UG students join nationwide climate justice rebellion
Five UG students stand in front of the Academy building, holding banners reading ‘democratisation,’ ‘decarbonisation’ and ‘decolonisation.’ The allowed maximum of thirty attendees are listening to their University Rebellion Manifesto.
‘The social and climate crises need to be declared emergencies at universities,’ reads out the sixth member of the Groningen branch of the University Rebellion movement, a nationwide network of students, lecturers, and university staff members.
They want universities to demand action from the government and become carbon neutral by 2025. In addition, a student-staff assembly should be established, but only if the community decides that’s what they want.
Sit down
Jouke de Vries, president of the board of directors, listened to the demands and said that change takes time. When the manifesto speaker asked De Vries to ‘sit down and talk with us’, the president agreed to that.
‘Universities need to use the power they have to tell the truth and create change’, said one of protestors after the demonstration. ‘Universities should have already declared the emergency, so we cannot wait for a slow change. We need an immediate change.’