{"id":133580,"date":"2021-11-30T11:10:24","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T10:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=133580"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:01","slug":"student-house-villa-opstelten-we-students-should-not-all-be-tarred-with-the-same-brush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/11\/30\/student-house-villa-opstelten-we-students-should-not-all-be-tarred-with-the-same-brush\/","title":{"rendered":"Student house Villa Opstelten: ‘We students should not all be tarred with the same brush’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kralingen residents tend to complain about students who cause inconvenience to their neighbours. However, the students living in Villa Opstelten actually feel that students are vital to the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

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Students Floor (left) and Britt (right) in their living room<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMilena Chopova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Eleven female students live in Villa Opstelten, a house named after former Mayor of Rotterdam Ivo Opstelten. They are a bit fed up with all the negative press students are getting. Kralingen residents have been complaining about the student houses in their neighbourhood, which are said to cause more and more inconvenience, for a while now. The girls have experienced that students and their non-student neighbours are increasingly at odds with each other, to the point where the locals would like to be rid of the students. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t all be tarred with the same brush,\u201d says Floor, one of the residents. \u201cMost students are honestly reasonable people and like to be considerate of others. In addition, we try to give back to society to the best of our ability, by volunteering in all sorts of projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annual theme party<\/h2>

In an old mansion in Oostzeedijk Beneden, two students, Floor (21) and Britt (22) are seated at the dinner table in the living room. Due to privacy reasons, they don\u2019t want their surname to be in the article. Behind them is a light yellow wall with the house\u2019s logo and name painted on it in purple and gold.<\/p>\n

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The wall is always painted in accordance with the theme of the annual party.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMilena Chopova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The living room is colourful. Behind the TV is a purple wall featuring quotations by the residents and their friends (\u2018if anyone says anything funny, we write it on the wall\u2019). A dark blue sofa sits opposite the TV. Behind it is a light blue wall with pink clouds and hand-painted Disney characters on it. \u201cWe painted those ourselves,\u201d Floor tells us, proudly. \u201cWe use a projector to project the image onto the wall. Then we trace the outlines of the projected image.\u201d Every year, they organise a dinner and theme party, for which the wall is always painted in accordance with the theme. Last year they were all dressed like Disney characters. Obviously.<\/p>\n

Good time<\/h2>

All the students living in the house are busy with their studies or side jobs, and some of them also serve on the board of a student or study society. Nevertheless, they all have dinner together every Wednesday, and once a month they will go out together. \u201cA little while ago we went to the Dizzy jazz caf\u00e9,\u201d says Floor. \u201cWe had a really good time. Those nights out are a great way to catch up properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t