{"id":177663,"date":"2025-04-09T12:17:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T10:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=177663"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:45","slug":"new-list-erasmus-international-fights-to-preserve-international-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/04\/09\/new-list-erasmus-international-fights-to-preserve-international-community\/","title":{"rendered":"New list Erasmus International fights to preserve international community"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University Council elections begin on Wednesday, and alongside four existing parties, there is also a new political star on the horizon: Erasmus International. The new list was established just a week and a half before the elections.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Four candidates for Erasmus International, from left to right: Miko\u0142aj Kaim, Bente Luise Schulz, Borja Ranzinger, and Egor Federov.<\/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\tPien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The list comprises thirteen students, and the top three talked to EM via Teams in the run-up to the elections. Borja Ranzinger, an 18-year-old business student from Slovenia, was one of the two initiators. \u201cI am personally really interested in student politics. I heard about the elections just a week and a half ago, when we got an email about them.\u201d Not long after, he and fellow student Egor Fedorov founded Erasmus International.<\/p>\n

In solidarity with strikers <\/h2>

The budget cuts are one of the reasons they established the list. During the preparations for the relay strike on Tuesday, Borja encountered German Bente Luise Schulz (22, MISOC) and Polish Miko\u0142aj Kaim (20, IBA), who are now number two and three on the list. \u201cThe international community at EUR is more threatened by the budget cuts than anyone else. We want to show solidarity with the strikers\u201d, says Borja.<\/p>\n

The budget cuts are, of course, not an initiative from the university itself; however, Bente, Miko\u0142aj and Borja believe they can make a difference in the council. \u201cWe can vote against any budget that harms the student community\u201d, says Borja. Outside the council, the students want to support and organise protests against the budget cuts. They plan to join the strike on Tuesday with around forty students.<\/p>\n

Housing crisis <\/h2>

The other key point, as one might expect with this party name, is \u2018the preservation of the international community\u2019 at the university. \u201cAnd we mean that including Dutch students\u201d, emphasises Miko\u0142aj. \u201cWe meet people from all over the world here at the university. Friendships are formed that last for years. This is a very unique community that we need to preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the biggest threats to the international community are rising tuition fees for international students and the housing crisis\u201d, says Bente. \u201cThis year, there will be an additional one thousand euros in tuition fees (for non-European students, ed.). And the housing costs here are excessively high compared to other cities. It causes a lot of stress and forces people to leave the university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voting<\/h2>

The University Council elections begin on 9 April, and students and staff can vote until 16 April via verkiezingen.eur.nl<\/a>. Five parties with multiple members are participating this year, along with three individual candidates<\/a>. Staff choose their representative per faculty; whether elections are necessary depends on the number of candidates. This year, this is only the case at the ESL and ESPhil<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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