Summer 2021

The

Boomerang Summer 2021

A Long Rant for a Long Year

by Sam de Visser

Illustration

So three years ago, I graduated high school.

As a person with a working hippocampus, I remember this day quite clearly; the ceremony, moment when you have to show up on that stage to get praise heaped upon even though you’d rather not (but it still strokes your ego, so it’s kind of nice anyway). And although the Dutch schooling system allowed me to have a pretty easy time, I still remember feeling an immense sense of accomplishment. Suddenly, something as vague and abstract as graduating high school, the place I had spent the bulk of the last six years coming and going to, the place I had made many of my friends, would be coming to an end.

And even though I claimed not to care, I ended up feeling quite proud anyway. I guess that’s the psychomony has person.

on

and their UCU careers. All they got was a lousy online graduation. Man, I remember thinking, at least next year around this time covid will no longer be a thing.

Now it’s next year around this time, and covid is still a thing. In fact, covid has been a pretty massive thing throughout the entirety of our to the experience of last year’s graduating class.

At least they got a taste of what it’s like to actu-

“But it didn’t, because of covid” has beenthe mantra of my, and I’m sure lots of others’ experiences these last three semesters. It ended up cheating us out of half our UCU experiences. A school that claims to thrive on its social environof these things. UCU did anything but thrive, and now we sit here, the Class of 2021, graduating, feeling nothing. Or at least—I think I feel nothing. Because my graduation feels unearned, abrupt and unsatisfying. My last year has taken place near-exclusively online the window about the fall semester, as I’m sure it did for many others); crashing Teams apps and awkward virtual meetings were all that sustained it.

a

High school has taught me that no matter how little you can pretend to care, graduating is always something to look forward to, because it brings closure. That big,

"Man, I remember thinking, at least next year around this time covid will no longer be a thing" Last year, around graduation time, I remember feeling weird. We had the strangest semester we all thought we’d ever have—a semester that went online midway through, a semester that was marked by the onset of a pandemic, a semester that was so riddled with uncertainty and anxiety that the phrase ‘unprecedented times’ still sends a shiver down my spine. I also remember feeling kind of bad for all my friends that were third years, who got

ally feel burnt out from UCU. Because I, for one, cannot get over the fact that I’m a third year who is still longing for a night at the bar. That should not be a thing—the natural stopping mechanism that is ‘getting burnt out from UCU social life’ should have happened, should have allowed me to grow up and move on from this cursed place.

But it didn’t, because of covid.

The Theatre of Dreams

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Reality Bit Of Screwdriver Rattles

might be awkward and cringe, but it still brings something. But now I can’t help but feel a little lost.

The ceremony has been transformed into a few PowerPoint slides, some sappy speeches with a Zoom framerate of 12; my friends will leave, some of whom I’ll never see again, I’ll be homeless by the end of June, and that’s that. (I promise I will get to the optimistic bit soon.)

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On the Sexual Assault Protest

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The Boomerang | Summer 2021

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"A school that claims to thrive on its social environment and commuwithout any of these things" I want to mention this is nobody’s fault.

Of course UCU cannot organise an illegal grand ceremony with hundreds of people, and of course they are doing the best they can. The sad reality is simply the result of a virus fucking us up, and you can hardly blame a virus. If anything, I’d blame the Dutch government for taking six months to vaccinate 18 million people while the US (the US!!) can vaccinate 338 million of them in around four. And I’m also over blaming people who go to parties; yeah, it’s a dick move, but at least they’re having fun, you know?

Look, this article is an unfettered rant, I fully admit that. It is hypocritical, because I claim to not care about any of this graduating business and yet somehow I am writing this article; it lacks any sort of nuance, mostly because I haven’t been in a very nuanced mood lately and it’s 3AM as I type this; it’s deeply rooted in privilege,

because at least I am graduating my bachelor’s at a good-ish school and now have a university diploma. But our class is allowed to rant, just like last year’s class was allowed to rant, and just like next year's class will probably be allowed to rant.

This situation simply sucks, man, and there’s no shame in complaining about it.

And no, it’s not all doom and gloom—I, and I’m sure many others as well, have made friends for life, deepened connections during this virus lockdown, and was still able to enjoy the vast majority of my time at UCU despite all the bullshit, of which there was a lot. I’ve learned a lot both academically and personally as I’m sure many of you have as well. But my point is that we are equally as allowed to complain as we should realise our relative privilege here at UCU. Complaining is healthy, and at least in my case, writing this article has helped me deal with my own feelings of anxiety and negativity over this weird, abrupt, soulless Zoom graduation.

So here we are. Titans of the Zoom class. We accomplished great things! Some of us may continue to do so! We are still graduating, pandemic or no, and that is something we should

probably celebrate despite the fact that there is us to do so. So yes, you are fully in your right to complain. It’s healthy after all, and things still article is a middle ground between unfettered gushy happiness and a disturbing 5AM rant I wrote a few weeks ago. Middle grounds are spineless and lame, I know. But oh well. Happy graduation, kings!

"It’s not all doom and gloom—I, and I’m sure many others as well, have made friends for life, deepened connections during this virus lockdown, and was still able to enjoy the vast majority of my time at UCU despite all the bullshit, of which there was a lot"

The Theatre of Dreams

by Senan Cullinane abeu. Legendary arenas renowned for their legendary atmospheres. But yet, not one of them can compare to campus’ Theatre of Dreams, our very own Paradise, De Kuip of UCU. I refer, of course, to the hallowed turf of the campus cheesegrater football pitch.

Under the conservatorship of the Futbolistas messenger chat for the past several years, the UCU campus pitch is unique in its power to draw almost daily games with 10+ players. All it takes tags later, there’s a full lineup. We still managed to have regular games throughout the pandemic, something that I think kept me and others sane, and it’s probably one of the only places in the world where this was possible. There’s a strange but strong little community built around the campus pitch, and it’s a key part of general life on campus. And let me tell you, it's pleasant to be a part of - I’ve made some great friends on the pitch and I’d say it’s the location on campus where I’ve spent the most time, which probably tells you something about my academics. When I

meeting people and making friends. Communities form quickly around sport, and the one we’ve

formed on the pitch and within Futbolistas is fun and inclusive. There’s always plenty of shit to be chatted about in the group chat, especially when PSG (often) lose, and it’s populated by over 100 people of all sorts. Whether you’re good at football or not, if you’re from UCU or not, regardless of gender, or even if you’ve already graduated, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is welcome for a cheeky game of football. It’s even where I met most of the Primus lads - the pitch is our favourite recruitment ground (gotta make sure we can beat Equites each year).

"Whether you’re good at football or not, if you’re from UCU or not, regardless of gender, or even if you’ve already graduated, it doesn’t matter" Don’t get me wrong, it’s actually a pretty

couldn’t play for a few months, but it was still good craic to come and sit on the sideline with my joint, spectate and shout nonsense at the just as much in the group chat when not playing.

It’s beyond just a football group chat or showing up to kick a ball - it's a community, and for many of us it’s been a key part of life at UCU. Even outside of football, the pitch is still one of the best, most multi-purpose spots around. handball (and baseball if you’re the group of four middle aged men who come). You can pop in the tennis net and play a few sets, unless you get and during the colder days it even found itself as a snow playground. Beyond sport, there are yet more purposes for this esteemed ground!

an absolute cheesegrater that's been banjaxing ankles and knees since ‘98, despite the fact that it destroys balls and boots in a matter of days, and

at the introweek bike fair, recently we’ve even seen it’s potential as a party venue, and if you’re ABP you can also draw chalk all over the already invisible lines and not clean it!

that only work for an hour at a time, the football pitch is a special part of our campus. Even when injured, or not playing, it’s nice to pop by the pitch at game time. Last semester, I injured my ankle (incidentally on the campus pitch) and

The campus pitch is more than just that - it’s an integral part of UCU. My one request for campus relocation is that our Theatre of Dreams (and damages) is airlifted out and stays with UCU to continue the legacy.

A University College Student Association Magazine

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BUBBLE Academic Ableism and Me: Being Dyslexic in Higher Education by Loïs van Albada Disclaimer: I am aware the UC Student Council has been working on creating visibility for those with disabilities on campus via focus groups. This article is in no way meant to diminish the work they have put in, rather it is an attempt to illuminate the struggles students with (learning) disabilities, such as dyslexia, face at UCU. Dyslexia is like driving on an empty highway without your glasses on. You can kind of tell that there’s a path to follow, crash barriers to avoid easy enough. The issue is you also need to take A learning disability entails that the certain abilities used for learning are impacted. In dyslexia the abilities impacted are related to reading

The attitude towards dyslexia that I have experienced at UCU too has been abhorrent. In my second year I took a course of which I was unable to read the book. This was due to a combination of a bad font for dyslexic people and minimal line spacing. After class I approached my professor to ask if there was perhaps an audio book available, as a test was coming up and I wished to study properly for it. The professor proceeded to tell me they had had many dyslexic students in their class before, and how this had never been an issue, and how strange it was for me to bring it up. They told me the test was only 5% of my grade, and that I should just try reading and studying like all other students in the class were doing. The test was then printed in the same font I told them I could not read. I am choosing to assume not all professors will be familiar

"Academia is irrevocably ableist, as it thrives on ignorance and tells those with disabilities to strive for being exactly like those without" primary school, two high schools, and UCU. 25% of schools do little else than give dyslexic students extra time, three out of four of the schools I attended (so 75%) did just this. UCU is one of those three schools. Upon arrival at UCU I spoke was granted a dyslexia agreement. According to this agreement I have the right to 33% extra time on tests, which equals 35 extra minutes, and extensions can be granted on teacher’s discretion and with support from my tutor, just like for any other student. This is the bare minimum of what universities can do to aid dyslexic students.

This is me barreling down the highway without glasses and 35 minutes extra. The time pressure is reduced, sure, but I still can’t see the crash barriers or which exit to take. 35 extra minutes are not going to make me not dyslexic, nor do they compensate for it.

Well, no correlation between dyslexia and IQ has ever been found. So, people with dyslexia are not regard to IQ and so intelligence. In terms of the aid needed, not too much is required. Awareness surrounding dyslexia in teachers and especially management would be appreciated, but if no training or workshops can be given then it would be nice at least to listen to dyslexic students when they raise an issue. Besides extra time, an easy aid to provide dyslexic students with is Beeline Reader. Beeline Reader can be downloaded on a laptop and can transform any font both on pdf and on websites into the dyslexia font which makes the endless piles of readings a bit easier to get through. The only thing is that it is a paid service.

"In terms of the aid needed, not too much is required"

42% of Dutch citizens obtain a bachelor’s degree but only 25% of people with dyslexia do the same. That is, 25% of people with dyslexia enroll in college, the amount that graduate is presumably lower.

Which brings us to the crux of this article: academia is irrevocably ableist, as it thrives on ignorance and tells those with disabilities to strive for being exactly like those without. udice against people who have disabilities, the belief that they are inferior to those non-disabled. To limit the scope of my statement a little, and to make it more tangible, I will be speaking on ableism within UCU as a representative part of this larger issue. I will also be speaking only of dyslexia, not other disabilities, as I have dyslexia and have experienced ableism on UCU regarding

with dyslexia. They require so much aid that they

But maybe management is unaware of these aids. Dyslexic students should take the initiative if they want extra help. They have been. I have been. Management was emailed about providing Beeline Reader to dyslexic students not once or

with what exactly dyslexia entails and that this professor was ignorant rather than ableist. If they were indeed ignorant then this issue has not been aided by UCU Management’s attitude with regard to informing their employees either through workshops or infographics that show in which ways they can help disabled students, which points toward structural ableism. If these workshops are already held, then they employed and have continued to employ an ableist professor, which points toward structural ableism once more.

have not provided anything. I approached my tutor about the language requirement and how I feared it would mess up my GPA (it did) and I was told nothing could be done. I approached a I could not read and not only was my learning disability invalidated, I was also told to just read the book anyway. We have been taking the initiative, we just have not been listened to.

"Management was emailed about providing Beeline Reader to dyslexic students not once or twice, but on

Then there is the matter of the language requireLanguage and Culture course in a language that is not the student’s native language no later than semester 4”. No exception was made for any of the dyslexic students I know at UCU, I have asked, and if there is a way to get an exception this was never communicated to me despite me asking. It is not impossible for a student with dyslexia to learn a foreign language, but it is very, very hard. Word retrieval, speed information processing and short-term memory are areas impacted by dyslexia and areas necessary for quickly picking up a foreign language. UCU semesters are 15 weeks and would thus require students to learn a foreign language very, very quickly. Once again we are speeding down the highway without glasses, and yes we have 35 minutes extra, but we don’t get the time to read Because this language requirement is graded, and this grade counts for our GPA. The fact that this is not being taken into account once more shows how UCU wants students with dyslexia to

UCU is ableist. Management either does not

requirement that will almost certainly negatively impact those students’ GPAs, and when attention is brought to possibilities to aid students with dyslexia, this goes ignored. UCU is one of the 25% of universities that allows dyslexic students only extra time and then calls it a day. Gives themselves a pat on the shoulder and believes to have done a good job. UCU as an institution is an extreme example of how exactly academia can be, and is, ableist due to ignorance. They place you in a car on the highway without your glasses on, give you 35 extra minutes to get to your destination, and when you complain and spell out how they can actually help, UCU will only focus on the spelling mistakes in your email.

Illustration © Akari Sakamoto

dyslexia to recognize, spell and decode words then this is for people without dyslexia. 10% of the global population has dyslexia: that’s 700 million people worldwide.

be like ‘normal’ students, or at least does not wish or care to properly take disabilities into account.

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The Boomerang | Summer 2021

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by Stanley Ward Perhaps it’s escapism for an earlier time, or just faux nostalgia induced by my required reading list featuring David Foster Wallace, Chris Kraus, Ethan Hawke smoking cigarettes, and also the segue into the main body of this article. Reality Bites opens with a typical generation X graduation speech from charismatic valedictorian Lelaina (played by Ryder) roasting the 80-hour work week and their parent’s obsessions with BMWs and sports sneakers. Very 90s zeitgeist of solipsistic bohemians not getting jobs, being surprised about this fact, and in true 90s fashion, But this trope of graduates realising a degree isn’t necessarily the golden ticket to success is a bit overplayed.

"Covid has taught us that best laid plans often go awry, and the security we know is fragile and should be enjoyed and relished rather than ironicised" It feels like our generation expects the inverse; everyone knows a degree does not lead you

not that naïve. And we’re more realistic – with many of us shouldering considerable amounts of student debt, and (for anyone making the jump to Amsterdam, or any other major city) ridiculous amounts of rent, it feels like most of us would be happy enough with somewhere to live, and a way to get paid. If anything, Covid has taught us that best laid plans often go awry, and the security we know is fragile and should be enjoyed and relished rather than ironicised.

With Reality Bites’ gen Xers now the people who our graduating classes’ valedictorian speech will dismiss the middle-class creature comforts in the same way. It’s always dangerous to try and paint a picture of a generation, as such a reducbehind the conceit there may be a kind of truth: the class of 2021 is pretty realistic, and no-one is gonna be able to pull a fast one on us.

Irony feels like a hallmark of the decade of Seinfeld, and I think it’s fair to say that whilst we can still see Ethan Hawke as a smouldering and grungy antihero, we’re much less ironic. As pointed out by John Baskin in the New Yorker, our generation is being shaped by completely unironic momentous social movements. He uses the recent Black Lives Matter protests as

an example, but you could also include environmental movements such as Extinction Rebellion as examples of unironic and sincere cultural movements that focus on the collective, rather than the more self-conscious and introspective David Foster Wallaces of the 90s and Charlie stories about what it means to be a person, these stories often tend to be about what it means to be a white man. Whilst as a white man, this is perfect and relatable, it might be for the best to have a less solipsistic cultural landscape.

"Our generation is being shaped by completely unironic momentous social movements" So where does this leave us? We exist with the paradox of high hopes for social justice whilst being (hopefully) educated enough to know that achieving such justice is going to be an uphill struggle. Some of us believe we can change the world, but don’t believe we’ll ever own our homes – if that’s even something that’s important anymore. So where do we sit as the generation with high hopes and low expectations? To quote the end of Winona’s valedictorian speech, I don’t know.

Simonabike: Life on Two Wheels

by Simon Alvarez Belon

a moment to rejoice on the last three years on this beautiful campus. This often prompts reminiscent speeches about the experiences we have all shared (which to be frank, given the broad composition of our student body don’t go beyond James Kennedy’s introweek speeches where he talk of late-night voltaire sessions, disastrous bar nights, and arduous crossings of the pebbled quad, these speeches forget to mention a key yet unappreciated - element that has shaped all of our lives in our time at UCU: Utrecht’s bike lanes. *cue eye-rolls from my friends* Look, I know that coming from someone whose only personality trait besides having facial hair is liking bikes, this seems redundant. Nonetheless, I genuinely think that the experience of being on a bike is one that connects all of us at UCU*. Think about it, from day 1 of intro-week, having a bike proved essential if you were to truly make the most of our wonderful city! And so, I’m sure that throughout the past three years

there are some things we have all experienced whilst on two wheels. Hopefully, reminiscing on these times brings some appreciation to the privilege it is to have such a wonderful city to cycle in.

Let’s start at the beginning. What better way to be initiated to Utrecht’s bustling cycling ecosystem than the exhilaration of navigating your way back to campus with your introweek sibling on the back of your bike after the pub-crawl? I mean who hasn’t experienced the elated, almost out-of-body experience of hopping on your rusty and faithful old Gazelle after a few-too-many beers to enjoy sweeping through the streets at speeds unimthe alcohol on your lower limbs. Or the utter in their true element: biking, whilst carrying a crate of beer, with an umbrella in one hand, and the hand of their ’schatje’ in the other?! We can’t forget the often unappreciated comfort of knowing you can hop on your bike for a last minute run to Culture Boat or Gall en Gall on a Thursday night, or the revitalizing joy of bathing in the last golden sun rays as you bike back from the Krommerijn after enjoying a day of bathing in the bacteria-infested waters.

Illustration © Summer Gadd

The end of my UCU career is slowly creeping into view and so, my goal of having written for the Boomerang before graduating brings me before my keyboard in a last-minute attempt at having some material evidence that I was a contributing member of the UCU community. For all

Of course, it’s not always fun and games. We’ve all gotten soaked to the bone on a dreadful Jumbo run in search for some garlic bread, or had a puncture on your way to an important meeting. Most of us will have probably gone mad desperately looking for our bike in Utrecht Central’s massive parking space and some will have probably gotten their ride stolen once or twice (only to replace it for a 10$ bike purchased by some sketchy dude on Voorstraat, thereby participating in the circular market of stolen bikes).. But nonetheless, we cycle on: because it’s fun, convenient, and free.

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A University College Student Association Magazine

Some of us might have been determined enough fully embraced the Dutch spirit and learned how to bike while simultaneously carrying another by your side. Some of us might still look like tourists awkwardly navigating Utrecht’s city center on top of a saddle, but no matter how good you’ve gotten at riding your steed, Utrecht’s state-ofthe-art bicycle infrastructure has had your back and allowed you to carelessly roam the streets.

What this all goes to show how much the space we live in matters in how it can liberate us by making possibilities available, or alternatively how it can constrict us by closing certain doors.

"Utrecht’s state-of-the-art bicycle infrastructure has had your back and allowed you to carelessly roam the streets" To me, an urban planning nerd who has never had the chance to live in such a well-designed city, during these last three years I have been in constant awe of the lengths to which the City’s government goes to make Utrecht a more human-centered city, allowing it to pride itself for being at the forefront of urban planning. I corners of the world, some of us will carry with

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us an appreciation for the transformative potential of well-designed public space. You can be sure that whichever place I end up in, I’ll be reminiscing about Utrecht’s bike lanes.

*I do want to acknowledge that cycling can be inaccessible to those with mobility impairments, and that it would be able-ist and ignorant to assume that Utrecht’s bike lanes serve everyone equally. However, safe cycling infrastructure and hopefully everyone reading this has had a chance to ride in some way or another down Utrecht’s red pavement.

Kromhout Kazerne Ground Invasion

by Stanley Ward

Friends, Students, countrymen, lend me your ears. Your faithful correspondent recently visited our next-door neighbors at the military base on a reconnaissance mission for potential territorial expansion. As many of us know, our own campus is to be sold in 2025, and so a replacement is needed. As the Kromhout Kazerne is next door, it would be a convenient location, and the existing security measures theft at UCU. In this mission report, I’ll outline potential tactics for acquiring the base.

Upon arriving at the base, myself and my second in command Arnoud Roelfsema were greeted by Air Force Luitenant Kolonel Robbert may be hostile to the imminent UCU takeover of the base, but his incredibly friendly manner lent us to believe he could be a very useful ally. him, who is also currently working in administration, he could be the perfect replacement of our current housemaster – think the John Wick version of our own Marteen Diedrix.

We began our mission by handing in our passports at the reception to verify our identities, after which we received access passes and began reconnaissance. It was unusual to see my own balcony from inside the base, but the novelty didn’t distract me from the valuable intel Robbert was providing us with. It turns out that the military activity is more than just guns and bombs –joint support command is housed in building K2 of the barracks, which is responsible for (among many other things) healthcare for veteran and civilian employees. The military has its own healthcare system, including doctors, dentists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The latter of which Robbert tells us are extremely important, especially for veterans who can encounter problems with what they’ve seen or done as part of the job.

There is something unusual about seeing inside the administration of a military base – we could have been inside any (rather nice)

seemed normal, every so often I was reminded that the very existence of this place is inherently complicated. When walking in front of sits in the barrack’s green leafy space. Designed by an Israeli artist, bronze bullets are attached is not lost on your correspondent, the information booklet for the most recent open monument day tells us that the sculpture is representative of the cycle of war and peace. Like the sculpture, the existence and the activities of our neighbors work in peacetime, but have to be constantly preparing in case (using Robbert’s own words) the shit hits the fan. Whilst at UC, we spend our days proposing academic theoretical solutions and international policy, we are right next door to the mechanism by which some of these things are actually done. As aesthetically pleasing as the statue’s arcs are from a distance, the bullets remind us that at the end of the day, past all the administration and support, the military exists kill. The need for mental health support shows us that in this process, soldiers see things that are unimaginable to most of us, and any students of history can tell you that military action often has grave human costs. we gathered a substantial amount of information, we are limited by space) it is time to talk tactics. On the roof of the old bombproof guardhouse, we discussed military spending cuts – whilst the UN recommends that around 2% of GDP should be allocated to defense, the Netherlands currently only allocates around 1.4%.

Whilst this is a source of anxiety for Robbert and other military personal, with Robbert telling us that “we have boats in the water, and boats in the air, but can we do a good job if the shit hits the fan? I don’t think so” for UCU, this could D66 propositions for the military to do more work with other countries in the EU and have more military integration, a strategy began to form. If we turn UCU into a formidable political machine, and unite rather than divide, with our collective rhetorical skills and knowledge

the Dutch parliament with Groenlinks, Bij1, and D66 representatives. Then we can drastically reduce military spending to such an extent that we can acquire the Kromhout Kazerne at a budget price and get a shiny new campus. The much like UCU, it also has facilities to house and feed employees, so I assume the transition will be seamless. This is the kind of blue sky thinking that’s been lacking at the UU (but the imminent academic coup d’état of our University overlords is a topic for another report – but they will not get away with selling the city centre library).

Another potential strategy is also very in-line with UCU thinking. I say it’s time to use environmentalism as a weapon. Apparently UCU is becoming a Zoöp or something (I haven’t noticed apply these hippy ideals to get something done.

When inside the old bombproof guardhouse, we learned that whilst the building is resistant to the best weapons of the 1845 arms race, like the past year and a half, one bat can fuck the whole thing up. Whilst the beautiful and unique interior of the guardhouse was supposed to be available to hire for reception functions, a bat made its home there, and so due to environmental regulations, the guardhouse had to be left empty. Therefore, the amount of space we can claim is directly related to the amount of bats we can acquire and convince to live in various buildings in the Kromhout Kazerne. As a Zoöp (a place where we’re working with nature and exist within the bat-controlled compound. As we all know, environmentalism is at its best when we’re exploiting the situation.

I think that concludes our report, and now I’m back on UCU soil, I’ll be watching over the military base from my Kromhout balcony anticipating their next move.

The Boomerang would like to thank Luitenant Kolonel Robbert Dankers and Senior Communicatieadviseur Claudia van Hoek for setting up our meeting, and making time to talk to us and show us round their workplace.

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The Boomerang | Summer 2021

Of Screwdriver Rattles and Epistemic Battles

by Gina Meimann

my sociology professor said that sociologists often measure education levels by how many books are in somebody’s house, in which case my family would have received the low a corner somewhere”. While I’ve gotten a lot more aware of these things, I still feel a little twitch whenever somebody makes supposedly innocent comments about non-acamore to our housemaster than I do to many of my professors.

Every once in a while I try to not only talk about how oh-so-oppressed I am, but mention how much I love being at my dad’s and seeing how popular and famous he is in his 1000 soul strong town. Sometimes, when I can't sleep at night, I re-read his Google reviews for the millionth time: "honest, competent and truly the only mechanic that I trust". I want to talk more about how my mom has listened to me ramble on about Foucault and Gramsci to an extent at which she now refers to both of them as “Gina’s prison guys”. When she asked me why we should listen to Gramsci if he was in prison, she quickly responded to herself: "oh, right, because everything is a prison!" And maybe next time I see you, I will tell you the story of how my mom and her friends turned my town from christian conservative to social democrat run because the CDU’s candidate was rude to their secretary friend. These women thus did more political organizing than most UCU students. ground publicly was in my gender and sexuality course, talking about intersectionality and how I struggle to call out my dad for mansplaining, since I would simultaneously be educated-splaining gender to him.

Now, some critical theory lectures narratives about what the nature of university even is if not educated -splaining persevering.

Illustration © Noor Hofs

(Please read the pretentious title in an but rather by a painfully and unambiguously ironic tone of voice.) vertical hierarchy. Not a hierarchy by association, but by its very nature. My culture was Every single soul on this campus has indu- never , but instead necessarily bitably heard me utter the words “My dad less than. And the thing is a car mechanic” with as little or as much that shocks me is that I didn’t even grow up context as I please at that given moment. For poor by any means. I can somehow (although most of my life, it was the most natural thing to have my childhood memories largely not grow up economically poor, (although consist of un- and re- screwing screws into notably not particularly wealthy either) but random spare parts or jumping around in instead socially and culturally "poor". This is between oil puddles at my dad’s shop. I only by no means to say that I have it harder than people who grew up poor. That is simply and I felt like everyone else spent their child- untrue. Rather, my sense of discomfort at hood in museums, music classes or science UCU shows how deeply class is entrenched fairs - although the latter might just be my in our structures and even if this is the last wildest conclusions from watching too many place where we want to admit it, this is espeAmerican TV shows. When I was in elemen- cially the case in our systems of education. tary school, my dad once accidentally half- I can, quite literally feel class wherever I go dropped a literal motor on me. These days around here. we joke that this somehow changed my brain structure and made me into a genius, "to this day I feel like I registered a faint inspired by these urban legends of people suddenly speaking new languages after around the room" being hit by a baseball.

I felt class when I applied to UWC a couple While this might sound like a silly child- of years ago and lied (well, told semi-truths) hood story, it runs deeper than that. Ever about my parents’ jobs so that I would since I got accepted into a Gymnasium after have better chances of getting in - my car getting straight As through elementary mechanic dad was suddenly a small busischool, the origin of my supposed intelligence ness owner (not technically untrue). I was has always been a medium-sized elephant missing the context that being more honest in the room with myths ranking from the about my parents’ job actually would have stork delivering the wrong baby when I was made them much more forgiving of the fact that I was pretty much the only one at the I got older. Yet, these conversations always selection weekend who had never heard of ended in everyone agreeing that there is MUN. Ironically, this lie might have been no doubt I am my father’s child - we carry what made me not become an IB student in the exact same stupid sense of humor, we the end, which is now the kind of student generate an endless stream of mess wherever that I so desperately do not want to be associated with. habit of sighing very loudly after we take a sip of any given drink (to the dismay of every single soul around us). Despite all of this, I UCU was when I was invited for a dinner spent my time at UCU entirely disconnected from my parents, feeling I could no longer who innocently asked me who I thought was relate to them: their class, their tastes, their the most relevant contemporary German politics. author. Neither did I know what the word contemporary meant, nor did I think that Now, my story might be somewhat next to somehow surviving High School, I relatable to you if we think of class as a was also supposed to read contemporary culture. What I experienced when coming here can best be described as culture shock. they did not say anything, to this day I feel Except that this culture is not (in any way that like I registered a faint “Then what are you my uneducated ass would grasp anyways) Because class always somehow mysteriously

A University College Student Association Magazine

BUBBLE

Oh You're a 3rd Year? Tell Us About Your Thesis!

Maud de Valk

Lotte de Boer

What is the best time of day to take them druggies?

What are all the ways our parents can fuck us up during our childhood? There are many...

Van Doorne et al.

(Woodrow) WILSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON - Tom Hanks (cast away, 200)

Anna Korevaar Basically I’m testing to what extent we tend to follow group social norms that we dont necessarily believe in, and what factors determine the strength of that susceptibility #sheeple

Willem Grootoonk

Loïs van Albada

(not) sustainable our UCU campus is because all current data is loose and kinda random, and nobody knows what is going on in this place regarding the topic.

men bad because society, monsters maybe? also david foster wallace to prove i’m a good literature major

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The Boomerang | Summer 2021

WORLD

Palestine: The Hidden History by Rafaella Karadsheh Over the course of a week, 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, in comparison to 10 Israelis killed by Hamas airstrikes, as reported by the Guardian. Considering Israel has been deploying some of the world’s most advanced defense technology to target civilians who have no access to bomb shelters (according to the BBC), it comes to no surprise that a the number of Palestinians killed in the span of three days is greater than the number of Israelis killed by rockets in the past 10 years.

But I want to write this article to let you know that the violence and blatant violation of human rights that has occured isn’t an isolated incident.

This is not ‘self defence’. This is a direct result of settler colonialism, a result of a nation whose policies constitute crimes of apartheid, according to the Human Rights Watch. Here is the (brief) history behind it all. I want to mention that my information is collected from peer reviewed papers, published academic books, and news websites (feel free to contact me if you’d like them). I also want to add that there is only so much history I can cover in this article, and media does not cover.

bibliography, is “an ongoing system of power that perpetuates the genocide and repression of indigenous peoples and cultures.” It’s also a system that “normalises the continuous settler occupation, exploiting lands and resources to which indigenous peoples have genealogical relationships.” Zionism refers to the “resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”

It is worth noting that notable Zionist thinkers, including Ze’ev Jabotinsky, have acknowledged that Zionism is a colonial project, which would require physical force should Arabs refuse to accept Zionism. That being said, Zionism is NOT equivalent to Judaism -- not all Jews are Zionists. A number of Jewish organisations are actively calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, and If Not Now. In 1947, the United Nations recommended the partition of Palestine. While this was accepted

by Zionist Jewish leaders, Palestinian Arab leaders and Arab states (reasonably) opposed this. This was expected by many Zionist leaders, as Vladimir Jabotinsky wrote, “It is utterly

impossible to obtain the voluntary consent of the Palestine Arabs for converting "Palestine" from an Arab country into a country with a Jewish majority.”

"A number of Jewish organisations are actively calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, and If Not Now" An expulsion campaign began: Zionist militias violently overpowered Palestinians. Over 750,000 Palestinians were left displaced, and oughly 400-600 Palestinian villages destroyed and erased. This came to be referred to as Al Nakba (the Catastrophe in Arab), which is commemorated on May 15th this year.

The details of Al-Nakba are not easily accessible to the public, and violent actions, like the Deir Yassin Massacre, remain heavily censored.

Some information about it can be found online, with an article published in Haaretz uncovered some details of the massacre. At least 107 Palestinian Arabs were killed by Zionist militas, many of whom were children. A former militant explained that the bodies of dead Palestinians were piled up and burned. “There began to be a stink,” he said.

Al-Nakba isn’t a thing of the past -- Palestinians continue to be subjected to extreme violence, and illegal settlements continue to force families out of their homes. In the past 73 years, Palestinians have continuously had their rights violated and taken away from them. Expansion of illegal settlements displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, leaving them stateless and unable to return to Palestine.

The separation wall built along the West Bank was declared a violation of human rights by the UN. Military checkpoints have become a daily ritual for millions of Palestinians, who are stopped and denied entry for basic needs like medical care and attending school. A UNICEF report found that over 7000 Palestinian children had been interrogated, detained, or imprisoned in the Israeli military justice system, between 2003 and 2013. These prisoners rarely receive substantial food for survival, thus placing a them with food. It is worth noting that an estimated 31% of Palestinians in the West Bank are

unemployed, and 29.2% of Palestinians in Gaza are living below the poverty line.

Israel continues to restrict Palestinians’ access to basic necessities. Although you may be led to believe that Gaza is strictly controlled by Hamas, Israel exercises strict external control of the region. In other words, they control who and what goes in and out of the region: residents have restricted access to clean water, and emergency relief supplies to Gaza have been blocked by the Israeli government. Medical care is scarce, and a few days ago the city’s only COVID treatment and testing centre was bombed. It really isn’t Gaza an ‘open air prison’. since the occupation of 1948 and 1967 on many fronts. Two civil uprisings occurred in the late 20th/early 21st century. Multiple civil liberation groups, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), many of Karl Marx. More recently, the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) gained popularity, which was used against the apartheid state of South Africa. While BDS was globally supported when used against the apartheid in South Africa, companies and individuals in Western countries following BDS against Israel were subjected to harsh criticism and government sanctions.

"To me, liberation means I can go home."

We spend our time at UCU talking about decolonisation, and how colonialism is a ‘thing of the past’, when in reality, it really isn’t. I’d even argue that decolonisation has been romanticised -- the violence and bloodshed that are needed to achieve liberation is rarely addressed. So remember when you’re looking at the violence emerging in Palestine, that the ‘two sides of the story’ and ‘complex history’ are used to deter you from the reality at hand: Palestine has been under occupation for several decades, and it’s deserve. As a third generation displaced Palestinian told me, “To me, liberation means I can go home.”

Dearest Campus, As this academic year draws to a close, many of our soon-to-be graduates face an uncertain world. One thing that is to be certain is that the Boomerang will continue to put out editions, and next year this campus staple will be headed by Giulia, who will take over my position as Editor-in-chief. Hopefully next semester will see the return of Boomerang board members attempting to force our latest editions physically into the hands of students rushing to class, in a world in which human contact is no longer dangerous. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this paper, and I would like to thank everyone who has been part of the Boomerang this year. I hope it continues long after we are forgotten.

For the last time, Yours always, Stanley Ward

A University College Student Association Magazine

CULTURE

9

The Art of Frolicking

by Giulia Martinez-Brenner I don’t remember precisely when I stopped playing with my sisters. There must have been a last time, which of course you don’t know then and there. Like how there was an instant when your parents put you down and never picked you up again. There is a distinct point in time that could mark these moments, but in memory changes become hazy and gradual. My younger sisters continued without me. At the beginning they still pleaded with me to join their games, learned to not waste their breath, and I was left alone, without regret. I had more important things on my mind than silly distractions. The world was turning sober, and things needed to be treated accordingly. I suddenly wanted everything to be serious; people had to be serious for me to respect them, for something to be of importance it had to be heavy.

We would wrap ourselves in my mother’s scarves to create ball gowns. One of my personal favourites was to put a rope across the top of my head - fashionably secured in place with a bright blue swimming cap - because I was convinced it looked like two long braids. We would run,

this attitude trickled down, as it always does. My youngest sister was left to play on her own or with friends, until the day came she stopped too.

As a new member in the stage of solemnity, I was realizing how meaningful everything was. I learnt about responsibility and accountability, how all actions matter. Things were so thickly ings engrained in the ways of our world could do justice to the weight of our troubles, I had to respond to humourlessness with the same.

Now, this path can then lead to many places. I may have ended up a bit of a cynic. Once you see how serious and important things are from up close, you need to take a step back for a breather.

And if you take enough of those steps, you also ingful and intense, but it’s also just a ridiculous little dance if you look at it from far enough away. I’m not entirely sure how to hold both of these thoughts in my mind.

and ships, round and around the apartment I now know was actually so small.

friends. We skipped, frolicked, danced in the dunes, with or without music. We gathered and the forest, because for some reason, throwing sticks really hit the spot. Or we just ran, not for exercise, or urgency, just because it felt good. It felt great. It wasn’t like playing board games, or kind of playing didn’t necessarily have an intention, or a structure. It was being playful. It was seeing immensity in the smallest things, like in a dead branch, but an immensity that could be joyfully laughed at. It was understanding that this may all be just a game, but this game is still all we have.

And it had been so long since I’d felt playful. A habit abandoned, replaced with ways I presumed to be better, and fuelled by the fear of seeming immature or thoughtless if this wasn’t maintained.

Maybe frolicking is the way of balancing another way to respond to humourlessness is with humour. Or maybe once in a while you really just need a good scamper across sand.

Daniel’s Delectable Discussions

by Daniel Kamenkovitch Is UCU a Liberal Arts (LA) college? What does “liberal” even mean? The name of this educational style as we know it today has its origin in the septem artes liberales, which included the Trivium (Grammar, Dialectic, Rhetoric) and – as commonly established by A. M. S. Boethius (7th century A.D.) and later further advocated in court by Charlemagne (8/9th century A.D.) – the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy). These “liberal” disciplines have their origin in Ancient Greece (within the history of Europe, at least), where sciences and humanities would be practiced to “educate citizens” (only males, sadly). Education did not play the primary role of equipping an individual with knowledge, but ultimately it was to provide wisdom – i.e. a body of knowledge and experiassembly. Education’s ultimate goal or target was the collective, the polis.

The English word for “liberal” education use it was, in fact, Cicero (4th century B.C.).

Throughout this semester, I have come to under“liberal” education: (a) free of worries about interacting with the “polis” or city life, (b) freeing the mind by engaging in worldly as well

as personal knowledge, i.e. personal growth and echoing the Greek Know Thyself, and (c) the elective course system. Thinking about this led me to ask myself whether UCU follows a traditional liberal arts history, or whether it is part of a more new movement.

Well, what do we have? We do follow a Platonic tradition in being a gated campus away from the hustle and bustle of the main city centre, just like his Academy; although we do not necessarily require students to stay here for 50 years!

We have many extracurriculars, and a highly But the latter never was within a liberal arts tradition, at least not until Harvard President C. W. Eliot introduced some reforms in 1869. It is since then that we have this elective system for students, which we now take for granted. In the classical LA tradition, the focus was more on (a) the breadth, needed for the attainment of as well as (b) oneself; and (c) certain subjects paramount to the curriculum as a result of the previous two. At UCU, the latter one is, of course, not the case. UCU is a college for interdisciplinarity; although it does not truly require much breadth (in disciplines) from its students, it also does not prescribe a strict content-oriented syllabus. Content-related requirements

do arise at UCU; but most only from within the necessity to “major” in a particular department or subject to begin with seems to clash with the tradition of liberal education. Irving Babbitt, too, argued that specialization should not be rather, it is the building of a “gentleman’s” (or lady’s) attitude, having in mind a “positive focusing on building one’s own character. He refers to this approach as humane education.

After engaging with this topic this past semester, for me, a “liberal education” thus came to mean a span of three or even four years (original LA Harvard curriculums) where the about one’s academics, oneself and the world around oneself. Being forced to specialize early onward at our age I deem not all being “liberal”.

But tradition is one thing, and modernity has its spice. I came to UCU because I could do Psychology, Cog Neuro, Philosophy, Linguistics and Literature. What do you think? Within its arts, what is UCU’s “liberal”? What, to you, is “liberal arts”?

10 CULTURE

The Boomerang | Summer 2021

The Last Column Ever: an ode to UCU and

Illustration © Vivian Liang

the real world By Noor van Asseldonk Chen Writing your last column ever is hard. So, armed with a heavy case of writer’s block, I did the classic thing of turning to my friends and asking them what they might like to read.

Answers ranged from a guide to signing up with people to looking back on all the UCU-isms that I’ll have missed out on thanks to COVID. Nothing fully clicked and I wondered if there was anything I could write about that was a little more… well, me.

Nowadays, the only things I seem capable of thinking about as a soonto-be graduate are thesis, masters, internships, and whether wearing pants during online commencement is optional (seriously, who’s gonna know?). The idea of being done and dusted in two months makes me feel weird, almost like I blinked right around introweek, fell asleep, and have now awoken with The Real World looming ahead larger than ever. Corona robbed me of half my time at UCU, which means that things were cut short just as I was getting comfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I'm aware that I’m lucky to have expethe bar, crowded unit parties, hangover brunch at Dining Hall … I took a lot for granted.

Illustration © Anonymous

Living Deliciously ality of food really stood out to me. Of course, I've spent less time on cooking in previous years, which might be the main reason, but I like to think it's because I've gotten older. I don't necessarily like aging, but one of the little joys that comes with it - at least for now - is that I'm noticing that my understanding of the world around me is broadening still rather quickly. I thought I was a pretty well-informed teenager, but boy has there been a lot of growth in just the last three years! Which means that the time ahead will certainly hold little pockets of knowledge and skills for me to discover like presents along the way. You'll have to excuse me, I have to think this way to soften the

But all things considered, I’m glad I got to do so much in our little bubble, and many from the graduating class will no doubt agree. Sorry for being all sentimental... it comes with old age, you see. Looking forward feels awkward because there’s no telling if UCU will have prepared us for the real world. Sure, I can do a like capitalist neocolonialism in a sentence, but I have a feeling that the real lessons I’ve learnt at UCU lie elsewhere. Like how one unitmate gave me a perfect recipe for dumplings, or that time I realized some beliefs I held dear needed serious unlearning, or how I realized doing group projects that I can be both ‘the capable type A group member’ or ‘the dipshit that didn’t do anything’.

To quote Kylie Jenner, we’re all just like, realizing things. I’m grateful that UCU has given me the freedom to realize so much in so little time. While I’m still

But to some extent I also feel like the time is right. I am totally ready to leave other things, like Facebook beefs, awkward run-ins with people I’d rather avoid, and stinky drains, behind.

world, I have faith that all the little lessons and moments I’ve collected at UCU will ground me in future ventures. So long, and thanks for all the mice.

by Veere Boucher

blow of turning 21 this year…

Anyway, back to the seasons. The sun really is out longer each day! It’s almost frightening how time seems to go faster. I'm afraid I'm feeling the years pick up speed without actually noticing. Similarly, another new realization of mine has been discovering what foods grow when. Not that I didn't know before, but I was never fully aware. I could talk about my main diet being pumpkin, beans and sweet potato in fall, but that would take up vital space for discussing spring fruit and veg! Hasn't it been so exciting?

I've never 'gotten' the national asparagus hype. I never understood why there were hollandaise sauce stands in every supermarket, or why we were discussing this 'white gold' in white stick that my mom had spent too much work on. Tha is, until this spring. We got some nice thick asparagus* and made them into a

quiche with smoked chicken, thyme and goats cheese. It was incredible. Melt-in your-mouth it thrice. Unfortunately, the season is almost over and you will have little opportunity to recreate this little miracle of a dish. However, a new delicious plant is now ready for us to munch on: strawberries! Though you're seeing plenty of them in the stores, their real growing season is as limited as asparagus': from June till the end of July. There's a reason the Dutch call them 'zomerkoninkjes', or 'little summer one of the year again, which I wholeheartedly recommend. Do try to buy organic ones though!

Strawberries are not only the kings of summer, but also the kings of pesticides. They actually have up to six times the amount of harmful products on them compared to other produce, and on average, a Dutch strawberry has been Article continues on page 10

A University College Student Association Magazine

*If you are confused by 'asparagus' not beingplural: a 15 minute google search has taught me that neither 'asparagi' nor 'asparaguses' is correct, and that asparagus is in fact a mass noun, not unlike lettuce and rice. Don't shoot the messenger!

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Illustration © Anonymous

Yum? Oh well. I wish you all a delicious summer break with plenty of gorgeous, fresh, in-season produce!

CULTURE

Important Opinions on Important Movies

by Sam de Visser

Illustration © Layla Al Ammari

Let me start with the very basics—I love Ratatouille. It’s really funny, heartfelt, well-animated and incredibly atmospheric, even though it is about a rat who is also a chef, a concept that sounds kind of dumb. There is many a video essay out there that can explain how good this movie is in a much, much better way than me, but rest assured this movie is one of the greatest

But what I love the most about this movie is its message. I tend to denounce the ‘message’ of a movie, especially one that’s supposed to be a kids’ movie like Ratatouille; not because I hate children, but more because they tend to be quite heavy-handed and anything but subtle. And to be fair, Ratatouille’s message is quite heavyhanded and anything but subtle. I just really like it.

is terrible, but you enjoy it—who cares?

This is not the main philosophy of Ratatouille (which is probably “not anyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from for even touching upon this great notion, and

fact that this is also a really good, wholesome, Near the end of this movie, the evil movie critic guy, who hates everything and believes is it not? that artistry is a gift only bestowed upon the very elite of society, does a 180 after eating a titular ratatouille (prepared by aforementioned rat who is also a chef), which reminds him of his childhood. He then gives an incredibly powerful monologue on the nature of professional criticism that has no place at all in what’s supposed to be a kids’ movie. (That’s also partly what makes Ratatouille great—it’s somewhat aimed at children, but never dumbs itself down, and is genuinely heartfelt while many other movies are not.)

movie presents Paris in a better light than even Amélie, and Paris the real-life city could only This monologue is really good, and you can wish it was half as sick as the Paris in this movie.

Also, the music is amazing! And the vibes! And tions with good reason. But there’s one line in the voice acting! I really like this movie and I there that really stands out to me, although you normally don’t hear it quoted that often: “the but it’s just great! bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so”. I love this line because it sums up why people who tend to dismiss others’ taste in movies (or art, books, etc.) are the literal worst.

The quality of something does

Either way, it’s been a pleasure writing mediocre movie columns these last two years. I truly hope I’ve inspired some of you to watch some of these movies, some of which you no doubt have seen already, some of which you may never have heard of. And no matter what happens, keep in mind that the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than any criticism designating it so. Keep enjoying what you’re enjoying.

I’m done rambling for now—hope you had fun reading these.

Illustration © Layla Al Ammari

writing it about Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007).

Is that a basic choice? Yes. Am I a zoomer and therefore somehow contractually obligated to write about this movie? Yes! Is it a great movie?

Yes! Wow, what optimism in these dark days!

But to be honest, my reasons for picking this as the last movie I will ever write about (in my entire life, ever) go a little deeper than just ‘it’s really good and I love it’. But I will have to spoil this movie a bit, so if you somehow care about spoilers for a widely loved, very popular movie that is fourteen years old, consider this your spoiler warning.

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The

The Boomerang | Summer 2021

Blackout Summer 2021

On the Sexual Assault Protest

by Anonymous As you may have noticed, the topic of sexual forms on campus recently: a petition trying to change the complaints procedure at the UU, various conversations started by UCSA candidates during campaign season, UCU confessions, an email from our new dean, and most recently, a protest on the quad, organized by the Enactus board ‘Emperiod’. Within a day, messages of a protest on the quad were spread over various forms of social media, and hopes were raised for an impactful event, daring to open up the constructive conversation of sexual assault and its impacts on our campus and its inhabitants. I’m unsure what the main expectations were for those who intended to attend, but I doubt they much resembled the actual events that took place.

Depending on the time of day protestors decided to attend, the general vibes seemed were met by a friend group of girls discussing some party, and only when they realized they had company, paused to explain the idea of pinning a ribbon to the sheet and writing either your name or a message to ‘the people who have been sexually assaulted’. Those who checked out the protest later in the day encountered a larger gathering, consisting mainly of frat boys and sorority girls watching as you were invited to pin either a blue ribbon (out of support) or purple ribbon (if you yourself have been a victim of sexual assault) to the now slightly more crowded sheet.

Now, before I go into any further detail as to how this protest missed the mark for some students, especially those who have been impacted by sexual assault, I want to stress that I genuinely do not think this protest was organized with anything other than good intent. As I mentioned before, the organizers may have noticed the topic of sexual assault taking up more space in casual conversation than usual, period poverty and empowering those who experience periods, as per their Instagram, that they wanted to organize an event in which the topic was a focal point. As the events of the day unfolded, however, many aspects proved to be more harmful than helpful for those meant to feel empowered through the good will of the organizers.

The question remains whether the events of that day, which lead to a lingering sense of unease for some protest attendees, could have been foreseen, if not prevented. For one, (un) intentionally choosing a mattress cover as the

focal point of your protest against sexual assault on campus is at best an unfortunate accident, at worst, an incredibly inappropriate and triggering statement.

Regardless of the availability of a large surface of fabric in the days leading up to this, the weight attached to using and interacting with a part of a bed in this kind of protest should not be placed on anyone who participates. Previous protests against sexual assault that featured ered and thought-out in their impact, while also soliciting response and either way, meaning to have a lasting impact on attendees. Take for example Columbia alumna Emma Sulkowicz, who subjected herself to the weight of her dorm room mattress wherever she went on campus as an analogy to the weight she was forced to carry as a sexual assault victim. Was the choice to use the mattress cover at the Emperiod protest similarly intended to shock and impact students in tandem with the idea of ‘creating a safe space’ ?

A safe space for exactly those students triggered by such a direct allusion to the event at the basis of their lasting trauma? Tracing this into the future, no student, regardless of their personal experiences with sexual assault, should have to be confronted with a mattress cover, loaded with this weight and connotations to sexual assault, study session in dining hall. There are other, safer ways in which the conversation can be kept going apart from the current plan of hanging it up in a public building, as an Emperiod member mentioned in a Facebook post on UCU students.

Another important issue to discuss is the ribbons. No mention was made in any social media announcement before the protest that there would be blue ribbons for support and purple ribbons for actual victims. At the protest itself it was also not consistently mentioned.

Imagine putting a purple ribbon next to your name while not being a sexual assault victim.

The other way around is just as harmful, where a sexual assault victim puts down a blue ribbon, and perhaps later on feels guilty about not standing up to their assaulter, or alongside those meanings had been disclosed beforehand, what was the intention behind giving this choice in the outcomes of a scenario in which there are no bystanders, the real situation forced protestors to make a choice on what they felt comfortable disclosing to all of campus. As one can imagine,

this proved to be extremely triggering as a victim of sexual assault.

After making their way through the onlooking crowd, protestors were met by a couple of frat guys, boasting about how they are in talks on ‘bettering themselves’ in becoming more ‘aware and informed’ on sexual assault. The fact that fraternities are taking steps in recognizing their responsibilities with regards to sexual assault is not a bad thing! However, some members publicly (and loudly) vocalizing this in what is supposed to be a safe place for victims, comes across more as saving face, and making a situation about you. It is a full 180 from some of them publicly socializing with and hugging known perpetrators, leaving doubts as to what their actual stance on assault on campus is. Do they understand how openly continuing to associate with known perpetrators of sexual assault sends message that they don’t care about them, and that they will continue to choose the perpetrator over them? Choosing the perpetrator over the victim has been a reoccurring trend also seen at College Hall, of course.

This article is truly not intended as an anonymous attack towards the organizers of the protest (or fraternities, for that matter). The message I hope you take away from this is to carefully consider your decisions when organizing events such as this one. Ask yourself exactly why you want to get involved in topics like this. Educate yourself on the subject matter. Consider choices that may seem small and unimportant, as the impacts they may have on others can be much larger than you can predict. If they’re comfortable, speak to those for whom the topic has had a larger impact on their lives, if you haven’t could improve on your idea. Instead of taking the foreground in discussions such as these, maybe allow them more space on the platform you create for yourself, and let them say their bit to avoid your message getting lost in translation.

Most importantly, set the necessary boundaries to make sure that those you’re organizing your event for do not feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unwelcome. Lastly, set a clear goal to the event: if attendees know what you’re aiming to achieve, wondering whether this was a self-promotion event.

A University College Student Association Magazine

BLACKOUT

Response From the Organizers of the Protest

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Dear author and campus, We would like to apologize for our protest unintentionally hurting or triggering people. Our purpose was to show support to the victims on campus, that they are being heard and that many are open for conversation and want to see consequences. Additionally, it was also targeted towards the college administration to show how important the issue is to the student body. We wanted to create a space where people felt heard and tried to start a conversation between students and the administration. We were very happy with the support of the student body and grateful for those who shared their stories with us. Therefore, it was painful to hear that we unintentionally triggered and would like to apologize for it. In the future we will incorporate more perspectives, vices and details at our next events. As a group of girls who work on improving the stance of women in society, the sexual assault discussion was something very close to our hearts. as a promotion for our project and therefore did not mention the project during the protest. We emphasized that this day would only be about our support for the victims and our hopes for change on campus by students and the administration.

As mentioned the article of course hit us very hard, as the protest and the positive responses were very dear to our hearts but of course we understand the criticism and want to learn from it. In the future we would prefer to receive feedback privately but we of course understand that it is a sensitive topic and therefore the writer has good reasons to not contact us directly. We would therefore like to invite anyone who has any other concerns, criticism, or improvements to contact us either personally or through the QR code given here, which will be anonymous.

Warm regards, Anna, Claire, Inés and Sophie

Why Graduation Speeches are Lame

by Kocs 2898 Like almost every other educational institution, UCU has a tradition of students giving speeches at the Commencement Ceremony.

These speeches often carry inspirational or meaningful messages, helping parents tear up or causing classmates to hug one another after the speech is given. Now, before all of you start going gushy and imagine wearing your gown, we have to acknowledge that these speeches are useless, forceful, and quite often, boring and corny. There are so many reasons why these speeches tend to be abhorrent, but let me tell you about the ones that make me want to puke my guts out.

invoke this sentiment that we all want to pretend to exist. "now as surprising as it sounds, a lot of us are not going to end the climate crisis or abolish capitalism" Next up is the great ways and life paths that we will all supposedly travel. Now as surprising as it sounds, a lot of us are not going to end the climate crisis or abolish capitalism.

people generally despising each other for seemingly no reason"

Illustration © Tara Sitindjak

I think speech-givers almost feel the pressure to say something glorious about life after this byre, but you can also change the world low-key. We will grow up and do great things, but not all of us may end up having a dedicated Wikipedia page.

"I really thought I would not graduate in peace without gratuitously thanking every single peer of mine who has ever granted my midnight cuddle requests"

"this last year and a half has been nothing but a merry time of intense polarization, Facebook

For sure, there will be mentions of the ‘community’, which is interesting, considering the fact that this last year and a half has been nothing but a merry time of intense polarization, Facebook people generally despising each other for seemingly no reason.

We really disappointed each other in these last few semesters, but also showed everyone (even the police, yes) that there is not much solidarity or sense of responsibility towards each other here. When we have failed to be a community other than the fact that we exchange spices over UCU students, I think it is unreal and phony that these speeches will

speeches are sometimes promising a little too much, making our parents think we are ready to pay taxes, even leaving some of us with a feeling of anxiety.

"we will grow up and do great things, but not all of us may end up having a dedicated Wikipedia page" It is kind to encourage others and to say something nice related to the future, but these

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this article. It is clear that this message, from me to you, this thank you, will come across perfectly and will serve you as you have apparently served me throughout my years at this institution. I really thought I would not graduate in peace without gratuitously thanking every single peer of mine who has ever granted my midnight cuddle requests. I truly, TRULY could not have done this without you. Thank you for enrolling in UCU.

14 BLACKOUT

The Boomerang | Summer 2021

My Friend was Accused of Sexual Assault

by Anonymous

I remember exactly when and where I was vine casually, like normal matter-of-fact gossip.

“X said that Y sexually assaulted them.” I remember how I froze up. Thinking I must have misheard, thinking surely they’re not referring to my friend Y, no way. “That’s what everyone’s saying. Apparently-” Things went a bit fuzzy when the details came in and I remember feeling slightly sick. I excused myself and went to throw up in the bathroom. "there I was, the piece of shit friend of the piece of shit assaulter, unable to fully believe the rumours" I didn’t know what to do after that. I tried to do research, but nothing I read was of any help.

Hey Google, what do you do when your friend’s been accused of sexual assault? After a few days of sitting on it, I decided I had to confront my friend Y. We met up and I blurted things out, a ramble of everything I had heard. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen, maybe for them to react with immediate guilt? Shame?

Fear? For them to acknowledge something? The last thing I expected was the mangled expression of shock and confusion. They had no idea what I was referring to. “Sure, X and I didn’t have the most conventional arrangements, but we’ve always been civil with each other… I don’t know where this is coming from?” Y and I talked for hours, hashing over details and trying to understand how what I heard might have happened.

We went over what-ifs and hypotheticals, only to end up exhausted, frustrated, and worried. I didn’t tell my friend this, but I knew that they could be pushy when drunk. I knew that they could be tactless at times, but sexual assault..?

I felt dirty after our talk. I’d read enough articles, news items, and Instagram infographics to know that in these situations you’re always supposed to support the victim, but there I was, the piece of shit friend of the piece of shit assaulter, unable to fully believe the rumours.

I still didn’t know what to do. Talking with my friend seemed to make things worse, as nothing was really cleared up. I wanted to hate my friend, but I found it hard to reconcile what I heard with the person I thought I knew. I sat on it some more and wondered if I ought to reach out to X as well. I was losing sleep over this whole thing and I wanted to cross-check the facts. It X a message anyway. X agreed to meet up and we awkwardly got to talking. X was surprisingly open about what happened and I was determined to do this thing right, with #MeToo slogans like ‘always believe survivors’ and ‘never silence survivors’ still fresh in my mind. X’s side of the story ended up checking out with bits of what Y and I had talked about as well as some of the rumours. X was hurt and angry. While they didn’t think Y was an inherently bad person, the damage had been done. It was hard to sit through that conversation because as much as I listened to and supported X, I was painfully aware of how hard it was to suppress my gut feeling of still wanting to protect and defend my friend. Looking back now, I’m not sure if I managed that conversation appropriately, but I’m still glad it happened.

"I was determined to do this thing right, with #MeToo slogans like ‘always believe survivors’ and ‘never silence survivors’ still fresh in my mind" I will never know exactly what happened between X and Y, I can only accept that the truth is somewhere in between. Despite my friend genuinely believing their actions were misunderstood, they still committed an act of sexual violence that ended up hurting someone else.

We can talk all day about how sexual misconduct is a complicated issue, how there are always two sides to every story, and how each

I think that the discomfort in confronting individuals is still a culturally novel but necessary part of restructuring how we deal with sexual misconduct. My friend has since shown genuine remorse regarding what happened and makes a point of educating themselves, but it’s still hard to accept that even the people closest to you are capable of doing bad things. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about whether I could stay friends with someone who did something bad, and am heard the rumour. I still love and support my friend because I feel like what happened does not represent who they are as a person, but I also hold them accountable for what they did.

When something like this happens so close to home, you no longer have the privilege of not having to talk or engage with the issue. "it’s not as simple as an animation I think back to the introweek sexual misconduct workshop we all did and can’t help but feel a little cheated. I realize now that it’s not as simple as an animation comparing consent interactive discussions, so that they can be both empowered and educated on the nuances of healthy sexual relations. Sex-ed doesn’t stop after learning how a condom works in year 6, nor should higher education institutions shy away from including sex-ed resources and guidance as a part of the mandatory curriculum (especially on a residential campus like ours). sexual misconduct policy, but I can’t help but wish it had happened sooner for X and Y. I’m glad more people are coming forward with their stories, but it's sobering to realize how much still needs to be done.

A University College Student Association Magazine

QUAD QUERIES

15

iss "What will you m out the most/least ab UCU?"

e sun the quad in th on ts in jo g in ty smok “Miss most: ass after a hef am Friday cl 11 r fo p u g akin Miss least: w Senan Thursday" –

“Will not miss: essays which I will the forget the whole content of afte r I handed them in!”–Mar en

“Miss most: the barrrr e catchphrases" Miss least - picking up cring

“nothing for both”

when it’s on the quad er n in d is most so much " what ill miss ast is paying le s is m l il at d wh - Loïs sunny out an lling apart" fa is at th it n rent for a u

“Kanker Stan”

– Aysu

– Arnoud

"most: the random

interactions w ith people on perhaps it wou ld be nice to no t be part of a cu lt" - W

campus - least:

illem

16

The Boomerang | Summer 2021

QUAD QUERIES iss "What will you m out the most/least ab UCU?"

“what i will miss the mos

m Least missed: Sa m Most missed: Sa

Sams - all your favorite

what I will miss at

t - housing securit y least - living with Equi”

– Gana

“To both: The Bo

omerang (jk)”

- Stanley

most

“I’ll miss the bar and boomerang the faella cracy” – Ra Will not miss UCU bureau vendies and m o h e one o th g only n close t i v g a n i h e iss sb g to m na mis “i'm gon ines, and not goint :/” – Georgie ch le nal toi ing ma functio

“Miss

the mo st: UCS A and i miss th ts comm e least: ittees, cleanin g sched u - Max les”

THE BOOMERANG BOARD Stanley Ward | Editor-in-Chief Giulia Martinez-Brenner | Managing Editor Ivan Ryan | Executive Editor Sam de Visser | Executive Editor Noor Hofs | Layout Manager Art Director Senan Cullinane | PR Manager

Boomerang uses wind energy printers The Boomerang is a periodical newspaper.

It comes out eight times a year.

This is the eighth issue of the academic year.