{"id":84680,"date":"2018-02-27T15:21:41","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T14:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=84680"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:57","slug":"op-pad-met-cedo-nulli-veel-gezelligheid-maar-er-blijft-erg-weinig-prive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/02\/27\/op-pad-met-cedo-nulli-veel-gezelligheid-maar-er-blijft-erg-weinig-prive\/","title":{"rendered":"On the road with Cedo Nulli: a lot of fun, and little privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A vital part of ESSB is of course its study association, called Cedo Nulli. The society has over two thousand members, but even so, it is said to be rather closed. EM joined the society on its annual active members\u2019 day in Delft and tried to suss out what Cedo Nulli is all about. There\u2019s more to it than you might think. \u201cNot many secrets remain hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting everyone to go ahead and actually do it.\u201d Two female Cedo Nulli members look a little dismayed when they arrive at Rotterdam Central Station\u2019s HEMA branch wearing their best outfits. Of course, they were asked in the invitation to wear onesies to the annual event during which the society expresses its gratitude to its board members. And while not everyone is conforming to the dress code, the majority of those attending the event are, meaning that the two ladies are the odd ones out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been great if everyone had properly read the invitation, but it won\u2019t matter much to the rest of the day. We\u2019re going to have a good time, anyway,\u201d says Daantje, the secretary of Cedo\u2019s 33rd board, who is wearing a purple jumpsuit to mark the occasion. So the two ladies are welcome to join the group. They board the train in the company of a pineapple, a penguin, a Teletubby (Laa-Laa) and a Minion, among other interestingly dressed persons.<\/p>\n

Washed too hot<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

It is not just the costumes that make this travelling company of Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology and Educational Sciences students a motley crew. \u201cWe welcome everyone, and I think that\u2019s what makes us work,\u201d explains Daantje, while four other students are trying their fellow passengers\u2019 patience by singing the Cedo anthem. \u201cSo we don\u2019t leave people at the station just because they are not dressed up. What you look like or how you act doesn\u2019t matter to us. We are open to other people\u2019s points of view. We\u2019re a very close-knit group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018A competition like thart does indeed mean that not many secrets remain hidden.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

On the way to the meeting point in Delft\u2019s town centre, a pineapple (\u201cMy suit is a bit of a tight fit, as I accidentally put it in the wash with my underpants\u201d) tries to explain what Cedo is all about. \u201cMany student societies, and some study societies, too, have a certain image that you are expected to conform to. We don\u2019t have such an image,\u201d says the third-year sociology student, who is named Roel. \u201cWhether you\u2019re an ambitious psychology girl or a woolly-minded sociologist, it just doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d <\/p>\n

Perfect alternative<\/h2>

However, many students have a different impression of Cedo Nulli. Although the society has some two thousand members (about 120 of whom are active members), Cedo is often criticised for being a very closed society, both by people from within the faculty and by outsiders. \u201cI\u2019ve heard that complaint before, but I have no idea where people get that idea,\u201d says Roel. \u201cMaybe it just looks that way from the outside because we all get along so well, but it really isn\u2019t true.\u201d <\/p>\n

Closed or not, the society does present itself in Delft as a genuine student club. The idea is that groups of members carry out certain assignments all over the city, but many students soon lose interest in the assignments. <\/p>\n

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

The company\u2019s giraffe, board member Sarina, manages to motivate her group to complete the first few assignments by promising them beer afterwards, but they soon stop focusing on the work at hand, only to focus on more important matters such as making fun of former boards, complaining about being poor students, reviewing the hassle it took to organise the recent gala and \u2013 obviously \u2013 Snapchatting.
\n\u201cCedo is the perfect alternative to a student society,\u201d says penguin Salim, who is enjoying some kibbeling (battered white fish) and his first beer of the day at the respectable time of 2.45pm. \u201cStudent societies have heaps of rules. You\u2019re expected to behave and dress just like everyone else. With us, such things don\u2019t matter. We\u2019re basically just like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting creative in the Cedo board room<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018Whether you\u2019re an ambitious psychology girl or a woolly-minded sociologist, it just doesn\u2019t matter.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Later that afternoon, we learn that in some respects, Cedo is a rather special family with customs that are not all that customary. The members have long since stopped caring about the assignments. Their focus is now entirely on gossiping about other members\u2019 love and sex lives. Although \u2018gossiping\u2019 may not be quite the right word. It\u2019s more of a discussion about stories known to all Cedo members. From the Cedo room being used by the board in creative ways to a certain student\u2019s first sexual escapades during a study trip, it is clear that the members keep no secrets from each other. There is a reason for this. \u201cThe members of the board have a kind of competition going on: the Greatest Stud competition,\u201d Sarina explains. \u201cWhich does indeed mean that not many secrets remain hidden.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In short, board members get to earn points for every sexual act in which they engage. The weirder the place where the sexual act takes place, and the higher-ranking the bed partner, the more points a board member will be awarded. This might sound a bit odd to outsiders, but to the close-knit Cedo community, this is simply how things are done. \u201cDo you look like a slut if you acquire a lot of points? No. Actually, it\u2019s a bit of an honour. A few years ago, two board members \u2013 a boy and a girl \u2013 were tying for first place before the last party of the year. They had to decide the competition on the night itself. The girl won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spiritual presence<\/h2>

The first part of the day ends with a self-proclaimed well-deserved pint of beer in an outdoor seating area in Delft. When we preview the rest of the evening, the question arises as to how many beers the members expect to drink that night. \u201cNot too many, I think, as I have a 9am seminar tomorrow,\u201d says the penguin. However, two minutes later, following some objections by his fellow group members, he has changed his mind. \u201cWell, I\u2019m only required to be present in the flesh, not in the spirit, so I think I may have a few more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t

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