'Bring back the student-like, cheeky and rebellious'

Nowadays it is probably hard to imagine, yet there was once a time without a Student Union. Prior to its official establishment on 2 July 1999, there was a Council for Campus Facilities and a CampusCollege. 'The campus was organised as if it were a municipality, including some kind of aldermen', says Bernd Vinke (48), one of the people involved in the founding of the Student Union. With then rector Frans van Vught as the driving force, a different kind of organisation had to emerge.

Bureaucracy and interests

Van Vught's words, looking back on the occasion of sixty years of UT: ‘UT students were rather pampered in those years. Campus life was bureaucratically controlled by a campus director. Not much was allowed, there were closing times, and students had to apply for permits for all kinds of things. I found that very unappealing. I felt that as a campus, or rather as a university community, we should be able to do better than that.’

From 1998 onwards, through an interim board Vinke and other students had to shape a Student Union according to the Anglo-Saxon model – more liberal and more efficient. 'That was an awesome and enlightening year. And there were plenty of people opposed; The whole structure was shaken up, the interests were put on edge. We had to get more than a hundred associations on the same page. What certainly helped was that rector Frans van Vught took us very seriously. He took us to Belfast to see how a Student Union was organised there. Moreover, he once said that we were one of the few who dared to disagree with him. A nice compliment.'

Grown-up world

Lukas de Sonnaville (37) says from Dubai that the current time is somewhat similar to his time as a driver. 'At that time (2009, ed.), the UT's finances were also under pressure and we as SU were forced to close the Union Bar. We arranged a bus to travel to The Hague for protests, but only three students went along. It wasn't until a year later that students also started to worry, when we went to the Malieveld with a large group,' the alumnus recalls.

As an SU administrator, he felt that his decisions really mattered. 'Suddenly, I was functioning in the grown-up world, everything felt very real. I was forced to make choices and I still benefit from that.' De Sonnaville is referring to the difference he sees in new colleagues. 'You can tell right away whether someone has gained administrative experience during their student days. They can immediately understand a problem 360 degrees, while someone without that experience sometimes operates less practically in the beginning.'

'You are immediately thrown in at the deep end. Suddenly, you're an administrator and you have to' - Anne Buningh

Although he especially cherishes thinking and decision-making at the SU, there is one event that stands out when he thinks back to his board year. 'The dating show Take me Out that we organised, in which rector Ed Brinksma was in charge of the presentation. Brilliant.'

Dual role

Anne Buningh (30) recognizes herself in De Sonnaville's story. 'I remember very well that in my first week as chair I had to give a talk during the Opening of the Academic Year, in front of hundreds of people. For me, that was typical for a Student Union board year. You are immediately thrown in at the deep end. But the great thing is: you find out pretty quickly that you can handle all that. Suddenly, you're an administrator and you have to.'

Buningh calls the role of the Student Union a special one. 'There is no other Dutch university that organises this in this way, according to the Anglo-Saxon model and with a student board that is mandated to make important decisions and has its own budget, committees and buildings under its care.' Still, as an SU administrator, it is about a compromise, she knows. 'You have a kind of dual role. On the one hand, you represent the interests of dozens of student organizations, and on the other hand, you are also ultimately responsible for the distribution of resources. One moment you were lobbying the Executive Board for more money for sports and culture. And a little later, you had to make sure that you were going to distribute those freed-up resources properly among all those associations.'

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Anne Buningh giving a speech during the OAY 2015.

The big lesson she learned: ‘You can never do it right for everyone. But that does teach you how to deal with criticism. As long as you know what you're doing it for, because in the end you serve one interest: that of the student. For example, together with the student factions in the University Council, we have succeeded in reversing cuts to student psychologists. That was actually already decided and budgeted, but we were able to prevent it with a lot of effort and effort. I look back on that with great satisfaction.'

'There has never been anyone who regretted a year as an SU board member' - Xander Bon

'A solution doesn't come easily'

Xander Bon (23), a master's student, doesn't have to dig as deep to reminisce about his SU days. He completed his year as chair – 'a wonderful time' – last month. He greatly appreciated the approachable way of working, that the doors were open to the SU everywhere. Standing up for what you believe in, that's the biggest learning moment for him. 'If something is determined that you are not happy with, then you have to let them know and make a fuss about. After all, a solution does not come easily.'

That's what he tries to pass on to the new board members: play chess on several levels and be flexible where necessary. 'The UT's financial challenge wasn't easy for us either. We had to make choices that we would rather not make, but you can still make a difference. In addition, it is also just a lot of fun. There has never been anyone who regretted a year as an SU board member.'

Nowadays, the Student Union has become indispensable for the UT, says Vinke, who until recently was head of finance at the ET faculty. 'Both for the students, who are given the responsibility. That is an incredibly important way of academic development. But also for the university, it has become much more efficient and effective. Could you imagine today what kind of organisation you have to set up in terms of employees, in order to be able to achieve the same as the students?'

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Archive: the traditional Sinterklaas breakfast (2016), hosted by the Student Union.

Showing courage

And what advice do the other former board members give to their future successors? De Sonnaville: 'Keep putting pressure on The Hague and be creative with demonstrations and guerrilla actions. Like the five students of the Thoridor fraternity who recently cycled to the Hofstad, that was great. The focus should be on how activism remains worthwhile, how you keep it interesting.'

Vinke takes it one step further. 'In recent years, as a staff member at the UT, I saw that the Student Union has been somewhat swallowed up by bureaucracy. It has become too bureaucratic for me. I would say: bring back the student-like, cheeky and the rebellious. You can bang your fist on the board table, but you can also mobilise the student community.' After all, the word union literally has a connection with a trade union, says Vinke. 'So it could be a bit more enterprising and activist. Also outside the campus, towards the municipality. As a board, make a case for a safer cycle path along the Hengelosestraat, think along to solve the problems in nightlife between students and locals. It wouldn't be a bad idea to show a little more courage in this.'

Buningh doesn't have much advice for new SU board members, but more for the university as a whole. 'Especially now that activism is under so much pressure, I would say: give students the responsibility and the opportunities. Give them the right support and you'll see that it will work out.' According to Buningh, you can take that mantra quite far. 'Once, a year after my SU board year, I sent an email to the chairman of the UT Supervisory Board, which was actually a kind of open application to become the very first student Supervisory Board member. Unfortunately, that email ended up in the proverbial pile. But I stand by it: I think it is a very good ambition for this university to be the first in the Netherlands with a student supervisor. I think people underestimate what the added value of that can be.'