'It just makes sense that more White men graduate in engineering than Black men': this is how the controversial NSV lecture went down

On wednesday Feb. 28, nationalist student association NSV! invited Dries Van Langenhove in Leuven for a 'Q&A' about regenerative agriculture. Former Vlaams Belang MP Van Langenhove reported being 'deeply interested' in the subject despite having no expertise in the matter. Students expecting a rundown of his views on the subject came home empty-handed. 

Van Langenhove made no reference to regenerative agriculture, speeching instead about the 'attack on the White man' for over an hour (Van Langenhove consistently used the racialized Dutch term blank, Ed.). He discussed, among other things, 'the dictatorship that is Belgium', replacement theory, and the inequality between different 'races' that 'simply cannot be overcome'. As such, less time remained for questions from the audience than originally planned.

The lecture turned out to be a typical example of 'window dressing', as the topic of regenerative agriculture was used to obscure the true subject of the evening. It is likely that NSV! applied this tactic to prevent the event from being cancelled from the outset, as was previously the case for the visit of controversial figure Martin Sellner, which was called off prematurely by KU Leuven. 

KU Leuven's guidelines for the use of University rooms and infrastructure clearly state that offences like racism and sexism are strictly prohibited during events on its premises. In a text message to Veto, NSV! denies allegations of having used deliberately misleading advertisements.

White engineers

Cosplaying as a professor, Van Langenhove set off his lecture by drawing out his arguments on the blackboard. By means of these illustrations, he argued that it makes sense that more White men graduate in engineering studies than Black men, and that Black men – Van Langenhove consistently used the word 'Africans' – are better at running marathons. That would simply 'suit them better'. 'Similarly, Whites and Asians are better at building bridges. That's why all good bridges in Africa were built by colonisers or the Chinese', he claims. 

These statements were part of a larger discourse on the 'attack against the White man' that is allegedly caused by multicultural society. According to Van Langenhove, it is time to recognize diversity as the biggest societal issue. He even argued that 'multiculturality equals dictatorship' and that people all too often think falsely in terms of equality: 'Animals are not equal, neither are plants or humans.' 

Van Langenhove got some laughs out of his audience by saying you have to be a 'Jewish, trans, handicapped African to still be allowed to function in this society.' Furthermore, he ridiculed the idea that White men are to blame for the history of colonisation.

'Without the intervention of the "White, racist man", Blacks would still be in Africa unsure of whether a tribe would come to cut their throat or if they would be eaten or sold to an Arabic slave handler. Be thankful for "the great oppressor" for once', he added. 

Van Langenhove made a rather static and sterile impression by rambling on for an hour and fifteen minutes without barely any intervention. When he finally made time for questions, he did not budge an inch as to his viewpoints. 

A student inquiring into Van Langenhove's short-term plans to deal with the dire financial situation of our country did not receive a satisfactory answer: Van Langenhove considered cutting back on transfers and migration-related costs to be the only options for economisation. Other solutions did not exist according to him. 

From defenceless to resilient 

 Van Langenhove also made a plea for young people to become 'more resilient'. 'Our Flemish youth is physically and mentally defenceless', he repeatedly stated. 'If young people would work more in the garden, waitlists for psychologists would be much shorter.'

According to him, young people are obsessed with porn and video games: 'You can equate hardcore porn and gaming in the sense that both have to be continuously and increasingly intense.' Van Langenhove considers porn to be a problem of today's generation: 'In my day, we played outside with crayons and a bike.' 

KU Leuven professor Magaly Rodríguez Garcia, specialising in the history of prostitution, says this statement is untrue. Pornography is an old phenomenon, she explains. 'What Van Langenhove is saying about pornography was also said in the nineteenth century. He romanticises the past, but was born in a time in which pornography was everywhere.' 

'Van Langenhove mentions garden work as an alternative. 'That is remarkable', says Rodríguez. 'Ever since the end of the nineteenth century, conservative elites considered culture and sport to be an effective solution for 'aberrant behaviour' such as pornography and prostitution.' 

Van Langenhove's claim that watching porn is only a small step away from watching child porn is not scientifically proven, she says. 'There has been no reliable research into the effects of porn on adolescents. Such a study would never be admitted by the ethics commission.'

Van Langenhove also mentions faith as an alternative to watching porn. When a student asked him if he was religious himself, he answered that he could not give a conclusive answer to that question, but that he nonetheless wants 'more religion in society'.

Flemish independency?

According to Van Langenhove, the time has come to install a 'Flemish Leitkultur', which he believes is an important step towards Flemish independence. The Flemish Government, in their turn, should simply proclaim Flanders independent. Such a procedure differs from the way in which N-VA wants to establish Flemish autonomy, says expert in Constitutional Law Patricia Popelier (UAntwerpen).

'At the moment, Bart De Wever does not want independence, but something he calls confederalism', Popelier explains. 'That is a type of political association in which two large communities try to function separately as much as possible, but still form one entity. As such, Belgium could retain its EU membership.' 

During the lecture, Van Langenhove preached the immediate independence of Flanders, proclaimed by the Flemish government. That is where the problem lies according to Popelier: 'If you want to do something like that legitimately, you have to organise a referendum first. Separatists want to avoid that, because there is no enthusiasm for independence in Flanders.' 

Controversy

After the controversial lecture, KU Leuven banned all future NSV! events on its premises until the end of 2025. Still, the University was condemned for its approach by a number of organisations. According to Wim Grevendonk, co-organiser of the Ladeuzeplein protest against Van Langenhove's visit, KU Leuven failed to react proactively by not prohibiting the event before its onset. 'KU Leuven has actively approved of this lecture. Van Langenhove's visit is at odds with its mission statement and inclusion charter.'

Grevendonk believes that KU Leuven could have predicted that Van Langenhove's statements would be racist. 'NSV has proven multiple times to be a champion of racism and discrimination.' 

It is not remarkable, then, that Van Langenhove's visit to Leuven has sparked considerable protest and controversy. A petition was launched, which was signed by almost 1000 people, including a number of KU Leuven professors like Idesbald Goddeeris, Kaat Wils, Tom Verschaffel, Christian Maes and Werner Thomas. The Ladeuzeplein protest was organised by multiple organisations, including the Leuven branch of PVDA's student association Comac, ABVV Leuven, Het Groot Verzet and the May 8-coalition.

Leftist universities 

According to Van Langenhove, the protest is representative of an allegedly dominant leftist discourse reigning in Flemish universities, which he deplores. 'Universities should be obligated to be pluralist. If a university does not want pluralism, it should be defunded.' 

Van Langenhove believes that this political preference is reflected in students' grades: 'Today, students receive good grades only if they write leftist papers and give leftist answers on exams.' 

'That is why right-wing students will write the most leftist, moronic bullshit', he adds. 'By doing so, people start to believe these ideas. Science cannot be questioned anymore at the academy, instead, stories of diversity and climate are rehashed indefinitely.' 

Rodríguez deplores the lack of dialogue with Van Langenhove. 'The ease with which someone like him can air their opinion is remarkable', she finds. 'Nobody at the University is entering into a discussion with him. I would want to have that conversation, but I don't know if he wants that as well.

She also addresses an important issue: Van Langenhove speeched for over an hour about 'replacement theory', 'races', and the alleged 'leftist dominance', but was hardly interrupted to add nuance to his discourse.

Court case

Van Langenhove motivated his decision to not to talk about regenerative agriculture by saying that he 'had to state his theories now', as he would soon be silenced and would no longer be able to give lectures. 

Dries van Langenhove became known to the general public after a documentary by Pano about Schild & Vrienden, a far-right extremist association headed by Van Langenhove. In that documentary, a large number of racist and negationist statements shared between members was disclosed, prompting legal authorities to launch investigations into the organisation.

At the moment, the Public Ministry demands a fine as well as a two-year prison sentence in its case against Schild & Vrienden, of which Van Langenhove is the main defendant. Van Langenhove and his lawyer Hans Rieder appealed against this claim even before the verdict was known, because they judged the process had been 'unfair' towards him and that the judge was 'leftist'.

Van Langenhove was aware that he was walking on thin ice by delivering the lecture. After a comment about the Romani (Van Langenhove used the term 'Roma gypsies', Ed.), he admitted laughingly that the statement could be added to his running court case.