Dear members of the UM community,
There has been some misunderstanding of the Maastricht University Council’s view on an important issue. To clarify: The University Council condemns, without reservation, and in the strongest possible terms, the criminal cyber attack on the Observant. The Council considers this attack an unacceptable assault on the fundamental values and freedoms of our entire academic community.
We write this letter because there has been a strong response from our community that questions the values of the council and how we responded to a moment in a recent plenary meeting. We find it important to share some facts that might not be known to everyone and to reflect on how we can do better as a council in the future.
Before the plenary meeting of 23 March 2022, the council heard about the cyber attack on the Observant. From our Executive Board’s response, we learned that the crime had been reported to the police and that the Executive Board had resoundly condemned the action. As the necessary action had taken place, it was decided that there was no need for further discussion between the council and the Executive Board.
During the plenary meeting on 23 March, one of the council members made a statement during the “Any Other Business” part of the meeting to ask for a response from the council on the topic of the cyber attack. This statement can be found below. Some council members found the statement difficult to follow and were unprepared to react on the spot. Others responded to say they also condemn the attack during or after the meeting. Others first wanted more information. But overall, we did not recognize ourselves in the report that followed stating that the council does not condemn the cyber attack because we absolutely do.
In case there was any uncertainty remaining, the council was asked three questions at the end of the statement and here is how we respond: We do believe that everyone should speak out against those who threaten the rights of others to freely express their ideas and viewpoints, we do condemn these attacks on the Observant in the strongest terms, and we do believe that we need to speak out against those applauding these attacks.
Since that plenary meeting, we have learned a lot as a council. We first wish to apologise to anyone in our community whose values we did not stand up for on this important topic. This means we are not doing enough. We have learned that nuance is difficult to convey; that follow-up is important when we think there has been a misunderstanding; that our decision that the issue had been handled might have been inadequate and left some feeling under threat; and that we need to do better as a council in our communication.
If anyone wants to know more about our thoughts and values, please reach out and talk to us. That’s why we serve as a council and we are always here to take your questions and engage in discussion.
The University Council Maastricht
Statement Maarten van Wesel during Plenary Meeting 23 March 2022:
At Maastricht University, discussing ideas and views is of central importance to our collaborative educational approach. People from different backgrounds have different ideas and views, and at the UM we believe you can learn and grow by exchanging these different ideas and views. Hence, we strive for diversity, for example, as an international classroom.
However, this only works if there is a safe environment for people sharing these ideas and views even if not everybody agrees.
When one's right to freely express ideas and views is threatened, the university community and we as a council should stand up and speak out against this. Even if we might not share the ideas and views of the one who is threatened. In The Friends of Voltaire, Evelyn Beatrice Hall illustrated, Voltaire believes "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Recently, this freedom was threatened. As many of you know, the website of the Observant was recently unreachable due to Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attack. This attack was linked to articles and opinion pieces about topics, which some people felt offended by. A DDOS attack in the Netherlands is a Criminal Offence.
But, as expressed before, this is much more than a criminal offence, it hits the heart of the values of our university.
While of course, one can disagree on what a newspaper writes, it has a fundamental right to write about all topics, even if they are sensitive. This is something I feel we as a Council should also stand for.
I would like to discuss if we, as a Council, should:
1) speak out against those who threaten the rights of others to freely express their ideas and viewpoints.
2) condemn these attacks on the Observant in the strongest terms.
3) should speak out against those applauding these attacks