Hi everyone,

While we are in contact and dialogue with some faculties, nothing concrete has changed yet. The UvA is aware of this petition and the amazing support you all have shown, but it seems that more is needed. Because of this, we are asking you to send an email to your study advisor(s) and the executive board (email addresses can be found at the end of this update). In this email, you can draw attention to the issue of international students having to return to Amsterdam in the semester and share your experience and issues you would face when having to return in particular. A template for such an email can be found below, but you can of course feel free to write your own.

***** EMAIL TEMPLATE *****
Dear Executive Board and study advisor,

I am writing this email to draw attention to an important issue within the UvA. Currently, the UvA is telling all international students they will have to attend on campus education next semester (2021/2022 S1). The only exception is students that cannot come to Amsterdam due to travel restrictions. Travel restrictions are not the only issues international students face when having to return to the Netherlands in fall, however. For example, some students will not financially be able to and some have lost their housing and will not be able to find new housing by September. Furthermore, the COVID situation in the Netherlands, Europe, and the rest of the world is far from stable and many students cannot afford to spend thousands of euros on travel, visas, housing and other expenses and to uproot their lives with there being a real possibility they will have to go back to online teaching after a short while.
I myself would also be greatly negatively impacted if I had to return to on campus teaching next semester: [explain your experiences and difficulties you will have if you have to return to Amsterdam next semester].
Further information on this issue can be found in the following petition: https://www.change.org/online-fall-uva
I hope the university will help its international students by allowing them to study responsibly and safely next year through implementing hybrid (both online and online) education.

Best,
[Name, Student number and Course/Department]
************************************

Email addresses:
Executive board: G.T.M.tenDam@uva.nl, K.I.J.Maex@uva.nl, J.W.Lintsen@uva.nl
To contact your study advisor, visit your faculty's page here: https://student.uva.nl/en/home