University finally withdraws subsidy to study association Vindicat

The University of Groningen (UG) and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen have definitively decided not to pay the suspended Vindicat committee grants to the current board members this academic year. This is due to a violent incident in December 2017 that was not reported to the Advisory Committee for Introductory Periods (ACI).

After so many warnings and incidents, the two main university institutions of Groningen seem to have finally taken action in condemning the anti-social behaviors shown by the members of the association, allegedly as part of the “hazing culture”.

The new incident

On 3 December 2017, a student was assaulted at the Vindicat society during the last night of the Kermesse d’Hiver, a large three-day festival of Vindicat. The victim has filed a report, confirms the OM Noord-Nederland. Two 22-year-old men, both members of Vindicat, are being prosecuted by the Public Prosecutor for mistreatment with serious injuries as a result. The victim had a mild concussion, injury to his teeth and a cut in his nose. The two Vindicaters must appear before the judge in July.

Accreditation retained (for the time being)

Vindicat is still at risk of losing accreditation as a student association. In July 2017, the accreditation committee gave the association the final verdict ‘sufficient, provided that’; if Vindicat does not meet some strict conditions by the summer of 2018, the accreditation will not be extended. Paul van der Wijk, member of the Executive Board of the Hanze University, explains: ‘This may mean that the association is definitely excluded from financial support from the Profiling Fund, or is excluded from official ceremonies.’

What do you think about the hazing culture? Let us know in the comment section!

Aurora Signorazzi
Aurora Signorazzi
Aurora comes from the majestic Italian capital, and is working on her PhD in virology at the University of Groningen. She has been living in the Netherlands for four years and is by now familiar with many Dutch habits... But still finds plenty of reasons to be pleasantly amazed (most of the time) by this industrious country and its brutally honest inhabitants!

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