DWARS Utrecht splits due to internal quarrels

Due to ongoing quarrels between DWARSers from Utrecht, and DWARSers from Utrecht, DWARSers from Utrecht have decided to continue without DWARS Utrecht. So there are now two DWARSe divisions in Utrecht, DWARS Utrecht and DWARS Utrecht. The current board, deeply divided by the split, has spread out between the two departments. Sjoerd Pol, Jona Berkers and Silvie Ruesink will move to DWARS Utrecht, while Minne van der Mast, Dees de Jong and Julian Bos will stay with DWARS Utrecht.

The dichotomy has existed as long as DWARS Utrecht itself. With the central question: should the department focus on Utrecht, or on the whole of Utrecht? Everyone who has ever joined the department has had to choose sides. Team Utrecht versus Team Utrecht. Over the past few years, this conflict got worse, board members could hardly look each other in the eye, stopped talking to each other and shared lies about the other side on social media. In recent months, they even had separate board meetings in different locations. There is even a shadow group app for Utrechters who feel unsafe in front of Utrechters.

So now the decision has been taken to no longer continue together. Chairman of DWARS Utrecht, Minne van der Mast: “To our disappointment, it is the case that the Utrecht DWARSers could not just go on as normal. To protect the members of DWARS Utrecht, we decided it was better to continue without Utrecht.” Jona Berkers, acting chairman of DWARS Utrecht, sees it quite differently: “The hostile atmosphere that the non-Utrecht Utrechters imposed on the Utrechters was ultimately the breaking point for us to split off from DWARS Utrecht, and establish DWARS Utrecht.”

DWARS Utrecht is now looking for three interim board members, who can then really be voted in at the upcoming AAV. This AAV will just take place in Utrecht, Van der Mast: “Oh well, Utrecht is the most central location in Utrecht after all.”

DWARS Utrecht is also still looking for three interim board members. First, however, Sjoerd Pol and Jona Berkers are fighting over who gets to be interim chairman. Sjoerd Pol on this: “Ridiculous that Jona (Berkers, ed.) thinks he can be chairman of this department. Only because he was vice-chairman of DWARS Utrecht. He wasn't even on the daily board!” Pol says that should he lose, he will consider setting up a new department.

Due to warm feelings towards DWARS Utrecht, the national board has indicated to stay out of the conflict between DWARS Utrecht and DWARS Utrecht.