On Tuesday 28 November, Wolfgang Giernalczyk, dean of the University College Maastricht, sent his students an e-mail warning, referring to the number of incidents that had taken place over the past two weeks. The fact that the building was not treated with “respect”, irritated the management team to such an extent that if it were to happen again, said Giernalczyk, UCM would be closed in the evenings.
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Less than 24 hours later, students are informed, again by an e-mail from the dean: the building will actually be closed from 18:30 hrs for the coming weeks, because there was another incident, the toilets having been besmirched once again. For now, evening closure will be until period 3, so in January.
The e-mail to students was vague about the type of incidents – but many know of all kinds of pro-Palestinian graffiti on the toilet walls. In a telephone call, the dean confirms: “It certainly wasn’t scribbles.” A classroom was also trashed, he says. “Furniture was piled as high as the ceiling. We can’t say that everything is from a certain quarter. We are not sure.”
Students are disappointed and don’t understand the decision – why should a whole community be punished for the deeds of a small group, UCM student and Observant columnist Line-Marie Eichhorst wonders out loud in the common room on Tuesday afternoon.
Undemocratic decision
Angry students: Giernalczyk knows all about that. Student association Universalis organised a ‘forum’ where questions were put to management, last week. “It was important and good to do, but they were not the finest two hours of my week,” says the dean. “It was a difficult decision, but when you have warned, you have to follow through, otherwise you lose your credibility.” As a former UCM student, he knows how important extracurricular activities are in the evening (jamming and movie sessions, committee meetings for student associations, the dance and poetry clubs), that the common room serves as a study space, certainly just before exams, so this measure hits the heart of UCM.
But why are the doors closed after 18:30 hrs if the mess was not created in the evening? Giernalczyk: “We realise that the decision will have a negative short-term result. There are only losers, but we have to send a message. We will not tolerate this behaviour. We hope that in the long term, we can conclude that this has worked.” Eichhorst is not fully convinced yet: “The short notice and the decision being announced before students had the opportunity to voice their opinions appear undemocratic. It seems like our whole student life is being limited because of some protest graffiti in the bathrooms.”