‘Socialization is a two-way street’

Aegee

The ‘Talking Point’ columnist has developed a good understanding of Dutch society. However, it’s important to remember that Delft is a small community compared to the Netherlands and different because so many – mostly male – students live here. The country’s general view doesn’t reflect that of the student world. I don’t believe Delft students have an indifferent attitude towards foreign students because of the country’s primarily negative attitude towards allochtonen. It’s still unlikely though that the big student societies will ever accept foreign students. Student society traditions are strict and friendships made for life. However, Aegee is made for foreign members to meet Dutch members. Aegee can at least help foreign students have a very social student life. Housing is a good way to foster foreigner/Dutch student integration. DuWo should encourage Dutch student houses to accept foreign students. The reason why Dutch students rarely interact with foreign students, both in housing as in social life, is because Delft’s student culture is very private, very narrow-minded, exclusive. But this isn’t about being a foreign student per se: this behavior is also common between Dutch students in Delft. The whole internationalization has been forced upon Delft students. TU Delft wanted to create the image of an international, English-minded university too quickly. The various faculty study organizations should play an important role in encouraging greater interaction between Dutch and foreign students. My faculty association started an ‘Interactie’ two years ago, encouraging, for example, foreign students to participate in excursions. Foreign students should go to their faculty society, have a coffee, mix with Dutch students, the majority of whom are kind. Being accepted can be hard in the beginning, but remember, you can’t be friends with everybody, not in your home country and not here. So, just find a few good friends and cherish them.
Tristan Groot, BSc Chemical Engineering, Netherlands

Badminton

I couldn’t completely agree with ‘Talking Point’ (Delta 26). There does exist a problem of integration of Dutch students and international students, but TU just started enrolling international students several years ago and so it’s natural that many unprecedented problems will arise. One reason for the lack of integration between Dutch and international students might be a lack of common interests; for example, most Dutch students prefer playing hockey and tennis, whereas most international students from Asia prefer badminton and table tennis. Another reason why Dutch students aren’t eager to make friends with international students might be practical: almost all international students leave for home after graduation, and Dutch students usually want long-term relationships. Probably, this is common predicament for any university in the world with international students. If something better than here does exist, perhaps it’s because of the language. Most TU Delft international students enroll in MSc programs, which are taught in English. That’s why international MSc students here don’t speak Dutch. Language could be some barrier, but it’s not the ultimate reason for the integration problem.
Lee, MSc, China

Effort

My response to ‘Talking Point’ is somewhat mixed. There very definitely is an ‘us and them’ attitude prevailing on campus, but this attitude is but a thin veneer. If we ‘buitenlanders’ take the initiative to pull back this veneer, then a modern Dutch society built on respect, understanding, and balance will be at our fingertips. Granted, this isn’t an easy task, but there must be some effort on our part to start this process. I find it difficult to enter into Dutch social circles (especially at bars), but once a clique has been penetrated one really starts to appreciate the ‘polder model’ upon which Dutch people pride themselves. I don’t feel that attitudes toward allochtonen translate into a segregationist attitude toward Delft’s foreign students. While the university can do a lot more to create an international atmosphere (promote social mixers, multi-cultural evenings, etc.), the bulk of the responsibility for forging a welcoming, international, social environment lies with the various student societies, because nearly all socializing outside of classes and work here is facilitated by the various student societies. Admittedly, I’m quite ignorant of the student society system, but yet I’ve never seen a poster advertising an event particularly geared toward international students. However, I’ve attended several parties at a Delft student society and had nothing but fun. Socialization is a two-way street: we international students must be outgoing enough to seek out Dutch social circles, and these circles must be more open to accepting people of varying outlooks and cultures. TU Delft and its student societies must work harder at creating an atmosphere and situations that are friendly enough for international students to take the first step.
Ayon Kumar Dey, PhD, Canada

False

I’m a foreign student from a country that’s in Europe but not yet in the EU and I feel myself discriminated by Dutch society. Dutch people and TU Delft aren’t well prepared to be an international community and international university. I’ve been here for one year and again I have to take the TBC test. Why? I’m living with students from Spain, Italy, Germany and I sit in the same class with Dutch students, so why must I be tested every six months? Why isn’t it the same for others? As far as Dutch students, I’ve been in MSc program lectures that are officially in English, yet the Dutch students ask the professor questions in Dutch, and the professor continuously answers in Dutch! And this happens often. Also, I’ve visited with a Dutch family, invited by a Dutch friend. On appearance they were so nice to me, but they were false smiling. During the conservation, they were bad judging the people of my country. They bad judged me, and they then wouldn’t allow their son to speak to or see me again. This is the reality of Dutch society. They strongly dislike foreign people. Dutch people discriminate against foreign people without any reason.
AL, MSc

Language

I agree that categorizing groups of the society in boxes is never a good idea, as it creates stereotypes that color our opinion about certain social groups, whether we like it or not. TV commercials have a moral obligation, because we’re all affected by them, though we like to think we’re not! But I also think a factor in all this is the mastering of the Dutch language. All Dutch students speak very good English, but in the social arena and among friends they prefer to speak Dutch, which is understandable, as it’s their mother tongue and they’re in their home country. During my stay here, I’ve met a few international students that seem to be fully integrated and part of the Dutch students’ social arena, and they all had one thing in common: they spoke very good Dutch. I think this is a two faced problem. We need more integration, which will benefit both the Dutch students and the international students, and international students need to put more effort into learning Dutch. It’s hard to learn Dutch, as so many speak English, which then becomes the easy escape, but in the long run it hurts you. Teaching all MSc classes in English only increases the efforts for international student to learn Dutch. I took a MSc class last fall, but the professor didn’t believe in teaching it in English and decided she’d do it in Dutch. At first it was really hard, but it forced me to learn the language and also gave me an
excellent opportunity to get my Dutch friends to help me with the translations.
Tone, Erasmus, Norway

Opposites

Last week a Brazilian colleague arouse some very interesting questions in his column about racial discrimination in the Netherlands, starting out by criticizing the TV ad of two Brazilian maids unknowingly washing out murder evidence from a rich Dutch home. While there’s no doubting the discrimination regarding social status and job description of ‘allochtonen‘ in this ad, at the end I saw the maids as the innocent responsible hard working ones and the Dutch Police as the inefficient, goofy ones who stupidly blocked off only one side of the house. Actually, it’s a very good example of how Dutch society works in general…ticking like a clock when it comes to facilities and technology but a surprising mess when human factors come into play, which is what the Dutch must focus on if they want to minimize discrimination. Yes, it’s true that Dutch and foreign students don’t homogenize all that well; after all, contrary to what’s said, ‘opposites don’t attract’. It’s the responsibility of the government in general, and the very inactive TU Delft in particular, to do their share of social stirring. If they do not, TU Delft will continue to remain the mostly non-integrated national/international university it is today.
Samira Karimi, PhD, Iran