Sefa Student Party

This question is misleading. You can favor against and in favor of it, as you want to see it. The fact of the matter is that the Dutch government does not provide sufficient mental health support for students and it is not as accessible as it is at a University. So it becomes the responsibility of the University to provide mental health support. Demand is clearly there since the waiting times at the UvA student psychologists are approximately 4 weeks, which we deem unacceptable. Therefore we advocate for more investment in terms of Mental Health.

The Sefa Student Party considers access to menstruation products to be a fundamental human right. Menstruating people's health and well-being can suffer as a result of a lack of access to menstrual products.


Moreover, the Sefa Student Party recognizes that the cost of menstrual products can be a financial burden for many students, particularly those from low-income families. This financial strain can contribute to student poverty and make it difficult for students to fully participate in academic and social activities.

Overall, the Sefa Student Party feels that the university's free provision of menstruation products is an important step toward ensuring that all students have equal access to education and can fully engage in campus life.

We believe that all lectures should be available online since it makes studying easier. Sefa Student Party argues that lectures should not only be live-streamed but also recorded. This will enable all the students to go back to the lecture and revisit some parts during studying. Finally recording the lectures will also enable more flexible studying for working students and would therefore be more inclusive.

For a number of reasons, merit-based university admissions are unfair compared to random admissions. It can be challenging to compare kids' academic results from various regions of the world since grading practices might vary greatly between nations. Students who attend schools in nations with stricter grading systems may be unfairly penalized as a result, while students who attend schools in nations with more liberal grading policies may be unfairly favored. Last but not least, admissions based on merit may also be unjust on a social level since different persons may have experienced various difficulties that may have had an impact on their academic achievement.

We believe that the BSA is a good way to measure one's adaptation to University life and the rhythm of the program. This being said we acknowledge that the BSA is too high and reducing it could help mitigate mental health concerns. In addition, the procedure for dispensation due to personal circumstances must be more flexible and organized.

Accessibility is one of the most important issues in our program. We firmly believe that all students, regardless of their limitations, deserve equal access to education. Sefa Student Party has actively been working towards a more inclusive UvA over the past year. We believe that the current infrastructure concerning accessibility at UvA is sub-par and should be improved.

We believe that mandatory Dutch language courses are not the way to curb student growth as learning a new language has nothing to do with one's academic skills in a specific field (except linguistics) and therefore makes no sense.We see that learning a new language has clear benefits and we encourage the adoption of free Dutch classes for all UvA students. In order to curb student growth the University should focus on better handling student housing, infrastructure and its advertisement strategy.

Sefa Student Party has diversity as one of the most important aspects of its program. We want the University to recognize the harmful effects of its colonial past and work towards actively decolonizing the curriculum. As part of our efforts to promote diversity, we also want to revisit and improve the 2016 Diversity report. The SSP cares deeply about creating a more inclusive and welcoming community on campus for everyone.

As the Student Councils are a direct result of the 1969 Maagdenhuis Occupation and the follow-up Dutch Higher Education Act in 1970. We do acknowledge the fact that occupations are sometimes necessary. Sefa Student Party stresses that occupations can disturb the normal flow of university life. The Councils should have the option to support some occupations if they deem them necessary on a democratic vote inside the Council following extensive dialogue.