Fraternity members no longer welcome as ‘Bademeister’ on Texel

After 75 years, members of the Dutch fraternity Utrecht Student Corps (USC) will no longer be allowed to keep watch on the beaches of Texel during the summer months. On Wednesday evening, a majority of the Texel municipal council voted to end the collaboration with the student association. This decision follows several reports of sexually transgressive behaviour.

The corps members have been coming to the Wadden Island since 1950 to guard the beaches, an experience that is supposed to turn first-year students into “real men”. The “Bademeisters”, as they call themselves, spend nine weeks sleeping in a shed without toilets or showers, the NRC newspaper reported earlier this year.

Rape

But not everyone is happy with their presence. Jacquelien Dros, councillor and former GP on Texel, was approached by several young women who said they had been victims of sexually inappropriate behaviour by the Utrecht students. One of them said she had been raped in the summer of 2022.

The USC does not recognise the allegations, writes university magazine DUB (link in Dutch). Last summer, the municipality of Texel took measures to improve the social safety of women. An evaluation report showed that things were indeed improving. The rector of the USC is therefore disappointed that the collaboration is still being terminated.

HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff