By Elea Jürß
On the 6th of October, the common room of the Academic Building transformed into the stage of the first Meet and Greet with AUC’s new dean, Bruce Mutsvairo. Hosted by the Student Council (StuCo), students and staff had the opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions about the dean’s vision and plans for AUC. Mutsvairo views his role as dean as one that fosters open communication with the student body and creates a space that encourages free expression and dialogue.
After a few welcoming words by the AUC’s Internal Communications Officer, Cris van Wolffelaar, StuCo Visibility Officer Mina Røhnebæk, and the StuCo Communications Officer, Laura Herberg Fernandez, took over the panel. When asked about possible challenges that may come forward at AUC, Mutsvairo suggests a new perspective on the word “challenges” as dean: “I am a positive person, I want to say opportunities.”
He strives to identify these opportunities through discourse with students to act on them successfully. Especially in his first weeks, he wants to refrain from forming a concrete plan: “I think having a set vision would be disrespectful towards the work my colleagues have already done. I don’t want to lead my time here with arrogance”. Mutsvairo summarises his leadership style: “I think it’s all about listen, learn, and lead.”
Similarly, Mutsvairo does not want his own degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences to affect his opinions on AUC’s academic program: “I want to stay humble. I recognise that this is a new generation of students”. Instead, he would like to see his working-class background as a noticeable influence on his actions. Having seen both exclusion and inclusion in his lifetime, he believes that this will help him gain a deeper understanding of his students and their diverse circumstances. “My door is always open”, he says.
To emphasise how important communication with students is to him, Mutsvairo shared with StuCo that he decided against attending his father’s funeral to be at the Q&A event instead. He wanted to prove to the AUC community that he is fully dedicated and ready to make sacrifices. StuCo Communications Officer Laura Herberg Fernandez gave condolences in representation of the student body and expressed that they felt honoured to hold this panel with him today.
Mutsvairo also wanted to emphasise his stand on the matter of freedom of speech. While he did not name any explicit policies, the dean wants to facilitate a space at AUC that allows intellectual debate between all kinds of opinions and voices. “My whole career has been about dialogue.” Mutsvairo says, “Diversity also means a diversity of opinion.”
A recurring pattern steered the conversation towards the rights that students hold. Specifically, the right to protest, referencing protests focused on Palestinian solidarity at AUC. When asked about ties to Israeli institutions, Mutsvairo claimed that AUC has no direct ties, only being connected through remaining ones from the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He also referred to actions already being taken by UvA’s Management; The creation of an Ethics Advisory Committee, which led to UvA not extending a contract with one out of two Israeli institutions for the study abroad programme: “Even if I didn’t have the power, there were two hundred and fifty thousand people yesterday protesting. They don’t need me to tell them that there are people who are not happy about the situation in Gaza,” he says, referring to the Amsterdam 5th of October protests, where hundreds of thousands of people went to the streets wearing red in solidarity with Palestine and against the Netherlands’ support for Israel.
Mutsvairo explains how he supports peaceful protests, but mentions how there are different definitions for peaceful: “Someone can say that banging on doors is a peaceful protest, some people use a megaphone to protest … People who do that think it’s a peaceful protest. But if you look at the rules and regulations that have been set up by the University of Amsterdam, that is not the case.”
When asked for clarification by a reporter from The Herring, Mutsvairo confirmed students‘ right to protest peacefully without repercussions. However, he emphasised he believes in the right for all students to access education without being blocked or shamed by protesters: “So if your right to protest obstructs somebody from going to their class or attending their exam, then you may hear from me.” However, he did express interest in setting up a lecture series that might help explore students’ right to protest.
Elaborating on his priorities for the right to education, Mutsvairo says: “I am a dean for everyone.” Therefore, Mutsvairo does not believe in differentiating between different beliefs: “I am the dean for students that support Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Geert Wilders.” As dean, he believes that he has the responsibility of representing them equally in his decision-making, regardless of whether he shares their opinion or not.
An audience member asked for clarification on the matter: “Would welcoming all students also mean welcoming all their ideas to AUC?“ To this, Mutsvairo responds: “They are welcome for deliberation.” He clarifies “[This is t]he price you pay for Democracy.” When asked to specify what personal opinions could affect AUC’s core principles, Mutsvairo refers back to his initial approach of not wanting to come to AUC with a fixed plan: “It is important to keep an open mind.”
Looking towards the upcoming elections of the Dutch parliament, many students wondered how the outcome of this election could affect their lives at AUC. “In these uncertain times, all we can do is wait,” Mutsvairo says. He does reassure students that AUC will offer support to Dutch and international students alike. But to what extent this would occur was not made clear.
After the event, most students felt rather uncertain about the new dean. “I’d hoped for more. Everything he said was not very tangible. I felt like he was trying very hard not to say anything that might offend someone. While I understand it, I’m kind of disappointed,“ says Alex Weeren, a first-year science major.
The Herring 