LIEF
Lief (Lijst Interdisciplinair En Facultair) is a student party that stands for Interdiscisplinarity, Transparency and Accessibility. This means that we believe students should be able to develop themselves by shaping their studies themselves. For example, students should be able to follow lectures online, and working lectures should not always be mandatory. Furthermore, processes within the university should be transparent, so that they are understandable for students, and documents such as the OER should be understandable and known to students, for this purpose, simple language should be actively used in these documents, and they should be distributed. The university should also be accessible, it is a place where everyone should feel welcome to study, and also have the facilities to do so, such as for students with disabilities.
Click on any motion below to see the parties explination
Students wishing to take honours courses should be able to do so based on their motivation, regardless of their grades
Agree
Lief wants to encourage academic development, it is good if students who want to can pursue the education they are interested in.
The UvA should involve students in long term plans for study spaces and teaching facilities according to the expected growth in student population
Agree
It would be good if the student councils were involved.
More investment is needed in interdisciplinary education (providing students with more than just one perspective on a particular subject, such as honours, PPLE or IIS programs)
Agree
Lief thinks it is indeed good to know many sides of a field, and to be able to collaborate between fields.
The UvA should cut ties with fossil fuel companies like Shell
Neutral
This is too complex a question to answer in this way, but in the long run, Lief believes that large companies are necessary to achieve a good transition, provided that care is taken to ensure that these collaborations are not out to make profits for the fossil industry, but really go for fossil-free. That is why it is good to look again at the agreements that are made on this subject, and how collaborations come about.
As a way to curb the growth of the university, Dutch language courses should be a mandatory part of all programs
Disagree
At the FNWI, growth is not a major problem in our opinion, furthermore, students should be able to choose for themselves which courses they want to take.
The executive board of the university should be elected through an open election by the students and worker’s body
Disagree
This is a matter better taken care of by a student council than by the general student population, they are less informed. That is exactly why a student council exists.
It is the government’s responsibility to provide mental health support for students. Therefore, the university should not spend extra resources on this
Disagree
Not entirely, it is good if there are also opportunities for students to have somewhere to turn when they suffer from stress, performance pressure or other types of mental problems. Confidants are also an important point of contact for students at the university
Student councils should support occupations as a legitimate means of protest at the university
Neutral
No, to some extent occupying an administrative building can lead to an improvement in bargaining power, but general buildings of the university should not be occupied, this disrupts research or study. Its situational whether or not a student council should support an occupation.
The Binding Study Advice (BSA) should be abolished
Disagree
The BSA is a good tool to encourage students to begin their education. It is true that many students who fail a program do the same program at another university the following year, but because the BSA exists there it will also ensure that students must have some consistency to pass their first year, which improves the study climate. Its not always optimal, but for now its the best option.
Admission to programs with a limited student capacity should be based on merit rather than random selection through a lottery system
Agree
This question is again complex, it depends on the program and the student population . It is good if students have a chance to do the program regardless of their situation, but showing some commitment is a good way to keep out students who are not substantially interested in the program.
There should be no mandatory attendance for seminars/ tutorials
Agree
Lief believes students should have the academic freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to go to work/laptop lectures, in the first year there can be mandatory lectures to improve bonding.
All food options (including meat) should be available at the university cafeteria
Neutral
It is good to look at ways to make the cafeteria more environmentally friendly, but it is still your own choice if students prefer to eat meat; if fewer people choose this, the meat will disappear by itself. It is good, however, to offer vegetarian and vegan alternatives.
The number of international students in a council should be representative of the number of international students within a faculty, or the University (same for Dutch students).
Disagree
Students choose who they want on the student council, if there is a need for this, students can influence this themselves by voting for international candidates.
The University must prioritise active diversity policies, including decolonization, as mentioned in the 2016 Diversity Report
Agree
LIEF does see diversity as an important point
Academic freedom is as equally important as social safety.
Disagree
Everyone should be able to study in a way in which they feel safe. This does not mean that no discussion should take place, but directly offensive statements and discrimination have no place at the university.
The UvA should offer free menstrual products at each campus
Fully agree
Menstrual products should be free for everyone, the university could set a good example for this
The university should stop the prioritisation of students from outside the EU in regard to university provided student housing.
Disagree
When students come to the Netherlands to study it is necessary for them to get housing here, the trade-off is in how many students are attracted by the university to study here.
The UvA should invest in more accessibility for students with functional limitations as well as sensitivity towards these students
Fully agree
Lief fully agrees. Accesibility is one of the pillars of LIEF
The Numerus Fixus (a limitation in the number of students admitted) should be used to stop the growth of the university
Neutral
In programmes where growth is a problem this is a good idea, in small programmes such as chemistry and mathematics this is not necessary, and not a good idea because it deters potential students.
All board members of study associations should receive equal financial support from the University
Disagree
Small associations require less work as a board. For a more time consuming task in a bigger association a larger compensation is reasonable.
Programs should have the sole responsibility in deciding whether they teach in Dutch or in English
Disagree
This should be in line with the policy at the university, bachelor programmes at the FNWI at the moment are Dutch-speaking, if this is to be changed it should be discussed with all the parties involved.
All lectures should be available online, independently of COVID-19 cases or quarantine regulations
Agree
Here Lief agrees, provided it does not negatively affect the quality of education, for example, when teachers are camera shy. However, there should always be recordings for students with disabilities.
The UvA should address problems such as systemic overwork and bad working conditions among its teachers by giving out more permanent contracts.
Agree
Hoewel het niet aan de studentenraad is om hierover te beslissen, zijn wij het ermee eens dat deze problemen moeten worden aangepakt.