Diversity and inclusion are hard to find at the AUC
“Excellence and Diversity” is the slogan of Amsterdam University College (AUC), but that term sounds rather ironic: the AUC is primarily a white institution. It’s time for action, says AUC-student Thais Michon.
Last summer, the AUC’s policy plan on diversity was quietly amended, but many fear that the AUC will remain a white institution for the time being: last summer, the AUC revised its diversity and inclusion plan Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, so far without much success: the AUC website and application process still promise a multicultural utopia that stands in stark contrast to reality.
Diversity has probably prompted many AUC students to apply, but diversity is still a hollow buzzword at the AUC. It is time to shed light on the difference between the AUC’s narrative and the reality of this predominantly white institution, even though the interim dean appointed last week is a person of colour.
George Floyd
Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, six AUC students, with the support of staff and management, drafted the Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (FAPDEI). The plan aimed for more inclusive admissions, outreach to first-generation students, scholarships, and a “new” promotional and communication language that does justice to diversity. I interviewed Marcello Benedetti, then a student and later a member of the student council, who now recalls that FAPDEI “really stood out” from other diversity plans. “People could easily find it on the website. That attracted students from all kinds of cultural communities, including people of colour; it made them feel that they were represented and seen and that they were being listened to.”
A Diversity Leadership Group (DLG) was set up to monitor whether the diversity and inclusion plans were actually being implemented. But over time, the DLG gave up and the intended progress came to nothing.
The AUC website states that it strives “to create an academic community that reflects the social, cultural and economic diversity of our world”, but in practice, this has not yet been achieved. However, as a social sciences lecturer at the AUC told me during conversations, the demographics of AUC complicate the issue. Eastern European students may see the AUC as more diverse compared to the country they come from, but for many others this is not the case.
Diversity without proof
Since Dutch law prohibits universities from collecting data on “race”, the AUC can claim diversity without proof. The consequences for students of colour are real: disillusionment at the realisation that they are being used as symbols and isolation in lecture halls where cultural connection is lacking. The burden of representation is the exhausting pressure of being treated not as an individual but as the spokesperson for your entire community in a white institution.
A plan was devised to update and modernise FAPDEI and bring it more in line with the AUC’s diversity ambitions. For example, students wanted recruitment and admissions to take into account the AUC’s diversity and inclusion goals, and they wanted fewer temporary contracts for lecturers. However, none of this is reflected in the new FAPDEI 2.0, which means that expectations that the AUC will become a more diverse institution remain very low.
I conducted a recorded survey with specific questions to the largest amount of students possible throughout the AUC’s main building at Science Park and asked them about their experiences with diversity at the AUC. Some were downright disappointed with the dominance of white European students. One of them said: “There are more European international students than students who actually come from all over the world.” Another noted that there were “no professors” with a non-Western background. Others seemed indifferent; many white students admitted that diversity had not been a factor in their application.
Comfort
What AUC sells as diversity often serves the comfort of white students, while the burden of representation falls on students of colour, who seem to have to make an extra effort to feel represented. I spoke with Anne de Graaf, former Chief Diversity Officer at the UvA, who said she remembered a time when AUC actively recruited students of African descent with scholarships. That may be true, but that success has faded over time: management has allowed the momentum to slip away. This presents a golden opportunity for the new (interim) dean. He has two years to make it happen.
