The Bell #8: April 2015 - Problems/Solutions

theBell UCM & UCMSA Universalis magazine

Issue #8 April 2015

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theBell

Issue #8 April 2015

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

Issue #8 April 2015

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editorial» issue #8 Untitled, Alexandra Lazar

Relativity, M. C. Escher. Lithograph, 1953.

Copyright © M. C. Escher 1953. Image not used for commercial purposes and strictly under “fair use”policy.

Other illustrations throughout the magazine: Laura Goldberg, p.5, 6&8 All illustrations used for non-commercial purposes and strictly under “fair use”policy.

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Sweet UCM,

We bloody love a problem don’t we? I mean, we are taught through the lens of problems here - Problem Based Learning.

The New University movement as well - found a problem there, didn’t they? We obsess over problems (and ever-so-rarely solutions) because it is in our make-up as humans. We seek what’s wrong and like to discuss what’s wrong and sometime build on this discussion to progress ourselves and progress society by finding alternative or even solutions.

Additionally, we are very excited to use this issue to launch the start of our magazine partnership with University College Freiburg.

This collaboration will see some of their students contributing to our issue, and UCM helping them launch their own writing platform and consequently contribute in the future.

Happy Reading, Finn O’Neill

To pay homage to our undying love for problems we have dedicated this entire issue to Problems and, perhaps radically, Solutions as well. This issue covers many topics; from journalism to meditation, via the Colombian peace talks. We hope this edition of the magazine will trigger you to think about solutions to prob-

COMMITTEE BOARD: POSTAL ADDRESS: UCMSA Universalis ABOUT: Finn O’Neill (chair) Zwingelput 4 The Bell is an independent 6211KH Maastricht student magazine by the UCMSA Sarah Kunze (secretary) The Netherlands Universalis Magazine Committee for University College Maastricht Dominik Leusder (treasurer) ADVERTISING: (UCM). The Bell is free for We are always looking for students and staff of UCM. Lea Schaefer (PR/editor) advertisers! Check our webpage The content of The Bell does not for detailed guidelines and necessarily reflect the opinion of Lisette Reuvers (editor) pricing. the committee board, the board of UCMSA Universalis or UCM. CIRCULATION: 150 copies and Eivind H Bratterud (layout editor) online colophon

lems, whilst also creating some debate about problems which are already part of our daily diet.

CONTRIBUTORS: Sergio Calderon-Harker Nina Dikker Laura Goldberg Niklas Elsenbruch Heidrun Kerl Elena Klaas Laurens Kymmell Krishma Labib Maren Lebsanft Finn O’Neill Richard Nimubona Nick Papaconstantinou

Xavier Salet Clea Samson Sophie Silverstein Henry Skewes PINE UCM Svea Windwehr Svenja Woitt

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER All content © respective authors

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Issue #8 April 2015

overview»

editorial

features

IN ECONOMICS AT UCM PINE UCM

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19

semester abroad

EDITORIAL - SWEET UCM...

BOARD

problems/solutions

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MINDFULNESS FINN O’NEILL

7 EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST CLEA SAMSON

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STOP ANIMAL RESEARCH, STOP MEDICINE KRISHMA LABIB

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CLOTHING THE POOR heidrun kerl

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GREECE: THE LACK OF EASY SOLUTIONS NICK PAPACONSTANTINOU

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CHEERS TO LIVING IN THE MOMENT NINA DIKKER

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DEATH OF JOURNALISM? SOPHIE SILVERSTEIN

DUM DUM DOODLE DUM DUM DOODLE

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UCF-COLLABORATION UCF VISITNG UCM HAGELSLAG, HARM, OPEN MIC AND IRAN MAREN LEBSANFT

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INTERVIEW WITH MR. RICHARD NIMUBONA LAURENS KYMMELL

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UCF-COLLABORATION BOYAN SLAT: MAKING IT PERSONAL SVENJA WOITT

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BY A THREAD: REPAIRING COLOMBIA’S BLOODSPATTERED HISTORY SERGIO CALDERON-HARKER

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ALL TALK HENRY SKEWES

creative

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PASSING THE EXPIRY DATE XAVIER SALET

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STANDING ON TWO SOLEMN FEET NIKLAS ELSEBRUCH

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CLOSED EYES. SERGIO CALDERON-HARKER

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MAYBE. SERGIO CALDERON-HARKER

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THE MARKETISATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AND SOCIETY’S COMPLICITY SVEA WINDWEHR

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WHY WE NEED PLURALISM

OH NO,WE RAN OUT OF BUDGETED PAGES AGAIN! OR DID WE RUN OUT OF CONTRIBUTIONS?

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«problems/ solutions P: LIFE; S: MINDFULNESS

It was six years ago. I was a generally frustrated, probably over-confident teenager. I was quite confident that I knew the right way – whatever that meant. I always had a double-edged relationship with teachers; either they liked me and we got on or I made it my task to wage a personal vendetta against them.

I don’t think that it was necessarily the teacher I disliked; it may have been the course they taught, or generally the whole institutionalised-teaching-thing. I walked in to my Religious Studies class (compulsory for the first two years of senior school) and felt that all-to-common feeling which I experienced during that class…‘why am I here?’ This time it was different though – I was aware that we would be taking a

break from ‘traditional’ RS in order to embark on an eight week ‘mindfulness programme’. Now, imagine an over-confident, testosterone-fuelled teenager being told that ‘breathing is the key to life’, or words to that effect. It was destined to be a car crash of conflicting world views; on the one side there was a holistic, peaceful, life-driven view from the mindfulness programme and on the other side there was, well, me. I said that I was quite confident I knew what the right way was… this was not the right way!

I never even tried to engage; we had a breathing exercise that we practiced whilst lying on the floor, I was more interested in using that time to take my catnap. This has nothing to do with the fact that my

school tried to teach mindfulness to fourteen yearolds – I have no complaints about that, and if I did you probably wouldn’t care much! Essentially I want to show that I was as anti-mindfulness, anti-peacefulness, anti-Buddhism, anti-being-told-whatmight-help, as one could be.

Fast forward six years and I have to sheepishly admit that I quite possibly was… err, wrong? I’m about five weeks into a guided eightweek mindfulness programme assisted by the eye-opening book ‘’Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world’’ and it’s good – I mean really good. For those of you who aren’t aware of what mindfulness is, it is a form of meditation which places its entire emphasis on breathing and ‘the breath’ as a way to fully engage with ‘the now’. It is as far from being that altogether ridiculous

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idea which I envisaged it to be six years ago; it is in fact exactly ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ is! I got onto the idea of mindfulness on the recommendation of a good friend, but also as a direct sequel to The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying which I was reading before. The two books together lead to my revelation that spiritual practice (I hate that word, ‘spiritual’. It has so much unnecessary and misleading baggage. ‘’I went to Bhutan and found spirituality…’’) is in fact wholly rewarding and it should, if not must, play some role in everyone’s life. What I mean by spiritual practice is really anything which disconnects ‘the self’ from the ‘real world’ and engages with the spirit, or that ‘transcendental thing’, whatever it may be! Since embarking on the course I’ve noticed how I implement, or try to implement, certain practices which I’ve learned along the way in times which I deem it necessary. These range from a quick sixty second ‘grounding’ exercise which can be done anywhere to a longer exercise which focuses on

each separate joint of the body and is best carried out lying down. What they do for me, and this will inevitably differ for different people, is slow everything down and bring some focus back into my life. I see it as a photographer may approach a picture – it is much better to have a small object in complete focus

than trying to take a vast panoramic picture which is entirely unfocused. The course provides such an accessible way into mindfulness as it somewhat forces you to incorporate it into your daily life to the extent that even half way through I can hardly see it as forcibly existing in my life, rather it just is part of my daily life.

Whilst this is great it can also feel a bit imposing at times but this will only be the case during the course when one is trying to learn

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as many of these different practices as possible.

In the title I suggest mindfulness to be a solution to the problem of life.

This may be a bit misleading… Mindfulness certainly can be a solution to some of the problems of life, namely the taming of that wild beast we call our mind.

The extent to which mindfulness will be a solution to whatever problem you may subscribe it to is totally dependent on your openness to it. Don’t be me from six years ago – approach it with an open mind and the possibilities that you will gain some benefits from it will grow rapidly. I’m actually taking a bit longer than the recommended eight weeks to complete the course as I spend longer on certain practices, thus delaying the whole schedule. This is not a problem and it is completely dependent on the person; at what pace they approach the notion of mindfulness and for what purpose they do it. All I can say is that if it benefitted a previously narrow-minded, anti-most-things person, it probably has the ability to benefit many of you!

Finn O’Neill

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DEAREST UCM’ers

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talked about the gender pay gap on stage, during her acceptance speech at the Academy Awards and thus reached billions of people around the world.

Yes, the Ice Bucket Challenge turned into publicity stunts and people presentI have a problem. With she wanted to achieve: ing themselves as much as you. Why does everyone get feminism to be a topic possible on social media. always have to be so neg- everyone talks about - not And yes, you could even ative, all the time? I mean, only over-educated Liberal claim they wasted valuable I get it. We are educated Arts students. drinking water. But it did to be critical thinkers, manage to raise treto never accept anymendous awareness thing easily and withfor ALS all around the out questioning. And globe. most of the times, I could go into this is a good thing, countless other examand very valuable. ples. But that’s not the But then there’s point. The point is that other times; other UCM is supposed to situations where it help us become critical would be nice to disthinkers. But it is not regard all negative supposed to help us sides, for once. Take become cynical or arsome examples that rogant.

I do not even dare to The solution? I talk about at UCM. don’t know. But can Yes, Emma Watwe not, briefly, just for son’s (in)famous once, close our eyes speech was very and think about all the mainstream. And yes, good things that have she used the hashtag UCM students seemingly have much in com- happened - to us and #heforshe. And yes, I mon with Diogenes, a Greek Cynic to others? Think about am sure not everything all the positive developshe said can be seen as Yes, Patricia Arquette’s ments this world has seen groundbreaking and em- comments in an interview in the recent years? powering. But it was a after winning her Oscar Thank you! great speech! Because were terrible, and vastly she achieved exactly what inappropriate. But, she still Elena Klaas

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EAST IS EAST & I first heard this verse by Rudyard Kipling during a high school English class, while watching A Passage to India. The movie being about British colonialism in India, one could say that the verse in itself summarises pretty well the core concepts of E.M. Forster’s novel. Although the book was written almost a hundred years ago, the problem of an unbridgeable distance between two cultures is still predominant in today’s society.

Media and mass communication have brought the world closer together, in the sense that we know more of each other, and we have more contact with each other, than during the times of the British Raj. However, this seemingly beneficial proximity might not be as solid as it is portrayed. Yes, the world’s nations communicate and use, to some extent, this newfound propinquity as to further develop and help each other. But this me-

dia-based proximity is not always profitable to our means, especially when referring to the portrayal of other members through the use of charities.

Nowadays, we know a lot about other places and other people and other situations happening in the

world. This knowledge, or awareness, is mostly due to the increase of mass media communication. And it is a good thing. When looking at how media plays a role in the developing and growing of charities all around the world, one cannot deny the important and beneficial power of this increasing proximity. By being able to create a sense of solidarity, through the

educating and informing of people about whatever causes charities fight for, media, as a tool to increase proximity, is useful. However, one must acknowledge that the majority of the media in the “Western World” offers us information through a Western lens, a bias perspective.

And what we are presented with, what we are told to support, what we are told to fear, is very much created, or at least greatly modified by the Western paradigm (which, I agree, is a big yet greatly needed generalisation for the purpose of this article).

Indeed, escaping from such a Westernised way of looking at things can be quite the challenge, which is why we must make an effort to see past the stereotyped victims of non-Western countries, and understand how the portrayal of the white, mighty, rich, developed, smart and free helping hand of the West fur-

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WEST IS WEST and never the twain shall meet... ther imprison the non-west rest into their unchangeable, hermetic image of the poor, weak victims.

There is an on-going battle against this nameless greater evil, whose shape changes constantly, and whose name sounds different each time it is pronounced. Poverty, HIV, homelessness, orphans, starvation, education, clothing, these are all issues that have been the subjects of numerous charities all around the world. But helping others is not the issue. The issue is how this aid is portrayed, and how the Western lens affects our perception of others.

Charities make us support them by feeling bad for whatever it is they fight against. Usually, we feel bad because the subjects they wish to support have been highly edited through the Western filter of the world’s let-us-help-eachother –Instagram, and have been turned into pure victims. Victims who do not know the joys of the Western life, victims who are

less developed, less educated, less independent and less free than us. And sure, there are people and places and things in the world that deserve and need charities to support them.

But the constant Western filter that gives a tint of pity to any mass-media coverage of the external world (external to the West, that is) only further accentuate false ideas about that external world.

In all, we have seen an increase in proximity between nations and cultures of the world. But this newfound closeness, greatly produced by the expansion of mass media, is quite superficial. Because media mainly shapes our perspectives on the world, we are still looking at the rest of it through a Western lens.

And because of this blindness, we see solutions in what constitutes the problem (or the portrayal of the problem) in the first place.

This last statement is what I wished to voice through the writing of this article.

But by reflecting upon the

topic of charities as solutions for the people, causes or places they support, and by trying to see how the Western lens encourages a false portrayal of the world’s non-Western nations (which in itself becomes part of the problem), I somehow lost my train of thoughts, and found myself once again split between feeling extremely witty and critical, or feeling like a Negative Nancy. But a realistic Negative Nancy nonetheless.

Albeit it has been ninety-one years since E.M. Forster’s novel, and despite our ever-growing “proximity”, it seems to me that East is still East, and West remains West, and unless you are referring to some mainstream, superficial socio-cultural mix and mingle such as a Nepalese Big Mac or Bollywood, “East” and West have yet to meet.

Clea Samson

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STOP ANIMAL RESEARCH, “Free the Labradors”: how many of you have heard about this movement? Last August, Maastricht University suspended a research project involving Labrador testing after 130,000 people signed a petition called “Free the Labradors”. Due to the large outcry, the university suspended this research and banned testing of all large dogs. As an aspiring scientist, after hearing friends talk about the petition and the “poor dogs”, my first reaction was to look up the aims of the research. These had been conveniently left out of the page where the petitions could be signed. A few buttons away was the explanation on the UM site: that the research was for heart failure and the correct usage of pacemakers. The reason that Labradors were

to be used was that the only two animals that had hearts that resembled human hearts closely enough to elicit reliable results were rabbits and dogs. After seeing this, I knew my decision: I would not sign a petition that prevented

millions of lives from being potentially saved.

This incident is an example of a more general phenomenon in Western society, the Netherlands being no exemption: well intentioned, yet ill-informed individuals taking a stand against animal testing without knowing the implications of such actions. My aim in this article

is not to start a discussion about animal worth. This is a complex ethical issue, but in my opinion, although we have a moral obligation to treat animals as well as we can, human lives still weigh more than animal lives.

Some of you may disagree, but I urge you to not fight animal research until acquainting yourself with the full story.

Every medical advancement that has occurred is in part thanks to animal testing. 71 of the Nobel Prizes for Medicine in the last century have been given to scientists based on their animal research. Every medical drug that is currently on the market is in place thanks to animal testing.

Human life expectancy has increased by over 20 years thanks to animal research.

In addition, animal welfare itself has increased over the years, due to new knowledge about animals based

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STOP MEDICINE

on animal research. The fact is that before a drug can be tested on humans in clinical studies, EU law mandates that it is tested on animals first. To those that disagree with this law, the implications of stopping it would mean that humans would have be administered with such drugs directly. Who of you would agree to be the subject of such an experiment?

Despite the necessity of using animals for medical purposes – whereby it is essential to test the effects of drugs on whole organisms after they have elicited successful results in numerous other study types (such as cell cultures and tissue models)– the European Union’s policy, adopted by all Dutch research institutions in the Netherlands, regarding animal research is Reduce, Replace and Refine. Notice how only one of these 3Rs is about the actual welfare of the animals: Refine. The other two are about replacing and reducing the number of animal studies. Although it seems attractive to find

alternative solutions to testing compounds, it is inevitable that at some point in the research process it is necessary to use whole organisms to see the effect of the drug on the whole body. For such studies, there are no alternatives to animal testing (other than human testing). As for reduction, it is true that the policy has been successful.

At UM alone, animal testing has been decreasing over the past 10 years by around 5% each year. And yet, it appeared that animal testing was crucial for medical research: how is it that despite the declining numbers, research is still moving forward? The key word here is “outsourcing”. As the number of animal studies are decreasing in the EU, these studies are being outsourced to countries without any animal welfare concerns. Isn’t that ironic?

It is exactly those people protesting against the testing of animals to improve their well-being, thereby encouraging policies to stop animal research, that are actually the cause of

these animals being tested in a distant country under harsh conditions which could have been avoided in the first place by keeping the research at home.

And yet, the job of universities and the government is to think about what the citizens want: if no one is aware that these animals are sent to China where they are maltreated, it doesn’t matter since there will be no complaints here.

So I now ask you, the UCM community, to think about this matter the next time a similar incident such as the one with the Labradors occurs, and to make a better informed decision.

Do you really want to stop research that could potentially save those you love the most? Do you really think that by stopping the research at UM, you will ensure that animals are not maltreated? As the text on the above poster says: animal research has given you extra years, you decide what to do with them.

Krishma Labib

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CLOTHING THE POOR

THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE GLOBAL SECOND-HAND MARKET “Oregon State University, Senior Year of 1999”, said the T-shirt of the Guatemalan ayudante who just passed by to collect our fare in the crowded, fully colored old American school bus, also known as chicken busses. During my travels through Central America it was very common to see people selling second-hand clothes in bunches on popular markets. There, you would be able to get any brand, any style, any size and quality you wanted. And the low prices, in comparison with new clothes, especially attracted poor people to buy so called ropa americana (American Clothing).

And so did our ayudante on the bus. Doing development studies at UCM, I first thought selling second hand clothing in “third world countries” might be a sustainable way to reuse

old clothes without throwing them away. It also provides a good alternative for poor people to purchase clothing while freeing up some money for other purposes. Above that, clothes

are given a second chance, a new life, enlarging the lifespan of someone’s favorite piece while supporting someone with low resources. That is a great thing I thought, it’s benefiting all of us. But is it actually? I could not let go of the image of the ayudante in the bus. It seemed so clear to me that he was not very aware of his clothing,

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while struggling to get all the fares of all passengers.

But it was so obvious that the initial t-shirt owner did not want this t-shirt anymore. It was probably one of the many T-shirts you get for any situation and circumstance – an event, a group work or tournament. One of those t-shirt that have the purpose of stating “ I was here” or “ I did so and so” but not the initial purpose to cloth someone. One of those t-shirts that are worn once, or twice and then face the eternal life of a dust catcher until being sorted out and given away because we wouldn’t like to wear it anymore. But these t-shirts, jeans, dresses, and backpacks end up every day in tons at the harbors of Central America and Africa. “Charity clothing for the poor”, unwanted clothes of industrial state, of people who love to go shopping – buying cheap Chinese clothes at Primark, H&M or other well-known stores, wearing them once of twice and giving them away with a good feeling that someone would wear them again.

Most common practice of charity shops is to pick out the best clothes and have

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them in their stores for 4 weeks. If unsold, they are bundled and given away to sorting companies, which sell them in A, B, C quality-bales to wholesalers in the developing countries (anything else will go to landfills). This billion-dollar business is creating many jobs on the way and benefiting tradesmen, but it is also destroying the local textile industry. It leaves

Issue #8 April 2015

traditional weaving culture to vanish and thus hinders any possibilities for countries to strengthen their own textile industry. It’s a very complex problem, and tackling it must incorporate a post-colonial thinking of dependency theory and a harsh critique of consumerism and free trade agreements. But there are some simple solutions we can incorporate into our daily

GREECE: THE LACK OF EASY SOLUTIONS Greece has been in the news a lot lately, and sadly not because of its beautiful beaches and amazing food.

As many of my friends like to remind me, it is because of Greece’s new government and its methods of dealing with the struggling economy. The reason there is so much discussion about the new Greek government (a coalition between a far left party and a far right party) is because it seems to reflect the illusion which many Greek people have that there is an easy and painless solution to the Greek crisis.

To understand the nature of the Greek economic crisis you need to first understand that it is a deep-

ly-rooted problem caused by bad policies over many years. First, the Greek state has been running a budget deficit (i.e spending more money than it makes) since the 1980s when the Greek welfare state was created.

To be able to fund this deficit, Greece has continually borrowed money, a pattern which has never stopped, without ever actually dealing with the inefficiencies of the state. Those include (but are not limited to): rampant tax evasion, a public sector which only hires people and never lays people off, an unnecessarily large bureaucracy, etc.

Add to this an economy that has never become truly internationally compet-

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lives. Think twice when you buy something new. Buy Second Hand. Don’t make a t-shirt for every event or circumstance. When you give clothes away: Ask the charity shop what they are doing with your clothes.

Prefer local shelters and projects. And tell a friend about it.

Heidrun Kerl

itive, with a large external deficit, and you have an explosive mix.

Anyone with some knowledge of economics would then say “Well, just print more money then, and pay back your debts.

Sure it will lose its value a bit since there will be more Euros circulating in the economy, but it will solve all your problems!” Then the second, and otherwise unproblematic, circumstance comes into play: the common currency. Because Greece shares a common currency with the rest of Europe, it can’t just print more money – monetary policy is in the hands of the European Central Bank.

Since printing more money is not an option, the remaining option is to impose austerity measures in order to control the deficit, and at the same time try to reform the economy to

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make it more competitive.

This is where the biggest problem of all arises: the global recession. In simple terms: economies experience periods of growth and periods in which they shrink in a wave-like pattern. Since recessions are not quite so desirable, governments need to keep the fluctuations in both growth and recession periods small. To do so, in periods of growth, austerity measures are imposed, and in recessions, policies which increase spending need to be applied.

So the issue is that Greece has been experiencing a recession and a debt crisis at the same time, both of which require spending, with money that Greece doesn’t have. “So how do you get money?”

Well if you try to get money by imposing austerity measures you make the recession even worse, not to mention you make the Greek citizens very angry, as many of them lose their jobs. If you borrow more money you are only putting on a band aid on the problem – and in Greece’s case, no-one was willing to lend it much any more anyway!

What is needed are re-

forms, which the state has been spectacularly good at not doing enough of. These reforms should be reducing the money that is essentially wasted and fixing tax evasion, which also don’t make many people happy.

But reforms take time, and are disruptive, and are opposed by many entrenched interests.

Now, enter the new government, elected on the

promise that there is a magic solution that will make all problems go away. “We just won’t pay back the debts.” If your first thought was “how?” you are on the right track. Because, as much as we would like to not pay back the debts, we still need money to run the state and the welfare system, and it is hard to picture someone willing to lend money to someone

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you know probably won’t pay it back. Aside from the dubious requests for WW2 reparations from Germany, the Greek government doesn’t really have many options other than to keep relying on the EU and the IMF to lend them money, with the reforms that they ask for in exchange.

The new government and the new finance minister of Greece, instead walked into negotiations with a bold strategy which has been compared to holding a gun to your own head and asking for a ransom. They argued that if Greece defaults because it is not given money to deal with the debt it will affect everyone in Europe, and so tried to negotiate with the idea that Europe has just as much to lose as Greece.

Sadly, Europe called the government’s bluff. Because while the risk for Europe is huge if Greece defaults, the risk of encouraging other countries to do the same (such as Spain) by succumbing to this behaviour is, for the rest of Europe, even worse.

So what is the result of

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this whole mess so far? For the time being Greece has got a four-month extension of the current austerity programme until a new deal is negotiated. By renaming a few ‘hot potatoes’ (such as no-longer calling the hated “troika” of the EU, the IMF and the ECB by its name and instead relabelling them as “the institutions”) the Greek government has

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tried to play it off as a victory at home. This keeps feeding the Greek illusion that difficult problems have easy and painless solutions.

The fact, however, is that a lot of Greek people don’t seem to be willing to face the reality that some problems are not easy to fix - a danger that might be the downfall of Greece in the coming months. This is be-

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cause, as long as the new government continues to be evasive with its European partners, the economy suffers, cash runs out, and an accident leading to what everyone wants to avoid – Greece’s exit from the Euro - becomes all too real.

Nick Papaconstantinou

CHEERS TO LIVING IN

THE MOMENT A couple of months ago, someone I barely knew made a nasty comment to me. Even though that person has no value to me whatsoever, it continued to stay in my head for a day. I want to compare this bad feeling I got with the last time someone gave me a compliment. The sad thing is, I am not even able to remember when that was, or what the compliment was about. I know, I probably sound like a very unloved person, who never gets a compliment, but I want to assure you that this not the case. There is an alternative explanation for my selective memory, namely: negativity sticks. It keeps replaying in your head, much more than positive events. When

you let your mind drift off to your problems, struggles or setbacks, it can even become a self-defeating cycle; the more you obsess about your worries, annoyances, or another piece of negativity, the more these negative thoughts are being reinforced each time you think of them. At a certain point, it becomes too much of an issue in your head, compared to what it actually entails, or compared to what you can do about it.

Studies suggest that we drift off with our thoughts, almost fifty percent of the time. The type of activity we engage in when our minds wander generally does not matter, although making love is an exception. But this daydreaming

comes with an emotional cost. Even if we do not end up regretting things from the past, or are not worrying about the future, but thinking for example about our dream vacation, this does not make us happier than when we are just living in the present.

I have to admit, all this talk about wandering negative thoughts and self-defeating cycles sounds devastating, as if you will end up in bed at the end of the day, crying yourself to sleep, while laying in the fetal position. However, this is clearly not the case.

We might blow things out of proportion on a bad day, and make things worse than they are, but luckily we also have a lot of men-

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tal protection mechanisms the norms we have to ad- ism can lead to many great to make sure we do not get here to in life, we clearly do achievements, and a little overwhelmed by setbacks. not have the ability to live pressure can enhance perThese mental protection as freely and carelessly as formance. But it also has a mechanisms, such as trivial- a pirate, but Jack Sparrow downside. Things never are ising, or rationalising, occur (CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow!) perfect, as we are trained often in daily life, some- has a point. The perspec- to be critical thinkers, we times without you even tive from which you look will always be able to find noticing it. For example, at your problems can make that one point we could you bought a new t-shirt all the difference. I am not improve on. on sale, but it takes you talking about major probTry after an exam, or a a week to realise that it is lems, traumas or losses, but sports competition, or any in fact a really ugly t-shirt about the smaller struggles other event , maybe even and that you cannot return and worries in life. a date with the person you it. There are two like, to not ask things you can do yourself: ‘’did I in this case. You do well?’’ but incan forever whine stead to ask yourabout your bad self: ‘’did I do purchase, or you well enough?’’ can change your Even though we attitude about it. would really like Most people go to excel in every for the last option, aspect in life, we which is why your have to admit to closet contains ourselves that at least five items most people do of which you can not have this abilsay: ‘yeah I never ity, due to limited wore it, but it was amount of time, only fifteen euro, money, or maybe so who cares’. even talent. This Captain Jack may sound a bit Sparrow once exharsh, but luckily plained this really there are so many According to the author, we can all learn something well: ‘’The problem from Captain Jack Sparrow’s careless and free life- things we can do well is not the problem. enough. So, there is style as a pirate The problem is your also a lot of potential. attitude about the probSo let’s change our per- Therefore, try to live in the lem. Do you understand?’’ spective. First of all, start moment, and remember: if How stressfully or neg- off by embracing the UCM you don’t like something, atively you perceive cer- motto that ‘everything will just lower your expectatain situations is greatly up be okay’, and then second- tions. to you. Of course, with all ly, avoid striving for perfecour obligations and all of tion. Of course, perfectionNina Dikker

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Issue #8 April 2015

theBell

THE DEATH OF

JOURNALISM Despite a recent decrease in print media, I do not believe that journalism is nearing the end of its life.

It is true that we live in a world that is constantly evolving, and it may also be true that the journalism of our parents no longer exists. Clearly, change is upon us. To stay relevant, contemporary journalism might just have to – shockingly – change with the times. The question is if this is possible without undermining the core values of journalism.

INFORM AND INVESTIGATE Traditional print media, especially publications that don’t appear daily, have a history of taking a step back from society, holding a mirror up to it and attempting to shine a light on the unilluminated. When done effectively this confrontation does not seem alienating to readers because the journalist is not commenting as an outsider, but from a position of familiarity. Magazines like The New Yorker

have always fascinated me in the way they address issues that might lie back a couple of months with a clarity that only chronological distance and, most vitally, extensive research could have provided. Naturally, this does not address the need for information updates closer to an actual event. In a time where anyone with an internet connection can access information from numerous official and unofficial sources, the news printed on the front page of, say, The New York Times, is literally yesterday’s news. At the same time, the way this information is accessible grows more informal and the emphasis on writing and style dwindles. This division between quick and easy access to information and long, more reflective, well-written articles showcases the dual nature of journalism, both of which are equally important.

The former traits address journalism’s role to inform people and is covered by short, informal news up-

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dates while longer, investigative pieces will continue to serve journalism’s second purpose. If we take investigative journalism to be society’s mirror, then we need the 140-character length news updates to constitute its frame.

MULTIMEDIA DIALOGUE INSTEAD OF SINGLE-MEDIA MONOLOGUE Because this shift is occurring – and it would be naïve to deny that it is already in full swing – journalism does not only need to adapt its content but also its medium of expression. While printed papers have great merit (they lend themselves excellently to lengthy Sunday morning reading at the breakfast table, even if you do get egg on the Culture Section) their interaction with their audience is decidedly one-sided. The future of journalism, however, lies in mobility and dialogue, characteristics that are exemplified by the internet.

Before we skip cheerfully into the sunset of

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free access to any content posted online, a caveat is in order: while the near-universal and usually free access that the internet has provided to information from all across the globe is a positive development, it is the belief that 21st century journalists can do their jobs without being paid that has undermined the industry the most. If we believe that journalists, who are educated professionals, can make a living while reducing their profession to a mere unpaid hobby, we are equating ‘free of charge’ with ‘freedom’. While I am staunchly in favour of

broad availability of information, I believe it is wrong to hold an entire industry to the same standards of free availability that we hold for the content posted on social media. A picture tweeted live from protests in Ferguson is valuable and important, but it does not stem from the same source as a lengthy analysis of police brutality towards citizens, or a similar analytical article, written a few days later. To address this problem, newspapers (how long will the word ‘paper’ still be relevant to describe such publications?) have begun to raise paywalls on

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their websites. It is a step in the right direction, towards balancing online availability and financial support for the journalist industry.

Much more still needs to be done; the industry can lead the way but people need to learn to value the work that goes into keeping one of society’s vital organs, the free press, alive. Will it be enough to balance our need for progress with maintaining a mechanism to comment on it? Only time will tell.

Sophie Silverstein

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

Issue #8 April 2015

every issue

DUM DUM DOODLE

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«features

shares his thoughts!

You humans are a creative bunch. I myself being a case in point, and along with me all the things that surround me, here in the museum. Artefacts, creations: I make, therefore I am. I adore your ability to create. Sometimes I wish I could make things, but all I make is wishes: as I can’t create, I have to be pragmatic.

Enough about me.

You, humans, make so much. Things you can touch, use, eat, wear.

And all kinds of things you cannot touch or see.

You make decisions (unless you’re lazy, and just take them) and you worship those who seem to be good at it. And you make problems. You love making problems!

Sometimes making problems seems to be enjoyable for you, and then you call it science. And even though they may

not be anybody’s problems in particular, you find no greater fulfilment than in solving them.

But more often than seeking fulfilment, you make a fuss. And fusses aren’t for fun. As a matter of fact, you veritably excel at making a fuss about things. And since you make so many things, you find so much to make a fuss about: bad hair, poverty, hunger, love, money, work, time, tenure tracks, cars, fashion, war. And I admit, these things cause great pain. They are real.

But as a problem, they are not. They are in your head. And no matter how many heads they occupy, problems are never real.

Not like hunger that bites and war that devours. To see a problem is to make one. Yet while you are so proud of what you make, only few ever claim to be the author of a problem.

Or even a fuss. Those credits are often magnanimously given to someone else. Their fault! Their doing!

But why? Don’t be so modest!

As you let your problems wander off into the real world, proudly announce them to be yours.

I made this problem! It’s mine, and mine alone – but I want to share it with you. Chances are you will find a solution together.

Or make one.

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UCF VISITING UCM

HAGELSLAG, HARM, OPEN MIC AND IRAN From February 28th to the 4th of March eighteen of the LAS [Liberal Arts and Sciences] students from Freiburg visited UCM. We had decided to hitchhike the almost 500km as a race. The winning team had a lift from Freiburg to Cologne and thus arrived at Café Zondag first. But all teams managed somehow, even the one with three people. With a little help from Laura, who organised a lot, we got to meet our lovely hosts and later had the amazing opportunity to go to Harm´s Goodbye party. All of us were stunned by the location and the effort put into the party. So it was smart to only meet at 3pm the next day for the city tour, guided by Emilie. She led us through this beautiful city and told us something about its buildings, places and history. Later in the day, we had dinner in a nice pizza place and of course, closed the day in a bar with some of the UCM students. On Monday, there was a wonderful breakfast prepared in the light-flooded Com-

mon Room with toast and delicious hagelslag. On that day and the following day we had the chance to sit-in on some classes. Although we are used to teacher-independent learning in class, the amount of autonomy of the students surprised most of us. Two very interesting events were scheduled for Monday afternoon, a tour through the St. Pieter caves inside the so called “mountain” and the lecture of the Dutch ambassador to Iran. Both of the events were very informative but nevertheless entertaining.

The lecture was followed by a joint “fish-bowl” discussion the next day. Although clearly none of us had expert knowledge of the Arab region, we came up with many arguments to different topics related to Iran and trained our debating skills along the way.

Afterwards UCF and UCM students met up to prepare a joint long term project. Among many ideas we decided to focus for now on the exchange of articles between the Bell, and the not yet established UCF

magazine about special topics and the experiences of the exchange students.

Other projects related to the project period and the themed lecture series were also on the list for further development. Later, some of us came to enjoy a fun dinner and a deep discussion with the lovely ladies of the feminist society. Our stay which was full with experiences, new friendships, knowledge and fun was topped off by the open mic night on Tuesday evening.

We were able to hand over a music book for the UCM common room and two of us even made a musical contribution, joining the many brave people giving impressive performances and creating a great time. The next day, we said goodbye with a last, huge THANK YOU to all the people organising, participating and hosting and the promise to give back the favor by trying to create an equal experience for those of you guys visiting us at the end of May. If that’s even possible!

Maren Lebsanft

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

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Issue #8 April 2015

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INTER MR. RICHARD VIEW NIMUBONA Two weeks ago UCM welcomed a new guest: Mr. Richard Nimubona.

You might have seen him wandering around UCM, encountered him in one of your tutorials or noticed him smiling brightly on one of the posters on the door.

Who is this guy?

What brings him to Maastricht and how is he settling in?

The first time I met Richard during the Foodbank at the Landhuis I had the same questions wandering in my mind. It became clear right away that he was very open to share his stories with us and that he was a man with a lot to tell. I was therefore very happy to have the opportunity to interview him and find out more.

Richard is here as part of the Shelter City program, a status that Maastricht has recently acquired along

abuses in their country.

We begin the interview with talking about his own work as a human rights defender. He tells me that he is currently a lawyer at the Association for Protection of Human Rights and People in Detention, one of the larger Human Rights organisation within Burundi. His initial motivation to enter this field stems from his personal experience with injustice during his time as a student at the University of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.

Here he was unjustly accused of organising a student protest and therefore stripped from his right to university accommodation. This all happened without any proof or any legal procedure. they can continue their From this smaller injuswork and expand their tice on university level he international network to started to fight the larger help curb the human rights injustices on a structural with a handful of other Dutch cities. This program is aimed at “sheltering� human rights defenders who can currently not safely operate within their own country. This is done on a three month basis, in which

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level. His organisation aims at bringing down structural injustices by rebuilding the rule of law in a Burundi that is marked by its post-conflict context and serious violations of human rights. He explains that there are especially many issues related to the abuse of power by the police and issues of nepotism within the government.

So what does a human rights defender actually do? It sounds impressive and admirable, but what does it entail? He tells me that his work is mostly focussed on revealing the abuses committed by the government to the general public and civil society. This means giving public speeches and using other tools of communication to reveal the abuses and also involves intense reporting on the issues.

Moreover, he is very involved with prisoner rights, which means he often visits the prisons to check on the conditions and he works with prisoners to provide them with legal aid and social support.

So why he is in Maastricht exactly now? With a worried look he tells me that he strongly felt in danger in his country. Burundi is

currently heading towards another national election, in which the current president wants to unlawfully run for president for his 3rd term. This means that the government in power tries to crush the opposition as much as possible and ensure that all critics are silenced. Richard, as one of the press representatives of his organisation who often gives critical public speech-

es, became a clear target of the government. He says he is genuinely worried for his and his family’s life and that he is even fearful of leaving his house. He has previously been arrested for openly protesting against the arbitrary arrest of the president of his human rights organisation and knew that he needed to leave the country if he wanted to avoid the same fate. He therefore applied to the program and found out only a month ago that he was actually able to go.

Many other human rights

activist are still in Burundi and are in danger of being prosecuted and arrested.

So how is he enjoying his stay in Maastricht so far? Even though he says he sometimes feels lonely and of course misses his wife and child, he still feels very welcomed by UCM students and the city of Maastricht. He still needs to get used to some of the bizarre elements of Dutch culture, but he already has the word “gezellig� down so that is definitely a start. He continues doing his work via Internet, communicates with the organisation and follows the day-to-day work. He wants to use his time here to broaden the international connections of the organisation and is soon visiting the International Court of Justice in the Hague. He wants to continue sharing his knowledge of Africa and Burundi especially with the community of UCM. He is always open to meeting new people and interacting with both students and staff. So do not be afraid to approach him and let us make him feel welcome in our little UCM community.

Laurens Kymmell

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

Issue #8 April 2015

BOYAN SLAT MAKING IT PERSONAL

Close-up shot. Zoom on a young man’s face. Pause.

His eyes rigidly stare into the camera. They are a remarkable blueish-green and appear bloodshot. His brown hair resembles that of a nerdy surfer who prefers to visit his hairdresser as rarely as possible. Behind this inconspicuous appearance hides a very special character by the name of Boyan Slat, a 20 year-old environmental revolutionist from Delft, who has been all over the news. His idea: to clean the oceans from plastic waste in only a decade or less. His idea is not a mere vision, however, it is coming alive under his award-winning Ocean Clean Up initiative. The technique developed by

the young Dutchman and his fast-growing team will be efficient, fast, cheap, and maybe even profitable. It will undo what has, to this point, been considered irreversible human ruthlessness toward mother nature. While Boyan’s cleverly devised concept is awe-inspiring not only to engineers and scientists, it is the story behind it all which itself is most fascinating. The journey began just three years ago when the teenager decided to dedicate himself to the issue of plastic pollution in a high school project. As he could not get the problem out of his mind even after graduation and into his first year at university, he kept doing more research to de-

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velop a feasible solution. In 2012, over a million people watched Boyan on Youtube giving a slightly clumsy but persuasive TED talk in Delft on his idea. After a crowdfunding campaign had made the launch of the project possible, the whole enterprise could be taken to a new level. Today, The Ocean Clean Up appears to be a promising start-up initiative with highly professional promotion. It seems almost glamorous, but the person behind it does not – even though Boyan’s mother persists that her little boy has always been a little more curious than the other kids. That is what is truly amazing to people all around the world. How could an ordinary person at such a young age accomplish such a big thing?

But Boyan is not ordinary or normal. What sets him apart is that he has a problem. Or rather that he has accepted a problem – that

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of plastic pollution in the oceans. Play. Fast forward.

“I was 16 years old. I was diving in Greece and I came across more plastic bags than fish. Before I did this dive, I certainly heard about the problem. Then I saw it myself: huge garbage dumped under the surface of the ocean. That’s what really upset me. Something was wrong here and I decided to focus my time on that,” explains Boyan from the off. It describes the moment when the Dutch teenager did not only acknowledge that plastic pollution was an issue, but when he accepted it as his own personal problem. It was no longer a thing – it became his thing. This is a step which only few people take. But somehow this psychological barrier must be overcome: only if the problem is personal, we are eager to find a solution.

Boyan knows this. Under urgent glances he emphasises that plastic waste does not only endanger marine life, but also human health.

Maybe by making them aware that the issue concerns them, he can make people care. While people donating for the cause may have somewhat accepted the issue as their own, volunteers and employees, who joint the initiative to work full-time for it, have gone all the way. But the real hero is Boyan Slat, the young man wearing a suit that is a little too big and neon-green sunglasses that just do not quite match the business look. His words on stage: “When there is a complicated problem, people automatically start thinking about a complex solution. But the core idea, I think, is really to have that as simple as possible.” Boyan went through with this

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principle. He saw a huge problem, made it his own and found a simple solution. In the end, perhaps only he could have accomplished to develop such inventive and effective techniques. That is a question of fate. However, all of us can accept problems as our own. We can all make it personal.

Svenja Woitt For more information visit: www.theoceancleanup. com www.boyanslat.com (The video I’m indirectly referring to in the article is this: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=4IqsD-HAYwk )

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BY A THREAD:

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REPAIRING COLOMBIA’S BLOOD-SPATTERED HISTORY It is May 1964. The crickets chirp and the birds sing in the humid air. 48 armed fighters find themselves in the mountains of the self-proclaimed Marquetalia Republic in the southern region of the department of Tolima. Members of the Colombian Communist Party have sought asylum in this self-defence community. At urgent request of its American ally, the Colombian State storms Marquetalia, a town of merely 1,000 inhabitants, with 16,000 troops. The 48 men try to fight the government forces, but finally escape into the misty Andean mountains. Lead by Manuel Marulanda Vélez, known popularly as Tirofijo, they become the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – FARC. In the tropical mountains of central Colombia, history is written.

It is October 4, 2012. 48 years, over six million victims and four failed peace processes later hope raises from the ashes. After six months of “exploratory conversations,” President

Juan Manuel Santos announces that negotiations with the FARC will take place in Oslo, Norway. As early as November 6, government and FARC representatives move to the Cuban capital of La Havana.

The agenda is massive, their responsibility is colossal and the problems are overwhelming. The peace talks programme consists of five specific discussion points, whose resolution ideally leads to the scenario of a peaceful Colombia.

The first point concerns a major land reform, including the formalisation of land ownership for the poor, infrastructure and development improvement, food security, housing, and eradication of rural poverty. This is followed by political participation, which seeks to grant demobilised FARC members the right to access the political process and thereby gain direct participation. The third point relates to the end of the conflict, more specifically a bilateral ceasefire and the putting down of arms. The matter of illegal drugs, the

fourth point, regards the substitution of coca, opium and marijuana crops, programmes for addicts and prevention. Finally, the fifth and perhaps most controversial point, is the reparations to the victims, which includes compensation and revealing the truth both from the side of the FARC as well as from the Colombian State. All these five points are then to be followed by a final approval mechanism. While the FARC advocate for a National Constituent Assembly á-la-French Revolution to sign off the accords, the Colombian government, and most importantly its people, strongly support the establishment of a democratic referendum to grant legitimacy to the final agreement. As promising as it all may sound, the complexity of the ongoing conflict must not be underestimated.

Colombia has the second highest number of in-

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ternally displaced people in the world, with over 4.5 million people fleeing their homes due to violence. The World Organisation Against Torture stated that “the practice of torture is systematically and deliberately used in Colombia as a form of political persecution and to sow terror.” According to them, 90 per cent of these cases are attributed to the Colombian State, in the country with the highest number of forced disappearances in the world with approximately 30,000 people believed to still be missing. Public officials, in one way or another, are allegedly implicated in about 97 per cent of the disappearances. The FARC, on the other side, are known to fund their operations by ransom and politically motivated kidnapping, illegal mining, extortion/taxation of various forms of productive activity, and the production and distribution of illegal drugs, most commonly cocaine, which accounts for approximately 80 per cent of its income.

According to Human Rights Watch, the FARC are the largest planters of landmines in the world. In addition to this, they have resorted to terrorist acts against the civilian population, such as the infamous bombing of Bogotá’s elite social club El

Nogal in 2003. Finally, the polarisation in the political environment of the country could also not be greater.

Whilst one side supports former President Alvaro Uribe, who advocates for a military solution to the conflict and has been associated in scandals with rightwing paramilitary groups, the other side supports President Juan Manuel Santos. Santos is Uribe’s former Defence Minister, and has been accused of corruption in order to propel himself to a second term in the presidential elections of last year. His own vanity and alleged obsession with the Nobel Prize for Peace blind him into having a overly-yielding position towards the FARC who have terrorised the civilian population for almost half a century.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is dim and its bulb is running out of energy.

There is a Colombian proverb that says that “the person who recognises his major mistakes is on the road to wisdom.” Wisdom may seem a far-away destiny, but forgiveness is a key element to building a long-lasting, well-deserved peace in a country of beautiful landscapes, thriving people and talented artists. Colombian society must learn to embrace life

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as sacred, as advocated by former Bogotá major and 2010 Presidential candidate Antanas Mockus, who also proposed a “collective therapy against vengeance.” This post-conflict society must be built on a basis of mutual respect and a general condemnation of any type of violence. When a society finds a mean to justify war or brutality, its values crumble upon a sea of uncertain, questionable morality. Colombian society must learn from these mistakes and arrive at a consensus where the lives and decisions of every individual are respected, and where alternative methods are addressed to tackle its ever-occurring problems, such as the legalisation of soft drugs, the decentralisation of the Colombian State apparatus and the restructuring of the public educational system, to mention but a few. History, meanwhile, will continue its course.

It is February 2015. The future of a country hangs by a thread.

And its people hold their breath.

Sergio Calderon-Harker

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

Issue #8 April 2015

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THE MARKETISATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AND SOCIETY’S COMPLICITY Since the beginning of the occupation of the Bungehuis and the Maagdenhuis by students and staff members of the University of Amsterdam, a new movement of student activism has swept over the Netherlands. Calling their movement The New University, students and educators all over the country continue to voice concerns about the current state of our system of higher education.

While the Maagdenhuis has been occupied for more than four weeks by now, and the New University Maastricht is hosting debates regarding the structural problems specific to Maastricht, similar groups are being formed in Delft, Groningen, Leiden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Tilburg and Utrecht.

Such widespread support seems to suggest a broader national importance of the debate. But really, the problems raised in Amsterdam (or Maastricht) – to which I will get shortly

– transcend the national level. Neither the issues at the core of the debate nor this currently expanding movement of student protest are new or unique phenomena. Rather, both can be traced back to larger developments, which I

will explore in the upcoming paragraphs.

The demands that lay at the centre of the current movement largely aim at the following issues: the insufficient transparency of the finances of universities, output based funding that puts monetary incentives on the production of

university graduates, the lacking security and protection of academic staff (mainly due to temporary contracts), the declining quality of university education, the deteriorating support and funding for small scale humanities programs as well as the perceived lacking of structures for the democratic representation of students and staff in main decision-making bodies.

Yet, while the occupation of the Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam is often regarded as a popular revolution ready to trail blaze the way for a new kind of university, it really provides momentum to a series of structural problems that are systemic not only to our universities, but to our society at large.

The issues raised by the New University are mainly located in the growing marketisation of universities. Universities increasingly behave like corporations, interested in high quantities of published

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research results, ever in- most opportunities. We striving to transform ourcreasing student num- are told that dropping out selves into something the bers and a sound financial of college borders on in- labour market is willing to model, providing for sub- sanity, and that study pro- employ. But is that really stantial profit or surplus. grammes are classifiable all university education is The characteristics of the according to their useful- about? Are we only here market economy start to ness. We accept the nar- to get a degree, or are we shape the very concept rative that studying Scan- here to learn? Is there not “university”: efficiency dinavian languages does a value of universities beand profitability are yond the preparation now at the centre for future careers? of the workings of a As long as our souniversity, leading to ciety continues to valthe rationalisation of ue education based policies aiming to inon the income it will crease student numprovide in the future, bers while decreasing as long as we classistaff or sacking of fy study programmes humanities programs, and disciplines acfor example. Howevcording to their utility er, if universities are not for society but for corporations, offering the economy, there a product in the marcan be no meaningket, we need to think ful reformation of about what the prodour universities. If uct is, and who its A red square outside of UM’s headquarters at Mind- we want universities erbroedersberg, painted as part of the New University buyers are. Clearly, the to return to their core Maastricht protests university appears as business of providing the provider of the good not yield the same value education and facilitate “education”, and we as as studying public policy. research, we need to stop students are its consum- Even here at UCM, we incentivising the instruers. In a world that seems are complicit in this: how mentalisation of educato offer fewer and few- many times have we con- tion and start valuing it er secure job options but sidered to take that statis- for what it is - a beacon more and more competi- tics course because of its for the scientific and mortion and uncertainty, we alleged utility, and how al advancement of society are told that the only way many times have we com- and individual self-develto even have a shot at a plained that the absence opment; a value un-quansecure future is to attain a of internships on our cur- tifiable by methods of utiluniversity degree. Not just riculum renders us utterly ity and efficiency. any, of course, but one unemployable? Even here that is as prestigious as at UCM, a heaven of liberSvea Windwehr possible and offers us the al arts education, we are

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WHY WE NEED PLURALISM IN ECONOMICS AT UCM There is a problem with the way economics are currently taught - not only at UCM but in most university-related institutions.

The International Student Initiative for Pluralism in Economics writes: “It is not only the world economy that is in crisis. The teaching of economics is in crisis, too”. We believe that this ‘crisis’ is a lack of pluralism in approaching the discipline. A pluralist education would acknowledge other schools of thought (e.g.

Institutionalist Economics, Marxist Economics, or Ecological Economics), would engage in discussions about commonalities and differences among those schools, and would be inherently interdisciplinary. It would furthermore be highly reflective of its own tools and assumptions. One can make several strong arguments about why pluralism is necessary for the discipline, for example that as a social science, a non-pluralist approach would be insufficient; that 21st century phenomena are too complex to approach without a pluralist stance; or that pluralism in any discipline is beneficial for students’ learning processes. However, in this article we would

like to make an argument about why it is especially necessary at UCM. We will argue that UCM should adopt a pluralist approach to the economic discipline by virtue of being a Liberal Arts program.

As a Liberal Arts College, UCM wants to encourage critical thinking.

There is a number of academic research about the function and value of Liberal Arts education. Janeksela, for example, writes that Liberal Arts represents “an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change” (2012, p.2).

There is a common understanding of Liberal Arts as being inherently linked to the skill of critical thinking. In the words of Albert Einstein: “The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks”.

Furthermore, at the UCM website one can read that “[a]t the College, students are trained in how to think analytically and in scientific methods. Students thus learn to ask fundamental questions about scien-

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tific and social issues”.

Therefore it is apparent that UCM does not only want to teach tools, but also, and maybe even more importantly, how to think critically about these tools and theories. If this is the case, however, it is of crucial importance to approach academia in a pluralist way, since there is an inherent link between pluralism and critical thinking. Regarding this link, Mason writes that “dialogue with others who are different, who have different world views and cultural backgrounds, is an essential feature of critical thinking. We thus learn to see things from different perspectives, to contextualise our world view within the bigger picture” (2008, p.3). In order to approach issues critically, we need to be aware of the bias we are confronted with, and need to be confronted with alternatives. Only if this is the case, critical thinking is truly possible.

All in all, therefore, if UCM as a Liberal Arts College wants to encourage critical thinking, then it is counter-productive to pretend that there is consensus in the discipline of economics. Instead, UCM should rather adopt an approach which is more in line with its view on academianamely a pluralist one.

PINE UCM

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semester abrod»

ALL TALK

I, like many others at UCM, embarked upon a “fall semester abroad” in the 1st half of my third year. In my wish to go out there but obviously not too far out there, I had decided America would be the obvious destination. Failing to obtain a place at Richmond, Virginia and all it’s nostalgic Civil War, Robert E. Lee, southern misguidedness, I plucked for Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Upstate New York. Hobart was simultaneously small, rural and in America - it fulfilled all the important criteria.

Being born and raised in North London, I presumed, had prepared me well for the isolation one may experience in a little college in the vast American weirdness. Even more, surely just being English would afford me a degree of reverence in the eyes of my peers. Yet, during my first week of college I realized upon a phenomenon that challenged every romantic notion of America I

had. American small talk.

Or, as I came to know it, all talk. It is a very basic concept and can be explained briefly with an example.

You pass by someone you have already met they might say, “whats up” or “how’s it going brah”. Of course you respond right?

Wrong. If you say anything in response, you have just become a social pariah.

Encounters such as these would leave me hanging in the wind, uttering “good man, yourself?” to the back of someone’s head.

Nothing could have prepared me for the nimbus cloud of small talk that floats overhead most tiny conversations in tiny American colleges. In the first few weeks of the semester the level did not rise above shit chat. Of course there were many lovely people who could rise above it but I was still shocked by the sheer enormity of the problem, and how it progressed.

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All talk did not stop at greetings. As an exchange student there were only two questions that anyone was interested in. Where are you from? And what do you think of America? I answered once by saying I was originally Nigerian and that overall I thought Russia was better, they didn’t even blink. Blatant lies just broke up the monotony a bit. I was on one occasion even asked if I was putting on an English accent. I felt sorrier for my UCM colleague, Felix Dijkstal, who had real trouble convincing people that he was from the Netherlands and not Denmark. My description of American college life does a disservice to most of the students at Hobart and I have never been one to jump on the America equals stupid bandwagon.

I suppose you expect me to finish on a glass half full note, I became a citizen of the world, horizons were broadened and so on. But what I really learned from American life is, whenever approaching a potentially awkward encounter, just keep on keepin’ on.

Henry Skewes

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

PASSING THE

EXPIRY DATE When I am between 70 and 80 years old, I want to be run over by a drunk truck driver who is carrying explosive material. Then I will die when I am quite old, and if everything has gone well, I hope I will have fulfilled what I wanted to fulfil. The most beautiful part is that I will have no idea that I am dying, since the drunk truck driver will suddenly collide into me out of nowhere with such an insanely rampant speed that I will be annihilated right on the spot. As a bonus to make the whole situation even better, I will be on my way to something very joyful, so I will die happily.

Unfortunately, this is an idealised situation. If I reach

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ÂŤcreative

this time in my life, the chances are that I will pass 80 years, after which I will grow increasingly incompetent in every single aspect of life until I have to be fed, washed and am hated by my family who actually wish I was dead. They are right about this. I should have died at the point when the values of my mind and body had diminished. At this point my family, feeling sad for my painful situation, will say to each other that they never want to get into my situation, and that they would rather be run over by a truck when they are around 70. Maybe my grandson will decide to write some semi-critical article in which he tries to be

funny for a free magazine about this.

The previously described situation is becoming more common. People get older and older, until they reach a critical point at which they are actually too old to have a decent life. Since people are chronic self-deceivers too afraid to see the truth, most of them will probably passively stay in their decreasing situation until they wake up one day covered in their own piss or some other disgusting substance.

Right before this moment there was probably a party celebrating how old the person had become, and how strong of a person he/ she is to have reached this age.

That is a problem in our society, calling people who endlessly try to escape

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death, strong, or even heroes. Even at the age of 85.

Denying your situation and thereby stealing precious money and time from people who actually need it (for example someone of 30 who is dying) is seen as an act of utmost heroism. But when one actually thinks about it, the conclusion should arise that it must be way harder to accept the fact that your life is not worth anything anymore, after which you take the decision to stop treatments.

It is the difference between running away from something you don’t want to hear with your eyes closed and your ears covered screaming ‘’lalalala, I can’t hear anything’’ and facing the painful truth. The sad part is that people who are strong enough to accept their death, and who are willing to face it are often criticised and seen as losers by society. It seems that we value passivity more than activity.

As long as there are still obituary notes regarding 95 year olds saying ‘’shocked by his/her sudden death’’ I assume that we are collectively doing this all the time in order not to think about death, let alone to accept it when it comes at a ridiculously old age. If you are actually shocked by a 95 year old dying, you would be

amazed what other equally unexplainable phenomena occur in the world, like rain or ice cream. It is an abuse of the word ‘’shocked’’ to use it in the case of a 95 year old dying. The word might be justified in case you are confused because you find out that the person who you thought was already dead for years was actually still alive until a week ago. However, the text ‘’shocked because we thought he was already dead for years, yet we just found out that he died only a few days ago. How remarkable.’’ might come over as rather strange and disrespectful for an obituary note, so I believe this is not the reason why people use such words.

I understand that in a society in which everything is supposed to be controllable by human beings, it must be hard to accept that a perfectly natural event occurs to a loved one, in which it is not anybody’s fault. You can’t say someone acted neglectful, you can’t angrily call someone incompetent or a murderer, and the outcome is uncontrollable. You are left with the painful realisation that your 80 year old mother died because she was old and done. That is hard for everybody, and you need strength for it.

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But why bother going through all of that, when you can also just call the doctor a serial killer? In that way, you don’t have to face the fact that there is an end to our influence on the world, and the best of all is that you don’t have to think for a second about the fact that there might be a small fraction of a possibility of you dying at some point in time. That might be part of the problem, the fact that the acceptance of someone’s death by nature, is also a defeat for our own illusion of immortality.

As a final note I would like to emphasise that when I am around the age of 80, I am just as likely to be as much of a self-deceiving scared little coward as all of you. This means that I will most probably also rather live in denial, lose all of my dignity by going through an endless package of useless treatments, and eventually end up as a living corpse than to find the strength to die. I also like living by the illusion of immortality more than living with the idea of my own death.

However, it would be best to die while we’re still alive, than to endlessly keep on living while we’re dead. We should become more aware of that.

Xavier Salet

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

Issue #8 April 2015

STANDING ON TWO SOLEMN FEET I immediately realized you When I first sat down on that bench.

A round lawn was centered around you And you were standing on two solemn feet.

I remember that your cloak reflected The shimmer of the almond blossoms.

You seemed to smile and smoked a pipe, Offered your shoulder to a tired dove.

In summer, you were always there, Entwined by flattering scents.

No sweat pearled on your shining chest, Not even as the sun stood

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Leaked by warm village houses To the bitter cold of our park.

highest.

I touched your chest, but, oh, how cold it was In autumn, it was you, And adamant; so I laid chasing tails down at your two feet, Of leaves in red, brown, or- Poured my few coins out of ange, gold. my hat I waved my hand in diffi- And placed it sedately on dence my frozen wisps of hair.

And smiled at your twinkled reply.

I took a last, deep breath, In winter, then, the snowflakes stormed – You were still standing on two solemn feet.

As the stars hid under the white haze, I asked for warmth under your cloak.

But you just stood on your two solemn feet And stared indifferently at the lights

imagined How you would reflect my memories In summer, autumn, winter, spring Above your two admired, solemn feet, My one and only friend.

Niklas Elsenbruch

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CLOSED EYES. Thin air. Thick lungs.

Breath In. And Out. Silence fills the room, Dancing fingertips.

Sting in the tongue, Shivering lips.

Wet hair. Dry skin.

Breath In. And Out. The floor trembles, The bass alive.

Soft touch pulls the strings, In the star-crowded sky.

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MAYBE. Maybe.

Perhaps.

We see.

Do we?

The mess.

The smoke.

The lies.

Can we?

How empty.

How full.

How true.

Should we?

Closed Eyes.

Opened Heart.

Breath In. And Out.

So close.

So far.

So clear.

May we?

Sergio Calderon-Harker

I feel it.

I see it.

It comes.

I think.

Not them.

Not us.

But all.

Must be.

Some Peace.

Some Hope.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

Sergio Calderon-Harker

University College Maastricht UCMSA Universalis

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