Very busy on the terrace (and with enrolments) at RSC/RVSV

From a distance, the RSC/RVSV building is almost unrecognisable. Due to the large scaffolding that acts as an annex, with a footbridge to a neighbouring field, the building seems to have doubled in size. The temperature is rising, as is the volume of the music, and students are rapidly filling up the terrace. There’s a queue at the entrance, and it’s only 4.00 p.m., midway through day three of Eureka week.

Students are lying on the grass in the sun, having a beer or eating chips. Enjoying some relaxation before the party continues. Now that the links with the university have been restored following a suspension (due to abuses during the hazing), the association can be part of Eureka week again this year. The temporary absence of the association did not diminish its popularity, however. This year, there have already been more than five hundred enrolments, despite there only being place for four hundred members.

Toasties

Wearing her sunglasses, Zonne (18) is also sitting with a group of girls at a picnic table. With a drink in her hand, she explains that she has enrolled and hopes to become a member: “This week I’ve been staying in an RSC/RVSV house, and it’s been amazing. Perhaps the best part of this Eureka week is coming home at night and making toasties together.” It’s not certain whether Zonne will become a member; because of the huge number of enrolments, lots will have to be drawn.

Guido van Winden, president of RSC/RVSV, explains that they’ve hired a lawyer to do this: “The lottery is random, but the male-female ratio is fifty-fifty. We felt that was the best and fairest way.” The members will be announced as usual on Thursday evening.

Exhausting

For Robin (21), a student association isn’t so important. “I prefer to focus on my Econometrics studies.” So far, she’s really enjoyed Eureka week, with the cantus being the highlight. “That’s really been the best thing so far, even though it took a while to get in.” She’s sitting on the ground playing cards with her group. None of them knew each other previously.

“I’d like to have had more say about allocating the groups, because it’s much more fun with your own friends, but I understand why it’s been organised this way,” Robin continues. “It does mean that you can meet new people, and they can’t take everyone into account.”

Being out all day and meeting new people is quite tiring, says Zonne: “The atmosphere everywhere is very good, but it is exhausting.”

Police and fire service

However, the fatigue of day three hasn’t dampened the atmosphere or put people off. New people are constantly arriving on the terrace via the high stairs. Now it’s so full that people have to shuffle past each other. People are sitting on the steps and on the walls around the terrace.

On Tuesday night, a student fell from a balcony in the Delftsch Studenten Corps, but fortunately, his injuries weren’t too bad. Van Winden: “We very much regret what happened. We have our scaffolding checked every day by the police and fire service, so it’s completely safe.”