One message with great impact: FHJ-Gate

Tilburg - How a simple tweet could turn the world upside down. Maybe ‘the world’ is somewhat exaggerated, but for sure everyone who’s journalist at Tilburg and surroundings held their breath for one second. The riot all started at the Fontys Hogeschool voor Journalistiek, with its abbrevation: FHJ. Let this ‘gate’ be a lesson for everyone who do not know how powerful social media can be.

Let’s get back to the beginning, just over a year ago. A journalism student on the FHJ published an online column on the fontys.nl website, where he ventilated his opinion about the quality of FHJ’s education. The things he wrote were not too positive, maybe it was sometimes too exaggerated, but he made his point. He mentioned that the communication on school would be anything but smooth and that the quality of the lectures is far below average and that is his right to find.

He wrote:

“The FHJ is becomming a rusted institute, which affects the carreer of all the students on the FHJ before it is even begun. I am sick and tired of the leftist literature we have to study during class and I am tired to ignore the disinterest of some teachers and to get lectures about the effects of mustard gas.” 

He made his point in a provocative way, which balanced, in my opinion, on the edge of tastefulness. This is perfectly entitled to share his critical view with the rest of the world, because censorship is outdated, right? This was his freedom of expression, but his column made many evil tongues wagging. It aroused the interest of Bert Brussen, Internet journalist and social media freak. He added fuel to the fire in his column “Studying journalism at Fontys in Tilburg? Please do not”... During his visit to the FHJ he wasn’t charmed by the leftist stronghold, Brussen wanted to rise a discussion about the FHJ.

Besides, in that period there was a release of the Guide to Higher Education and it made it all worse... just guess... FHJ was almost at the bottom of the list, which means FHJ was found one of the worst journalism schools in the Netherlands. 

The teachers made a counterattack against their students on social media like Twitter and Hyves and that’s when the online mud throwing between students and teachers started. One of the teachers wrote on Hyves, responding on a Tweet:

“I wonder myself if journalism is privileged with our students FHJ, because last night I saw the debate of Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven with PVV'er Fritsma and yet I read another deliberate expression of someone who wants to be a journalist (student of FHJ):
“My god, Van Nieuwenhoven is a stupid roasted cunt  # penw” “

Another FHJ-lecturer responded on Twitter, about the “stupid roasted cunt”-Tweet: “That student is now in my book. The boy apparently missed a lot of education.” “What that book is all about? You will find out eventually.”

I think it is not chic to argue, discuss or ‘fight’ with students en public, especially through the social media where younger people are overrepresented. It causes more damage than clarification and it shows some weaknesses of the company. In addition, the written language can be interpreted in different ways, like the ‘book-incident’ can be interpret as intimidating. In my opinion the teachers responds only causes negative advertising for the school. It converts the school into disrepute and there they will be judged on (in the future). Teacher can be found unsympathetic, especially in combination with the tweets and after the release of the Guide to Higher Education. What is you opinion about it? Let me know via the comment section below!