The university reported a month ago that it had received “multiple reports of misconduct” about “more than one incident” during the so-called ‘A-tijd’, a period when prospective members are introduced to a student society. Two meetings followed with the chairs of the four largest student associations (Saurus, Tragos, Circumflex and KoKo; each with their own student societies) and with Onafhankelijk Maastricht (OM), the umbrella organisation that represents over thirty independent student societies. However, since that last meeting, three weeks ago, there has been no news. The chairs have also “heard absolutely nothing from the university”, they told Observant when asked.
After multiple attempts to reach the university for comment, UM spokesperson Koen Augustijn said that UM is “exploring next steps and possible measures. We think that now is a time for careful consideration over hasty decisions.” And that the university will be basing that on “what the student association boards shared with us”. After all, after the initial conversation, the chairs were given ‘homework’ to ask all their societies about possible misconduct.
However, “nothing was revealed” that could be construed as misconduct as a result, said the chairs. Although, they did admit it is hard to judge: the university was not forthcoming with details about the reports, so what sort of behaviour was considered misconduct was something of a guess. It raises the question what concrete ‘evidence’ UM has to consider possible measures.
Inaugurate prematurely
In the meantime, the university’s request remains not to hold any activities in relation to the A-tijd. In practice, however, nothing is really being halted. The ‘A-tijd’ for many student societies had already ended. Those that had not yet finished have decided to inaugurate all their prospective members prematurely. “It is a shame, of course, as it means they do miss a part of their A-tijd,” said Circumflex chair Joost Mol. “But at least this way, they can take part in a society’s activities.” Some of the independent student societies start a second ‘intake’ for A-tijd in February, but this has been postponed for now, said OM chair Kiki Büttner.
Rumours
What is continuing apace are the rumours and unrest caused by the uncertainty, all the chairs confirmed. Two weeks ago, they asked the university in an article in Observant to be more open about the situation. “If the student associations are worried about the rumours, then they can let their members know what they shared with UM,” said UM spokesperson Augustijn. But that ignores the fact that there is speculation outside the associations, “in all of Maastricht student life”, responded the chairs. “UM probably has a very good reason to tackle it in this way,” said Tragos chair Floor van Son. “But this does tar all the associations with the same brush – we’re all in the press in a negative light.”