Love (page 4-5)

Working(page 3)

Details of UM (page 6)

Relaxing (page 8)

Assimilation (page 7)

www.observantonline.nl

I n d e p e n d e n t w e e k l y o f M a a s t r i c h t U n i v e r s i t y | A d d r e s s : P O B o x 6 1 6 6 2 0 0 M D M a a s t r i c h t | V o l u m e 3 4 | 1 9 A u g u s t 2 0 1 3

ColophonObservant St. Servaasklooster 32 Maastricht 043-3885385Editors: Riki Janssen (editor-in-chief), Wammes Bos, Wendy Degens, Cleo Freriks, Maurice TimmermansAdditional contributors to this edition: Lisa Dupuy, Anne Moraal, Jan de Roder, Marie Rosenkranz, Catharina RudschiesGraphic layout, illustrations Observant Inkommentaar: Simone GolobTranslations, among others: B. Wall & P. Nekeman

Who is Observant?

Maybe you’re standing in line to register for Inkom 2013, or maybe you’re chilling out in your new room for a moment when you read this. We are the editors of Observant, the independent weekly paper and website – in English and Dutch – for Maastricht University. From next week onwards, you can read a new printed copy of the paper every Thursday morning. Get your copy from the special trays at the entrance to your fac-ulty building. It is full of news about the university, student life, background stories and columns. On our Dutch/English website www.observantonline.nl you can find daily

updates of the news and stories by students spending six months studying abroad, or a column by a recently graduated student about the search for a job and last but not least: new photographs of this Inkom every day. For the latest news and interesting info, check out www.facebook.com/ObservantUM or follow us on Twitter @observantUM.

Our teamOur team consists of five professional report-ers, a secretary, a freelance team of columnists, students who are learning about the profession of

journalism from us, draughtsmen and a graphic designer. Visit our website – ‘about us’ – if you want to see exactly who we are and learn more about our backgrounds and training.

Journalistic ambitions?If you want to try and see what it’s like to be a journalist, we can give you the opportunity to gain experience. You can also (at a charge) participate in any of our six journalistic/effective writing workshops that we have planned for this autumn. Keep an eye on Facebook and our web-site for more information. To register or if you

have any questions, please contact riki.janssen@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Come right inWhether you want to gain some experience, have questions or news, just e-mail us or visit us in person! Our editorial office is located in the centre of town. At the top of the Minder-broedersberg (side street to Tongersestraat) is the university’s administrative building. Do not enter, but turn right and pass through the glass door of the red-bricked building. You will find us on the second floor.

Student Services Centre

For more information check: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ssc Visiting address Bonnefantenstraat 2, 6211 KL Maastricht, + 31 (0)43 - 388 5 388

OBS 8863 Adv. SSC2.indd 1 20-08-12 09:35

It is full

of news abo

ut

the universi

ty, student

life,

background

stories

and columns

I am …An “a-simple-pass-will-do” studentq yes q no

A fraternity/sorority studentq yes q no

A stay-at-home typeq yes q no

Free as a birdq yes q no

Hopelessly in loveq yes q no

Ready for the new startq yes q no

A mammy’s babyq yes q no

Adventurousq yes q no

Not going to take longer to complete my studyq yes q no

Someone who is going to learn Dutch quicklyq yes q no

Who or what will you miss most?My dogq yes q no

Grandmotherq yes q no

The snack bar in our villageq yes q no

The bicycle ride to my secon-dary schoolq yes q no

Showering together after a football match on Sundayq yes q no

That cute Dutch language teacherq yes q no

My Saturday jobq yes q no

Who or what will you absolutely not miss?The alarm going off at 7:00hrs. in the morningsq yes q no

My father asking me if I did my homeworkq yes q no

My paper roundq yes q no

The history teacher who smelled of cigarettesq yes q no

The TV programme that my parents always watch on Sunday eveningq yes q no

My adolescent sister’s earlymorning moodq yes q no

Working3 / observant inkommentaar 2013

“Work during your studies is a good way to earn some extra money and more importantly, it’s a good excuse not to spend.” Milou Killaars, treasurer of the Workgroup Inkom

It is full

of news abo

ut

the universi

ty, student

life,

background

stories

and columns

Sunbed studio assistantNathalie Dinkgreve - 23 years of age - Faculty of Law - 15 hours a week -  € 9 net per hour

How did you end up working for a sunbed studio like Sunday’s? “I was looking for a job with flexible working hours in a place where the atmosphere was nice. I was already a client at Sunday’s. When I saw that they were looking for new staff, I asked a student who was doing the same study for some information. She said that the studio takes your preferences into account and that you never need to work if you are unable. Before that, I worked in a clothes shop with fixed, compulsory hours on late-night opening evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.” Do a lot of students work there? “Besides the manager, there are only students, both from the school of higher education and the UM. It is handy that the exam weeks for the two institutes are not at the same time. So you never need to work during exam week, because a colleague from the school of higher education can substi-tute. And the other way around, of course.”What do you do exactly? “The work is very varied. A lot of cleaning, but there is also contact with customers, mainly skin advice and about responsible use of the sunbeds. We also make them feel welcome.”Are you yourself a heavy consumer? “As an employee, you are allowed to use the sunbeds once a week free of charge, but I only use them once or twice a month and I also use a very good cream. Then you don’t have to use the sunbeds as often.”As a child I wanted to become

Now I want to become

On having a part-time job:q Yes, please, as many hours as possible q Yes, but not before 14.00. I prefer to sleep then q Work? That’s what my parents are forWithin ten years I’ll be earning

€ a month

I’m looking for work (circle the appropriate answer) in a bar, at the university, in a hotel or restaurant, in a shop, in a factory, as a freelance journalist or photographer, as a babysitter, as a security guard, as an IT specialist

or

Home helpOlof van der Werf – 21 years old – University College Maastricht – Thuiszorg Domicura - 3 hours per week – € 12.60 gross per hour

More than just mopping up? “Certainly. I do housework officially, and that might scare off a lot of people, but it is more than that. I have one client, a man of 88 years of age – I go to see him every Wednesday morning. He lives alone. I help him to clean his house and now and again I work in the garden, clean the windows, go to the bakery (he likes me to buy pastries so that we can eat them together), I tidy his garage or I drill new holes for shelves that are crooked. But it is mainly the company that he enjoys. To talk or play a game.”What makes an impression on you? “The stories that he tells. He was in the war when he was young. He served in the Dutch East Indies, rode around on a motorcycle as a soldier.”Difficult clients? “I was supposed to get a new client but got a telephone call to say that was cancelled. No idea why, but later I heard through someone else that the client wanted a girl as a home help, not a guy. Furthermore, I once had an aggressive, demented man. I was gone after five minutes.”

HandymanGeorgiana Runceanu – 24 years old – School of Governance – 8 hours per week – €8.45 net per hour

A woman who works as a handyman? “I do moving, gardening and cleaning. When we do a move, I’m part of a team that consists mainly of strong guys. I take care of the light stuff and I’m responsible for supervising. The move should go smoothly without anything breaking. One time, someone asked me to arrange all the furniture they’d bought at Ikea. Mostly we’re hired by students, but we move local people as well. I’ve been doing this since January, via Jules and You. It took me, as a Romanian, four months to get a work permit.”What’s fun about being a removalist? “Recently we were carrying a couch and got stuck in the bend of the stairway. Immediately, I started imagining what to do. I have very well-developed spatial awareness; my mind is made for these kinds of practical problems. It’s a kind of weird for a girl but in Romania I also repaired my car. Once I changed a flat tire and I also repaired the gear changer.”Are there any benefits for yourself or your friends? “Not really. I’ve moved in Maastricht myself, but I didn’t contact the guys I work with. It’s not for free, because you have to rent the car anyway.”

You will have to find a way to live if you cannot manage on student financing or if mum and dad no longer supplement your grant. There’s work to be done.

Four students and their part-time jobs.

Group activities guide David Valenta – 24 years old – University Col-lege Maastricht – Maastricht tourist office (VVV) -flexible – € 11 net per hour

Is speaking Dutch a requirement? “Yes, but if it is not perfect and you speak for example very good French or German, then that is fine too.”Why the VVV? “I didn’t want a standard job in catering. I came across this on the Internet. It sounded adventurous. Besides, you can work as many or as few hours as you want. You can even do training to become a city guide. I only guide quests or adventurous trips, for example through the old fortification, the bunkers, the underground part on the west side of Maastricht is from the 17th and 18th centuries. Fourteen kilometres of passageways are completely intact. It is relaxing work and you learn a lot about the city you’re studying in.”Benefits for you or your friends? “I get a dis-count in the VVV shop. As well as a privilege: I carry the key to the bunkers.”Difficult clients? “I don’t have them. I super-vise adults and school children and I like both groups. Sometimes you notice that a boss has organised something that does not appeal to the employees, oh well, then there is a mismatch. And if it rains on top of that and the pub where they have met up appears to be too small … That is not something you can change.”

Imagine a huge tent with five thousand people in motorbike gear. All of them sit on slim wooden benches and tables, shouting at each other to drown out the loud (and incredibly silly) folk music and calling for beer, beer and more beer. This was the biker event in Bavaria, where I worked for one week-end during my summer job. It was the most exhausting job I’ve

890kg workloadever done, and now I can’t help but empathise with the women who work at the Oktoberfest. Although smaller than the most famous beer festival in the world, the biker event was similar, and still big enough to give me blisters on my feet and hands.

Over the course of only two nights I carried a total weight of about 890kg. Maybe 60 chickens at 1kg each, 15kg potato salad, and the same amount in coleslaw. The heaviest load, though, was made up of at least 400 Mass (the Bavar-ian word for one litre) of beer. Add

to that the weight of the mugs themselves, at another kilogram each – I’m still amazed I man-aged it. I definitely needed the money. And although I enjoyed the experience of so many people going crazy in such a weird but funny way, I can safely say: I am not Bavarian.

Catharina Rudschies, student of European Studies

The Big Love TestAh, being in love! Your time as a student will be both the best – all those lovely boys and girls so close together, such chances – as well as the worst – all those lovely boys and girls so close together, such a temptation. Will your relationship survive? Will you find the love of your life in Maastricht? Or are

you ready for three years of partying and one-night stands? Do the test and find out!

You have known each other for a while, don’t mind giving things up for each other

and you give each other freedom. This relationship has a good

chance of surviving!

Of course you find your partner sweet,

but you are also look-ing forward to all the

changes that being a student will bring. Try to find a good

balance.

The Feesfebrik and the Alla: these will be your

hunting territory for the coming years. You are not

in a relationship and you are absolutely not looking for

one. That’s not what being a student is all about.

Live to party!

A little partying? Yes please. One-night stand? No prob-

lem. And a real relationship? Yes, that would be nice too.

Looking for something more serious, there is always the

tutorial group, sports club or student association:

there it’s easier to have a more meaningful talk.

Are you in a relationship at the

moment?

How long have you been together?

Are you a jealous person?

Do you live far away from each other?

Your mother-in-law’s birthday party or

your first big party as a student:

which do you choose?

Is this the love of

your life?

Have you ever been in love?

Marital bliss in the suburbs?

How long did your longest relationship

last?

Panda points (no sex for 1

week = 1 point) are something

to worry about. Remaining

faithful while you are

a student?

No

Longer than a year.

Still in the early stages.

No Yes

No Yes

Let’s get this student party started, here I

come!

There will be other student

parties to look

forward to.

I hope so.

No

Yes

Worst nightmare.

Dream come true.

Eh, an hour?

Longer than four months.

No way, that’s

ridiculous.

To be honest, yes, a little. No way. Should be possible.

No

Yes

Love5 / observant inkommentaar 2013

A lot has been said about love

over the past few years in

Observant. A collection of quotes:

“There are too many women in Maastricht, as a result of which the male ego derails. They think they can do as they please. The good guys are already taken or leave to go north.”

“In fact, there are two main groups of men in Maastricht: the arrogant guys and the dopes. Unfortunately there is little in between.”

“Those so-called dopes are often the guys who are honest and kind, not those who act like louts. Guys with morals.”

“A Limburg accent, that is such a let-down.”

“I don’t think appearance is very important. As long as I can laugh with him and have fun. And have a good conversation. It doesn’t need to be about psychological matters, I already talk enough about such matters with my female friends. A minor beer belly is all right; you are a student, time enough to get rid of it. But awfully flabby, no.”

“She can be a little flirty, a little mad, spontane-ous, with lots of energy and she has to put up a fight. That keeps things interesting. And not the bourgeois type. Chips for dinner every Wednesday, or me having to collect the children from school every Thursday. Terrible. I want every day to be a party, I love adventure. It is important that she is on the same wavelength as far as this is concerned.”

“Ladies listen carefully: seduce a cute Inkom daddy, then you will have a great week. After

that, you can see what happens. But be careful if you want to join the same association where he is a member. You could easily get yourself a bad name.”

“Of course love is eternal. It is only the partners that change.”

“Love is giving yourself a hangover for the sake of a pussy.”

“The first symptom of true love for a boy is shy-ness, for a girl it’s courage.”

“Remember: pub nights in Maastricht add up, people will remember what you did last week, and a reputation is gained more quickly than it is lost. It is all relative: as long as you don’t attract attention too frequently, compared to your friends, things will be okay.

Love By now, I think everyone has

fallen in love at least once in

their life. Grass becomes fluo-

rescent green, pink bunnies

nibble on daisies and the sun

shines just a bit brighter than it

did before. I know the feeling.

Admit it: studying in Maas-

tricht promises not only a

bright academic future. You’re

hoping for a romantic one as

well. You probably fall into one

of two categories: either you’re

single or in a relationship

(Facebook’s ‘it’s complicated’

is so 2012). That means you’re

looking either for someone

new or for someone better. In

both cases your love prospects

are bright; you just need some

advice. You just don’t want it

from me.

I had to learn the hard way,

and I can assure you – it

wasn’t pretty. To spare you

the same hassle, I called upon

the world’s experts in love.

From Shakespeare to Hugh

Grant, I read all the books and

watched all the movies. (They

were all a bit depressing to be

honest.) Then, out of nowhere

an ingenious wordsmith you

might know sang these wise

words for you to remember

during your first Inkom:

Hey, I just met you,

And this is crazy,

But here’s my number,

So call me maybe?

Anne Moraal,

student of Arts and Sciences

Recognize anyone? Maybe one of them is your mentor. They were in Observant’s series about ‘the most eligible bachelor’ of a debating society last year. Interested?

If you’re lucky they’re still single.

“Student days and love: ‘It’s the same as Bolognese sauce and a white shirt, they always find each other.” Bart de Visser,

logistic manager of the Workgroup Inkom

the single

First love?

What should your future partner be?q Honestq Funnyq Friendlyq Intelligentq Arrogantq Sexyq Loyalq Attentiveq Courteousq Sensitiveq Ambitiousq Perseverant

In ten years time, I will have five children q yes q no

I am going to find the love of my life in Maastricht q yes q no

Are you keen on someone from your Inkom group?q yes q no

Photos Joey Roberts

Ban the e-books

You think you will read e-books

the coming years? Or per-

haps you even prefer to read

e-books? Forget it! There’s no

student life without the old

fashioned paper books. In fact

it’s your task to keep real books

alive. UM hates e-books, the

teaching staff hates e-books,

and so should you. UM wants

students to enjoy the smell of

a book (there’s no smell like a

hardcover’s smell), the sound

(leaf through a book and listen

carefully), the touch (fondle

the back of a book like it’s your

lover’s), yes, UM even wants

you to read them. UM doesn’t

mind smartphones, laptops,

eating, drinking and love-

making in lecture halls, but

e-readers are strictly forbidden.

UM expects students to report

students with e-readers. UM

also expects students to report

students ordering their books

at internet bookstores. Buying

a book should be an event in a

real bookstore. There’s only one

bookstore in Maastricht worth

mentioning: De Tribune in the

Kapoenstraat. The employees

do not like selling their books,

just as it should be. They are

moody and some of them even

a little smelly. But who cares?

They have all the books you

need and know all there is to

know about books. Real books.

Jan de Roder,

assistant professor at the

Department of Literature & Art

of the Faculty of Arts and Social

Sciences

What you need to know about this university

Details of UM 6 / observant inkommentaar 2013

Big BossYou can’t miss him. He is not just tall, broad, eloquent and in possession of a good sense of humour, but professor Martin Paul is also the big boss of Maastricht University, chairman of the Executive Board. Paul was born in Saarland (Germany) and the first foreigner to fill such a position in the Netherlands. Three gentlemen reign over this university: German Paul, the Belgian rector Luc Soete and the Dutch vice president André Postema (who will be leaving in one month’s time).

A cultivated meat hamburgerMaastricht biologist Mark Post is working on the alternative for the Big Mac. He has been creating artificial meat for a few years now; any moment now he is about to present his first hamburger to the world. He harvested cells from a pig’s muscle tissue, from which grew a culture. Pro-duction costs were approximately a quarter of a million euro.

Toenail bank Did you know that this university has a toenail bank? Researchers use the 90 thousand bags of toenails that have been collected, for DNA studies. This may, among others, be research on the relationship between length, nutrition, and genes.

Formula 1 scannerOther universities may well be older or bigger… but Maastricht has a real scanner park. The

world’s most advanced MRI scanner to date - the 9.4 Tesla - arrived in Randwyck in spring. There are only five in the world. MRI scanners work with powerful magnetic fields and can make detailed images of the body but the power and the precision differ. Randwyck already had the 3T and the improved 7T. The 9.4T shows even more detail.

Publish? Me? Publish scientific articles? Surely, that is just for researchers? Not at all! Mosaïek, the journal made by students from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University College Maastricht and other faculties, gives you the opportunity to publish essays, columns, research stories and book reviews at a high level. In English or in Dutch. A group of student editors will supervise you during the writing process. The latest edition will be in the Maastricht bookstores Tribune and Selexyz, Orakel Office and Study Store.

Delicious coffeeCan the Dutch make coffee? An Italian team (two students and a member of staff) who assessed UM coffee on behalf of Observant were not too complimentary. They drank coffee at six different locations and more than once they asked themselves if the brown liquid in their cups deserved the name coffee at all. Only the cups served by Bandito Espresso (located at the FaSoS faculty, Grote Gracht and in Randwijck, the Brains Unlimited building, Oxfordlaan 55) were given a good pass by the Italians who

are after all the true experts. But they thought Coffeelovers’ coffee in the hall of the Student Services Centre was not bad either.

AnniversaryMaastricht University is 37 years old, making it the youngest university in the Netherlands. The UM, then known as Rijksuniversiteit Limburg, was officially founded on 9 January 1976 by Queen Juliana’s signature. The UM’s anniversary, or dies natalis (or the dies, for short, pronounced dee-es) is celebrated every January in the Vrijthof Theatre. With lectures and the awarding of honorary doctorates to important researchers and people who have won their spurs elsewhere in society. And every year, six students (one from each faculty) receive a prize for their thesis.

Sports hallYes, it is on its way. After years of pleading, Maastricht University will get a sports hall in Randwijck and it will be fully equipped. So: there will be a climbing wall of eleven metres high, four squash courts, a large hall of some 1,350 square metres for football, handball, volleyball, basketball, and another 650 square metres for a gymnastics hall, fitness areas, a spinning room with thirty bicycles, a small multifunctional hall for things like aerobics, a dojo for martial arts, and a pub. The first sportsmen and -women can get going at the end of 2015. Until then, the old sports hall in Randwijck will have to make do. For more information on sports options, contact UM Sport.

“The UM gave me the opportunity to pursue all my

interests, both practically and academically.”

Kevin Hol, vice-president of the Workgroup Inkom

German Kaasmeisje

Assimilation 7 / observant inkommentaar 2013

Strictly speaking, I’m more local than most Dutch students at UM. My hometown, Aachen, is ridicu-lously nearby, and I’m tall, blond, and was always called Kaasmeisje at high school because of my looks and Dutch language skills. Still, moving to Maastricht two years ago was a move that felt much further than it was. The lan-guage, the food, the opening hours – some things made me feel very foreign. The Dutch I’d learned at school didn’t seem to be spoken in Limburg, and shops would leave me in the lurch at very human times of the day. In many things, I was surprised to find a completely different culture just across the border. Yet, for me, Maastricht was the perfect com-

promise between being close to home, but feeling far away. After a month I realised I wasn’t the only one who’d overestimated their own ‘localness’. Maastricht seemed to be strange and special to everyone. Even my Dutch housemates, who spoke different dialects, had trouble following one another at times. Some Dutch people, too, were surprised by the lack of good nightclubs, and never learned how to avoid police fines for cycling without lights or parking a car in an unfortunate spot. But most importantly, none of us could help but grow incredibly fond of this city.

Marie Rosenkranz, student of European Studies

The assimilation ladderAnyone who is new anywhere must assimilate, at least a little. In a new city, at a new university and maybe

even a new country. But how far do you want to go? Do you want to completely immerse yourself in Maastricht

culture or are you just here to study and will you say farewell in three years’ time without so much as a teardrop?

Check out how far you want to climb the assimilation ladder and read the tips on how to achieve your goal.

A real Sjeng from Mestreech

First and most important tip: learn the Maastricht dialect. Quite a challenge for foreign students who are proud to have just about managed to master the Dutch language – and not easy for Dutch native speakers from the north either – but an absolute necessity if you want to be accepted by the other Sjengen as one of them. Then, become a member of a local associa-tion, go to the neighbourhood platform, buy an MVV scarf and learn the Maastricht anthem (tip for eager beavers: if you are really from Maastricht you will not only know the lyrics from start to finish, but you will burst into tears when you hear the first few bars of the

song. Really.)

A Limburger in Maastricht

You would think that all ‘Maastrichtenaren’ (as Maastricht citizens are called in Dutch) were also Limburgers. Think again. ‘God created Maas-trichtenaren from the golden wheat and used the leftovers for the rest of the country,’ is a well-known local saying, so now you know – being a Limburger is not the highest rung of the ladder. Tips for becoming a Limburger in Maastricht: get to know the region (by bicycle), celebrate carnival, read Dagblad De Limburger, regularly visit maastrichtnet.nl to see what is going on in the city and eat lots of ‘vlaai’.

A Hollander in Maastricht

Completely immersing yourself in student life? Yes! Wanting to know everything about local customs? Suppose so. How to integrate fully in the university and student culture? Become a member of a fraternity/soror-ity (this is also the quickest way for foreign students to learn Dutch); register with UM Sports and a study association. Try to find a nice room close to the centre. Be involved with what’s going on in your faculty and stay informed by using the Facebook pages and, of course, read Observant.

A student in Maastricht

Are you just here to study? Here are a few tips. Stay with your par-ents, or – if the travelling distance does not allow this – look for a room on the edge of the city or just across the border in Belgium. Mark the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of March in your calendar. That’s when it’s Carnival in Maastricht, so a great time for you to book a skiing holiday. Try to go abroad as much as possible during your time as a student (as an exchange student or on a traineeship) and look around for minors, summer schools and master’s studies else-where, anywhere but here.

Nazareth is a district of Maastricht. q right q wrong

Carnival is from Monday until Wednesday. q right q wrong

MVV football club was fifth in the Jupiler League last season. q rightq wrong

‘Naoventrint’ is the Maastricht word for surroundings. q rightq wrong

A ‘nonnevot’ is a liqueur from Limburg.q rightq wrong

The Maastricht flag is red with three white stars.q rightq wrong

Correct: in the north-east of the city, Wrong: from Sunday until Tuesday, Correct, Correct, Wrong: it is a cake that is mostly eaten during Carnival, Wrong: red with one white star

“Getting to grips with life as a student starts with time

management: learning to plan your time so that, in addition to

gaining credits, you don’t have to miss a party.”

Chantal van der Velde, president of the Workgroup Inkom

Relaxing (page 8)

Work hard, play hard

As a new member of the Maas-tricht academic community, you might be under the impres-sion that being a student really must refer to that very noble practice of studying, of burying your nose in the books. Allow me to shed a different light on that perspective. We students live by the age-old adage that those who work hard, may play hard. In some cases, you play even harder, just to celebrate the fact that the work is over with – or, alternatively, you party your hardest to forget about those disastrous deadlines. First and foremost are the par-ties organised by student and study organisations – you’re bound to have run into them during the INKOM. Their big-gest events are usually open to non-members, too. If you’re looking for a more artsy, DIY atmosphere, Maas-tricht will not let you down either. You can gorge on theatre performances, jam nights and poetry slams at the Landbou-wbelang or film nights at the Lumière cinema. Fashion and music also run rampage in the city, and occasionally even col-lide, such as during the Fash-ionClash event. Should you feel it’s time to get into gear, then be sure to swing by the UM Sport facilities. Their trainers will be quite happy to kick your butt for you. And if you need some peace and quiet, try climbing the old city wall or the St Pietersberg. In Maas-tricht, relaxation is never far away.

Lisa Dupuy, UCM graduate

You cannot miss this (or can you?)

A small (far from exhaustive) selection from the major student events in

Maastricht. Why you should definitely go or why you can afford to give it the slip.

“Without studying, after-study drinks and post-exam parties wouldn’t exist, which happen to be the most amazing evenings!” Rick van der Westen, secretary of the Workgroup Inkom

In Mosae (February)What: Student association Circum-flex celebrates the society’s anniver-sary with a three-day theme party every year. Everyone is welcome.Do not miss this: if you love extravagant partiesMiss this: if you hate dressing up. The theme is everywhere, from the guests’ costumes to the decorations in the lavatory

Stukafest (February)What: Singers, dancers and comedi-ans perform in student rooms. Do not miss this: if you like to discover new talentMiss this: if you feel that 20m2 is slightly too intimate a setting

Chic Sat Club Night (February/March)What: Debating society Chic Sat will organise a party in a real night-club (in Beek, transport arranged)Do not miss this: if it has been far too long since you stayed out until the early hoursMiss this: if you suffer from carsick-ness

Student Movie Night (March)What: Watching (new) films all night long, organised by Saurus debating society NynèveDo not miss this: if you have always wanted to spend the night in a cinemaMiss this: if you get restless after two hours of sitting

Summer Deejays (May)What: The summer kick-off. One-day open-air festival on the Griend with well-known DJsDo not miss this: if you want to celebrate the end of the academic year dancing for hours on endMiss this: if you do not like techno/trance/house/dubstep (or if you do still have an exam)

Us Leef Vruike student hockey tournament (May)What: Hockey tournament in which debating societies compete for the much-coveted ULV chal-lenge cupDo not miss this: if you like playing a game of hockey or standing with a beer in your hand watching others play hockeyMiss this: if you are expecting to see sports played at a high level

BAM festival (June)What: free festival in the park, organised by student association KokoDo not miss this: if you want to see local talent performMiss this: if you don’t like the typi-cal festival atmosphere

MultiZalenFeest (several times a year)What: as the name says, a party in several halls of student association Tragos’ clubhouse. Do not miss this: if you want to meet a mixed group of students: Tragos regularly works with the Erasmus Network Society for exchange studentsMiss this: if you are more of a tradi-tional local pub type

Maastricht secrets A little less well-known, but certainly just as much fun,

are the following ‘Maastricht secrets’.The MuziekgieterijMaastricht’s pop platform, where you will see what you can see at Pinkpop two years from now, but for a reasonable price (tickets are usually between 7 and 15 euro). www.muziekgieterij.nl Scenes ConnectedCultural, art and music festival that is crowd-sourced: the audience’s input determines the programme. www.scenesconnected.eu

FashionClashThe maastricht fashion week in May/June. Do not expect wearable

dresses on the catwalk, but experi-mental pieces created by young designers, often in collaboration with individuals who are not from the fashion industry. www.fashionclash.nl

Het ParcoursOpening of the theatre season in September. Free performances throughout the city by professionals and amateurs. www.hetparcours.nl

CyclingGet to know Maastricht and its surroundings by bicycle. Take this route, for example: Follow

the Tongerseweg in the direction of the Belgian border, to Vroen-hoven. Before the bridge across the Albertkanaal, turn left and after five hundred metres, turn right and travel downhill. The towpath along the canal between Maastricht and Kanne is quiet and beautiful. Carved from the rocks, filled with green, the odd heron and a passing boat. When you reach Kanne, turn left and make a stop at one of the many sidewalk cafes. Then cycle back home along the Kannerweg, past Chateau Neercanne. Total distance: between ten and twelve kilometres.

Performances by the Academy of DramaStudents from the Academy of Drama put on a few performances each year. Check their site www.toneelacademie.nl for dates.

Exhibitions in Centre CéramiqueThe city library is in the Centre Céramique, but there are also vary-ing (free) exhibitions. At the end of October, for example, the winning World Press Photos. www.centreceramique.nl

The Inkom activity that was most fun up until now?

Which student association would you like to join?q Tragosq Circumflexq Kokoq Saurusq Independent debating societyq None

The first beer in Maastricht tasted…

Where will you never go again after this week?