Amsterdam student assoc.'s funding stripped over hazing practices

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) decided to withdraw all administrative grants awarded to student association A.S.C./A.S.C.V. for at least this academic year due to recent hazing incidents in which prospective members were assaulted and humiliated. The association will also not be allowed to recruit new members or promote itself this year, the universities said in a letter to the association's senate on Tuesday, Het Parool reports.

The A.S.C./A.S.C.V. senate released an open letter last week, announcing the suspension of various members and fraternities for involvement in the hazing assaults.

"We support the measures you have announced in response to the above incidents," the universities said in the letter on Tuesday. "We also appreciate the vigor and clear desire of your Senate to bring about a necessary culture change. However, what happened should not have been allowed and the future must show whether the announced measures have the desired effect and prevent such incidents from happening again."

According to UvA and HvA, the association Senate has insufficient control over what happens in the fraternities. "As a result, the actual extent of the abuses is still uncertain."

The A.S.C./A.S.C.V. senate told Parool that it understands the sanctions imposed on the association and "respect" the decision. "We think it is positive that the educational institutions support our measures and that they see that we have a clear desire to change our culture," chairman Heleen Vos said to the newspaper. "It is now up to us, the A.S.C./A.S.C.V. and all members, to bring about the culture change."

A.S.C./A.S.C.V. is the largest student association in the Netherlands with some 2,700 members.