March 2018

The

Boomerang March 2018

MORE JULIAN GOENÉS, FEWER MENNO BEEKMANS

by Menno Beekman

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ecently I’ve read a number of papers about gender imbalances in the workplace, especially amongst the top board positions. Although there is still a lot of room for improvement, it seems there has been a significant increase in equality in the past few decades. Especially in the Netherlands, a country that takes pride in its progressive policies with respect to gender equality. But how does the situation compare to student life on campus? I like to think quite a large chunk of student social life at UCU is organized through the UCSA, mainly run by the UCSA Board and by the committees. Though I’ve never considered gender imbalances to be a problem in any of these boards, I decided to check it out.

three male secretaries compared to seventeen female secretaries.

As the UCSA Board consists of elected positions, it’s difficult to draw any conclusions without looking at the candidates.

Looking into the causes could start an interesting discussion but would be purely hypothetical at this point. Is there just such a big difference between the number of guys and girls applying for the different positions? Or do we, UCSA members voting at Election GA’s, (subconsciously) tend to vote for male chairs and female secretaries?

Committee boards Continuing this train of thought, I turned to a much bigger pool of currently active students by looking at our committees. Right now, committee board members on campus almost exactly reflect the gender ratio we have in campus as a whole. There are 127

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male bosses with women as their personal assistants

female committee board members and 60 male committee board members.* Within boards, there is significantly less balance though. There are 22 committees that have either one guy or no guys at all. Far fewer committees are dominated by guys and there is only one committee that doesn’t have any girls in the board.

The UCSA board UCU has existed for twenty years, so there have been twenty UCSA Boards. In total, there have been 58 girls and 50 guys; slightly more balanced than the gender ratio on campus overall. Also, if we look at individual board years, the years are quite balanced usually. Of the twenty UCSA boards there have been so far, there have only been two cases where there was only one guy/girl in the board and there was one case where the board consisted of only girls. All other seventeen UCSA Boards had at least two guys and two girls.

If we again look specifically at committee chairs and secretaries**, we find the chair position to be much better represented by girls. There are currently 21 female chairs compared to 17 male chairs; well-balanced. However, the secretary position is again almost entirely dominated by girls: 33 female to 5 male secretaries. What could cause this big difference?

Within committees, new chairs often get chosen from amongst the remaining board members, whereas secretaries usually apply for the position.

This could support the idea that the cause of the imbalance with these positions

Much more of a divide exists in two specific positions: chair and secretary. Over the past twenty years, there have only been four female chairs compared to sixteen male chairs. The position of secretary has an even more extreme divide: there have only been

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Cover Illustration ©Amu Endo

in this edition…

• What UCU Students Eat • Boy Dies, Media Blames Grindr

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• Bar Brawl – Pets on Campus

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• The UCU East Africa Programme

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lies more with finding female applicants for the chair position and male applicants for the secretary position. It seems when people move around within a board they would be more open to different positions, whereas they might still feel a certain stigma when applying for a position in a board they are not already a part of.

We need both Though the statistics show quite significant imbalances, especially for specific positions, we can only speculate what causes this.

There are way more factors that play a role, yet the differences when looking at gender are striking. Personally, I think a balanced board is important to the functioning of committees. As a famous quote reads: “men and women are equal, not identical.” Variety in a board - in all aspects, including gender

- brings together different strengths, opinions and perspectives, bringing with it more healthy discussions that will (hopefully) result in optimal outcomes.

It looks like we’re more old-fashioned than we think we are. We like to think UCU is a very progressive community, and in some aspects we most certainly are, yet there still seems to be a gender divide present. The division within the UCSA Boards and current committee boards isn’t too far from the old-school idea of male bosses with women as their personal assistants. Of course, in the end it’s all about the individuals in the board and how they work together. It would be foolish to make any irrational generalizations. The most important requirements for a successful board always lie in the competence of the board members, not in their gender.

Vote Election season is upon us. The next few weeks, we’ll be voting on new boards for CAR, ASC and UCSA. I encourage everyone considering running to really think about what position you think suits you best and not be (subconsciously) influenced by any gender stigma, which may or may not still exist at UCU, or worry about which position will grant you the highest chances of winning. Then we can judge the subjects of the title of this article by their competence and not by their gender. And if we do that, there’s only one possible answer: yes, we do want more Julian Goené’s. Concerning the other one, that’s up to you. * People in multiple boards were also counted multiple times. ** Some committees don’t have secretaries; here treasurers were chosen.

Man, It seems like we’ve finally made it. Just the other day I was walking along the quad when a friend excitedly pointed into the air.

A flock of birds was swooshing across the sky. Some first brave pioneering little flowers dare to stick their fragile heads out of the earth, and the Dutch seem to have collectively decided that it’s time to sit outside. The world is waking up again. The best indicator of the coming spring however is this tentative itch in my nose and eyes which announces that certain grasses and trees are getting horny and ready to procreate.

What’s to blame for this completely useless play of nature? Like many conditions, genetics play a fundamental role. The predisposition to allergies can be related to an unfortunate set of genes. Bad luck, nothing you can do about that, right? Well that might change soon enough. Oh, and along the way we might find cures for cancer, eradicate hereditary conditions, create superbacteria with the capacity to wipe out humankind, and along the way revive eugenics with engineered humans.

This sounds like science fiction, but trust me, it’s not. It all boils down to one single invention: CRISPR-Cas9. First successfully applied in 2013, CRISPR is a method with which scientists can knock out any gene of an organism and replace with a gene of choice, even if the replacement comes from a completely different species. While this was somewhat possible before, CRISPR has made it exponentially cheaper and more precise. We can make rabbits that glow in the dark by giving them jellyfish genes. We’ve cured grown rats of HIV. We’ve developed the capacity to eradicate entire species by introducing infertility genes. Little stops us from engineering a new plague bacterium to which our evolved immune response is useless, or letting rich parents pay for babies with better genes. In short, humans can now transcend the rules of evolution that have determined the history of life on earth. We are playing god.

What nuclear physicists were for the 20th century, biotechnologists will be for the 21st. The nuclear era might be followed by the era of genetic engineering. And yet, the social sciences and humanities pay comparably little attention. While it is expected of scientists to know about social and philosophical issues, social science and humanities students are often content with a meek “ugh, I don’t get science anyway”, sometimes followed an assertive “yeah, I don’t buy GMO products, they’re really bad”. This is dangerous.

Only with a good grasp of scientific advancements in these departments will we be able to find legal, political, and ethical answers to the most pertinent issues of today. Let’s introduce scientific teaching all throughout the departments. It’ll come in handy.

Not yet genetically modifiedly yours,

Clemens Schally Editor-in-Chief

WHAT DO UCU STUDENTS LIKE TO EAT? by Vedika Luthra

T

he UCU community is inundated with all kinds of stereotypes.

Stereotypes about living habits, about study habits, drinking habits, sleeping habits, and of course, food habits. Supposedly, the staple student diet comprises of pasta, bread and take-out food.

I would also think that at our age we tend to consume excessive amounts of chips, burgers and other junk foods.

I love food. I’ve been told I’m a little crazy in that regard. So naturally, I’m curious about what other people eat. When I go to friends

for dinner, I’m always in awe by what we cook together, or by what I’m served. I thought maybe it was a coincidence that the people around me had such good taste because they didn’t live up to those general stereotypes. So I decided to do a little research to see what UCU students really eat.

I asked 36 people a few questions about their eating preferences.

I was, first off, curious to know what their number one grocery item was. 40% of the people surveyed named a fruit or vegetable,

A University College Student Association Magazine

BUBBLE including zucchini, avocados and nectarines - bananas were the most frequently listed fruit. Other popular items included bread (duh) and hummus. Some people also noted rice cakes, fresh juice, and soy sauce. All in all, the items people named were relatively healthy. My next question - an item that they couldn’t live without. The most popular foods listed were hummus (20%) and peanut butter (16%). Other items included various fruits and veggies, bagels, gouda cheese, Cruesli, Custard Cakejes – a mix. Several people listed pasta, but it wasn’t necessarily the most popular choice.

I also wanted to know about real meals – so I asked people about their breakfast, lunch and dinner staples.

For breakfast, 40% of people chose either cereal or muesli with milk/yogurt and fruit. Other popular options were eggs, smoothies, toasty/bread with jam/peanut butter.

The most unconventional (yet delicious) choices were: french toast, or rice with natto (fermented soybeans) and raw egg.

Lunch and dinner were a little more varied, ranging from fancy to semi-fancy to typical. For lunch, people seem to like their bread: 50% selected some sort of sandwich, such as burgers, a chicken panini, a toasty or a hummus sandwich. Ramen was also a relatively popular item (11%). Other foods that were put forth included salads, pasta, Pita Vega at Chris’s, ramen, or sprouts and potatoes with halloumi.

For dinner, 22% of people preferred pasta. One participant mentioned that he liked to add olives and goat’s cheese to his pesto pasta. Another preferred theirs with spinach, salmon and ricotta (yum) – pretty Illustration © Idalina Lehtonen

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impressive for a stereotype. 17% said curry for dinner. Other cool options included: veggie lasagna, tajine and stir-frys. I also asked people about their dessert preferences, because you know, fancy ways of eating sugar. Although mentions included lava cake, kwarktaart and chia seed pudding, and a lot of people listed chocolate, dessert is not too much of a priority at UCU. Given the healthier options listed in some over the previous questions, it appears that UCU students eat pretty well.

Next, I was curious about what people like to eat when they feel fancy. The answers here were varied and pretty impressive. Risotto was a popular choice, so was curry, and salmon. People also mentioned: cannelloni, beetroot carpaccio, mashed potatoes with grilled chicken and salad, pumpkin salad, AH meal packages, Curry Laksa, dishes with truffle oil, and steak.

Lastly, I asked people’s favorite dish to make was. The most popular answer was pancakes (savory, with bacon and cheese, and sweet). Other answers included chilli con carne, shepherd’s pie, spaghetti bolognese, chicken burgers, pumpkin soup with cream, tajine, fruit crumble, Japanese food, shawarma with sweet potato and open fire cooking.

If there’s anything you can take away from this survey: 1. It appears that pasta isn’t necessarily the most identifiable food choice for UCU students, although it’s definitely popular.

2. Cultural diversity plays an important role in crafting people’s food preferences here.

3. UCU students eat fairly healthy.

4. People at UCU get pretty fancy with their food, and that’s pretty great.

CASUAL SEXISM:

MAKING A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL?by Florine Kist Last year, in preparation for the Career Conference, the ASC and UCSA boards were asked to help out during the event. When they received the schedule of the their tasks, however, their initial willingness quickly turned into reluctance and frustration.

who helped with the schedule joyfully walked into the office full of displeased faces, Ella asked him if he had seen the list. He had, but Ella had to emphasize once more that they were divided in this way: the guys network, the girls serve food. At first he didn’t see the problem but after the girls explained to him that they felt as if the division of tasks was sexist, he apologized straight away and told them they surely did not mean it that way.

For this annual event, companies are invited to give workshops and talks, after which there’s a borrel where the students get the opportunity to socialize and network with the representatives of each company. Two tasks were assigned to the ASC and UCSA board members, namely serving food and networking. After I tell you that the frustration was caused by the division of tasks being based on gender, I’ll let you guess which group got which position.

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the guys network, I interviewed former ASC AAO Ella Shields. the girls serve food.

She mimics the baffled look she had when she first saw the list of tasks. She tells me how angry and shocked she and the other female ASC board members were when they first heard that they had to serve food, while their male colleagues could network. When their fellow board member Illustration © Lotte Schuengel

The board member’s apology was appreciated, yet the board still wanted to get things straight with one of the teachers in charge of the schedule.

When they tried to address this issue, the teacher responded rather dismissively, says Ella.

He said not to have done this on purpose: it was randomly assigned. Not the type we learn in statistics, though, but the type in which whoever you think of first gets assigned to the first condition. Strangely, this means that they didn’t think of (continued)

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the female chair first, who does most of the work with the College Council, a body that this particular teacher was part of. The teacher felt sorry but said he couldn’t change the division anymore, because that would be too harsh for the guys who had already set their minds on networking. And weren’t they just making a mountain out of a molehill?

However, convinced that they weren’t, the girls decided to be the bigger person and still perform their task, which - as it turned out - could have easily been executed by one person, for it was a buffet. Luckily, the guys found the distribution of tasks unfair too, so together with the girls they decided to split the time networking and serving food.

All’s well that ends well, you’d say. Well, what if the guys wouldn’t

have thought that switching positions was the decent thing to do?

Then, the girls would have performed some idle task - while probably staring at the male board members improving their career opportunities - just because their complaint had not been taken seriously. We don’t have to hold this teacher accountable for making the division, just like we don’t have to criticize the male board member for not noticing what this division meant straight away. The big difference, however, is that after hearing about this stereotypical and unequal division, the guys tried to change the situation for the better, whereas the teacher was reluctant to do so.

This year, another unconscious gender-stereotype might just occur. I hope that if people again are brave enough to address such issues, their complaints will not be trivialised.

PETS ON CAMPUS? FURRY WARM COMPANY

by Saskia Vrensen

M

y unitmate and I adopted a stray cat for a couple of days last semester. We named him Kimpie and he escaped when we took him outside to do his business. But those 48 hours were the sweetest moments I have ever spent in my bed. Sad, I know. I wish I could relive those memories with a more permanent companion, without breaking campus regulations. Even besides being furry, warm company when we feel lonely, pets on campus could be a positive addition to the lives of many UCU students.

I am also skeptical as to how much disturbance, say, a goldfish might really cause.

While we might have moved out of our childhood homes, living on campus doesn’t really force us to take much responsibility for our needs. Everything we could need is within four minutes of our rooms; I’m pretty sure you can even buy milk at Dining Hall.

Yes, we may occasionally cook for ourselves, and I even get boring letters from my bank sometimes but I can guarantee that most of us are nowhere near ready for actual adult life. I think that pet ownership develops a sense of responsibility like nothing else, other than maybe a baby, and let’s not encourage teen pregnancy at UCU. Having to walk a dog or even feed a fish teaches young people how to care for another living thing, in turn developing their sense of responsibility and capability.

Furthermore, I believe that if an owner is, indeed, responsible, the potential negative repercussions of having a pet in a unit would be very minor. For example, if all of the individual’s unitmates agree to have the pet in the unit, it ensures that issues such as allergies or phobias are covered. Also, if, on close inspection, a room is as it was at the beginning of the year, then the pet must not have affected it much. I would expect that any damage from pets would be fined, however I am also skeptical as to how much disturbance, say, a goldfish in a bowl might really cause.

To conclude, I think that the damage or problems that pets may cause is minor compared to what they could provide; positivity, happiness and, most importantly to the administration, palpable improvement in responsibility levels. Who knows, maybe looking after a small rodent such as a mouse is strongly correlated to increased class attendance and on-time completion of assignments… we could even source the mice from our very own Kromhout! I’ll get back to you after I’ve done some research (off campus, of course).

40 TURDS IN VARIOUS STATES

by Maarten Diederix, UCU Housemaster

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bar brawl topic is all about convincing the other, by every means possible, that your truth is the truth. In this pets on campus case, my truth says it all, no battle here.

As a pet owner at home (a big hairy dog, a furry annoying cat, three UCSA turtles and a small ball of something called a marmot) I know all about obligations and responsibilities. To keep me and them happy I need dedication, perseverance and money. Three elements that are never combined in a unit on campus at the same time by any number of students, period.

After 19 years of watching a number of animals pass by on campus, whether owned by one student or by multiple, it never ceased to amaze me how the wow factor would die in days or weeks.

Certainly one or two would become dedicated but (remember the three points) something else would become more important, always. We all love examples, so here comes: 1. Almost all cats adopted would fluctuate massively in weight, kilo’s would be lost when they were left behind alone in the summer (read: dumped on campus.)

2. Last August, after accepting a much needed temp dog, a new incoming student mentioned that she was allergic and if the dog was staying, another unit was needed.

3. Despite a demand (and an attempt) for a crapless inside of a courtyard, a professional company was flown in to remove 40 turds in various states of reek and mold.

4. Many a discussion was held after a semester of hidden cat behavior, about not being responsible for the extra-large bill in relation to “scratching” damage.

5. The rescued turtles are a true sign of perseverance, they can survive for two months without food and evaporating water and still live to tell the tale.

6. The screaming sad cat locked up inside a bedroom for four months would have committed suicide if that had been part of its’ capabilities.

7. And no, a cat does not survive on coffee milk and mice alone.

For those left that are convinced that a cat is the only remedy against mice, then think again, whilst cleaning the unit and bringing the trash outside to the correct bin.

Illustrations © Lotte Schuengel

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THE ART OF DOING GOOD by Meike Eijsberg

o you have been thinking about how to make a significant positive impact on the world?”

This was the first sentence of the workshop’s advertisement, hosted by the Futures Centre called: “Towards A Meaningful Career.” As a student with little to no ideas about her future career, I was intrigued by this title and decided to attend.

Most of us want to make a difference. So, therefore, we donate to charity, buy Fairtrade coffee or take a well-meant gap year to help orphans. Rarely do we know if we’re really helping, and despite our best intentions, our actions can have ineffective – and sometimes downright harmful – outcomes.

This workshop intended to change that. It proceeded in three “simple” steps. 1) Happiness; 2) Effective Altruism; and 3) Career. The first part was introduced by the question: what makes you happy? UCstudios asked us the same question a while back, so some of you might have already answered, but think again (this time whilst you’re not intoxicated): what really makes you happy?

The most common answer is ‘other people.’ Study after study has shown that good social relationships are the strongest, most consistent predictor there is of a happy life. Even going so far as to call them a “necessary condition for happiness,” meaning that humans can’t actually be happy without them. Yet, a popular second

answer is ‘feeling fulfilled’ (e.g. having accomplished your goals).

Maybe you can already see where I’m going with this: why not combine them and make it your goal to bring happiness to other people’s lives?

As innocent and perhaps ignorant as this may sound, it is possible. But altruism, or being selfless, is a tricky concept. How do you decide what is good and what is not? And once you have, how do you make sure you’re effectively doing it? The answer lays in a combination of three factors: action, altruism, and evidence (the facts: is this really helpful?). Most people only pick two. For example, combine action and evidence, you have entrepreneurs. Choose evidence and altruism, you’re left with a bunch of armchair philosophers.

Action and altruism? Naïve hippies. You can only achieve effective altruism in the middle, but it is up to you to find it.

How do we apply this to our studies and career? As it turns out, there are many ways. You can directly help, by becoming a teacher or doctor, or perhaps even by working for a NGO. Another option is exerting influence through a medium, such as politics, science or promotion. Here, you can think of politicians or TV presenters, such as Oprah. Finally, you can earn to give. Good old Gates makes a great example: he earned millions, became the richest person in the world, but lost that title because he chose to give to charity.

Careers are still far away in our minds, leading many to ask: but what can I do now? Help out a friend, volunteer at a local elderly center, donate blood… Think big, but realize that it requires you to start small.

Illustration © Iris ten Have

I’M IN AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, AND I THINK IT’S ONLY FAIR IF I PASS IT ON TO YOU by Kyle Gardiner

O

n February 21st, our University College Student Association had a general assembly in order to approve any updates to the UCSA budget, as is customary at the beginning of the spring semester. Needless to say, there was a pathetic fallacy wherein the content of the GA was reflected in the winter night: cold, dry, and seemingly unending. As is customary for the UCSA budget GA at the beginning of the spring semester.

There was, however, a brief exchange that brought all the existential dread that had ever plagued me about attending a liberal arts college crashing down upon me in a powerful wave that I still haven’t quite recovered from.

At a seemingly innocuous moment, UCSA chair Menno Beekman briefly turned to talk about the Alumni Internship Program, one of the few tools by which UCU students are directly given access and opportunity to gain immeasurably valuable work experience (and one for which, during my campaign for ASC last year, I expressed concern that only 17 positions were available, to service a student body that was almost 800). As it turns out, perhaps I was optimistic to have been worried about a scarcity of opportunities. Menno remarked that around 80 applications were submitted to the AIP board. But mentioned off-hand they were in fact unsatisfied with them. Not with the quality of communication, but genuinely with the content of UCU students’ qualifications.

What is the point of the AIP? Is it an effort to connect current students to organizations with work done by alumni? Is it a convenient method by which UCU students can get necessary work expe-

rience? If so, do we have enough alumni to accomplish that goal well enough? In 2016, there were 10 spots, last year there were 17.

This year, there are 16. I reiterate, our alumni network is not large enough or closely connected enough for us to claim that this program by itself is an adequate structure by which we are providing UCU students with opportunities for experiential learning.

European undergraduate degrees are different than American ones; they aren’t always an end in itself from where students enter the workforce. By the time a North American student has their BA, a European one might already have a Masters. If that is the level of experience and expertise anticipated from entry-level workers in a European economy, it would seem that there is a separation between what is expected from an employee and what is expected from a bachelor’s student.

But if there is anyone whom we might hope would understand that, would it not be our own alumni? I operate on the premise that no single person besides your family might give you as much benefit of the doubt as a UCU alumni; that they would in fact be more understanding that your major was in three different departments and sounds made up. Are our own alumni not convinced in our own worth and potential? Until that moment at that UCSA budget GA at the beginning of the spring semester, I had assumed they were. I suppose we aren’t entitled to it, but if we can’t sell the idea of hiring a UCU student to the people who you would presume to be least skeptical of what a liberal arts degree here means, is that not the greatest blow the validity of our program could suffer?

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BUBBLE sweet svensations by Sven Bosma Your monthly dessert: a sweet little nugget of Sven’s brain.

“FUCK IT, THAT’S FAIR ENOUGH” The only reason I’m typing this out and not making a UCU-wide Public Service Announcement about the following is because the current climate on campus has (d)evolved into multiple people having to suppress urges to stab their friends with a spoon every time they hear the phrase “fair enough”. With that four-line opening sentence out of the way, I can confidently say that adopting the phrase “fuck it, fair enough”, or for legal and word count reasons, “fair enough” is life-changing.

This little nugget of advice to yourself solves most problems you have in most situations. It makes you take pause and question whether your friend accusing you of being a slight asshole has any truth to it. You quickly come to the conclusion, “Meh, he’s kinda right, I did take his last slice of cheese.”

Everyone needs this kind of reflection in their life. Try it. Next time someone (rightfully) points out that you messed up, instead of defending yourself or arguing the matter, just think or say “fair enough.” It’ll do two things. First, they will have the theoretical victory through technical verbal knock-out, but no satisfaction from it, which in the end, puts you at least at the level of a draw.

Nobody really enjoys bittersweet victory.

Second, you’ll find some personal peace of mind in this mini meditation retreat. It’s like that day before your final when you realise you’re either set for the exam, or so far astray that there’s hardly any point anyways. The brief moment of reflection decides

your course of action for the next couple of hours, the same way “fair enough” does: you either a) go full steam ahead with confidence that you’re right, in which case, good for you, or b) you’re going to realise you missed the proverbial bus anyways so might as well watch Netflix on your phone in a café while pretending to be up to date on anything outside of your immediate vicinity (which, for the record, is NOT what I’m doing right now.)

The final benefit of this new-found mantra is the simple reality that you don’t have to worry about too many things anymore. I’ve seen myself take a step back from most points of conflict and just admit “fair enough” to minor issues that aren’t worth arguing. As the tension starts to build around a civil matter of discussion, all you do is drop the good ol’ “fair enough” and you’ve defused the situation. You don’t need to worry about whether pizza with salami or pepperoni is better, it’s not worth the hassle. Apply this to higher-end discussions you have at Christmas dinner about the heavily debated immigration policy of Far-away-istan and you instantly don’t have to engage in something that’s not going to end well for anyone anyways. I’m quietly confident that “fair enough” could stop most wars from occurring.

But then again, what do I know? You probably think I’m just some idiot with a laptop, which is fair enough.

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“17 YEAR OLD BOY MEETS OLDER MAN ON GRINDR”

by Jarne van der Poel

R

ecently, I read a news report that deeply touched me. On the 18th of February, 17-year-old Orlando Boldewijn went missing.

The boy from Rotterdam had been on a date with someone he met on Grindr. Afterwards, his date dropped him off in the Ypenburg neighbourhood, from where Orlando would travel back home. He never arrived. His mobile phone and debit card had not been used.

A week later, on Sunday the 25th of February, the police sent out a so-called Vermist Kind Alert (Missing Child Alert), but this was to no avail: Orlando’s body was found in a canal in The Hague the next day.

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invoking associations between gay men and the death of a young boy is misguided

Biased law enforcement?

His death has since been a topic of conversation in Dutch media.

Many criticize the police force for acting slowly and inadequately.

The police chose to send out a Missing Child Alert instead of the more urgent Amber Alert. This choice indicated that they did not fear for his life – which evidently turned out to be a miscalculation.

His friends and family were outraged by this. The police defended their decision by saying that they started an investigation directly after Orlando was reported missing but chose to do this under the radar. His family and friends were kept up to date about this. Many ask themselves whether Orlando’s sexuality (gay) and the colour of his skin (black) influenced the decision of the police. Comparisons are drawn with another recent missing person case: when Anne Faber went missing, police and media did not hesitate to act quickly. Considering the fact that LGBTQ+ people are twice as likely to be victim of a crime in the Netherlands, the police might want to re-evaluate their actions.

Another topic which many media have chosen to address, is the danger of online dating. Specifically the secrecy that surrounds same-sex dating through Grindr. “Gay young adults talk about the risks of online dating,” Vice headlined the day after Orlando’s body was discovered. It is no lie that same-sex dating is surrounded by a culture of mystery and anonymity. Many gay men are not “out.”

They are also afraid to date in public spaces such as bars or cafés because they fear homophobic reactions. Apps such as Grindr offer an outcome but not always a safe one. Grindr is a place for gay men but it is also a medium where drug dealing, promoting chemsex events and prostitution are common.

Misleading headlines The dangers of Grindr and the actions of the police are important topics and I support Dutch media in addressing these. However, in my opinion the media themselves should also re-evaluate their conduct and coverage surrounding Orlando Boldewijn. Every news source chose to mention “17-year-old boy meets older man on Grindr” in their introductions and headlines. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf chose to use the explicit words “sex date.” This is problematic because it publicly exploits the sexuality and private life of a 17-year-old boy. A minor. Have media even considered the privacy of Follow us on Snapchat!

this boy and the possibility that he was not “out” to all of his friends and family? Secondly, these headlines send a wrong message. If one would actually read the article, it would soon become clear that the “older man” is in fact a 20-year old boy. Moreover, this 20-year old has been interviewed by police and is no suspect in the case. The headlines, however, seem to say the opposite. A Columbia University study revealed that 59% of the articles we like on social media, have not actually been read. Thus, the majority of people takes away that an older gay man meets a young boy on Grindr, and that the boy has since disappeared and died. This feeds the narrative that gay men are dangerous predators who prey on young boys. This narrative is frequently used by homophobes and anti-gay rights activists, the most recent example being the pamphlets spread during the Australian same-sex marriage referendum.

Whether it is intentional or not, Dutch media are presenting a stereotypical image of gay men and gay dating. Admittedly, same-sex online dating is not without its dangers. We must strive towards a more open and tolerant society where same-sex dating does not have to happen in secret. But invoking associations between gay men and the death of a young boy is misguided.Let us focus on catching the true perpetrators of this crime, instead of incriminating the very group that is the victim here.

Illustration © Jarne van der Poel

Join the Boomerang!

Interested in journalism? Half the board is leaving next semester, with positions soon open for Executive Editor, Managing Editor, Communications & Tech, and Art & Design. There will also be a chance to join as a regular contributor – a columnist or a cartoonist. Contact us if you’re interested, or want to know more about these jobs.

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The Boomerang | March 2018

LOCAL

NOEN’S LIMITED EDITION VEGAN BALL SANDWICH: HARD TO CLOSE, OPENS UP POSSIBILITIES by Lotte Schuengel sandwich.

D

uring the ‘meatless week’, breakfastand-lunch café Noen released a new, nameless, limited-edition sandwich with vegan balls and dripping strands of pickled red cabbage. Upon asking the staff about the nature of this release, they told me that this may or may not be a one time only. In case it is, I apologize for the lack of relevance of this food review and the eternally dissatisfied watery mouths of the proportion of the audience that likes pickled cabbage.

I don’t like pickled red cabbage, actually.

More precisely: I don’t like pickled foods, and I don’t like red cabbage. So it was to my very surprise that the thick layer of cabbage didn’t bother me at all. It compensated for the inevitable dryness of falafel and the inherent uncreative taste of prefabricated garlic sauce. The pickled red cabbage, for once, may have been the best part of the

About the balls. Throughout my vegetarian life, I have encountered a lot of vegan balls. There is worse out there, for sure. But there are definitely better options than the ones Noen chose. I presume they did not make these themselves, I’m not asking them to either. Also, ‘better’ ones (read: more expensive ones) would only raise the price of the sandwich. Adding a colourful, sweet and sour vegetable is a creative solution to the problem of dry balls.

Only the issue of closure remains. Due to the shape of falafel and the quantity of cabbage, the sandwich is very hard to close into an edible size, without half of the contents falling out. The sheer act of eating becomes quite the humiliating experience. In such a crowded place at such a crowded hour (13.30), I would occasionally make eye contact with another customer, a passerby through the window, a vaguely familiar UCU student, a staff member, a small child, or a dog, while the wet, pink mixture of cabbage juice and garlic sauce made its way from the edges of the sandwich to my chin, to my neck and inside my collar - for which I am sorry.

Despite the sandwich invoking this

saskia sticks to politicks

disgusting visual of me, eating, I applaud Noen’s culinary creativity. Time has definitely come for an addition to the menu, and although I’m unsure if this particular recipe will really spice up their oeuvre, I’m glad that I got to have a taste of what’s to come.

Final verdict: B+ ++

Cabbage adds flavour needed to compensate for falafel

++

Something new

++

It’s vegan

–– Eating it makes a mess –– Not the best falafel

by Saskia Vrensen

GUN CONTROL: DO IT LIKE THE DUTCH It didn’t take an epidemic of children being shot dead at their school desks for the Netherlands to realise that gun control was a good idea. Dutch gun control policies are advantageous in that they actually monitor who owns guns and for what purpose. The Netherlands’ last school shooting was 19 years ago; the US’ was (insert day) days ago. Not to point fingers or anything, but maybe Dutch gun policy could teach the US something, anything - we’re desperate at this point.

For starters, only the Dutch military is allowed to own or shoot an automatic weapon. I’m not sure why this would even need to be justified, but I’ll do it anyway for those who might still be having trouble understanding: no. civilian. needs. an. assault. weapon. These machines were literally designed to kill, which is why it makes total, rational sense to ban them.

Anyone in the Netherlands who wants to use a (non-assault) gun needs to first join a gun club. Application for these clubs requires a trial period and a background check by the Ministry of Justice. A criminal record means you’ll be denied. After the 1-year trial period, members can purchase their first gun, and they can buy another after two years. You are only allowed to own five guns. Guns can only be transported between the owner’s home, the gun club, a gunsmith and the police station. Any violation of

Dutch gun laws, as well as any violent conduct, would lead to the owner’s permit being revoked. For those who prefer hunting as their sport of choice, an expensive one-year training course is required to obtain a licence, and shooting skills need to regularly be practiced at a range. Basically, a difficult, controlled procedure exists to ensure those who own guns are using them properly and safely, rather than just popping to the local Walmart (Yes, they sell guns at Walmart. There’s even a nice shiny pink one online at a steal, for only $49.99!) and easily picking out the gun of your choosing.

The restrictions that the Netherlands put on gun ownership and usage may seem self-explanatory to many, but there is also an entire population of people who believe they should be allowed to own an assault rifle if they want to. However, as compelling as owning an unnecessary murder device may sound, it cannot be ignored that Dutch gun control means that you are twenty times less likely to be involved in a gun crime in the Netherlands than in the US. If the Dutch (and pretty much every other country in the world bar one) can avoid the mass murders of children in their classrooms due to these gun laws, surely the US should be able to follow suit. Gun control is not that hard, and I don’t think anyone here in the Netherlands is crying into their pillow at night because they can’t admire the AK47 that hangs over their mantlepiece.

A University College Student Association Magazine

WORLD

9

THE UCU EAST AFRICA PROGRAMME by Moritz Menzel

Illustration © Amu Endo

A

nother class of UCU students is currently undergoing preparations to embark on the UCU East Africa programme, a yearly UCU course set in East Africa to teach students about development. What this means in reality is probably unclear to many, and misconceptions about what the programme entails and what it tries to achieve prevail.

After a semester of classroom teaching, UCU East Africa sends out 28 students to Kenya, Tanzania, and surrounding countries, to get an insight into development theory and practice in the field. While the programme includes an internship component, the focus does not lie on pursuing development practice, but rather on training students in cross-cultural understanding, in critical engagement with development work, and in self-reflexivity. The fact that development projects often do not achieve their goals, or are misguided and thus not beneficial for communities, is common knowledge.

The UCU East Africa programme provides insights into the problematic assumptions that often underlie development discourse and practice. It fosters an understanding

of the ongoing colonial reach of “the developed world” and of the pervasive power relations that determine who benefits from the process. It challenges students to recognise and confront some of their own beliefs to an extent that would be impossible in a classroom setting. Ultimately, all this is needed to find ways in which positive alliances between countries and people can be built. Such a question is best addressed by bringing forward local perspectives in a direct engagement with communities.

Goats for Oldonyo Mali As part of these efforts, the community of Oldonyo Mali, a rural Maasai village in the Longido District of Tanzania, has generously welcomed and hosted UCU students for several years.

Here, one of the homestays of the field course takes place, and students have the opportunity to live with families and to accompany them in their daily routines for several days. In this way, students receive a brief but intimate insight into the lives of this remote pastoralist community. This unique cultural exchange constitutes an exceptional

learning experience and is the personal highlight of the programme for many.

The hospitality of Oldonyo Mali is greatly appreciated, and while the host families are compensated for the costs incurred, students and programme coordinators have felt that more can be done to reciprocate.

Thus, various local development projects have been supported by UCU, including a crowdfunding campaign of UCU East Africa 2016 which provided the local health clinic with solar power, and UCU East Africa 2017’s equally successful “Goats for Oldonyo Mali” fundraiser.

For this project, students raised €2,200 online (exceeding the goal by more than €400) and additional donations were collected at the UCSA bar, during the UCU East Africa info-event, and at its 10-year anniversary conference. This money funded the implementation of a village-wide “livestock bank”. Through an initial donation of 25 sheep and 25 goats, it was possible to start off a self-sustaining system, which can continuously provide vulnerable families with a number of animals. As the goat and sheep reproduce, each new generation of (continued)

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The Boomerang | March 2018

WORLD aims to support local development initiatives. The key reason for the success of this project was that it emerged from and remained entirely under the control of the community. While it was externally supported by UCU students and UCU East Africa programme coordinators, it was based on the needs identified by the community, who initiated, designed, and implemented it. This degree of control over the project also allowed the community to effect some vital changes to the project design. For example, after deliberating with local leaders, Sauti Moja determined to use the donations to purchase both sheep and goats, rather than just goats as initially planned. The rationale for this included cultural understandings of auspicious gift giving and ecological factors of diverse herd management and dryland ecology. Furthermore, it was decided that less livestock should be provided to more families, in order to prevent conflict and make sure that the community spirit remains strong.

offspring is passed on, so that households throughout the village are able to expand their herds and thus become more resilient. This is particularly important in the light of ongoing droughts.

During a very successful ceremony on November 25, 2017, the goats and sheep were officially given to the community. All livestock was purchased locally, ensuring a contribution to the local economy.

After drawing numbers to guarantee a random distribution of the goats and sheep, the families expressed their commitment to pass on the offspring to the next round of chosen households. The ceremony also included speeches by key leaders, such as the Oldonyo Mali chairperson, and repeated expressions of gratitude towards the students of UCU. The success of the ceremony and project even prompted the locally present donors to finance a doubling of the sheep and goats, thereby reaching even more households.

Development done right The proper implementation of the project and ongoing follow-up was facilitated by Sauti Moja, a community-based organization that

This project can be seen as a positive example of development in action, fostering a sustainable improvement of local well-being by mutual cooperation. It will further strengthen the ties of the UCU East Africa programme with local families and thus contribute to the long-term and mutually beneficial relationship between Oldonyo Mali and UCU East Africa. Projects like this illustrate the importance of working on a grassroots level with the decision-making power in the hands of the community. This ensures that development is done right as it keeps the people concerned in charge.

For anyone remotely interested in this field, the UCU East Africa programme arguably provides a strong and appropriately critical foundation. What’s your opinion on development and of the UCU East Africa programme? To access more information, get in touch with Corey Wright, teacher and course coordinator, or chat with members of this year’s or past classes.

And do keep an eye out for the latest project supported by UCU East Africa 2018, for which deliberations in Oldonyo Mali are just being completed. Leaders have expressed that the priority this year should return to equipping the local health clinic, this time with a particular focus on women and children’s health. We are all excited to cooperate on another great initiative!

HOW GOOD IS YOUR SOCIAL CREDIT? by Laura Hoogenraad

E

verybody and their mother has seen the Black Mirror episode where people rate each other on a one-to-five-star scale through their cell phones. The score that people obtain through this process affects their socioeconomic status, their access to public services and their standing within society. A ‘high-flyer’ gets rewarded, and a low score gets punished.

“

It’s Black Mirror, 1984, and Panopticon, all blended into one.

This system is now transferring from the safe space of Netflix to the real world, because the same principle works for China’s Social Credit System.

The Social Credit System will launch nationwide in 2020, in which every Chinese citizen will obtain a certain ‘social credit’.

The trials have used a 100-points system in

Write for us!

which points get deducted for bad behavior.

Bad behavior now includes not showing up to a restaurant without having cancelled the reservation, smoking in non-smoking designated areas, recycling inappropriately and leaving false product reviews. A good citizen will be rewarded with cheaper public transport, shorter waiting times in hospitals, and free gym subscriptions. But those who are rated as the bad apples among the bunch will face travel restrictions, will be prevented from buying property or opening a loan, and will be publicly shamed because their name will be ‘blacklisted’. It’s black mirror, Orwell’s 1984 and Foucault’s panopticon all blended into a dystopian reality.

But you’re a fool if you think that these credit practices only take place in far-off countries. ‘De Groene Amsterdammer’ reported that of the 17 million Dutch inhabitants, bank records are gathered and analyzed of more than 10 million by anonymous, private companies. These companies track your financial behavior, whether that’s

your savings, your debt, or if you’re paying your bills on time. The information they gather is then combined in your personal data package, which gets a label. You are either reliable (green), somewhat reliable (yellow) or not reliable at all (red). Your data package is then sold to other companies, think financial institutions, real estate agencies or insurance companies. If you’re labeled as unreliable because you might have experienced a difficult period in your life or forgot about some bills at the bottom of your post pile, you can end up not being able to get the car insurance you’d like. This can cause people to be haunted with their past for decades. And the scariest part is that this all happens behind your back, while you have no idea who’s trading your personal data packages or what label you get.

The worn-out argument of “I have nothing to hide”, is so incredibly tiring. You may have nothing to hide, but you have a lot to lose.

The Boomerang has a budget to cover, partially or in whole, your costs for reviewing events, movies, music, games – anything you feel would be interesting for the campus community. Come by the open writers’ meetings every month to discuss your ideas with us, or email us at boomerang@ucsa.nl. The open writers’ meetings are posted online on our page, are visible in the UCSA calendar, as well as on the UCU Students facebook page.

Other articles are also of course very welcome, as are illustrations. We need you!

A University College Student Association Magazine

ARTS&CULTURE

11

REASONS TO WATCH ‘CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’

by Iris ten Have

B

ecause everyone seems to have an opinion on it and for it is in my mind a monument in film – if this is even possible for movies that come out the same year as I am writing these words – I do not actually feel entitled to publish my opinion on this movie. But I’ll do it anyways.

Call Me By Your Name is an Italian-French-American film about the emerging love story between 17 year-old Elio and a 24 year-old archaeology student, Oliver, who stays in their villa during the summer, in the background of an idyllic Italian village full of lush landscapes. The film was nominated for (I had to check) more than 36 awards (!) and nearly everyone is talking about it. In case you have not seen it however, here is a list of reasons you should get up and buy your cinema ticket right now.

1 – Complex character The main character, Elio, is a disturbed adolescent very much preoccupied with his own thoughts and emotions. His complex character make him all the more mysterious and his actions unpredictable. Not your typical Hollywood movie character. It is a pleasure trying to decipher Elio’s mood which varies from loving towards his parents, arrogant towards Oliver and a masterly hidden insecurity.

2 – Lessons in love The main character’s father holds a speech near the end of the movie that all sons and daughters would like their parent to hear say to them. Cannot spoil more about this!

3 – Unsexualized gay love story (what??)

include long and explicit sex scenes that make you question whether the movie was made to advocate gay rights or fulfill the director’s fantasies. Adding a sex scene furthermore would more officially categorize the movie as ‘gay romance’, whereas the beauty of the romance lies just in the fact that the characters’ sexual orientation is not the biggest deal. The implications behind words and gestures suffice to portray the sexual tension that rises between them.

4 – Aesthetics If you value good aesthetics in a movie, then Call Me By Your Name is a treat. The warm lighting, the pastel colors of the old Italian village and the characters’ 80s clothing are a pleasure to the eye. Images that come to mind when thinking of Call Me By Your Name are Elio’s pink shirt, the way his dad (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) rocks his 50s by wearing classy monochromatic outfits and his elegant mother – the personification of the stylish Italian woman as depicted by Dolce & Gabbana.

4 – To have your association with the peach emoji changed forever We don’t actually really care about this. Emojis are overrated.

5 – To inspire you to spend your summer vacation in Italy In case you didn’t know how to spend your three months of summer, you’ll know after watching this movie that Italy is a good option. Moscazzano, the village where Call Me By Your Name was filmed has been struck by massive amounts of tourists since its coming out, so maybe choose another spot.

Unlike most movies that feature a gay romance, this one does not

in Utrecht 17 March – 24 June @ Centraal Museum: Exhibition on Erich Wichman, an abstract painter from Utrecht

6 April @ Tivoli Vredenburg: Utrecht International Comedy Festival 2018

30 March – 2 April @ Werkspoorkathedraal: Werkspoor festival: four days of pop-up bars, kitchens and live music

Ends July 7 @ Wolvenplein Prison: Tour through the recently closed city prison of Utrecht

Ends 27 May @ Fotodok: ‘Why work?’ a photography exhibition about the role of work in society

8 or 11 April @ Zimhic Theater Zuilen: ‘Slopera’ (try-out) – a multimedia art project about changes in the city.

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The Boomerang | March 2018

QUAD QUERIES WHAT’S YOUR MOST USELESS TALENT?

Day

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-Iris

min

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n I ca a to past hout a k o it co nw o i t ec imer t perf co deri e F -

I can recite t first pa he g Harry e of Potter - Oia

half e n o lift I can y tongue of m

t ou p po lder n u a I c sho i my ch i -M

t my I can spli tongue - Letícia

te

- Lot

Lipsyncing

A l r rol e d l ou

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- Florine

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Judo - Yasmine THE BOOMERANG BOARD Clemens Schally | Editor-in-Chief Meike Eijsberg | Managing Editor Charlotte Remarque | Executive Editor Laura Hoogenraad | Executive Editor Aditya Agarwal | Layout and Design Lotte Schuengel | Art and Illustration Thomas Scassellati Sforzolini | Communications

I ca n corn eat cho with a psti ck -M ar

pop

*Jurrian stared emptily into the distance*

With support from

Illustration © Aditya Agarwal, Lotte Schuengel

- Om