The action group "Critical Students" was doing an action during the opening of the academic year today in Leiden. They demonstrated against the 'new' role of the student as a (passive) consumer.

They sold tickets at the entrance of the "Pieterskerk", the church where the opening was organised, tickets for a 'new academic year'. People could choose for free tickets for a 'critical' academic year without commerce, free for everybody. On the other side there where 'normal' tickets for 'only' 1500 Euros (the actual yearly costs for a Dutch student).

The action was succesfull. The police couldn't send the activists away, because the action was outside of the church. Visitors of the opening reacted negative: they all 'bought' the ticket of 1500 Euros. No wonder because everybody knows: the University of Leiden, at least the students there, are quite 'conservative'.

The critical students also demonstrated with banners against the European Education-Market. This year there will be introduced the so-called 'Bachelor-Master'-system. This to create a EU-wide education-system. This is important for private investors: they can better compare education EU-wide. This will mean more power for private investors and a step further in a coming op global liberalisation of a Eduaction-market.