There are days when you feel like you don’t get around to doing any work – writing articles, in our case. Last Monday was one of those days. One meeting followed another, with informal meetings and discussions in between. Before we knew it, it was 5.30 PM and we had to rush to make it to our annual Observant dinner. About thirty people attended, all of whom contribute to our newspaper in one way or another, from photographer and translator to editorial council member and from editor to illustrator. We bid farewell to Teun Dekker as a board member of the Observant Foundation, which manages our finances and oversees our staff. He left before the summer when he became chair of the University Council. We would’ve liked to keep him on the board a bit longer, but those two roles don’t go together.
Conflicts of interest
Our editorial statutes are quite clear on the matter: your board membership ends when you become part of the University Council or the Executive Board, for example. In practice, this also applies to deans and other faculty administrators. They are at the centre of power and therefore frequently feature in our reporting, whether positively or negatively. Apart from that, and more importantly, a member of our foundation board must be free to act, without having potentially conflicting roles. The mere fact that the Executive Board, after approval by the University Council, appoints the board members says enough about potential conflicts of interest.
Hesitant
Anyway, that was Monday. Tuesday would bring more meetings, but there were articles to be written as well. That’s why colleague WD and I got together before 9 AM for a brief update on an article we’re writing together in the run-up to the general election on 22 November. The topic: are UM employees and students concerned about the discussion in national politics on internationalisation and the increased use of English in higher education? What if Pieter Omtzigt’s party – not exactly a fan of English-language teaching – comes to power? We’ve interviewed about ten people, both employees and students. We probably won’t have time to speak to many more. Interestingly, not everyone we approach is willing to be interviewed. International staff and students in particular seem hesitant to discuss this topic. Why? We can’t quite put our finger on it. That’s why we’re considering conducting a short survey in addition to the interviews. So, who knows – maybe one of us will reach out to you this week. If so, please consider participating. It will only take a minute of your time.