Tracking group 228: The wild cantus leaves freshmen without energy on Day 3

Sitting around a box of donuts and many mugs of coffee, the members in  Group 228 are in recovery mode following the bombshell that is the cantus. They are no longer the jubilant fresh-faced first years they have been before the marathon of singing and drinking that took place the night before. All that remains are bleary eyes and hoarse voices.

“I sound like I smoked ten packs of cigarettes last night,” says IBA student Amber, who certainly won’t be doing karaoke on Day 4.

It isn’t till well past 1’o clock in the afternoon when the group slowly makes their way to the Excelsior football grounds. That the new students are having such a slow start to their day is a testament to how successful the cantus was. There certainly don’t seem to be any signs of regret amongst the first-years.

“Last night was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long, long time,” says Daniël Wasser, smiling. “I’m a huge fan of old music, especially Queen, so when they did a medley of Queen songs I was absolutely loving it. The band was fantastic. I was just amazed that the singers could hit such high notes.”

Sports day (no thank you)

The third day of Eurekaweek is dedicated to getting active at the home of Eredivisie club Excelsior. Student associations and sports clubs alike turned the area into a giant sporty playground that had everything from a mini-rugby pitch and an inflatable basketball court to a gymnastics tumbling mat and an escape room.

It can be said, however, that the organisers of Eurekaweek are a bit optimistic about planning the sports activities 12 hours after the cantus. Despite all the possible games that can be played, the members of group 228 are more interested in relaxing on the turf.

“I didn’t get home till after 5 so this isn’t really optimal,” says Yannick Schupp, hiding behind his sunglasses.

At one point a trio of SSR members tries to convince a few of the first-years to join their association, but to no avail. The guys can barely hold in their yawns as they listened.

Spare the energy

The evening of Day 3 resembles the morning. Instead of exploring the night life of the city, the first years opt to take it easy and relax at the guides’ house, sparing their energy for the final day of Eurekaweek.

To see what the freshmen will up to on Day 4, take a look here.