{"id":89012,"date":"2018-08-22T12:47:36","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T10:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=89012"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:04","slug":"tracking-group-228-exploring-the-campus-and-singing-at-the-cantus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/08\/22\/tracking-group-228-exploring-the-campus-and-singing-at-the-cantus\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracking group 228: Exploring the campus and singing at the cantus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being fresh is a good thing considering the second day of Eurekaweek is a long one dedicated to getting to know the university, joining student associations and taking part in the cantus, a traditional night of singing and beer-drinking.\u201cI told you they’d all be ready to go this morning,\u201d says M\u00e1t\u00e9 Pocs, one of the guides. \u201cI just can\u2019t guarantee the same thing for tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The first years enjoying the campus for the first time.<\/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\tJack Parker<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Unphased by last night\u2019s monkey business, the first years are up bright and early for the information market on campus. Gazebos has been set up from one end\u00a0of the university to the other and every organisation from the robotics club to the extreme sports club are on hand to show what they have to offer to incoming freshmen. Although the beer taps are already flowing around noon, the members of group 228 steered clear and sampled the student associations instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure what I\u2019ll sign up for because there are so many clubs here, but I did get a lot of free stuff just for putting down my email,\u201d says Bart, a Dutch first-year from Ede. \u201cI even got a pack of ramen noodles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sightseeing on campus<\/h2>
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Sem Koelewijn enjoying some nutella.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Following an official opening at the IBA faculty, the guides give the first years a grand tour of the campus. They dish out vital advice like how to get a study spot in the library during exam period and where to get the cheapest drinks. As the group strolls around, however, it slowly become apparent that even the guides haven\u2019t seen all the sights on campus before.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere we have the Erasmus Sports Centre, and on the right we have\u2026the Q-building?\u201d says Morad Farag curiously. \u201cDidn\u2019t know we had a Q-building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cantus<\/h2>

The first years in group 228 are spoiled by their guides as one of them queues for hours before the renowned cantus in order to snag a table right in front of the stage where a live band plays all night long. The cantus, a tradition which dating back to the Middle Ages, is a marathon of drinking beer and singing that, oddly enough, takes place in the exam hall.<\/p>\n

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The spectacular view of the stage from group 228's table<\/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\tEurekaweek Staff<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Accompanied by booklets featuring all the song lyrics, the students link arms to sing traditional tunes from the Netherlands and Germany as well as some more modern hits like Billy Joel\u2019s \u201cPiano Man\u201d and Avicci\u2019s \u201cWake Me Up\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really know most of the songs because they\u2019re in Dutch, but it was the bomb when Mama Mia came on,\u201d yells Vivian from Finland. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s a bit stereotypical since ABBA is Scandinavian.\u201d<\/p>\n

ABBA and the hue of the neon lights don\u2019t give a Middle Ages feel to the night, but the good old-fashioned camaraderie of students sitting around a long table tossing beer around did.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I\u2019m not allowed to drink, it\u2019s awesome to be getting a taste of Dutch culture,\u201d Nathalie Groet from Switzerland tells EM. \u201cThe good thing about not drinking is that I\u2019ll wake up fresh as a daisy tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether that will be the case for the rest of the group, we\u2019ll have to wait and see.<\/p>\n\n\t

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