
{"id":164108,"date":"2024-05-27T05:45:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T03:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/ku-ansatte-bakker-op-om-teltlejr-jeg-vil-ikke-have-at-min-loen-bruges-til-krigsforbrydelser\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T08:22:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T06:22:33","slug":"ucph-staff-in-support-of-protest-camp-i-dont-want-my-salary-to-come-from-war-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/ucph-staff-in-support-of-protest-camp-i-dont-want-my-salary-to-come-from-war-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"UCPH staff in support of protest camp: \u00bbI don&#8217;t want my salary to come from war crimes\u00ab"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For more than two weeks, students have been demonstrating via a protest camp on the central CSS campus at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). Everyone has been welcomed \u2013 students, staff, and anyone else who wants to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Now a large number of academics and staff from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies have sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfDYpe_okNMwBG_D0wNLUdVee8hPjBVq_VuWWkwcFXt8wepHg\/viewform?fbzx=8124734992226411486\">letter of support<\/a> to the students who are currently demonstrating against UCPH management.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs researchers, faculty and staff at the University of Copenhagen and other universities, we would like to express our support for the students who have set up a tent camp on City Campus,\u00ab the employees write in the letter, adding that they back all the students&#8217; demands.<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, the employees elaborate and say that the students&#8217; demands are \u00bbcompletely reasonable and are in alignment with the University of Copenhagen vision of broadening peoples\u2019 horizons and moving the world forward through critical thinking and intellectual creativity.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>At the time of writing, the petition of support has more than 360 signatures from staff and instructors from both UCPH and other Danish and Nordic universities.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As it is now, my salary is partly paid by the money that UCPH invests in illegal Israeli settlements. I have an opinion on this<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Eva la Cour, postdoc, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The first three names on the list are Professor Mikkel Bolt, postdoc Eva la Cour and PhD student Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. All three are employed at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies.<\/p>\n<p>The University Post met them at the protest camp to talk about their support for students, and about what position they, as an employee, have if they wish to speak out critically of the senior management team.<\/p>\n<p>The employees emphasize that everyone has a different answer to this question: What can you, dare you, and should you, do in terms of expressing direct criticism of management, for example in the form of a petition for a student action.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere is no one answer to this question. Because it is both about your personal situation, and your type of employment. For my own part, I can say that when someone takes a local initiative like this, it is important for me to assess what my position is,\u00ab says Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn this case I see myself as a kind of intermediary between the students and the institution they are demonstrating against. I am employed by the institution, I get my salary from it. As it is now, my salary is partly paid by the money that UCPH invests in illegal Israeli settlements. I have an opinion on this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Demonstration as a learning space<\/h3>\n<p>As a university employee, it is neither \u00bbcontroversial nor radical\u00ab to be critical of your management, according to Frida Sandstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is not controversial to say: \u2018I don&#8217;t want my salary to come from war crimes\u2019,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p><em>But can it not expose an individual employee to risk when his or her name is on a petition that directly criticizes management?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI would rather answer in a different way,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and continues:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The assumption is wrong when you say that a learning space is not already political. Because it is<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbYou cannot compare what the students learn here to what they would learn in an auditorium. They organize themselves. They collaborate across disciplines, take initiatives, and organize seminars. They study and learn. It is a gift to the university, and a self-organized learning space in the best sense. It&#8217;s almost like a model of how a university would look if grades weren&#8217;t important. And my task as a teacher and researcher is, of course, to support this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Much of the literature that students read as part of the curriculum today is created through various social movements like the one the students themselves are part of right now, she points out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/camp-at-the-university-of-copenhagen-what-are-the-facts\/\">Camp at the University of Copenhagen. What are the facts?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis does not contradict the university, or research and knowledge production. As a researcher with an interest in how critical thinking takes place and changes under the influence of societal crises, it is my responsibility to try to understand it and try to conduct a critical historical analysis of the phenomenon,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n<h3>An inclusive space?<\/h3>\n<p><em>You call the protest camp and the demonstration a learning space. But should a learning space be political?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is a false assumption when you say that a learning space is not already political. Because it is,\u00ab says Mikkel Bolt. He continues:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis doesn&#8217;t mean that there isn&#8217;t also a vision for producing knowledge for the sake of knowledge, which we all try to live up to. But there&#8217;s no simple way to separate science and politics. The university is part of society, and it has to listen to it while at the same time trying to influence it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I would say that the tent camp is a more inclusive space than most other spaces we have institutionalised at the university<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Frida Sandstr\u00f6m, PhD student, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He points out that many of the concepts used in different scientific traditions, from the idea of the free market in economics to the idea of the work of art in art history, in different ways \u00bbconstruct the world in a certain way,\u00ab which is why science already operates with a political interpretation of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere are no easy answers. But it is important to insist that any interesting humanities, sociological, or legal research today will somehow always try to move out there and bring the world into the classroom,\u00ab says Mikkel Bolt.<\/p>\n<p><em>Is it your impression that this is a learning space that can include everyone?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe live in a political, democratic society, so this question is just as big here as in the rest of Denmark or Europe. But I would say that the tent camp is a more inclusive space than most other spaces we have institutionalised at the university,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbNo-one, for example, checks your passport like they do on the train between Denmark and Sweden. Everyone is welcome at the tent camp, no matter who they are.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI actually wonder why you are asking this,\u00ab says Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p><em>One of the reasons I am asking is because a Jewish student wrote on the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JonatanMW\/status\/1790295879212999133\">social media X<\/a>, that he had witnessed a demonstration at CSS where people had shouted &#8216;Globalize the Intifada&#8217;, and that he had felt unsafe.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is important to insist that it is not anti-semitism to be critical of the genocide that is currently taking place in Gaza<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbI think politicization can seep in, and make a space feel unsafe. There will always be specific examples where you feel intimidated or unsure about whether you can go into it. I try not to be blind to the fact that there may be people who feel insecure. But to ask the question as if it by definition is not an inclusive space, I think that is problematic,\u00ab says Eva la Cour. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt&#8217;s an accusation that there are cases of anti-Semitism out here. Anti-Semitism exists in Danish society \u2013 just like Islamophobia or other forms of racism. This is a fact. And it cannot be ruled out, that it can be found among Students Against the Occupation to an extent that reflects Danish society. But I actually think that there is significantly less antisemitism here than what you find out on the street,\u00ab he says, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is important to insist that it is not anti-Semitism to be critical of the genocide that is currently taking place in Gaza.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>A signal in the signature?<\/h3>\n<p>The question of whether a pro-Palestinian demonstration is inclusive or not can make an employee vulnerable in terms of putting their name on a petition, according to Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbInternally, I&#8217;m not really that afraid of the consequences. But externally, I can wonder if signing a petition like this can send a signal, because of the discourse that is going on. But because it is suddenly &#8216;dangerous&#8217; to sign that you do not support genocide, it becomes even more important to do so,\u00ab she says and adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI feel emotional and saddened by the fact that this is an issue at all. And I can understand those who might, say, have a scholarship in Germany, and don&#8217;t want to sign a petition like this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But externally, I have to wonder if signing a petition like this can send a signal, because of the discourse that is going on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Eva la Cour, postdoc, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>You&#8217;re not afraid of your boss calling you in, and asking why you&#8217;ve signed this petition?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf my boss did that, I would say I&#8217;m doing what is in my contract. And doing what is my right as a citizen \u2013 namely to contribute to the democratic conversation,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI actually have the feeling that my head of department and dean back me on this. This is within the framework of academic freedom. I think the problem is more in the criticism that has been levelled in recent years against named researchers and against certain research areas or methods,\u00ab he says, pointing to the aspersions cast against migration research, postcolonial theory and critical race theory.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is a political de-legitimization of completely legitimate research methods. And this means that, particularly, younger researchers will consider carefully how to profile and communicate their research.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Dialogue with students<\/h3>\n<p>The three employees have visited the camp several times to talk to the students. They haven&#8217;t slept in tents there, however, and they don&#8217;t think other employees have either.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI think there are many employees who are upset about the situation in Gaza and want to participate in the critical conversation that is taking place in the camp. A meeting was held with about 50 employees who discussed whether, and how, they could back the students&#8217; demands,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and continues:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is within the framework of academic freedom<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbSome staff have planned to hold teach-ins, where they will talk about student protests historically, the definition of genocide, and the history of Palestine. It is their workplace, after all. They are doing their job by participating in the critical and democratic conversation at their university.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>While we are conducting the interview, a student comes over to ask the employees if they know a UCPH researcher who \u00bbwould be willing to say that they have censored themselves to not write publicly about Palestine.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>None of the three researchers interviewed had done so themselves. But according to them, there is no doubt that some researchers do.<\/p>\n<p><em>How much do you work with Students Against the Occupation?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe support their demands to the university. As researchers, we distance ourselves from the ongoing genocide and say no to occupation and apartheid. In this way, we participate in a critical scientific exchange,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbJust like UCPH management, we are in dialogue with the students.\u00ab<br \/>\n<!-- end of module 1 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is neither \u00bbcontroversial nor radical\u00ab to be critical of university management, say a group of employees. They see the protest camp as a learning space for students. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":164009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCPH staff in support of protest camp: \u00bbI don&#039;t want my salary to come from war crimes\u00ab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/ucph-staff-in-support-of-protest-camp-i-dont-want-my-salary-to-come-from-war-crimes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UCPH staff in support of protest camp: \u00bbI don&#039;t want my salary to come from war crimes\u00ab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is neither \u00bbcontroversial nor radical\u00ab to be critical of university management, say a group of employees. 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","name":"ansatte-ikk-1-of-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":164005,"date":"2024-05-17 12:53:54","modified":"2024-05-17 13:35:56","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1611,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-480x302.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":302,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-768x483.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":483,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-1280x806.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":806,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-1536x967.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":967,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-2048x1289.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1289,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-290x182.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":182,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-700x441.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":441,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-990x623.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":623}},"style":"extended","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"From the left: PhD student Frida Sandstr\u00f6m, postdoc Eva la Cour, Professor Mikkel Bolt \u2013 all from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Protest camp","text":"It is neither \u00bbcontroversial nor radical\u00ab to be critical of university management, say a group of employees. They see the protest camp as a learning space for students. ","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>For more than two weeks, students have been demonstrating via a protest camp on the central CSS campus at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). Everyone has been welcomed \u2013 students, staff, and anyone else who wants to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Now a large number of academics and staff from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies have sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfDYpe_okNMwBG_D0wNLUdVee8hPjBVq_VuWWkwcFXt8wepHg\/viewform?fbzx=8124734992226411486\">letter of support<\/a> to the students who are currently demonstrating against UCPH management.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs researchers, faculty and staff at the University of Copenhagen and other universities, we would like to express our support for the students who have set up a tent camp on City Campus,\u00ab the employees write in the letter, adding that they back all the students&#8217; demands.<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, the employees elaborate and say that the students&#8217; demands are \u00bbcompletely reasonable and are in alignment with the University of Copenhagen vision of broadening peoples\u2019 horizons and moving the world forward through critical thinking and intellectual creativity.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>At the time of writing, the petition of support has more than 360 signatures from staff and instructors from both UCPH and other Danish and Nordic universities.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As it is now, my salary is partly paid by the money that UCPH invests in illegal Israeli settlements. I have an opinion on this<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Eva la Cour, postdoc, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The first three names on the list are Professor Mikkel Bolt, postdoc Eva la Cour and PhD student Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. All three are employed at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies.<\/p>\n<p>The University Post met them at the protest camp to talk about their support for students, and about what position they, as an employee, have if they wish to speak out critically of the senior management team.<\/p>\n<p>The employees emphasize that everyone has a different answer to this question: What can you, dare you, and should you, do in terms of expressing direct criticism of management, for example in the form of a petition for a student action.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere is no one answer to this question. Because it is both about your personal situation, and your type of employment. For my own part, I can say that when someone takes a local initiative like this, it is important for me to assess what my position is,\u00ab says Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn this case I see myself as a kind of intermediary between the students and the institution they are demonstrating against. I am employed by the institution, I get my salary from it. As it is now, my salary is partly paid by the money that UCPH invests in illegal Israeli settlements. I have an opinion on this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Demonstration as a learning space<\/h3>\n<p>As a university employee, it is neither \u00bbcontroversial nor radical\u00ab to be critical of your management, according to Frida Sandstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is not controversial to say: \u2018I don&#8217;t want my salary to come from war crimes\u2019,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p><em>But can it not expose an individual employee to risk when his or her name is on a petition that directly criticizes management?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI would rather answer in a different way,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and continues:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The assumption is wrong when you say that a learning space is not already political. Because it is<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbYou cannot compare what the students learn here to what they would learn in an auditorium. They organize themselves. They collaborate across disciplines, take initiatives, and organize seminars. They study and learn. It is a gift to the university, and a self-organized learning space in the best sense. It&#8217;s almost like a model of how a university would look if grades weren&#8217;t important. And my task as a teacher and researcher is, of course, to support this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Much of the literature that students read as part of the curriculum today is created through various social movements like the one the students themselves are part of right now, she points out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/camp-at-the-university-of-copenhagen-what-are-the-facts\/\">Camp at the University of Copenhagen. What are the facts?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis does not contradict the university, or research and knowledge production. As a researcher with an interest in how critical thinking takes place and changes under the influence of societal crises, it is my responsibility to try to understand it and try to conduct a critical historical analysis of the phenomenon,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n<h3>An inclusive space?<\/h3>\n<p><em>You call the protest camp and the demonstration a learning space. But should a learning space be political?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is a false assumption when you say that a learning space is not already political. Because it is,\u00ab says Mikkel Bolt. He continues:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis doesn&#8217;t mean that there isn&#8217;t also a vision for producing knowledge for the sake of knowledge, which we all try to live up to. But there&#8217;s no simple way to separate science and politics. The university is part of society, and it has to listen to it while at the same time trying to influence it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I would say that the tent camp is a more inclusive space than most other spaces we have institutionalised at the university<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Frida Sandstr\u00f6m, PhD student, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He points out that many of the concepts used in different scientific traditions, from the idea of the free market in economics to the idea of the work of art in art history, in different ways \u00bbconstruct the world in a certain way,\u00ab which is why science already operates with a political interpretation of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere are no easy answers. But it is important to insist that any interesting humanities, sociological, or legal research today will somehow always try to move out there and bring the world into the classroom,\u00ab says Mikkel Bolt.<\/p>\n<p><em>Is it your impression that this is a learning space that can include everyone?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe live in a political, democratic society, so this question is just as big here as in the rest of Denmark or Europe. But I would say that the tent camp is a more inclusive space than most other spaces we have institutionalised at the university,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbNo-one, for example, checks your passport like they do on the train between Denmark and Sweden. Everyone is welcome at the tent camp, no matter who they are.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI actually wonder why you are asking this,\u00ab says Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p><em>One of the reasons I am asking is because a Jewish student wrote on the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JonatanMW\/status\/1790295879212999133\">social media X<\/a>, that he had witnessed a demonstration at CSS where people had shouted &#8216;Globalize the Intifada&#8217;, and that he had felt unsafe.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is important to insist that it is not anti-semitism to be critical of the genocide that is currently taking place in Gaza<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbI think politicization can seep in, and make a space feel unsafe. There will always be specific examples where you feel intimidated or unsure about whether you can go into it. I try not to be blind to the fact that there may be people who feel insecure. But to ask the question as if it by definition is not an inclusive space, I think that is problematic,\u00ab says Eva la Cour. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt&#8217;s an accusation that there are cases of anti-Semitism out here. Anti-Semitism exists in Danish society \u2013 just like Islamophobia or other forms of racism. This is a fact. And it cannot be ruled out, that it can be found among Students Against the Occupation to an extent that reflects Danish society. But I actually think that there is significantly less antisemitism here than what you find out on the street,\u00ab he says, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is important to insist that it is not anti-Semitism to be critical of the genocide that is currently taking place in Gaza.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>A signal in the signature?<\/h3>\n<p>The question of whether a pro-Palestinian demonstration is inclusive or not can make an employee vulnerable in terms of putting their name on a petition, according to Eva la Cour.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbInternally, I&#8217;m not really that afraid of the consequences. But externally, I can wonder if signing a petition like this can send a signal, because of the discourse that is going on. But because it is suddenly &#8216;dangerous&#8217; to sign that you do not support genocide, it becomes even more important to do so,\u00ab she says and adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI feel emotional and saddened by the fact that this is an issue at all. And I can understand those who might, say, have a scholarship in Germany, and don&#8217;t want to sign a petition like this.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But externally, I have to wonder if signing a petition like this can send a signal, because of the discourse that is going on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Eva la Cour, postdoc, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>You&#8217;re not afraid of your boss calling you in, and asking why you&#8217;ve signed this petition?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf my boss did that, I would say I&#8217;m doing what is in my contract. And doing what is my right as a citizen \u2013 namely to contribute to the democratic conversation,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI actually have the feeling that my head of department and dean back me on this. This is within the framework of academic freedom. I think the problem is more in the criticism that has been levelled in recent years against named researchers and against certain research areas or methods,\u00ab he says, pointing to the aspersions cast against migration research, postcolonial theory and critical race theory.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is a political de-legitimization of completely legitimate research methods. And this means that, particularly, younger researchers will consider carefully how to profile and communicate their research.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Dialogue with students<\/h3>\n<p>The three employees have visited the camp several times to talk to the students. They haven&#8217;t slept in tents there, however, and they don&#8217;t think other employees have either.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI think there are many employees who are upset about the situation in Gaza and want to participate in the critical conversation that is taking place in the camp. A meeting was held with about 50 employees who discussed whether, and how, they could back the students&#8217; demands,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m and continues:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is within the framework of academic freedom<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mikkel Bolt, professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbSome staff have planned to hold teach-ins, where they will talk about student protests historically, the definition of genocide, and the history of Palestine. It is their workplace, after all. They are doing their job by participating in the critical and democratic conversation at their university.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>While we are conducting the interview, a student comes over to ask the employees if they know a UCPH researcher who \u00bbwould be willing to say that they have censored themselves to not write publicly about Palestine.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>None of the three researchers interviewed had done so themselves. But according to them, there is no doubt that some researchers do.<\/p>\n<p><em>How much do you work with Students Against the Occupation?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe support their demands to the university. As researchers, we distance ourselves from the ongoing genocide and say no to occupation and apartheid. In this way, we participate in a critical scientific exchange,\u00ab says Frida Sandstr\u00f6m. Mikkel Bolt adds:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbJust like UCPH management, we are in dialogue with the students.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with our top stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":44,"name":"Campus","slug":"campus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":44,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1547,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11489,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ansatteikk1of1-1-1280x640.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164108"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164266,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164108\/revisions\/164266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}