Members of the nationalist right-wing student association GNSV were wounded in a fight at the intro market this morning. At least two members of GNSV were injured. Police have apprehended three people. The university calls the incident ‘shameful and sad’.

At least two members of the Groot Nederlandse Studentenvereniging (GNSV) were injured this morning during the preparations for the intro market. According to an eyewitness, the members were attacked by a group of ‘ten to fifteen people’ and sustained injuries to the face.

The incident happened around 11:00 at the nationalist right-wing association’s stand near the Maria Montessori building. Few students witnessed the fight. Several police vehicles and campus security arrived on the scene, and the police detained several people: a 38-year-old man from Nijmegen, an 18-year-old man from Oegstgeest, and a third person whose identity is unknown.

Punches flying

An eyewitness, who wishes to remain anonymous, noticed a large group gathered around the stand. ‘I saw punches flying and several people wrestling on the grass. A few moments later, the doorman came running outside to stop the fight; police and security arrived soon after.’

A second eyewitness stated that they saw several different people fighting each other. Neither witness saw the lead-up to the fight.

After the attack, the members of GNSV were gathered in the Maria Montessori building by university staff. One of them had a black eye, while another person’s head was covered in blood. GNSV released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that the members intend to return to their stand, which for the moment remains unmanned.

Great-Dutch philosophy

The GNSV presents itself as a consertive-nationalist movement. In an article in De Stormlamp, the magazine for the radical right-wing Geuzenbond, the Leiden department of the GNSV claims to be a political association for “right-wing students who take a critical view of society” and who “are fed up with left-wing curricula in the lecture halls.” The association champions the Great-Dutch philosophy, which aims to join Flanders to the Netherlands. For this reason, GNSV states that it wants to come into contact with like-minded groups in Flanders.

Radboud University’s Executive Board over the past few days regarding the presence of the association at the intro market, which is why the board issued a statement this morning. In it, they emphasize that everyone is welcome at the intro market, but that sexist, racist, or otherwise discriminatory statements, as well as (physical) threats are unacceptable to the university.

In a new message on ru.nl, Radboud University states that it is ‘shameful and sad’ that members of GNSV were violently confronted. ‘Violence should never be a solution’, a spokesperson said on behalf of the Executive Board.

This article was updated at 14:45 august 21th.

Translated by Jasper Pesch.