Members of the student union AKKU claimed they were being followed and eavesdropped on by campus security guards for hours on Monday. The Nijmegen and the national student union are taking the matter very seriously. The university insists that nothing improper has happened.

During their regular patrol round Monday afternoon, two security guards recognised a group of students who were involved in last year’s pro-Palestinian protests on campus. They followed them into the Elinor Ostrom building, where the students were attending a meeting of the student union AKKU. As the meeting continued, the security guards waited in the kitchen of the Ondergang (the basement of the Ostrom building) until it ended.

This has been stated by the student magazine ANS after talking to security guards and students. Other associations also witnessed the presence of security guards on the basement floor of the building.

AKKU draws harsh conclusions. The Nijmegen student union asserts that the ANS article shows that Radboud University’s security is actively following and eavesdropping on the AKKU student union.

‘Attempted intimidation’

“We are shocked,” chair Nan Lont responds in a press release. “As a student union, we are an interlocutor with university and governmental bodies. We play a role in student participation and try to represent students in important places. To be followed by security guards, who explicitly monitor all of our activities on behalf of the Executive Board, breaks all trust.”

According to AKKU, security actively keeps track of which students are involved in demonstrations. Ties van den Boogaard, the current treasurer of AKKU who often spoke on behalf of pro-Palestinian activists last academic year, speaks of an “attempt at intimidation.” “With these shadowy practices, Radboud University is creating a culture of fear that puts strong pressure on university life.”

The Dutch Student Union (LSVb) is also concerned about the current state of affairs. “The monitoring of students and especially unions is dystopian; these are practices you would expect in a dictatorship like North Korea (…) The freedom of Dutch students is being systematically restricted.”

Consequences

A spokesperson for the university stated that security guards responded to a report that around 30 students had gathered Monday late afternoon. “They were recognisable as pro-Palestina because of the scarves,” the spokesperson said.

Based on that report, the security guards went to check on the location during a patrolling round that they were going to do anyway in the Elinor Ostrom building. “They asked the students present what the gathering was for, and it turned out to be a meeting. With that, they continued their round.”

“We are considering possible steps”

If it is up to AKKU, the case will have consequences. The union is taking the incident into talks with the Executive Board. “We are considering possible steps,” Van den Boogaard said.

Translated by Lieke Stevens