LIEF

LIEF is a student party with a Science Park-only presence. Our aim is to represent the interests of all science students within the university. LIEF is there for every student and represents them at the Faculty Student Council (FSR) FNWI. Our main views are:

- Interdisciplinarity

For us, studying is more than just following your curriculum. The university is a place where, according to LIEF, self-development should be central. Self-development also includes getting multiple, interdisciplinary, perspectives. We believe that every student should be able to make their own interpretation of this and that policies should provide as much space for this as possible.

- Accessibility

LIEF believes it is important that the faculty is accessible to everyone in the broadest sense of the word. Everyone should feel welcome at our faculty and be able to come here to study. We think Science Park needs a lot of improvement in this area. From blind infrastructure to more facilities for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses.

- Transparency

At LIEF, educational quality comes first. We strive to make it as clear as possible for everyone what they are entitled to. This way, no misunderstandings can arise between teachers about who is responsible for what. To this end, we would like students to be well aware of their rights or at least where to find their rights. To achieve this vision, UvA should put all regulations and policies on its website in Dutch and English. UvA transparency also means that information about collaborations with other institutes and companies can be found.

Click on any motion below to see the parties explination

The UvA should offer free menstrual products at each campus

Fully agree

LIEF thinks this is a simple and inexpensive way to make students feel more comfortable on and around campus. We also want to make it available in gender-neutral/disabled toilets. LIEF and other FSR members have given away menstrual products in the past (and now in orgaised activities or when asked), but this should be more accessible to everyone! Furthermore, we wonder: why are things like toilet paper and soap free, but menstrual products (which are just as necessary) are not?

All lectures should be available online for everyone

Fully agree

LIEF believes that all lectures should be available online, but current legislation unfortunately does not think so (privacy-related legislation). Until this law possibly changes, we are of the opinion that all students who cannot physically attend lectures due to force majeure, should be able to attend the lectures online. This is currently not always possible, which needs to be changed!

As a way to curb the growth of the university, Dutch language courses should be a mandatory part of all programs

Disagree

At Science Park, it is expected for all Bachelors that you can speak and read Dutch and English well. For Masters, this is not the case because the disciplines at Science Park expect research in English. We approve of this. Furthermore, LIEF sees no capacity problems with Masters at Science Park. Thus, this arrangement is useless.

The university should stop the prioritisation of students from outside the EU in regard to the university provided student housing

Neutral

This is currently not an issue at Science Park. Furthermore, LIEF believes that UvA should give priority to students who need it due to travel time, regardless of whether this is inside or outside EU or even the Netherlands. LIEF would prefer that for Dutch students, who cannot reasonably study in Amsterdam due to travel time, be given equal priority as the inside and outside EU students.

There should be mandatory attendance for tutorials

Disagree

LIEF thinks that first-year work seminars should be compulsory, where not attending twice means that you are not allowed to take a resit of that course. We also think that only seminars should be compulsory that add value. Seminars where you can only ask questions to the TA should not be compulsory. This also applies to programming assignments.

The UvA should address problems such as systemic overwork and bad working conditions among its teachers by giving out more permanent contracts

Agree

UvA gives away very few permanent contracts. This creates unnecessary stress for employees and a negative effect on the quality of education. A symptom of UvA's fear of giving out permanent contracts is that after a number of years, well-qualified, passionate employees have to leave. In recent years, this has caused people to end up in positions they were not qualified for. (For example, a third-year Bachelor student who became supervisor-TA in AI subjects)

The executive board of the university should be elected through an open election by the students and worker’s body

Fully agree

LIEF is for more direct, tangible democracy at the University. Elections for rectors (central) and deans (faculty) provide better links between the administration and the student. Furthermore, this system already appears to be working at other universities! (Glasgow for example) LIEF would like to work to make this happen. Currently, according to LIEF, this would not work because students are still not interested enough in tangible democracy at the University. By this we mean that the turnout for these elections is probably going to be low if we were to implement this at this moment.

Student & Workers Councils should have the final say in policy decisions

Agree

LIEF wants students to be better represented within the bureaucracy called UvA. Having the last vote in policy decisions is the greatest form of representation through a student- and work-council, but this is impossible in the current system. In an ideal world, LIEF does see such a system, but with yearly changing student councils like now, the training is not enough to qualify them for important decisions.

All food options should be plant based by default

Neutral

LIEF is for sustainability, and recognises that non-plant-based food options are a lot less sustainable than the alternative. Still, LIEF stands for students and sees that there is a demand for non-plant-based food options. To find a middle ground in this, LIEF aims to reduce the demand for this by always having cheaper plant-based food options, which have equal if not more nutritional value than the non-plant-based food options.

The UvA should give more training to the teaching assistants

Fully agree

LIEF advocates for the quality of studies. We currently see that many student assistants are eager to teach, but do not receive proper training. This causes student assistants to not properly handle private information they have access to, and the quality of the working lectures is lacking. LIEF knows that many students want to get teaching experience and TAs are a perfect way to achieve this, but it's not helpful if there isn't proper support.

The University must prioritise active diversity policies, including decolonization

Fully agree

UvA FNWI is one of the least diverse beta faculties in the Netherlands. This is not acceptable and must improve according to LIEF. Decolonisation is part of the solution. So should be catered to people who need extra resources or people who do not fit the ‘Western’ stereotypes according to the number one on our list, Michelle Magiera, because UvA is a fairly international university, it is important that students have a decolonised view of the world and their information.

Furthermore, LIEF wants to emphasise underlying prejudice, also called racism and discrimination, at the university, especially in job interviews and social life on campus. There is a reason there are so few female professors at Science Park. That should be solved with the diversity policy!

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)

Fully agree

This is THE position from which LIEF was born and which remains with it every year. LIEF believes that every student should have the opportunity within their curriculum to take interdisciplinary subjects. We also want courses at Science Park to be flexible with students taking courses at another faculty.

All board members of study associations should receive equal financial support from the University

Disagree

LIEF thinks the board scholarship for student associations should be based on the workload for board members. Currently, this is done with a formula that takes the quantity of members into account. We think this system can be improved because some study associations cannot receive all their board grants themselves due to UvA regulations (max. 24 months of grant per person). This is a disproportionate arrangement that should be improved.

The Binding Study Advice (BSA) should be abolished

Neutral

LIEF is not happy with the current form of BSA, but thinks the BSA should be allowed to stay. We are in favour of establishing clear expectations for first-year students. What we are not in favour of is that students deregister before 1 February to try the same study again the next year. For those students, extra support should be provided earlier. Oftentimes, these students are also liable for BSA remission due to force majeure. This should be improved. This is also the only thing that can be improved without changing the law.

Calling the police is an appropriate response by the university to deal with student protests and demonstrations

Neutral

LIEF believes that police can only be used to control protests and demonstrations if a clear line is crossed during these protests. What this line is is complicated for LIEF to determine, and should actually be looked at on a situation-by-situation basis. Generally, for LIEF, this line is violence, intimidation or vandalism. Only then are we in favour of police involvement at protests and demonstrations. Furthermore, the dean/CvB should take into account the rich history of disproportionate violence used by police against (UvA's) students.

The UvA should cut ties with fossil fuel companies like Shell

Agree

LIEF is pushing hard for sustainability. Shell constantly delays their great promises in favour of their own profit at the expense of our future. To partner with such a company as a university is unethical and not welcome at Science Park. Furthermore, beyond sustainability, to work with any company that commits political assassinations, corruption and coups is unacceptable.

Programs should have the sole responsibility in deciding whether they teach in Dutch or in English

Disagree

While LIEF appreciates the autonomy of Programmes, it is not convenient to have Dutch-language subjects among the advanced subjects in your beta Bachelor, because the English vocabulary you get in these subjects are important for the international aspect of doing research and sharing results/conclusions. So we are in favour of English subjects within scientific studies.

Admission to programs with a limited student capacity should be based on selection procedure rather than random selection through a lottery system

Agree

LIEF thinks that someone who puts a lot of effort into the study / very passionate should not have the same opportunities as someone who has the study in second place. And that motivation rather than study results should indeed be looked at. Also, an entrance/selection test could be a good indiction of the study, which again gives students a chance to get a better orientation about the study before they finally follow it.

But it should also be taken into account that putting in a lot of effort is not always a matter of motivation. Sometimes, due to circumstances, a student may not have the time or resources to do extra work on this, for example. Students who are externally supported in this would therefore have an unfair advantage.

Having a physical accessibility university that provides equitable education for it’s students is a priority for the University

Fully agree

Science park needs to do better on accessibility. The revolving doors at the main entrance can be very irritating for people with physical disabilities, no matter how much the front desk helps you. Science Park should also arrange blind infrastructure and help students who need physical or educational support. Think text-to-speech for students who need it (dyslexia, blind students, etc.) or a quiet room where overstimulated students can unwind (current contemplation rooms). This is an area where the UvA-FNWI faculty can improve a lot.

The canteen should be deprivatized

Agree

LIEF thinks the current canteen is too expensive. With how the system works now, we also see that much of the tax money that goes to the university flows through to corporate profits. LIEF sees no way to solve this problem without making the canteen a non-profit, as is done in many other countries (Germany, Scotland etc.).

The UvA should invest in more accessibility for students with functional limitations as well as sensitivity towards these students

Fully agree

Science Park is poorly accessible in LIEF's opinion. LIEF members are already working to improve this by advocating: getting blind infrastructure (e. g. walkways) at Science Park, getting text-to-speech available through UvA for students who need it, making building entrances accessible to people with wheelchairs or crutches and removing the unsympathetic article A-6.5.4 from OER-A (TER-A in english), as it is “not so LIEF”.

It is the government’s responsibility to provide mental health support for students. Therefore, the university should not spend extra resources on this

Disagree

‘Both the government and university have a role to play in this. It can be communicated more clearly with the UvA that the waiting lists of specialised help are too long and that the UvA should then be able to accommodate students as well. Student deans and psychologists should offer a listening ear and support to students. This can vary between just listening, helping with a referral, extra exam facilities, and/or help with the profiling fund. So before a student can get specialised help, interim help must be available. Student psychologists are often not specialised in complex (mental) health issues and should therefore rather support and help students to find appropriate help instead of referring them to their GP. I would say here that we disagree and the university should provide more support.’ -Fay

Further, if you are a student suffering from mental complaints, and UvA's psychologists are taking too long for an appointment, check out UvA students' initiative All Ears.

Students wishing to take honours courses should be able to do so based on their motivation, regardless of their grades

Fully agree

LIEF's biggest stance over the years has been interdisciplinarity. We stand for the opportunity for every student to take interdisciplinary subjects, such as honours courses and tracks. We also appreciate the internationally recognised academic value of an honours degree. Therefore, we believe that any student, regardless of grades, should be able to take these courses. If the capacity of a course is exceeded, we want to see if there are other solutions before those with a 7.0 average or higher are given priority. This is because LIEF sees this as a last resort.

The university should be allowed to limit the number of international students

Fully disagree

According to our interpretation of the law, this is... not according to the law. Furthermore, LIEF has no problems with international students on the English-language masters taught at Science Park. These Masters are currently not too full and provide more diversity at Science Park.

The Numerus Fixus should be used to stopthe growth of the university

Disagree

LIEF does not see Science Park growing too fast. We do not see this in the amount of students, as well as the capacity of the university and research institutes, as the budget of UvA FNWI (Science Park). Indeed, stopping the University's growth means less money coming in, and UvA FNWI is currently not taking into account within the budget.

According to LIEF, UvA should use Numerus Fixus where it is a legal requirement, otherwise not.

Student councils should support occupations as a legitimate means of protest at the university

Agree

The 1969 occupations of several universities provided students with representation within universities. It is in the history of student councils to see occupations as legitimate means of protest. Therefore, LIEF agrees with the statement. However, LIEF does believe that the autonomy of student councils is important and therefore thinks that student councils should decide for themselves which demonstration they do or do not support.

The UvA should involve students in long term plans for study spaces and teaching facilities according to the expected changes in student population

Agree

LIEF thinks that students will benefit from such a student representation because it is ultimately a place for the students, paid by their tuition fees.

The university lacks sufficient readily accessible gender-neutral toilets

Agree

Science Park has a few gender-neutral disabled toilets (next to the canteen, by the library and study areas, etc.), so some effort has already been made. LIEF wants better accessibility for these toilets (electric doors) and menstrual products to be available in the toilets. We will work harder for accessibility for already present toilets than looking for places for new gender-neutral disabled toilets. If this would becomes a bigger problem in the future, we will take care of it and find a solution.

Academic freedom is the most important value to uphold for a university

Agree

At LIEF we put great value into academic freedom. It is a virtue of Dutch culture that we are open-minded and it is not the place of the society to determine what can and can’t be researched. Even the things we as a society disagree with can be valuable if we understand why they are dangerous or harmful.