Red beer pong cups are arranged on sticky tables, loud bass from the speakers drowns out most conversation, and flashes of purple light sweep across the dance floor: it almost looks like a regular Wednesday night at Cafe de Beurs. But the around forty students are not only here to party, they’re voting for their representatives at the University Council.
The event, organised by student party OUR Erasmus, aimed to get students voting in a Council election that many here didn’t even know was taking place just a few days ago.
A vote for a drink
“Have you voted yet?”, asks Timo Zandvliet to a group of students who have just arrived. Timo, a current member of the University Council and founder of OUR Erasmus, makes sure that everyone takes some time to vote. A beer pitcher in one hand and a fistful of white tokens in the other, he describes the concept of the party. “No matter who you’re voting for, even if it’s a blank vote, you get a token and a free drink at the bar.”
Saturday exams and saving the G-building
On the other side of the pub, Sietse de Boer, a candidate for OUR Erasmus, is playing beer pong. He emphasises that no one is being pressured into voting for OUR tonight. ‘Students must vote to have a representation that matches their beliefs’. After another round of the drinking game, students explain their motivations to vote. Guido, a first-year Law student, hopes to see an end to Saturday exams. “It may seem like a silly point, but many students travel home on weekends. Five days a week at university is enough,” he argues.
For Bianca, an Econometrics student, it’s the closing of the G-building that caught her attention. “Even if they can’t stop the demolition, I trust OUR Erasmus to push for good alternative study places”, she says.
What council?
Yet, several students had never heard about the University Council until very recently. “Honestly, I had no idea it even existed,” laughs Fay, who came with a group of friends. “I only found out because one of my friends is running.”
Bianca had the same experience, she came to vote because her friend told her about it. “There needs to be more visibility: posters on campus, social media… anything to let students know this even exists”, she says.
Proper student representation
This low awareness among students regarding the University Council leads Timo to fear that students don’t get a ‘proper study representation’. Inspired by similar models at other Dutch universities, he decided to organise this OUR Erasmus party, inviting members of all faculty associations. “Right now, most people get elected just because they have a big friend group,” he says. “Electing board members makes more sense as they know about policy-making, strategy, and dealing with bureaucracy,” he adds.
Mary-Jane van Buren, who’s currently running for the council as her faculty association’s representative, agrees with him. “This isn’t just about votes. It’s about raising awareness about student representation.”
