The student run Leiden Green Office interviewed me. It was a follow up to an interview I did a year previous for the Leiden website. Central was the question what I was doing to improve sustainability at Leiden University. Quite a lot, and at the same time nothing at all. It is such an overwhelming question that everything you do seems to be insignificant, a mere drop in the ocean. Other people do so much more. It makes me feel humble to be interviewed for such a minor thing.
The same feeling of insignificance now fills me. I have decided to put my name forward for Leidse Academische Gemeenschap, one of the staff parties at the University Council. You know of my passion for University Democracy, as demonstrated by my work as Dienstraad chair of first SOZ and now LLInC, so it is not coming out of left field. I will not be on highest position on the list, just doing what I can respectfully to improve my university, which for now is mainly supporting the election campaign and getting the word out why voting in university democracy is so important. I could have selected other parties, or not to run at all, but I just feel very motivated by the values of LAG, which I think is people centered as I am in my daily work.
I will be out there to convince other people to believe in University Democracy as well. I hope to meet you there, and convince you to go out and vote. It is important, even if I am not.