Julia van Deventer: “I have an unpopular opinion”

By Connie van Uffelen / Marjolein van der Veldt

We heard that you had been asked to leave the party. Is that right?
“No, that’s not right. We were in discussion about something and did not see eye to eye. I said that if it could not be done in that way, it would be better to part.”

What kind of issue was it about?
“I would rather not go into it. We would rather it remained in the party.”

Are you concerned about continuing on your own?
“Yes, I was not looking forward to this first meeting in which the news was made public. I would have preferred it to be made known later as I first wanted to check the legal situation to see if I could continue as a one-woman party. But the message had already been placed on Lijst Bèta’s Facebook page.”

Were you not consulted on this?
“Lijst Bèta asked if it was ok for a post to be published on Facebook. I said it was fine, but I had not agreed on the date of publishing. It was published on the website five minutes later.” (Lijst Bèta informed us that there was insufficient communication, ed.)

Has anyone left the party before?
“No one individual has ever left on their own before.Some people had stepped down from AAG before their term was up. (AAG is a predecessor of Lijst Bèta, ed.). Someone also stepped down from Lijst Bèta last year, but their place was filled.”

What is it like to now again be part of one students council with each other?
“I am not the one that is angry. Mistakes were made on both sides. If I can do my thing, surely the rest can as well. My questions about the protest for #WOinActie during the consultation meeting were not on behalf of the students council, but under my own name. Oras and Lijst Bèta made an agreement on collaboration, but I did not. During the internal preliminary meeting, I now said that I wanted to pose these questions. The others did not want to be such strong activists.”

Did you have any doubts about stopping with the students council?
“I considered this too, but I have run a campaign and have put a lot of time into it. Apparently, I have an unpopular opinion. This is the precise reason that I should not stop.”

What subjects will you concentrate on later?
“I won’t do all the dossiers. One of the things that I will concentrate on is the protest movement. It could have a greater activism component. I want to work on strategic policy. We have a problem with the influx of students and I will look at this closely.”

What are your ideas about the influx?
“Enough is enough. TU Delft cannot grow anymore. A plan is needed urgently. But what should the plan entail? I will see what TU Delft comes up with.”