October 2018 by The Boomerang

Boo Peer Support

Some much-needed detail by Maya Homsy King

went to speak with two members of the peer support team to learn a little more about the seemingly well-meaning, but somewhat vague initiative. Although the aim of the peer support team is relatively simple - to provide a listening ear for anyone who wants it there has been a lack of detail about the qualifications of the peer supporters, and the services they are equipped to provide. Unbeknownst to me, these students actually received basic training in counselling, and are able to provide referrals to professional psychologists if need be. Instead of simply satisfying the insatiable need to ‘be involved’ that afflicts many a UCU student, there has actually been more time, effort and dedication invested in this initiative than I had previously thought. The goal, they emphasised, is to make sure there is always someone there for students. So why didn’t it immediately take off? One thing I can attribute to the limited success (thus far) of peer support is the simply the social nature of this campus. If

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From now on, UCU students is for nonsense only by Sophie Martens

These students actually received basic training in counselling, and are able to provide referrals to professional psychologists if need be.

you dare to venture outside of your room, there is a high likelihood that you will run into everyone you are acquainted with, and it seems to me that the people you see everywhere you go, are always those you least want to see. In terms of peer support, this could be uncomfortable for some students. There is a high probability that this could become an awkward social situation, of the averted eye contact, or half-hearted ‘hi’ that the other person pretends not to hear. The peer supporters I talked to however, mentioned that they set out parameters that detail the degree of social contact between the two parties after the meeting, therefore hopefully preventing any sort of awkwardness. The deeper problem though, is that usually, people who feel uncomfortable talking to friends or family are seeking anonymity, not someone you’ll have to see getting coffee, chilling with their friends and going to class every day. Although I commend the peer support initiative on their aims and their dedication, the lack of mental health resources is still a campus-wide problem. Unfortunately, mental health issues abound in our little paradise. Stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression are like the common cold; at any given time, either you have it, or someone you know has it. Without a doubt, more information about peer support should be made available to the student body, and perhaps a real discussion should be opened about having a professional psychologist come to campus.

Illustration © Lise Derksen

In our little campus microcosm, the atmosphere has long been saturated with complaints of lacking mental health resources, and with confessions of depression, anxiety and stress. Until last semester, the only recommendations seen on UCU Students/Confessions were to go see Mark Baldwin, or to wait in line for an appointment with the UU psychologist. Now, the UCU Wellbeing team has started to add to the lists of varyingly supportive and insensitive comments permeating each post, by advertising their relatively new Peer Support project.

October 2018

The UCU students Facebook page is the ultimate catch-all for a broad range of messages, from very important to extremely useless (“looking for a female weekend OV!”). Therefore, UCSA has called for a change. From now on, UCU students will be no longer used for the promotion of events. Instead, UCSA has launched a brand new app called UniLife. You can download it on your smartphone (Iphone or Android), and in the future there will hopefully also be a website version. The app works like Tinder, but instead of swiping guys and girls, UCU events will pop up on your screen. The app then composes a list of the events you liked, but also provides an overview of all upcoming events. Every committee, but also UCSA, ASC and CAR, can post on this app. Next to this, they will be using a specially designed UCU Events Facebook page, through which they will be promoting their upcoming events. To prevent spam, promotion will be limited to a maximum of three posts per event. Next to events, the app allows committees and boards to recruit for open board positions, and UCSA, CAR and ASC can post updates on it. The app is very user friendly, and it is just as easy to make an event on it as it is on Facebook. UCSA chair Zoë is highly optimistic about UniLife, but acknowledges that every new app goes through some teething problems. However, UCSA is working together with the developers of the app, who are very open to feedback. In the future, UCSA hopes to add more features to the app, such as a push notification plug-in. For now, we will have to try out the new app ourselves, and leave UCU students for our trivial, quintessential nonsense.

A closer look at CAR

Halloween special: treasure map

Debates on dreadlocks and ExotiCo

Bar Brawl: laptops in class

The diluting effect of feminist t-shirts 4

Knitting my first sock

The Boomerang | October 2018

BUBBLE

A closer look at CAR by Sabine Loth

As we were all made aware during election week last year, or during introweek for the first years amongst us, there is a new board on campus – no, not “ScreenCo”. The board I am quite obviously referring to is Campus Affairs Representatives, also known as CAR, with its noteworthy theme song “Vroom” by Famke Louise. With nearly half a semester gone already, let us take a closer look at CAR’s work so far.

ana Elbrecht, a member of CAR, told me about the set of goals they have constructed so far, and how they will aim to achieve these. Some of you may have already heard about their fairly ‘populist’ ideas at the GA, and some may have received these with a certain scepticism. However, Jana explained that their plans for the year are actually quite nuanced and realistic. On top of some smaller campus projects, such as the infamous “more Kromhout laundry machines” promise, the key objective for the upcoming year is establishing themselves as a board. They want to do this through communication with the students, but also through close cooperation with the UCU management, the landlord and housemaster, as well as Sodexo. They’ve pledged transparency, determination, and understanding, for both students and staff. So far, the communication with management has been smooth, according to Jana, with much less resistance than was initially expected. The relationship with the landlord is something that should be worked on and sustained, but seeing as he was the one to plan an initial meeting, it is clear that

campus is willing to cooperate. Moreover, CAR has a budget of slightly less than 600 euros that they receive from the UCSA, which will largely go to the notary in order to establish themselves as an independent organisation; they get separate budgets from College Hall for any individual projects they want to pursue. One project in progress is the revamping of Voltaire lounge. With these clear goals and means to accomplish them, it should be smooth sailing for CAR. Yet after a brief chat with the Dean, it can safely be said that establishing themselves as a long-term board may be more difficult than it seems. According to the one and only James Kennedy, it is a positive thing that there is a group of students committed to bettering campus. So far, he believes that CAR’s approach has been effective, as they have taken great care to seek out as much information as possible and listen closely to all parties involved. However, the question remains, how many student boards is too many? If we over-organize ourselves now, how long before boards like CAR become redundant again and are forgotten? With the amount of campus activity increasing, decreasing, and changing with every new year of students, the state of committees and boards is incredibly fluid. To remain relevant, CAR will have to focus on becoming an integral part of UCU life, which will perhaps mean starting off with smaller, more manageable projects. Though CAR is off to a good start with clear and manageable aims, their real challenge will not be communication with staff or the size of their budget. The largest hurdle will be ingraining themselves in UCU life. They must work on this so that in the long run, they will persist and speak up for the UCU students when their laundry must once again be delayed because of occupied laundry machines.

Dear Campus, I hope all of you have recovered from your crazy midterms over the break. Now that it is over, I would like to bring your attention to the following: halloween! Halloween was always my favorite holiday when I was younger. I loved dressing up and pretending to be a scary witch, vampire or even a cat. After weeks of preparing the perfect costume, I would happily bounce from house to house with my preschool friends to claim my well-deserved candy. Not a lot changed when I went to high school. In fact, some of my friends once went ALL OUT for the occasion and decorated their entire house to resemble a psychiatric hospital. Complete with bloody drinks, horror films playing on a loop, rooms with different themes, and even a haunted hallway. Did that sound too scary for you? Fear not! The spirit of the Boomerang will always be there to comfort and entertain you. In your hands you hold the October issue, full of new enlightening, humorous and even some serious pieces. Maybe you want to find out why feminist t-shirts might not actually be feminist (page 4), you wish to know how CAR is doing (see the article on my left), or perhaps you only picked up a copy to take a snapchat of your friend’s embarrassing response to this month’s quad queries (please do). Whilst you flip through the pages you might stumble upon a new face: that of Edward Barber, our new columnist! Freshly imported from Bristol, he will be writing a monthly piece on happy politics. As you might have expected from my reminiscence of Halloween, the Boomerang also has a Halloween special! Some of you may remember that, last year, we collected unit ghost stories. This year, however, we collaborated with GameCo and LogicCo to bring you: THE HALLOWEEN TREASURE HUNT. Flip open this issue at the centerfold to find the map and the instructions, grab some friends, and start hunting. I promise you, the prize is worth it ;). Scarily yours, Meike Eijsberg, Editor-in-Chief

A University College Student Association Magazine

Kulture with a K Dreads and ‘exotic’ cultures by Thomas Scassellati Sforzolini As many of you know, there has been some “debate” among our student body on “cultural issues” via social media. Seeing that many of us have such strong opinions on campus, I figured that I would add my two cents to the discussion through the most illustrious media outlet on campus, the Boomerang (no offence, UC Radio). I know nobody asked for my opinion, and some of you may not even want to hear it since I am a “white male” discussing - in case you haven’t already guessed - dreadlocks and ExotiCo. However, everyone is entitled to his or her own say so I kindly ask everyone to hear me out anyways. Dreadlocks Let’s start with the dreadlocks debate: is it cultural appropriation or not? For those of you who don’t remember, someone anonymously posted a confession calling out a white student for having dreadlocks, which resulted in a myriad of responses. There are two issues that I want to delve into, the first one being the confession itself. Personally, I find it petty and spiteful to feel the need to isolate the two or three white students on campus that have dreadlocks over social media. If you have a problem with how somehow behaves or presents him or herself, have some integrity and tell them in person or don’t say anything at all if hurting someone’s feelings isn’t your cup of tea. My second issue lies within this whole cultural appropriation theory and the massive can of worms that it opens. I understand that there are cases where cultural borrowing can be distasteful, ignorant, and even disrespectful. For example, wearing a Native American headdress is cultural appropriation considering that it has a particular religious, ceremonial, and sacred meaning behind it. Anything that has a sacred and religious meaning attached to it should be used respectively and with caution. However, outside of such cases, there is no clear line separating cultural appropriation from cultural appreciation. That is why the concept of cultural appropriation should not exist outside those aforementioned parameters and why having dreadlocks is not an example of cultural appropriation. Dreadlocks are simply a hairstyle popularized by the rastafari culture that have been worn by numerous cultures throughout history such as Egyptian, Indian, Viking, and Celtic culture just to name a few. So to refer back to the UCU confession calling out a white student for having dreadlocks, what exactly is that student appropriating?

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People from all over the world have been wearing dreadlocks for thousands of years, and, even if that wasn’t the case, at the end of the day it’s just a hairstyle. Also, if dreadlocks are cultural appropriation then why can’t someone argue that me making a stir fry or listening to Dancehall is cultural appropriation? And if that’s the case, what’s stopping Italians like myself from telling you that last night’s pasta pesto you made was appropriating Italian culture? So if you’re one of these people that likes to plaster “cultural appropriation” over everything, think to this to yourself the next time you plan on doing so: “is this actually disrespectful, or I am just acting pissed off for the sake of playing the victim?”

Exotico is a great idea that can contribute to the dynamic internationality that our campus prides itself for.

Exotico Ah yes, the innocent post from a first year wanting to start a non-european cultural committee that somehow opened the door for 200 comments about safe spaces, the word exotic, and why other European students are excluded from actively joining Exotico if it were to exist. I know this because I’m the dumbass who spent 45 minutes reading all of these. To be frank, most of you guys who commented missed the whole point of the committee. I honestly don’t know what the problem is. Exotico is a great idea that can contribute to the dynamic internationality that our campus prides itself on. If other Europeans and Dutch people want a cultural committee, they should create one. Seriously, it’d be a great idea to have, for example, a DutchCo to help integrate non-dutch speaking students in Dutch culture and everyday life. Another “issue” that was raised with Exotico was that its name incorporates the word exotic, which for some of you is a big no-no. I guess for some of you irony and humor is also a big no-no.

BUBBLE

Closing the debate By Willem Mingelen When I wrote my previous piece I knew that some people were not going to agree with me, and that is no problem at all; I want people to have a serious opinion about what was a sincere but critique-laden piece. What I did not expect were some of the points people tried to levy against me. My being emotional in the piece does not mean the argument is any less coherent, true or sincere- in fact, it makes it more sincere if you ask me. Try writing something emotional for once, and see what it can teach you. Now for what you came here to see, my opinion of the Dean’s reaction. Let me, what people are definitely going to call, backpedal here for a bit. I will never believe that people with any religious denotation don’t deserve to be in academia, as long as they can keep their religion out of it. What I do think is that as academics, we cannot afford to be complacent with and apologetic for something, even if it defines our lives in the way religion does for some people. That which we preach must be that of which we are most critical. A better example of a more honest piece about the problems within the Christian church can be found in the NRC of October 12th, by two clergymen from the Netherlands. As much as I have tried, I simply cannot agree that we should take a more nuanced look at the church. At some point, the combined transgressions simply do not allow that anymore. At some point, you can no longer look away, or point to the good deeds. You need to face the problem head-on. Even if one pretends to be the epitome of reason and openness- which I don’t think is possible if you also adhere to the teachings of the church- but even if you claim so, you should not take every chance to defend an institution clearly full of flaws. I hope that my opinions are clear, and if they insulted you, well that’s life, people don’t always agree with you.

SCOPE scope@ucsa.nl

Zine release party: 29/10, 20.00, Wall 5

Hey, it’s me again. You look good today. You look even better reading. So intellectual, so interested in campus journalism. Everytime you flip a page, a lock of hair falls from behind your ear before your eyes, and you brush it back again with such grace. You would also look good partying. You know, tonight, in Wall 5. I don’t exactly know what’s going on there, I wasn’t invited. But I hear you are, so that’s great. I’m not jealous or anything. I’ll be fine on my own tonight. But you: have fun.

Sustainability week 12-16 November

The Day After Tomorrow. 2012. Wall-E. Fictions that might become our reality pretty soon if nothing is done to combat climate change. Here at UCU we’re doing our own small part in November, where you’ll be able to participate in fun sustainability-themed activities throughout the week of November 12-16. Whether you like to eat, watch movies or if you prefer something a little more intellectual, we’ve got you covered. Stay tuned for upcoming events during Sustainability Week, details to follow! Committee Adspace Promote your committee, events, open board positions or submission calls in The Boomerang in exchange for an article written by one or more of your board members. E-mail to boomerang@ucsa.nl, or come to one of the monthly writer’s meetings.

The Boomerang | October2018

WORLD

From revolutionary to radical: Poland’s rocky relationship with the Catholic Church by Vedika Luthra

n both my history and law classes, Poland (where I grew up) often surfaces as a topic of discussion- but not typically in a positive sense. Complying with the global trend, populism has become the political norm in Poland. Its ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS) is a fusion of neo-nationalist, xenophobic and ultra-conservative beliefs. Since its win in 2015, the party has made it illegal to accuse Poland of complicity during the Holocaust, has attempted to criminalize abortion and has granted the ruling party the capacity to appoint new heads of supreme court (thereby compromising the freedom of the judicial branch). Poland also refused to accept refugees, thereby breaching its EU obligations. It is often the case that powerful institutions will morph and re-morph depending on where they might access the most power. This is the principal idea behind populism: appealing to the concerns of the masses to increase support. In Poland, it is not just PiS that does this, but the Catholic Church as an institution. The Church plays a critical role in Poland’s political terrain and has contributed to Poland’s image as an ‘illiberal democracy.’ To some extent, the church in Poland has a history of meddling with politics, but not always in a manner that one might deem completely repressive.

Over 80% of Poles identify as Roman-Catholic and 96% of the population is ethnically homogenous. Throughout its turbulent past, the Church has been viewed as an emblem of national identity, an underlying commonality that linked the people together during the partitions, wars and especially during the Communist era. Under Communism, the Church was exceedingly inclusive, welcoming everyone who opposed Soviet control. It served as a kind of mediator between the state and its citizens, a place where people gathered to pray and to be comforted, but most importantly, it was a place where public gatherings could legally take place away from the scrutiny of Big Brother. There was no room for internal strife; this meant that ethnic, religious, gender, and class divisions were set aside in order to stress national unity. So much so that around the country, churches were notorious for giving refuge to the Polish resistance. Paradoxically, it appeared to support liberal ideas and democracy. The Church’s downfall came after Poland’s independence in 1989. When Poland was finally liberated, the church was, in a sense, made redundant: its purpose throughout history had been fulfilled. With its borders opened, an influx of new ideas and cultural practices entered the nation. As people began to divert their energies to fields outside the realms of politics and reli-

gion, involvement in the Church waned. Consequently, the Church condemned liberalism and the free market economy for ‘destroying traditional values’ and began to focus its efforts on morality and family life. Whereas topics like abortion were not given much attention prior to 1989, they became hot topics in the newly independent state.

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The Church offered people a place to voice their frustration and outrage. It does the same today. But its fundamental values are vastly different.

The Church’s marriage to PiS serves two purposes: It brings devout Catholics under the party’s influence, but it is also a desperate attempt to grasp onto whatever remaining power it has left as its follower count dwindles. Under Communism, the Church offered people a place to voice their frustration and outrage. It does the same today. But its fundamental values are vastly different.

The Diluting Effect of Feminist Tees by Saskia Vrensen

ou know exactly which t-shirts I’m talking about. The ones that you pick from the rack in H&M, Pull & Bear, or Urban Outfitters because you think they look cute but then put them straight back feeling a bit confused and grossed out because they shout ‘THE FUTURE IS FEMALE’ across the boob area. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am very feminist and - dare I say it - I hope the future will be significantly more female than it is right now, for obvious reasons. These feminists tees don’t gross me out because I disagree with the words sprawled in their slogans, they gross me out because of the effect I, maybe pessimistically, am assuming they will have.

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The saturation of feminist tees in the fashion industry is diluting the meaning of the slogans emblazoned on them.

A few years ago, items of clothing with feminist slogans on them were groundbreaking. It was a risk for companies to manufacture them, and so very few companies did, since the decision to produce them was considered a ‘big deal’. These feminist tees, I would argue, had a positive effect. Because they were so controversial and orig-

inal, they sparked dialogue and made people think. They were innately political and meaningful. Now that companies have decided that feminism is a cause worthy of capitalism, feminist tees are everywhere. Everyone from your hip grandma to the kids you babysit have one. And that’s great in that people seem proud to be openly feminist (finally). However, the issue I take with this is that the saturation of feminist tees in the fashion industry is diluting the meaning of the slogans emblazoned on them. We see these feminist tees almost everywhere and everyday. Does this raise awareness? Or does it slowly chip away at the true, political meaning of the message. What does ‘THE FUTURE IS FEMALE’ even mean, and has the wearer even thought about it? Do people reading this slogan think about it too? I don’t want to be the BandT-Shirt -‘Can-You-Even-NameOne-Song’ person. I just hope that the use of these feminist slogans by companies to earn them a shit-ton of money is at least fuelling the feminist movement, rather than diluting the meaning of its ideology. Illustration © Qingfeng Chai

A University College Student Association Magazine

Keeping it lightheart-ed by Edward Barber

LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE COLOMBIAN COMMUNITY Four years ago, in 2014, Colombian city Buenaventura gained international notoriety after it was named the country’s most violent city. In a region plagued by gang-related violence and terrorised by paramilitary organisations, this announcement from a Human Rights Watch report brought into focus the severity of the situation in Columbia’s Pacific port city. For years, abductions and disappearances were rife across residential areas of Buenaventura as rival groups would vie for control. Residents’ movements were restricted, and businesses were coerced into paying extortion money. Sadly, this was the routine state of play for a long time. That was until April of the same year when the roughly 300 family-strong community in the La Playita neighbourhood bound together and took action. Forming a committee of local activists, they denounced armed violence in their area and proclaimed that it was now an urban ‘humanitarian space’. Various groups such as the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission and Christian Aid were active in their support of such an empowering endeavour. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights assured protection of the families on the back of the initiative and compelled the Colombian state to do everything they could to further ensure their security. Within the last few weeks, British journalist Karen McVeigh has checked in on this invigorated community and has found that marked progress has been made. Children now play freely on the streets and residents have begun investing in their homes which indicates renewed neighbourhood pride. The area has also become a haven for regional humanitarian activism. The results of this remarkable social project are tangible. Nevertheless, violence still blights this otherwise fairy-tale turnaround as community organisers and activists remain at particular risk. A concerning 300 have been killed since 2016 alone. Yet despite this, residents stress, the humanitarian zone has been a godsend for the suffering population. Father Jesús Alberto Franco, a leader of the InterChurch Justice and Peace Commission, was among the principal architects of this great project and today boasts of how this humanitarian zone is unlike the others that have gone before. The Buenaventura zone allows members of the military to patrol the area in an effort to guarantee public safety. We can only speculate as to what kind of long term, structural impacts these measures will actually have for a city like Buenaventura. Pessimists may view this as mere isolation, a cursory solution to what are very threatening social issues. Is a military presence also simply fighting fire with fire? The optimists among us, however, should choose to see this as a catalyst for change in our own countries and even in our own personal predicaments. What better way to address a frightening problem than to talk to one’s neighbours and assess the situation rationally? We may need outside support, sure, but great ideas and solutions are born from the bottom up. People induce real change. Here’s to the people.

WORLD

Kamikaze, the sequel by Nick Pravilshchikov Eminem came out swinging once again, releasing yet another diss album with a title, making even the hardest of M’s fanboys doubt his creative potential — Kamikaze 2.0. Yeah, it seems like the “rap god” simply can’t cool down anymore. In fact, in an exclusive interview with Sway he confessed that there is something inside him that is a “little more happy” [sic] when he is angry. Speaking of angry, MGK has just released his second Eminem diss, which Shady had predicted in his third MGK diss, pointing out that Kelly’s most watched video on Youtube is his first Eminem diss track. Apart from 6 MGK disses, Kamikaze 2.0 also contains a Joe Budden diss, a not-so-unexpected Drake diss, and an insane mumble rap diss, which consists entirely of the names of popular rappers being repeated over and over again. But the weirdest diss, in my opinion, is the last one on the album. It is a diss on 420 random commenters of Kamikaze, showing one comment per second during an obnoxious seven-

minute track called Critics. Apart from noticing obvious anger management issues, one has to appreciate Shady’s technical genius, especially after rhymes like “jerry_cade — barricade — Watergate — segregate”. In the same interview with Sway, Marshall shares his sources of inspiration: “It [the hate on Kamikaze] inspired me to say something back”. Still, this doesn’t fully explain why Eminem is being hostile to literally everyone who even mildly disliked his previous album, Kamikaze. This album was mostly centered on Marshall’s reaction to the public’s reception of his album Revival. It almost looks like M cares about the opinion of his “Stans” a bit too much. At least, for the guy who wrote “I’m made of rubber so that anything you saying ricocheting off of me and it’ll glue to you”. Did Eminem become the victim of his own “Raging Bull” image? Will he diss me in Kamikaze 3.0?

Vote!

by Thomas Scassellati Sforzolini

t has been been almost two years since the 2016 Presidential election in the United States, which means that the midterm elections are looming ahead. On Tuesday November 6, 2018, citizens across the fifty states will exercise their ‘God-given’ constitutional right to vote. However, if history were to reveal anything, most Americans, on average 60%, will opt out of voting whether it be out of political disinterest or overall displeasure with the available candidates. Such low voter turnout is unsettling, more so since a disproportionate amount of young people compared to other age groups will choose to stay at home on November 6 rather than go to the voting booths. In the 2016 presidential election, a meager 46.1% of Americans aged 18 to 29 voted. Compare that to the 70.9% of Americans aged 65+ who voted in 2016 and it becomes quite clear that such a striking disparity between age brackets is a problem. A republic functions by implementing policies for its citizens, and it can only do so if the citizens let their voices be heard by voting for candidates that stand up for their beliefs. The system fails if constituents choose not to vote, especially if it leads to certain groups being over/under represented. Right now young people are under represented and they have no one else to blame but themselves.

I have been a naturalized - I’m originally Italian and Belgian - US citizen since I was 13 and have voted in all the elections that I have been eligible for, including the upcoming midterms. To put it lightly, I am vehemently displeased with the current political situation back in the United States so I was particularly motivated to vote this time, even though it was pain to do. My mom, who still lives in New Jersey, had to send me my mailin-ballot via mail which I then quickly filled out and sent back to her. I probably spent two to three euros worth of stamps just for one measly vote, but, knowing that my vote will help cancel out that of a dogmatic ‘Trumplican’ ideologue makes it well worth it. If I went through such great lengths to vote then there is no excuse for anyone else not to vote. Thus, to the Americans on campus that are even contemplating not voting, don’t be a lackadaisical bum and put in the effort to vote; that goes for both Trumplican ideologues and liberal snowflakes alike. We should all vote so that young people can be accurately represented in Congress and the Senate. We are the future and should not be disproportionately represented by politicians that were elected largely due to people nearing their pension or in wheelchairs.

The Boomerang | Spooktober 2018

HALLOWEEN

Meditation room (W): The leper asked the wise man: “Where can I find the healer who can heal me?” The wise man answered: “You must wait four days and the healer shall come to you and reverse all for you.” After many days, much of the leper’s hours passed by here. Solve the code below to find the hint:

Darkness falls across the quad, You see it now, it’s something odd. Riddles and puzzles, you must solve, Finding objects, this will involve. Form a team, you plus four, Find the objects on the tour. Take a selfie with these things, Oh, what joy the Boomerang brings. Take a selfie with each item you find, Email them to us, to receive in kind, The final clue to this treasure hunt, For this edition, our halloween hunt. Please remember, others play too, So put back the items that were found by you. We have three prizes, first, second and third, So go out there and follow the herd. This game starts, quite literally now, And lasts until Thursday, 20:00, as we allow. Enjoy the tricks, maybe a treat, And bear in mind that you don’t cheat!

76.88.36.88. 72. 96.104.52. 72.52. 32.72.60.88.52.96.88. 44.48.52.92.88.36. 24.44.48.52. 28.76.88. 100.88.80.72.52.52.72. 52.80. 104.52.92. 28.76.88. 88.52.92

Dining Hall: “Bring your own mug and come chill with us. This is the best place to relax, plus we provide lekker snacks! X marks the spot where you should lay down, look up at the stars, but don’t let the spook make u frown!”

TREASURE HUNT Illustration © Lise Derksen

Voltaire printing room: In the country of Westphalia, in the castle of the most noble Baron of Thunder– ten–tronckh, lived a youth whom Nature had endowed with a most sweet disposition. His face was the true index of his mind. He had a solid judgment joined to the most unaffected simplicity; and hence, I presume, he had his name of Candide. 5.5 - 13.3 - 25.2 - 44.4 - 49.9 Locke: “Look what I spy with my little eye, something to give me energy before I go home to cry. Go there where students recharge during or after class, some even need this to pass! In Locke you will find it, though others have it too. Look below, and don’t let it scare you! “

The rules

• Make a team of maximum 5 people • Solve the riddles and puzzles to find an object. • Take a selfie with the object to prove that you found it, but put it back afterwards! Other teams need to be able to find it as well. • Send all 4 selfies to boomerang@ucsa.nl, you will then receive the last clue that leads to your prize ;) • There are three prizes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. • The hunt starts as soon as you pick up this issue, and ends on Thursday 20:00.

The Boomerang | October 2018

OPINION

The entitled individual by Holly Moore

limate Change, or more accurately put as ‘Climate Destruction’, must be tackled from the highest level - from power - because to exert power, is to make another act in a way that they otherwise would not. The neoliberal policies of Europe and America were never made under the conscience of human or ecological responsibility. Thus today, in the wake of this wanton time, an entire overhaul of the way things have been done is imperative: to will those who have not behaved well, to do so. But in order to coordinate such a breadth of change, action must be enforced. It is the cogs of civil life that hold this function: the government. This power that I speak of, comes from people. It is currently not trendy to have faith in the government - and there are reasons. But we should not accept this. The response must not be to despair, but to reclaim. Politics, day-by-day, may seem torn, and broken, but there are structures behind the face, which still remain. One such tool is the law. In 2015, Marjan Minnesma, a Dutch mother of three, brought the first climate liability lawsuit against her national government, and 886 others joined her as co-claimants. Their group, called Urgenda, won the case: the court decreed the duty of the government to radically reduce carbon emissions (by 25% below their 1990

level) in the interest of the future of the Dutch people. The model of the Dutch case has spread - law cases set precedents that can be replicated. The power grows. Today, Columbia Law School has a live tally on the number of climate litigation cases against both governments and companies - 1040 currently exist within the US, and a further 280 outside of America. The core argument of the winning Dutch side is that every citizen is entitled to certain rights - such as a right to life, dignity, liberty and property. Arguably, these rights are infringed upon by man-made climate change and a degraded environment. The protection of these rights is found within the legislation of almost every country, thus the power of the law has immense potential for global change. When individuals have a vision for what a government can do - it can be made to happen. We’re navigating an important time period. The value of law must prove itself capable of delivering justice - the client is the future generation, and the defendants Greed, Vulgarity and Abuse. Let the political nihilism of 2018 be tempered with the tool we still have: Justice. However, not all change will happen in courtrooms but in minds too. On

this point, Mary Robinson and Maeve Higgins are leading. They are exceptional communicators, and are at work, producing and hosting a Podcast ‘Mothers of Invention’. The podcast is a regular, snappy and sobered update on where we, as a globe, stand in relation to the issues at hand. They tell us the stories of those who are bringing about change - in the fields of plastics, energy, land-use, food production and more. In our age of instant and constant communication, where much is said, but little actually absorbed and made to deliver action, this pair stand out. They are important because rather than speak a narrative of despair - that ‘realistic’ pessimism so useful to those invested in conservatism - they inspire. These women have belief, and this is key to the fight: airing what is possible.

Illustration © Anne van Wendel

The illusion of helping by Sven Bosma

ith midterms having come and gone again, I find myself in the same state as all the times before: tired yet relieved, and in desperate need of a beer. I also find myself with the same afterthought, year in, year out: Do midterm exams before the midterm week really help students that much? Every semester one, two, sometimes even three of my teachers talk about helping students with midterms by having us take their exam a week before the ‘official’ midterm week. I sincerely wonder whether this helps or hampers students dealing with piling up revision, all while finishing off course material before the midterm week rolls around. This usually means “We’ll discuss this reading Thursday and next Monday you’ll be tested on it”, or paper deadlines that hit you right in the nads. The main problem I have with spreading these exams over two weeks is that it thoroughly interferes with your focus. In my mind, the week of midterms should be focused on just that, the midterms and papers due. However, the teachers who choose to host regular classes in the week of midterms seem very surprised when you don’t do the readings for their class. Having given us the midterms the week beforehand, there’s also the reverse issue where final readings of the half term for other classes aren’t prioritised. The

whole situation just seems to clog the pipes. of going through new material literally two or I do understand what they’re trying to do. three days before an exam. The Reading Week Getting their exam out of the way could help, gives you the opportunity to contact teachers kind of a “one down, next week we’ll do the or classmates with questions about anything rest”-feeling. It’s just that we have three other that you still don’t quite get. We could go a step courses, still running at maximum capacity in further and organise large-scale study groups, that week. I appreciate the thought towards since schedule clashes won’t be an issue in a week students, but I would also appreciate closer without classes. Finally, there won’t be that issue listening to students’ reactions. College hall of awful attendance in regular classes in midterm and faculty seem slightly week. During midterm notorious for not quite week, most people will In my wilder moments hearing students out, and skip classes that aren’t I dream of a full-on I guess the inception of either an actual exam or boycott: None of us turn CAR is starting to bridge a recap session, so this that. But that’s a different might save everyone up to the classes before article to be found somesome time and frustrathe midterm week, we where in this edition. tion. force a Reading Week. Someone who loves This isn’t meant to be to bitch, moan and a bashing of teachers’ complain will bring you a problem. Someone intentions. In my wilder moments I dream who wants positive change will bring you a solu- of a full-on boycott: None of us turn up to the tion. I love the former, but this requires some of classes before the midterm week, we force a the latter, so here’s my proposition. What about Reading Week. But I like to think of myself as a week off before the midterm week? A Reading open to conversation, so I suppose that’s what Week. You spend this week preparing for your this ultimately is. I hope this starts some kind of exams and writing the papers due. Simple as. dialogue. I’d be open to talk to faculty members, This means we won’t need one or two exams and I hope some of you either hop on my bandalready taken the week prior to midterms, since wagon or bring something up that helps both we’ll have all the time in the world to prepare for sides out. Let’s get the ball rolling and try to fix the actual week. This also removes the problem this midterms dilemma.

“

A University College Student Association Magazine

YOU MAY AS WELL SLEEP DURING CLASS by Lotte Schuengel

uring a lecture in Great Powers, a disturbing series of movements and images intruded upon the corner of my eye, and struck me right in the concentration streak of fifteen minutes straight. Meike’s laptop was playing a square video about a coffee shop in the United States that didn’t serve regular coffee - but coffee made from avocados. I found myself unable to redirect my attention from this endless loop displaying the nauseating excesses of modern American insanity. Meanwhile, the laptop’s owner was doing other things, such as communicating with ten different people in smaller chatting windows on her screen. Afterwards, I remarked to her my bafflement about the video that she, too, must have seen seventy-one times during that class. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, cold and distant. I decided to leave things as they were. I hardly ever bring my laptop to class. You’ll know why when you see its condition. It’s large, heavy, cheap and embarrassingly noisy. Also, I don’t need it. I can’t remember ever being in class and thinking “I wish I’d brought my laptop.” I do remember thinking the opposite though. The few times that I did bring my laptop with me, it was constantly distracting me, trying to convince me that I am perfectly capable of dividing my attention between a lecturer and things on a screen all while accurately registering events and information from both sides. Lies. Being on your laptop in class is like sleeping. You fall into a void and at the end you can’t recall anything that happened in the previous two hours. Not on the laptop, and not in the real world. There’s no point in Illustration © Samantha Dharamraj

“

You fall into a void: at the end of class you can’t recall anything that happened in the previous two hours.

being in class if all you do is perform the same actions on your computer as you would at any other place and time. “But what about the readings? You’re certainly not going to tell me that I should PRINT all these READINGS???” Have I got news for you. You can from now on do your readings at home instead of during the class itself. Also, incoming message from your notebook and pens: “We desperately miss you”. Did you know that while reading the readings on your computer, you can make physical notes about the things you find most important? It helps you remember information better, and understand the text more thoroughly. Take those notes to class. You’ll be surprised at how much they help you. However, it’s not much use to be laptopless when nobody else is. Sitting next to people using them is nearly as distracting as using one yourself. It’s not just the unforgiving sped-up cooking videos polluting your eyes. It’s the group chats, the board e-mails, the Vice.com articles, the Instagram scrolling, the essay-writing for another course, the Wikipedia-searching of every word the teacher says. I have a question about the last one: how does it help you to look up Otto von Bismarck during a lecture about Otto von Bismarck? One time I saw someone look up a map of Europe to see where France was. Still, the internet is a fantastic and helpful tool; it makes you smart. Please use it wisely and not during class.

In Bar Brawl, two students tackle a controversial issue each month. Want to fight? Email us at boomerang@ucsa.nl or join us at the next writers meeting.

BAR BRAWL

LAPTOPS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES, NOT JUST DISTRACTIONS

by Jarne van der Poel

aptops and mobile devices have become an integral part of our lives. Most of us do our readings on them, write our papers on them and send our emails from them. We use them for our banking, our to-do-lists, our research and our communication. So why on Earth would we not use them for our lectures and classes? The standard arguments Laptops and mobile come to mind - something to do with distraction: devices are a “I am distracted by my fundamental part social media timeline”, of our lives and our “I am distracted by the screens of the students studies sitting around me”, “I am distracted by the noise coming from other people typing”. These arguments are fair: the Big Distraction called Facebook, with its cute puppy videos and many other visual and textual stimuli, is only one mouse click away. Therefore, I agree that a classical lecture (one where the lecturer does the talking while the students listen and take notes) should be free of laptops. Students can take their notes with a pen and a notebook - it’s not difficult and actually proven to be the best method to memorize things. However, University College is a format based on discussion and knowledge-sharing. Many people might expect laptops to be detrimental to this format, but I would argue the opposite: if used wisely, laptops and mobile devices can enhance the quality of discussions and debates. In many discussions I have enjoyed here at UCU, I have found laptops to be helpful for a fruitful debate: students skim the readings for facts and arguments; they bring in new information; they present the class with a statistic or a quote; the discussion takes a turn in another direction; a bold claim by either a student or a lecturer can be factchecked within seconds. Not only can laptops be employed to make discussions more interesting - they c a n also be employed to increase class participation. A quiz on the readings using platforms like Kahoot and Socrates motivates every student to actively participate and think about the material. More importantly - these quizzes are fun. Rather than sitting in silence, listening to the lecturer repeat information they already gathered from their readings, students are active. They excitedly answer questions, eagerly looking at the screen to see whether their answer was correct. They feel motivated and proud if they answer correctly and are incentivized to ask questions if they answer incorrectly. This is only one of the ways in which laptops can boost participation. In conclusion, laptops and mobile devices are a fundamental part of our lives and our studies. Actively integrating them in class can enhance the quality of discussions, boost student participation, and increase learning experiences. Rather than banning them, professors should innovate and adapt their lectures since banning them completely is to miss all the opportunities that 21st century technology can provide.

“

The Boomerang | October 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

The Dutch have a film festival? by Emma Kuijpers Ask any Dutch person and they will tell you: “Oh, I don’t watch Dutch movies, they suck” so it is not surprising that most Dutch people do not know that the biggest national film festival, called Het Nederlandse film festival (the Dutch film festival) or NFF was in our beloved city of Utrecht at the beginning of October.

nce a year the city of Utrecht becomes the beating heart of all things movie, documentary, and series related. What’s special is that they also look at the new and innovative things happening in the field of augmented or virtual reality. There are lectures from the Netherlands’ finest filmographers, about making cinematic masterpieces or heart-wrenching documentaries. There is also a contest in which participants had to write, shoot, and edit a whole movie in 48 hours. There were also meet-and-greets with actors. The best and most exclusive one was with famous cat actor Abatutu in an event called: CineMeow, a wild night with Abatutu. One also has the opportunity to experience the newest VR headsets and movies that are taking storytelling to the next level. At the end of the festival there is an award show, the Dutch Oscars, if you will. The award is called “de gouden kalveren” or golden calves. There are awards for best movie, best actress/actor, best documentary and more. Winning a golden calf means not only getting a statue of-you’ll never guess this-a golden calf, but also the honour of having made the best Dutch movie of that year or being the best actress

or actor. Names you may recognise who have won or have been nominated are Carice van Houten, who later went on to play Melisandre in Game of Thrones, and Mike van Diem, an actual Oscar winner. Other than the Dutch film festival in Utrecht, the Netherlands also hosts two other big international film festivals: IDFA, the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam, which you can attend from the 14th until the 25th of November, and IFFR, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which you can visit from the 5th until the 25th of January. So if your thirst for Dutch film cannot wait to be quenched, you can visit either of these enticing events next year… maybe this constitutes a good reason to leave campus for once???!!! If you are disappointed that you missed this, try to visit it next year. With our student discount, tickets are a reasonable price. I assure you that is it worth it, and if it isn’t, I’m so sorry, I know Dutch movies suck. Illustration © Amu Endo

On Knitting My First Sock by Silja Wessman

t is 6 pm and I have accomplished one thing today: changing my panties. October has hit, ladies, and I don’t know about you, but I really feel like I should get to sewing my own underwear, knitting my tampons and being an example for all women everywhere. I might not get to all of that, but this January I made one simple promise to myself: I was going to knit a pair of socks by the end of this year. Quite the resolution. I might as well aim to plant my ass on Venus. Accepting the slightly below average version of yourself has proven itself to be both a blessing and a curse, dear readers. But I’ll tell you what – we are ten months into 2018, and I have managed to knit a sock. A is however the key word here. I have knitted one sock. One. That is half a pair, for anyone unaware. And truly, I have literally never been more proud of anything I’ve ever done in my entire life. Sadly, the time has come to knit the second sock that is necessary to make a pair, because it seems that I have two feet. Kinda sucks,

and this has proven itself to be the real challenge for this silly cow. I considered beating myself up for it, but then I realized this is how I am. I am truly great at reading half a book, watching half a movie, texting a guy on Tinder and then not answering when he writes back, and also, apparently, at knitting one sock. Now, what should I do about this? Common problem. Sadly, I have no clue and I am not here to fix you either. This is not a self-

help article about how I overcame my struggles and knitted that second sock, because I probably won’t. Again, it’s October. I’ve changed my panties. I’ll go to the store in the shirt I slept in to buy coffee, stare at every person in aisle 2 like they could be my one, true love and feed my crazy. Fall is my time, and it should be yours too. When fall hits, I am reminded that my obligations are only to myself, and that nobody knows all the books in my shelf are only half read. I’ll watch Bridget Jones every other night if I want to. And girl, I am at peace with the fact that my sock will probably forever only be one sock. So, ladies – change your panties and feed your crazy this fall. It won’t get you far, I promise you that. No, but if you do get to knitting your own tampons, that’s fucking awesome and I wish I was you. For now, I’ll be hanging out my window smoking a cigi at 2 am, deleting my Tinder account for the hundredth time and not get to knitting that second Illustration © Robin Devillers sock.

A University College Student Association Magazine

ARTS & CULTURE

sweet svensations by Sven Bosma Sven decided he didn’t like the subtitle so we changed it to this

PLAYING THE FOREIGNER CARD I was back home over the past weekend for my younger brother’s birthday. I ended up having some quality bonding time with the rest of the family, primarily because this lad had decided to pop by home for fresh clothes and presents, before swiftly heading back to the student city of Delft for another #MadNightWithTheLads. To fill the void of one child fleeing the nest, my mother brought me, her other son, into town for some retail therapy. I am, of course, more than willing to accept this opportunity to exploit and indulge. Let me set the stage. My mother is about 5 feet tall, is curing the world with love and baked goodies, and is generally the best human alive (fact). However, when she feels wronged by one deity or another out there, she will, and rightfully so, seek a way around this wrongdoing in her rose-tinted world. This also applies to the case of us trying to exit the parking garage in town, and her having lost the ticket. We’ll leave my prescience and recommendation of using the contactless PIN check-in aside for another time. I buzzed the help button to ask the garage tenants about rectifying this lost ticket matter, and was curtly informed that it’d be €60 to leave, since “they didn’t know when we’d entered”. First off, listen here fam: I know you and the surveillance state track license plates, so you know when I got here. Second of all, €60 is the fee for 72 hours of parking, so as my mother put it “I’d rather spend that money on lipstick”. No, the solution seemed obvious: Phone up all of the shops we’d been to and ask if they’d found our ticket, since mother tends to drop things. Of course, none of them had, and after about an hour of searching the car, and mother’s handbag (which, it seemed, was larger than the inside of the car), she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Once again ringing the buzzer, she started in her best Dutch, “Hello sir, I seem to have lost my ticket”. Naturally, the €60-reply is given. My mother retorted with a “Well that can’t be right, do you have a moment to discuss this? Actually, maybe I should head down to your office, there’s about 6 people behind me in this line.” As she heads down to the little office in the garage, she gives me the Watch This look. A brusk-looking, larger gentleman emerges from the office section, and my mother immediately starts, still in Dutch: “Look, €60 is silly, don’t you track when cars arrive?” As the tenant starts to explain to her that they apparently don’t, she plays her trump card. “I’m sorry, I don’t really speak Dutch, let me just propose a solution in English, sorry for being a funny foreign woman”. I should at this point mention that she speaks very comprehensible Dutch. Dear mother went on to propose that we pay whatever it would cost for the short 2 hours we’d been there, followed by a donation to a charity amounting to a full day’s worth of parking. While her intentions were in character and noble, this of course isn’t practical. The guy’s face appeared symptomatic of an aneurysm, as he blurted “You know what, just pay €9 and go home, please.” On the drive home, my mother left me with the advice that “the Dutch will give up on any cause if you act foreign and silly.” I tried this on the train the very next Friday, when I decided to take a first-class seat because cattle-class (aka, second class) was completely full. Upon checking our tickets, my girlfriend and I simply responded with “Oh, sorry, we’re silly foreign tourists, we have no idea how trains work.” The conductor left, mumbling some remark like “Damn French people”. Whatever, I’ll take it, and I’m not even French.

Powered by ! Town & Gown 6 November @ Newton (room TBA): Utrecht in Dialogue: Sharing the City, Event which aims to start a dialogue between UCU students and the rest of Utrecht on important questions considering the city.

Every wednesday at 19:30 @ Podium Oost: Free Sahaja Yoga Meditation, Every week Podium Oost will be hosting a continued yoga meditation course with only a voluntary donation to pay!

5 November @ Uithof: Doing Gender: Lecture by Ramy Aly, Ramy Aly (American University in Cairo) will be giving a “Doing Gender” Lecture on Epistemological Unruliness and Theoretical Cannibalism: Queer Theory and Racial Performativity.

Every second wednesday of the month @ Hofman Cafe: Utrecht Lacht, Try-Out: Comedy Night, In this reoccuring event, four experienced comedians come to try out their set material for upcoming theatre shows, guaranteed laughs!

Every last wednesday of the month @ Parnassos Cultuurcentrum: U Jazz Cross Over Jam, TAn open podium for advanced amateurs and semi-professional jazz musicians to play, this week Vogel Verbrugge Verbond, a local duo will perform.

2 to 4 November @ various bars around Utrecht: Streekbierfestival, Try out beers at over 50 participating restaurants and bars in Utrecht and expand your knowledge of town and local beers.

Follow us on Snapchat and keep up with campus happenings, and occassionally when we dare burst the bubble, happenings outside of campus too!

REMINDER: Tuesday, October 30 at 20:00, Locke C. Writers’ meeting for the Boomerang: November edition. Come by with your article ideas, or just for a chat. Drinks and snacks provided!

The Boomerang | October2018

QUAD QUERIES g in h t t s ie r a c s e h t “What is campus?”

“Drowning in the quad” – Janneke

“Mice”

– Vivian

“Locke’s collapsing ceiling” –Yamuna

“The bar b

athr – Ambre oom”

ugh the nar“Cycling thro the gate” row gap in – Rhiannon

“Maarten Diederix sleeping under your bed. Haven’t you heard the saying? “sleep tight and don’t let maarten diederix bite”

– Gideon

“Fear of m

– Tama, S

uzanne, F

issing out

enna, Ann

!”

“People”

a & Laura

– Ali

“Forgetting to take a shower before my 11 AM on Friday ” – Viktor

“I’m not s

cared of a – Silja

nything”

“Patricia Canning” – Lotte

“Only knowing 33% of the people cause i’m a third year”

– Feline

“Say your major and one fun fact about yourself”

“The Lock

e doors”

– Ellie

–Jamie

With support from