It seemed to be a remarkably quiet New Year's Eve on campus, but in the hours after midnight, several small fires were started and three celebrators had to visit the hospital because of injuries. 'Until 12 o'clock the campus was almost deserted,' says Kiers. 'So it seemed to become a quiet night. After 12 o'clock, however, suddenly there appeared more incidents than usual. I think the weather played a part in that: it rained during the day and in the early evening.'
Hospital visits
As every year, several fires were lit on campus and 'carbide' was shot here and there. Kiers calls the three hospital visits more noteworthy. 'That's actually the first time. There was a fireworks victim, and a partygoer had to go to hospital because of a cut. Someone also sustained injuries from items thrown down from a campus flat on Calslaan.' Any damage to buildings or other items has yet to be checked, reports Kiers. 'We will do that in the coming period.'
Climate activists
Other than that, the last few weeks of December went without any noteworthy incidents, says the head of security. In previous years, Christmas trees were regularly stolen in the neighbourhood by campus residents, but that does not seem to have happened this year. Yet just before Christmas, a notable protest by climate activists did take place at the campus entrance. The 'University of Twente' letters were figuratively covered with dripping oil (made of paper). The climate activists want the UT to cut its ties with the fossil industry.
