Photo Guy Ackermans With the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, I want to welcome the brand-new Wageningers with a message of hope and resilience.
The Italian journalist and writer Oriana Fallacia argued that every aspect of life is about war. Therefore, she accepts war and fights it with the power of thinking expressed through words. It is a daunting challenge to work out whether our thinking comes from the power of our own reasoning or is just a repetition of imposed ideas and circumstances.
It takes courage to say no and disagree with your supervisor
To the new Wageningers, I urge you to take the opportunity of being here to question, think and rethink. Challenge your own ideas, as well as those of others. Unlearn old paradigms and learn new ones.
The concept of war is indeed a reality we should not disregard. Some wars are more individual, while most are part of complex systems that steer our societies. For instance, in the terrifying times we live in, it takes courage to carry on living a life where we condemn oppression without retaliation. It takes courage to do an academic degree in another country. It takes courage to say no and disagree with your supervisor. It takes courage to report the undesirable behaviour of a classmate. It takes courage to point out the hypocrisy and incoherence of your university. And, while not comparable but still utterly important, it takes courage to denounce a genocide and demand a free Palestine once and for all.
Willy Contreras-Avilés (36) is in the final year of his PhD research on the biochemistry of medicinal cannabis. He comes from Panama. He likes to dance (perreo), cook Italian food and swim.
