{"id":118088,"date":"2020-10-01T11:06:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T09:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=118088"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:06","slug":"open-student-societies-are-better-than-house-parties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/10\/01\/open-student-societies-are-better-than-house-parties\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Open student societies are better than house parties’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student associations in Rotterdam are complying with the government\u2019s new corona measures without kicking up a fuss. However, it remains to be seen whether it would be wise to close down bars and restaurants – and therefore the student clubs – sooner rather than later. “We have things more under control at a student clubhouse than when parties are held elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

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The RSG clubhouse in times of corona.<\/span><\/p>

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The tenures of Lars Ahsman (Laurentius), Scott Wentzel (SSR) and Lotte van den Bergh (CoR) as the chairs of the four student associations have started out differently from those of all their predecessors. Whereas their predecessors were mainly busy with making sure first-year students had a good time during their introduction period, the days of these chairs are swamped with making corona plans instead. And while these plans appeared to be up to date and in effect last week, they were already outdated by Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Yet you do not hear them complaining when you ask the chairs about the tightening up of the corona measures. Scott Wentzel of the SSR: \u201cActually, we already foresaw that the maximum group size had to be reduced from fifty to thirty. And most of the other decisions are also to understand too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Scott Wentzel (SSR)<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The SSR paid an expensive price for a lesson learnt this summer, when 23 members of the association returned infected from a trip to Greece. The incident \u2013 which surfaced just before the start of Eureka week \u2013 was severely sanctioned by Rector Rutger Engels. He initially excluded SSR from all activities during the introduction week. \u201cWe became extremely careful after that. Our introduction time is therefore quite different from normal; more focused on teaching standards and values. Usually we let first-year students have a blast \u2013 which invariably involves a lot of physical contact \u2013 but obviously this is not happening at the moment. Hopefully they will make up for that later on, but now the motto is: stay seated at the pub and wash your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

SSR is fully behind being \u2018100 percent corona-proof\u2019 at the student club. What goes on in the student houses is a completely different matter though. Wentzel: \u201cOf course we appeal to our members to consider other people\u2019s safety, but what really happens when they walk out the door is not so easy to control. That\u2019s why we first sent an email to all the student houses, and now we\u2019re also going to get in touch with the house elders in person. We are urging them to take action to ensure that there is some form of social control aimed at curbing the virus. After all, a student house is a group of friends, so you should be able to talk to each other about inappropriate behaviour. Don\u2019t just go to the beach for the day, avoid unnecessary trips. The sense of urgency has certainly intensified after the last press conference. The tone is much sharper now, and the message is definitely getting through.\u201d<\/p>\n

'The virus is now hitting Laurentius too'<\/h2>
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They also saw the storm coming at Laurentius. Chair Lars Ahsman: \u201cWe last tightened up our plans a couple of weeks ago. Before we could even carry them out, these new measures had already landed on our plates. That\u2019s logical, of course, given that while we hardly saw any infections three weeks ago, the virus is now hitting Laurentius too.\u201d
\nIn response to the early closing times, Laurentius recently brought the opening times of the club forward from 9 pm to 6 pm, and as of this week, it is even open at 5 in the afternoon. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to be able to offer new students -who are still secondary school students in a way -a home base. Having a drink together is a part of that, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before the new measures came into force, Laurentius advised its members to organise get-togethers in caf\u00e9s, where the rules are more easily enforced than in student houses. Ahsman: \u201cYou don\u2019t have much control over any of that in houses as it is. Now that we have to close earlier, I contacted all forty house elders personally and asked them to make sure that the rules are being followed. If you do this face-to-face, then it\u2019s more effective than sending an email or a letter. Which means I\u2019m busy all day, that\u2019s true. But I\u2019m just not as comfortable with student house parties than with get-togethers held at the club. Let\u2019s just hope that it doesn\u2019t end up in a real lockdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

'You can't intrude on private lives'<\/h2>
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Lotte van den Bergh, chair of the Rotterdam Advisory Board of Student Associations (the RKvV, Rotterdamse Kamer van Verenigingen) has qualms about how the measures concerning closing times in the hospitality sector also affects student associations. \u201cIn fact, infections have not really been contracted at student clubs where students tend to get together in smaller groups. You can\u2019t force people to behave better this way because you can\u2019t intrude on their private lives like that.\u201d As far as this is concerned, Van den Bergh is expecting more from the plans that the five Rotterdam social clubs of the RKvV are currently working on. \u201cI hope that this will lead to some good ideas that will promote public awareness.\u201d The plans are to be presented in the near future.<\/p>\n

These plans are unrelated to the prize recently promised<\/a> by Rotterdam\u2019s mayor Aboutaleb for the best campaign idea aimed at making students aware of the importance of the corona measures. The winning plan will be announced during an online meeting at the university on Monday October 5.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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