{"id":156092,"date":"2023-06-19T13:43:57","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T11:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=156092"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:50","slug":"hyphens-and-full-stops-as-names-for-international-students-it-feels-like-the-country-is-rejecting-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/06\/19\/hyphens-and-full-stops-as-names-for-international-students-it-feels-like-the-country-is-rejecting-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyphens and full stops as names for international students: ‘It feels like the country is rejecting you’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under the Dutch system, international students who do not have a surname are given a hyphen or a full stop as their first name. This notation has similarly been adopted at the university. This causes inconveniences and problems, with students often undergoing extra checks at exams and their diploma stating their name differently from their passport.<\/p>\n

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Early on in her first year, third-year student Amara Zafira Raharjo realised that her first name on Canvas and OSIRIS was a full stop (.) and that her series of names was placed in the surname column. Therefore, in the EUR system, the Indonesian student is listed as \u2018. Amara Zafira Raharjo\u2019.<\/p>\n\t

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A common Indonesian problem?<\/span><\/p>\n

Three of the students featured in this piece are Indonesian. This problem seems to be common among Indonesian migrants, probably because most Indonesians have no surname<\/a>. This is not entirely unique, as many residents of Egypt, Iceland, Madagascar and Bhutan likewise have no surnames.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Extra checks <\/h2>

Amara is not the only one. Communications student Nailah Gamal from Egypt has the same problem. She preferred not to have her real name published in this piece after having experienced negative reactions from her environment for initially raising this issue.<\/p>\n

It is a particularly annoying problem during exams, says Nailah. \u201cEvery time I go into an examination hall, my name isn\u2019t listed in alphabetical order. I also get really distracted when the invigilator comes around, because they look at my residence permit, and then they look at their list of student names, and then they look at my residence permit again and back to their list\u2026 It takes super long to check my name \u2013 and I sometimes get questions about it. It\u2019s irritating\u201d, says the third-year student.<\/p>\n

A double first name <\/h2>

Amara tried to solve the problem at the Service Desk. There, she was told she could replace the full stop with her \u2018preferred name\u2019. The Communications student thought the issue had been resolved, until she saw her name listed as \u2018Amara Amara Zafira Raharjo\u2019 on Canvas later that day. Her full name is still listed as her surname. And because the Service Desk replaced the full stop with \u2018Amara\u2019, she now has a double first name.<\/p>\n

The opposite happened to first-year Psychology student Natri Zahra Izzatunnisa, who is also Indonesian and was originally listed in the system with two first names: Natri Natri Zahra Izzatunnisa. In her case, it was her first name that the Service Desk had changed to a full stop.<\/p>\n

An EUR spokesperson confirmed that they are aware of the issue with the first names of international students. The number of students who report it to the Service Desk is not recorded. However, according to the spokesperson, at least one student comes in to address the issue each month on average.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I know some Indonesian alumni who also have a full stop as first name on their diploma\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

A full stop \u2013 even on your diploma<\/h2>

Nadira Alya has just completed her Master\u2019s degree at the Rotterdam School of Management. During her studies, she was in the system with a double first name, but on her graduation statement, the dreaded full stop was once again firmly placed ahead of her name. \u201cThe spelling differs from that of my passport, so I\u2019m worried that this could be a problem later on\u201d, she says. She has no idea who to contact to resolve the issue. \u201cI know some Indonesian alumni who also have a full stop on their diploma. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve taken any steps yet to have that fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

EUR is trying to prevent this problem from occurring, says the spokesperson. \u201cBefore diplomas are printed, we manually remove the full stop so that the name appears correctly on the paper diploma\u201d, she explains. \u201cDocuments with a full stop, like the graduation statement, are generated automatically. The student can always report the issue to the Service Desk and have a new document created.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t