“When I came here, I was shocked at how white, heterosexual, cisgender, and upper class the student body and staff is,” says Lilli DeJordy, a 21-year-old student from the United States. She is studying at the University College Maastricht (UCM) with concentrations in International Relations and Gender Studies. “It was really disappointing to be honest because the way that the university promotes itself – being international and priding itself of being so – I expected a very diverse and inclusive environment, but it's not that way at all.” She feels that diversity and inclusion “need to be a priority”.
Regarding the curriculum, DeJordy claims that almost every course at UCM is central western European focused including a course required for all students titled ‘Contemporary World History’. “It is essentially how Europe has functioned and its effects on the rest of the world,” she says. “It should be called Contemporary European History.” Students who point out to staff that certain blocks promote Eurocentrism and the literature comes primarily from cisgender, heterosexual, white middle-class males often get little hearing, DeJordy says.
Unisex bathrooms and student organizations such as UM Pride and WeCare are making meaningful contributions for inclusion in DeJordy’s eyes, but she could not think of any impactful diversity initiatives coming directly from the university.
Additionally, DeJordy calls for more support for international students as she feels there is no “direct line of communication between students and the university.” Especially non-EU students must often take several hurdles to get to the right person at for instance the Student Service Centre. This makes it “extremely difficult to get anything sorted out,” she says.
Ainsley Shaw