Broad support for Movie W petition

text: Roelof Kleis 10:31u 23 June 2011 -Wageningen student union WSO criticizes the Executive Board's lack of a vision for culture. The mayor of Wageningen has given his support to the campaign to save Movie W.

WSO's petition objecting to the cuts to Movie W resulted in no time in more than 2,500 signatures. The signatures were handed over to the Rector Magnificus Martin Kropff on Wednesday 22 June. The petition, entitled WURthy Culture, is an initiative by WSO and is in response to the decision to end subsidies for the art-house cinema Movie W. The signatories feel that Wageningen UR should take responsibility for the cultural education of students and staff and therefore continue to support Movie W. One of the signatories is Geert van Rumund, the mayor of Wageningen.

WSO chairperson Karmijn van den Berg considers the protest a success and hopes the Executive Board will reconsider the cuts. 'The Executive Board should think hard about its cultural policy. We are not necessarily for Movie W or opposed to cuts but there is simply no policy at all at the moment. The situation is completely unpredictable.'
Simon Vink, spokesperson for the Executive Board, says the petition will not have any effect on the position it has taken. 'It is not Wageningen UR's duty to keep afloat an independent society that shows films, especially if there are options for housing it somewhere else in Wageningen. Cultural education is not a priority task or responsibility for Wageningen UR but we do make a contribution. Take the art route we developed, for example, or the art in our buildings and the various events we take part in.' Vink says Wageningen UR is holding talks with Movie W, although that has not yet resulted in a concrete offer.

Comments (2)

15:37u 23 June 2011 - by Padraic Flood

Mr. Vink should remember what the name University means, cultural education is a priority of any institution that calls itself a University, to state otherwise is nonsense and indicative of the regression of Wageningen UR from a place of learning to a place of earning!

15:45u 29 June 2011 - by Chuya

To Padraic Flood: Wiki tells me that, “The word university is derived from the Latin ‘universitas’ magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning ‘community’ of teachers and scholars.”

Hence, in my opinion, I think Mr Vink is quite right as I don’t see any need or position for including obligatory support to such non-curricular/off-campus art venues/film shows under this definition of ‘community.’

At every ‘university’ I’ve been affiliated with (roughly 8 from Europe, N and S-Am to Africa and Asia), I have never encountered that the ‘university’ have support such activities. That has been the chore taken care of by the off-campus ‘community.’ Why should WUR be any different?

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