I was standing in the queue in the Hugo de Groot Building during a lecture break in 1977. A long queue because we all wanted tea. In front of me was Ivo Samkalden, Leiden University alumnus, former minister, former MP, former Amsterdam mayor and, in this queue, lecturer at his Alma Mater. Given his status, he could have gone straight to the front for that cuppa, but he didn’t. For him, everyone was equal and there were no privileges. This inner academic decency and freedom is what ‘my’ Leiden University stands for.