a course purely because they have been absent from a tutorial.
The university should stop the prioritisation of students from outside the EU in regard to the university provided student housing
Disagree
For students from outside the EU, finding housing can be more difficult, and it is more essential to find housing for their visa. At the same time, international students from within the EU also often find it difficult to find housing here without contacts: so this group should not be entirely excluded.
The executive board of the university should be elected through an open election by the students and worker’s body
Fully agree
Democratization is one of the Activist Party's main priorities, and with an open election of the Executive Board, much of the power is placed with the academic community itself.
The UvA should address problems such as systemic overwork and bad working conditions among its teachers by giving out more permanent contracts
Fully agree
The university should be a safe place for its students as well as its employees. Teachers should have a permanent place at our university, and not fear that their contracts will not be renewed.
All food options should be plant based by default
Fully agree
To combat climate change, much less animal products must be used, and the Activist Party favors a canteen where the options are “plant-based by default.” So this means a canteen where the default options are plant-based, but other options can still be present. However, we are moving away from the idea that animal products are the default.
Student & Workers Councils should have the final say in policy decisions
Fully agree
For more democratization, democratically elected bodies should have more power: this allows the academic community to decide the direction of the university.
The UvA should give more training to the teaching assistants
Fully agree
Students helping to teach a seminar should receive good guidance and training from the UvA.
The University must prioritise active diversity policies, including decolonization
Fully agree
For the Activist Party, decolonization is one of the priorities. As a society we need to reckon with our colonial past, and the university is one of the most important places to do so. Especially so in the UvA, where at least one of our buildings (Bushuis) has been massively involved in colonialism.
All board members of study associations should receive equal financial support from the University
Disagree
The Activist Party believes that governing a study association should be accessible to everyone, including students with less income. At the same time, we see that different study associations have different demands in time commitment, so it does not make sense for all directors to receive the same scholarship. However, we do think that there should be invested more in the financial support for these boards.
More investment is needed in interdisciplinary education (providing students with more than just one perspective on a particular subject, such as is done in honours, PPLE or IIS programs)
Agree
Gaining multiple perspectives is something the Activist Party likes to see, and students should have more opportunities to pursue this in university. At the same time, this should be accessible to all students, which is not the case with programs like PPLE where students have to pay higher tuition than for other programs.
Calling the police is an appropriate response by the university to deal with student protests and demonstrations
Fully disagree
Absolutely not. The university should protect its students, and bringing violence to campus by involving the police in demonstrations is going way too far.
The Binding Study Advice (BSA) should be abolished
Fully agree
Currently, the BSA adds a lot of unnecessary pressure on the student's already stressful life. There are many legitimate reasons for failing the BSA: without other problems, starting at university, a new environment, can already be a stressful time. In addition, it also encourages exactly long study, while it is intended to combat precisely this: students often seek a similar study at the same university after failing the BSA, or exactly the same study at another university. Abolishing the BSA would eliminate many problems.
Programs should have the sole responsibility in deciding whether they teach in Dutch or in English
Agree
In general, the Activist Party believes in as much decentralization as possible, so programs should have the decision about their own policies. At the same time, the conversation about internationalization is currently taking place across the university, which is also important to discuss with the entire university.
Admission to programs with a limited student capacity should be based on selection procedure rather than random selection through a lottery system
Fully disagree
A selection process creates room for prejudice in the people who select, while things like grades and the ability to promote yourself do not necessarily affect whether you are going to be a good student. The Activist Party therefore believes that all students who meet the requirements of a program should have the same chance of being admitted.
The UvA should cut ties with fossil fuel companies like Shell
Fully agree
As a university, we should not contribute to the greenwashing of companies like Shell, for which the overwhelming majority of their business still exists of fossil fuels.
The canteen should be deprivatized
Fully agree
Students currently have to pay too much money for a reasonable meal in the cafeteria. The Activist Party stands for a canteen that does not make a profit on students and serves affordable and nutritious meals.
Having a physical accessibility university that provides equitable education for it’s students is a priority for the University
Fully agree
It should be important to the university that all students can receive an education here, and accessibility to education and buildings should indeed be a high priority.
Students wishing to take honours courses should be able to do so based on their motivation, regardless of their grades
Fully agree
Motivated students who want to take a subject should be encouraged in this: not stopped purely on the basis of their grades.
The UvA should invest in more accessibility for students with functional limitations as well as sensitivity towards these students
Fully agree
It is important that there is room for every student at the UvA, including students with functional limitations. This can be done both by easing processes in education and by investing in the accessibility of buildings.
It is the government’s responsibility to provide mental health support for students. Therefore, the university should not spend extra resources on this
Fully disagree
It is important for the university to be a safe place for students, and in our capitalist society many students struggle with mental problems: stress, study pressure, fear of the future. The university should invest on student welfare so that students can feel safe and at home here.
The Numerus Fixus should be used to stopthe growth of the university
Fully disagree
The numerus fixus is a harsh tool, which reduces the accessibility of our programs and therefore should not be used to stop the growth of the university: especially as long as the numerus fixus is often accompanied by a selection process rather than a random selection.
The university should be allowed to limit the number of international students
Fully disagree
A hard limit on international students only goes along with the nationalist discourse against all things international and does not solve the actual problems we face as a university.
The UvA should involve students in long term plans for study spaces and teaching facilities according to the expected changes in student population
Fully agree
Students know best what they need in terms of study spaces and studying, and students should have a strong voice in the policy of this.
Student councils should support occupations as a legitimate means of protest at the university
Fully agree
Occupations have accomplished much in the past for the democratization of the university, and student councils are, among other things, a result of past occupations. For this very reason, student councils should support occupations as a legitimate form of protest.
Academic freedom is the most important value to uphold for a university
Neutral
As an academic institution, academic freedom should be paramount. At the same time, the Activist Party also considers other values important for a university: equal opportunities for all students, democracy within the university, but also stopping unethical collaborations: such as with fossil companies or Israeli universities. Because we believe that these values are not mutually exclusive, we choose “Neutral” here.
The university lacks sufficient readily accessible gender-neutral toilets
Fully agree
Currently, many university buildings have few gender-neutral restrooms, which means students who do not identify with the male or female gender have to go to much greater lengths to find a restroom suitable for them. The Activist Party believes there should be more gender-neutral restrooms at the university.