Securitisation of Leiden University (ca. 4 min read)
Dear Executive Board of Leiden University and Leiden University Community,
- Rector Magnificus, Prof. Hester Bijl
- President, Prof. Annetje Ottow
- Vice-Chairman, Martijn Ridderbos
We, the undersigned students, staff and alumni of Leiden University, are issuing this joint statement to express our strong disappointment and disapproval of the university's heightened security measures, particularly at The Hague campus. We aim to call out the university’s failure to maintain its role as a public institution that safeguards and fosters the free exchange of ideas. During the last three years, students and staff successfully prevented repercussions on academic freedom by challenging the University’s startling choice to install surveillance cameras on campus. Now, the current surge in university securitization through strengthened LU-Card checks, building shut-downs, increased restrictions on holding open events, and limiting public accessibility, is again actively creating a sense of insecurity and reproducing an environment of fear. Furthermore, the lack of transparency and clear justification behind these measures, coupled with the absence of a timeline for their termination, has led to a reliance on rumours and segregation of the student body that holds the potential to foster discrimination. Lastly, such developments serve as grounds for further targeting minority students, antagonising the student body, and severely eroding trust in our community.
Following the sudden shutdown of Wijnhaven from the 13th to the 15th of October, LU-Card checks have been introduced at the entrance of The Hague campus buildings. Given that there has been little transparency regarding the circumstances of this closing, an environment of uncertainty and insecurity remains. LU-Card checks have inadvertently contributed to fostering these feelings due to the absence of an explicit rationale. Students and staff are left to speculate about possible reasons informing the Executive Board’s decisions. Ultimately, providing clear explanations and rationale behind such decisions is crucial for maintaining trust and a sense of security among students and staff.
We also express our deep concern about the negative effects of the ongoing securitisation on the cross-university exchange of ideas and open engagement with civil society. In The Hague campus, unclear strengthened administrative and security requirements hinder the organisation of formal events with guest speakers and attendees. These restrictions limit the availability of expert opinions and undermine knowledge sharing. Additionally, the university campus is no longer an open place for informal discussions with non-university affiliates, including other academics, students, and alumni. These threats to knowledge exchange are intensified given the severe uncertainty around the evolving nature of the security protocols. We are gravely alarmed by this transformation of the university space into a confined, restricted area.
We further wish to stress that the adopted security measures are acting alongside a broader tendency of the university to antagonise students and staff activities. Despite the university's claims about the need to protect us from external threats, the securitisation efforts are instrumental in framing student protests or actions as a threat themselves. This blurs the lines between internal and external perceived threats, creating an environment of insecurity and uncertainty from multiple angles. It is severely worrisome that on multiple occasions, such as the November EndFossil action at Lipsius and the November Wijnhaven teach-in of Students for Palestine, LU students and participating staff were inaccurately painted as a grave security threat to others. In reality, they were the ones potentially put at risk by the university’s response. Participating students were harassed and followed by security staff following the teach-in and placed into unsafe and violent contact with the police following the action at Lipsius. The university repeatedly communicated that the threat resides in other students, even though historically students have not been a threat or exercised violence. A state of perpetual insecurity is used to justify a violent response and the strengthening of security measures without providing transparent reasoning. This approach provides fertile ground for divisions within students and antagonises the student body it claims to protect.
As concerned students, alumni and university staff, it is our duty to pressure our university to address its failure to create the safe and public environment it claims to promote. It is a priority to foster a truly safe joined space, conducive to information exchange and community-building. We therefore highlight the following calls to action:
End of current measures, including a timeline of this process.
Maintain university buildings as publicly available as possible.
Concretely work on rebuilding trust and commit to transparency through engaging in dialogue with the university community.
We urge all students, alumni, and staff of Leiden University to show support by publicly signing this letter. We call on all to strengthen our collective effort towards a safe and public space.
Sincerely,
Students, Alumni, Staff of Leiden University.
Co-signed with Students for Palestine, MENA Student Association, Afro Student Association (ASA), Leiden Scholars for Palestine, EndFossil, SV SABR, Queer Leiden, WDO.
Signatures: 853
List of signatures: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_tYOVlB6Z5EECbFFwInhTLTF7_8PQANbIGUM5w4UM_k/edit?usp=sharing
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