UG students call for corona protest at Vismarkt
Exactly one year after the government announced the first corona restrictions, the students from De Student uit Isolement are asking for relaxations for young people.
Organisers Nikki Potze and Casper Farret Jentink, both astronomy students, say the situation has changed immensely. ‘We know much more about the disease, its treatment, and the way it spreads. I think it’s fair to say that the restrictions currently affect young people much more than the virus does’, they write on their website.
Relaxations for young people
They say people can’t take much more. Young people have had to make so many concessions: they’ve given up on-site classes, exercise, jobs, and most of their social life. The restrictions, coupled with not knowing what the future will look like, has taken its toll on young people’s mental health and overall development.
Potze and Farret Jentink argue for relaxations to restore ‘the balance of physical and mental health’. They say this is possible through more on-site education, re-opening sports facilities for young people, abolishing the curfew for young people, and relaxing the rules on visitation and group size for them as well. They also suggest café patios should reopen for young people.
Corona-proof
All this should be done corona-proof in a way that improves social contact between young people, giving them a little more breathing room. The organisers say the time is now. ‘Now that spring is around the corner, many of the above-mentioned activities can take place outside, which would hamper the spread of the virus.’
The planned protest at the Vismarkt will also be corona-proof. People who want to join will have to sign up through the website, and there’s room for no more than a thousand protesters. There are currently 340 people signed up.