UvA condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine
No Ukrainian flags, but blue and yellow posters in the colours of the Ukrainian flag: on Monday, the UvA condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine. Professor Barbara Hogenboom 'postered' the UvA with a statement. She was lent a hand by the president of the university board, Geert ten Dam.
It was already announced last Friday: the poster action of professor Latin American Studies Barbara Hogenboom. Together with a number of other scientists, she took the initiative to create a poster campaign condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This Monday, the posters were pasted on the windows and panes all over the UvA, sometimes in A4 format, sometimes in A3, depending on the size of the window.
Peace and freedom
With the poster campaign, Hogenboom wants to show the university that what Putin is doing is not acceptable. Last Friday she told Folia: 'This is not just about the Ukrainians, but also about peace and democracy in Europe and the world. Last Monday, she put her money where her mouth was and dragged tape and paper across the entire UvA to stick posters everywhere on the windows with a statement that has since been adopted by the UvA: 'We stand united for peace, freedom and democracy'.
No war on campus
From the Roeterseiland Campus to the Bus House and the University Library, the windows were covered with posters; if the posters ran out, UvA colleagues were quick to make extra prints and the pasting continued. In the Maagdenhuis, university president Geert ten Dam was on hand to lend a hand. The front porch of the Maagdenhuis was also decorated with posters (photo).
This week, the UvA will announce exactly what will be done for possible UvA students in Ukraine and for Ukrainian and Russian students at the UvA. Ten Dam wants to offer (financial) help to both the Russian and the Ukrainian students at the UvA, if only because both groups of students are equally dear to her. ‘I don't want a war on campus.’
