{"id":81329,"date":"2017-10-27T12:24:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T10:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81329"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:52","slug":"hondsdrukke-studieplekken-op-de-campus-door-sluiting-polak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/10\/27\/hondsdrukke-studieplekken-op-de-campus-door-sluiting-polak\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Overloaded\u2019 study places on campus due to Polak closure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Students leave items behind in \u2018overloaded\u2019 University Library <\/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\tBoris Berg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Six hundred study places were lost on campus following the closure of the Polak Building last Thursday evening<\/a>, which is a problem as many students are due to sit examinations soon. Where should the students go? How busy is it in the University Library and how are things going in the other campus study places?<\/p>\n

Claiming a place<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018It was already really difficult to find a place as early as ten o\u2019clock\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Argentinian student, Lucia Barabini (Master\u2019s degree Accounting & Auditing) is working at a computer in the UL. \u201cThe UL is fantastic. There\u2019s a great atmosphere and it\u2019s really quiet. You just need to make sure you get here really early if you still want to find a place. I was here at ten o\u2019clock and it was already really difficult to find a place.\u201d<\/p>\n

All UL places are indeed occupied and there is a constant stream of students walking past the tables, searching in vain for a place. An unattended notebook has been left at a study place on the second floor. According to students sitting nearby, the notebook has been there for two hours. Students walking by look angrily at the notebook, but the sacred law of claiming the place by setting a notebook down still isn\u2019t broken.<\/p>\n

But the busier it gets in the UL, the more difficult it is to accept the unattended notebook. \u201cHow long has it been there?\u201d, a passing student asked, agitated. Finally, the notebook is shoved roughly aside. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m sorry\u201d, says the student. \u201cBut it\u2019s overloaded here and it\u2019s a real waste if there are places that haven\u2019t been used for two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extremely busy<\/h3>

\u201cIt was always busy here, but it\u2019s now extremely busy\u201d, explained UL Director, Matthijs van Otegem. \u201cStarting this week, we have introduced a new policy to make sure that study places are not left unused. Claimed places that are not used for more than half an hour will be cleared away by UL staff. This will enable as many students as possible to study for as long as possible in the UL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Structural problem<\/h3>

It\u2019s not only the UL that has taken measures to absorb the pressure created by the Polak closure; the university has also sprung into action. New study places have been created<\/a> in the Sanders Building and G Building, and G Building opening times have been extended.<\/p>\n

Yrla van de Ven and the Cypriot Alexandros Achilleos, who both study Policy & Economics, are standing outside the G Building during their break. They think the past week has been really busy because of the Polak building closure. \u201cBut\u201d, said Yrla, \u201cI think it\u2019s a structural problem due to the growth in international student numbers in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u201cG Building is always forgotten by students because it\u2019s so old and ugly.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Schyns\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cDutch students often still live with their parents and have a quiet place there when they want to study\u201d, explained Yria. \u201cInternationals like Alexandros are new here and don\u2019t know anyone here, so they\u2019re more likely to go to the university to study. And the university isn\u2019t adapting enough to this; the new UL simply hasn\u2019t been allocated enough study places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Old and ugly<\/h3>

Like the UL, G Building is busy but there are still quite a few places available, certainly in the computer rooms. \u201cG Building is always forgotten by students because it\u2019s so old and ugly,\u201d explained econometrics student, Oscar Schyns. \u201cThat\u2019s why there is always a place in the computer rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philosophy and business administration student, Ruud Verbraak, is sitting with a co-student downstairs in the G Building in a small, private study room. \u201cThis old building is ideal for studying. It\u2019s usually really quiet and there\u2019s nothing else to focus on than the work you have to do. You\u2019ll quickly get bored of staring at the walls or the view\u201d, said Ruud.<\/p>\n

Difficulty concentrating<\/h3>

By Wednesday afternoon, the study area on the Sanders Building ground floor has already been discovered by many students. Two hopeful students retreat disillusioned when they see how busy the brand new area is. They try the final place on campus where there may still be study places; M Building.<\/p>\n

On the M Building second floor, IBCoM student, Joyce van Dalen is studying at a long table. \u201cIt\u2019s quiet now\u201d, she explained. \u201cBut this morning it was completely full. Where I\u2019m sitting now was the only place that was free.\u201d Joyce doesn\u2019t think the building is a good study place: \u201cI\u2019m only here today because I had a lecture here. It\u2019s really difficult to concentrate here because there are no quiet areas and too many people just talk loudly to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

lees meer over polak en de ub<\/h2>