Amsterdam student association denied subsidy for 5th year; Still not a safe environment

For the fifth year in a row, the Amsterdam universities and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences have decided against funding the student association ASC/AVSV. According to the higher education institutions, the student association is still not a safe environment for students, despite improvements. This is the fifth consecutive year that the ASC/AVSV has received no subsidy, Parool reports.

In recent years, the student association has drawn up a code of conduct, appointed three external confidential counselors, and established a hotline where members can anonymously report inappropriate behavior. ASC/AVSV also held several dialogue sessions about norms and values, and treating each other with respect.

But in the middle of student orientation in August, more abuses came to light. The ASC/AVSV had to intervene at the Thalia fraternity after violent incidents and impose a membership freeze.

This was enough for the University of Amsterdam, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences to withhold the ASC/AVSV’s subsidies for another year. The higher education institutions still lack confidence in the student association.

ASC/AVSV is Amsterdam’s oldest student association and has over 2,700 active members. It has frequently made negative headlines in recent years, including due to assaults and humiliations during hazing rituals, and misogynistic speeches at members’ meetings.

In 2021, the Amsterdam higher education institutions decided to pull the association’s funding, revoke the grants they had previously provided to the ASC/AVSV, and ban the association from recruiting new members or promoting itself within the educational institutions’ walls.