The restriction has been removed. Acknowledgements are personal again. Thank you for holding the line on this.
June 1, 2014
Final supporters
We,
PhDs, Employees, Students and Alumni at Wageningen UR,
observing that
the Academic Board of Wageningen University (WU) has restricted the content of the acknowledgements section (dankwoord) of a WU PhD thesis, such that it may no longer contain any religious expression,
considering that
- the content of the acknowledgements section is by nature completely separate from the scientific content of the thesis
- according to the new policy, a PhD candidate is still allowed to acknowledge relatives, friends, pets or any other creature, but not God
- the new, rigid policy unwantedly prevents PhD candidates to express their deepest motivations, of which religion may be an intrinsic ingredient, and may make them feel discriminated against
- Wageningen University is extreme in applying this restriction compared with other Dutch universities
kindly ask the Rector, as chairman of the ‘Academic Board’ of WU,
- to withdraw the current restriction and consider a different policy.
Signature
If you agree, please sign (first and last name) this petition. Feel free to distribute this petition in your network.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
March 7, 2014
March 7, 2014
The feedback confirms this policy is alienating the community. We are preparing to send these concerns directly to the Board.
Reached 100 supporters
March 5, 2014
6 Comments
The university is going way too far here. Very disappointing.
TOTAL OVERREACH. Wageningen should focus on actual science and stop policing personal beliefs.
Ridiculous to ban religious expressions. Nobody is forced to read the acknowledgments anyway.
This is ridiculous. It is a personal section. Let people write what they want.
So weird that they think pets are okay but not God. Let students be themselves.
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The restriction has been removed. Acknowledgements are personal again. Thank you for holding the line on this.
June 1, 2014
Final supporters
We,
PhDs, Employees, Students and Alumni at Wageningen UR,
observing that
the Academic Board of Wageningen University (WU) has restricted the content of the acknowledgements section (dankwoord) of a WU PhD thesis, such that it may no longer contain any religious expression,
considering that
- the content of the acknowledgements section is by nature completely separate from the scientific content of the thesis
- according to the new policy, a PhD candidate is still allowed to acknowledge relatives, friends, pets or any other creature, but not God
- the new, rigid policy unwantedly prevents PhD candidates to express their deepest motivations, of which religion may be an intrinsic ingredient, and may make them feel discriminated against
- Wageningen University is extreme in applying this restriction compared with other Dutch universities
kindly ask the Rector, as chairman of the ‘Academic Board’ of WU,
- to withdraw the current restriction and consider a different policy.
Signature
If you agree, please sign (first and last name) this petition. Feel free to distribute this petition in your network.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
March 7, 2014
March 7, 2014
The feedback confirms this policy is alienating the community. We are preparing to send these concerns directly to the Board.
Reached 100 supporters
March 5, 2014
6 Comments
Academic freedom is about being open to all views not censoring personal thanks. Leave the dankwoord alone.
The university is going way too far here. Very disappointing.
TOTAL OVERREACH. Wageningen should focus on actual science and stop policing personal beliefs.
Ridiculous to ban religious expressions. Nobody is forced to read the acknowledgments anyway.
This is ridiculous. It is a personal section. Let people write what they want.
So weird that they think pets are okay but not God. Let students be themselves.
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Academic freedom is about being open to all views not censoring personal thanks. Leave the dankwoord alone.