Scandals at Erasmus University Rotterdam refer to a series of controversies and incidents that have drawn media attention and public scrutiny in recent years at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR).
In September 2023, a tragic event occurred when a medical student killed a university lecturer in an on-campus shooting, following an earlier murder at a nearby residence. The suspect, already under scrutiny by authorities due to concerning behavior and a history of violence, was arrested shortly after the attack. [1] The incident raised questions about campus safety procedures, mental health support, and coordination between law enforcement and academic institutions.
Erasmus University Rotterdam has repeatedly investigated and sanctioned students and staff for academic fraud and plagiarism. The university's Examination Boards have a strict policy toward cheating, contract cheating, plagiarism, and other misconduct, imposing penalties ranging from reprimands and grade nullification to exclusion from programs and even permanent deregistration in serious cases. [2] [3] [4]
In June 2012, Erasmus University Rotterdam announced the resignation of Professor Dirk Smeesters, a scholar of consumer behavior, following an internal investigation into research misconduct. The university's integrity committee found that Smeesters had manipulated datasets in at least two published studies on the effects of color on human behavior, making "too good to be true" results statistically significant by selectively excluding survey responses. Smeesters claimed that original datasets had been lost due to a hard drive crash and missing paper records, but admitted to data selection practices that were not disclosed in his publications. As a result, two of his articles were retracted, and Erasmus University expanded its review of other publications from the faculty. [5] [6]
High-profile plagiarism allegations have also involved political figures: in late 2024, State Secretary Vicky Maeijer (from PVV) faced an official investigation into alleged plagiarism in her 2009 master's thesis at Erasmus School of Law. Independent experts described the thesis as the product of "clever copy-pasting from various online sources", though Maeijer rejected the allegations, stating she "wrote her thesis in good faith and with the best intentions". [7]
In 2024, Erasmus University lost a prominent court case against StudeerSnel, a popular student platform for sharing study materials. The university claimed that StudeerSnel facilitated copyright infringement, but the court ruled that the site's procedures complied with European regulations and that additional filtering was excessive. EUR was then ordered to pay €31,500 in legal costs, and the dispute sparked debate over copyright enforcement and access to educational materials among students and staff. [8]
Like other Dutch universities, EUR has seen waves of campus occupations and protests by climate activists and student groups in recent years, particularly targeting university links to the fossil fuel industry and demanding implementation of more sustainable and transparent policies. Several high-profile occupations in 2022–2023 were broken up by riot police, sparking controversy around the university's response to activism and freedom of assembly on campus. [9]
On 30 May 2024, a tent encampment was set up by pro-Palestinian students at Erasmus University Rotterdam, protesting against the universities collaborations with Israel. The encampment and protests lasted until 9 June when, after threat of intervention by riot police, the activists were forced to leave. [10] [11] The university said that it would not terminate any of the collaborations with Israeli institutes unless forced by the government. [10] [11]
In August 2025, Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, an Israeli professor at the Erasmus School of Law, came under criticism after dozens of anti-Palestinian and pro-Israel posts made on the social media platform X resurfaced in screenshots were publicly shared by whistle-blower PhD student Ahmed Maged. [12] [13] [14] [15] The posts included language describing Palestinians as "bloodthirsty Nazi Arab jihadists" and denying reports of hunger in Gaza, as well as claims that murdered journalists were "terrorists". [12] [13]
The advocacy group Muslim Rights Watch Netherlands (MRWN) demanded Elena's resignation, arguing that the statements condoned genocide and contributed to an unsafe environment for students and staff. [12] [13] [16] MRWN also announced the creation of a reporting hotline at the university and threatened to stage demonstrations on campus if no disciplinary action was taken. [13]
Erasmus University confirmed that the professor had previously been cautioned under its integrity code, which prohibits racist, discriminatory, or offensive behavior. The university declined to comment on the individual case for privacy reasons but stated that staff are expected to communicate respectfully, including on personal social media accounts. A spokesperson emphasized the institution's commitment both to student safety and to protecting freedom of expression, noting that controversial viewpoints are tolerated as long as they are expressed in a respectful and safe manner. [12] [13]
After denying Ahmed Maged's appeal to the Executive Board and refusing to assign him a different supervisor, the university ended up terminating his PhD contract on 31 August 2025. [14] [17]
On 23 October 2025, the Executive Board issued a statement condemning a planned demonstration against the professor that made the anti-Palestinian posts. The university cited safety concerns and remarked that it offers "space for differences of opinion". [18]
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