The Activist Party won the most votes in the Central Student Council (CSR). But their ‘primary focus’ is on ‘extra-parliamentary activities,’ such as occupations. A profile of this fast-growing, radical student party at UvA.
One thing is clear: the UvA Board of Governors (BoE) should get ready for action. The Activist Party won over 1,400 votes and two seats and is thus the unofficial winner in the direct election for seats in the central student council - and does not intend to sit quietly. The activists want to ‘make some noise,’ in the Central Student Council (CSR) as well as in the faculty councils, even if it is in vain.
‘We know all too well that real change within the student councils is impossible’ - a striking sentence for a party program. It makes the question all the more urgent: who are these activists, how do they operate, and what can we expect from this relatively young but fast-growing party?
Occupations and balaclavas
‘We are a rallying point for the radical left,’ says co-founder Carlos van Eck, who considers himself a Marxist. In addition to communists, Van Eck says the party is home to ‘anarchists, climate activists, socialists, and other intersectional and progressive students,’ as well as those who are ‘less socially engaged but feel involved in the university.’
But student politics is of secondary importance to the activists. ‘Better to have one seat in the CSR and a 100 active members than the full seven seats and only seven active members,’ says Van Eck. The primary focus is on ‘extra-parliamentary activities, such as live music events that keep Amsterdam's underground subculture alive or documentary nights. But more importantly, occupations.’
As part of the Amsterdam Autonomous Coalition, activists organized the recent occupation at the ABCD building on the Roeterseiland campus. They paraded down the hall wearing colored balaclavas and hung several Activist Party flags from the walls. The police eventually got involved and arrested 14 protesters.
Bruises and pain
Since the occupation of the former Academic Club on the Binnengasthuisterrein, also co-organized by the Activist Party, ‘Cops off campus!’ has pretty much become the party's motto. The police eviction resulted in 30 arrests and was (too) heavy-handed, according to Noah Pellikaan, leader of the Activist Party list. He says he was left with ‘bruises and pain.’ But this didn't come out of the blue: he ‘didn't follow orders from the police.’
It was evident during the occupation of the ABCD building that the activist party leader was not afraid to provoke the police, (almost) get arrested, be present on the front lines, and whip up the other demonstrators in word and deed. He takes the lead, puts his stamp on demonstrations, and is at the forefront whenever confrontation threatens.
Far from being isolated incidents, his actions exemplify the wanton nature of the Activist Party. Is violence out of the question for activists? It is, according to Van Eck: ‘We like peaceful protest in the form of demonstrations, petitions, and campaign posters.’
Spiritual successor
The party, which two years ago did not even have enough votes for one seat in the SRC, stands on the shoulders of giants. ‘We see ourselves as the spiritual successors to the Decentrals,’ Van Eck
continued. The Decentrals were formed after the Maagdenhuis occupation in 2015 and went on to win as many as three of the seven direct seats in the CSR three years in a row. ‘A monster victory,’ Van Eck said.
For the activists, ‘decarbonizing, decolonizing, and democratizing’ the UvA is key. The Activist Party wants to move from co-determination at the university to full control for students and faculty. They also want the curriculum and language at the university to be more inclusive and ties with Shell to be severed.
Rebuke from the CvB
Thus the activists were not at all sympathetic to having former Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer come to the UvA for a debate in Room for Discussion recently. On the contrary: An ominous message on Instagram followed, saying ‘Wanted: Jeroen van der Veer. Climate Criminal.’
The CvB was not amused and took the party to task. ‘Labeling someone as a criminal and banning them from campus violates the academic values of the UvA,’ the board responded, but the message was not removed by the Activist Party afterward.
The reason? The board has squandered its trustworthiness, the activists believe, by calling in the police for every occupation. Or as Pellikaan himself puts it, ‘The CvB prioritizes their grip on power over the safety of student demonstrators.’ For them, the board members are ‘cowards,’ and the board is ‘an institution that wants to preserve existing power structures and continue its socioeconomic gains.’
Central consultation
That attitude does not seem to bode well for central consultation. Nevertheless, the activists have shown themselves to be constructive in the CSR over the past year, Van Eck believes. ‘Together with the entire council, we have made important gains, such as obtaining additional funding for social safety, more sustainability measures, and the discussion around Shell and catering.’
The fact that the Activist Party is, in Van Eck's words, ‘connected to a movement outside the student council’ helps greatly. ‘For example, there is pressure on the CvB from several sides.’