Groningen student assoc. loses subsidy over assault

The University of Groningen and the Hanze Univeristy of Applied Sciences scrapped the management subsidies for student association Vindicat for the academic year 2017/2018. This follows a student being assaulted at a Vindicat party in December, and the association failing to report this incident, a spokesperson for the Hanze University confirmed to NU.nl.

The incident itself and Vindicat failing to report it are both in violation of the code of conduct Vindicat signed, the spokesperson said to the newspaper. The two violations were reason enough for the universities to cancel the subsidies for Vindicat's current board members.

A management subsidy is 444.20 euros per month per person. Vindicat has nine board members. Each of them will lose out on an amount of 2,665 euros due to this decision, according to the newspaper.

A Vindicat member was assaulted by two other members at the Kermesse d'Hiver event in December, was revealed last week. The victim pressed charges, and Vindicat is suporting him in these charges. The two other members, both aged 22, were suspended from Vindicat and face criminal prosecution.

Last week Vindicat director Marc Mohr said that he does not know why the incident was not reported to the two universities. The Vindicat board met with represenatives of the University of Groningen and the Hanze University on Monday.

In a statement on its website, Vindicat says that it understands the decision to scrap the subsidies. The Vindicat board is dedicated to change the culture in the association. "Since last year, the association started a process to implement the desired change in which we work towards a safer culture for all our members", according to the statement.