Every year the lad’s magazine FHM runs a ‘buurmeisjes’ (girls-next-door) competition, inviting readers to vote for the scantily-clad girl they’d most like to have living next door to them.
In this year’s competition, TU Delft is represented by Lobke van Erve (22), an MSc Industrial Design Engineering student from Tilburg.
Beauty + brains = best ‘buurmeisjes‘!
What motivated you to enter this competition?
“I saw an article about the competition in a Dutch newspaper and thought it’d be fun. I sent FHM some pictures and passed the preliminaries. I’d done a few photo-shoots in the past, but no serious modeling work.”
How many other girls are you competing against? And what do you win if you win?
“100 girls are participating, and the top 10 vote-getters go to the finals. There’s no prize money, but the winner gets a professional photo-shoot and lots of publicity. Last year’s winner also now writes her own column in FHM.”
Is it difficult to reveal yourself publicly like this, to put yourself at the mercy of public approval or disapproval?
“I don’t have any problems with that. I enjoy the attention. I’m not that prudish!”
Why are you the best ‘girl-next-door’? And how can your fellow students vote for you?
“I live in Delft’s biggest student house, on the Jacoba van Beierenlaan, where I have 600 neighbors. Ask them and they’ll all tell you that I’m the best girl-next-door you could ask for! You can vote for me on the FHM site. Just go to www.fhmbuurmeisje.nl/lobke, and click the ‘Stem direct op mij’ button. And you can vote again for me every day!”
Why did you choose to study in Delft?
“At school I liked math and physics, but also the ‘creativity classes’, where we had to actually make objects. So I wanted to combine these interests in a university-level study, a combination which works perfect in Industrial Design. I could choose between Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede. I’d been to Delft and loved the homey atmosphere here, so here I am!”
As an aspiring model and student, which do prefer for after graduation: a modeling career or working as an industrial designer?
“By the time I graduate, I’ll probably be too old to be a model, so it’s not a real option. But I wouldn’t want to do modeling full-time anyway. All that fuss and fiddling is too much, although I wouldn’t say no to an occasional modeling job opportunity.”
Do you think being attractive will make it easier to find a job after graduation?
“Research has been published saying that it’s easier if you’re attractive, but I don’t think it really matters. If it is really the case, then I think it’s stupid and discriminative. What’s the definition of attractive anyway? Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, right?”
Does the ‘dumb blonde’ stigma mean that people don’t take you as seriously as they perhaps should?
“I don’t pay much attention to this, and I don’t allow people to stigmatize me.”
As a member of the WAVE swim club, how has sports benefited you as person and Delft student?
“I’ve been swimming since I was 10, and it’s a great sport. Training with a group is different, especially with a student club, since you get to know more people and do your sport with like-minded people of your own age. That creates extra bonding in the club and you make good friends.”
Each year more and more foreign students enroll at TU Delft. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?
“When I entered the MSc track I was surprised to see how many foreign students are actually studying here. There aren’t that many foreign students in the BSc track, so you don’t notice it in your first years. I think it’s positive to have lots of people from all over the world here; you learn about other cultures and our foreign students put the TU on the world map.”
What do your Dutch friends and social group think of foreign students at the TU generally?
“We don’t have deep discussions about this. There are however some cultural differences that need to be bridged. Asian students especially are sometimes shy to express their opinions. In some cultures it’s regarded as impolite to criticize your colleagues, but in Holland we say what we think. Criticism is good for the creative process, but for some foreign students it’s difficult to get used to the Dutch way of expressing it.”
What should the university and its student clubs do to help integrate foreign students and create a unified student body, regardless of country of origin?
“To be truly international, the TU must become fully bilingual, and this includes the student organizations. Currently, student clubs rarely promote themselves in English and none of the umbrella organizations that unify these clubs, like DSSF, the umbrella union for sports clubs, offers information in English on their websites. Providing comprehensive information in English would make foreign students feel more welcome in these clubs.”
Do you have a boyfriend? And have you ever dated a foreign student at the TU Delft?
“I have a boyfriend. He lives in Enschede. I’ve never had a foreign boyfriend, but it’s not on purpose.”
What characteristics does your ideal man have?
“Well, I can tell you those he doesn’t have. He shouldn’t try to be a hero for me. I can stand on my own! Also, I have my own life and want to keep it that way, so he shouldn’t try to boss me around.”
If you could live in another country, which would it be and why?
“Definitely France. Because of the climate, different landscapes and of course the food. Many people consider the French arrogant, but it’s not that bad really.”
Which book has had the biggest impact on your life?
“It’s a bit silly, but at primary school I was very impressed by ‘The Wizard of Oz’. It shows that you must use your fantasy and imagination, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere.”
Finally, do you ever go skinny-dipping in Delft? And if yes, where?
“Everybody’s born naked and we’re all naked underneath our clothes. Nudity is nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t get many chances to swim naked in the Dutch climate, but in the sauna its normal and I don’t have any issues with that.”
Beauty + brains = best ‘buurmeisjes‘!
What motivated you to enter this competition?
“I saw an article about the competition in a Dutch newspaper and thought it’d be fun. I sent FHM some pictures and passed the preliminaries. I’d done a few photo-shoots in the past, but no serious modeling work.”
How many other girls are you competing against? And what do you win if you win?
“100 girls are participating, and the top 10 vote-getters go to the finals. There’s no prize money, but the winner gets a professional photo-shoot and lots of publicity. Last year’s winner also now writes her own column in FHM.”
Is it difficult to reveal yourself publicly like this, to put yourself at the mercy of public approval or disapproval?
“I don’t have any problems with that. I enjoy the attention. I’m not that prudish!”
Why are you the best ‘girl-next-door’? And how can your fellow students vote for you?
“I live in Delft’s biggest student house, on the Jacoba van Beierenlaan, where I have 600 neighbors. Ask them and they’ll all tell you that I’m the best girl-next-door you could ask for! You can vote for me on the FHM site. Just go to www.fhmbuurmeisje.nl/lobke, and click the ‘Stem direct op mij’ button. And you can vote again for me every day!”
Why did you choose to study in Delft?
“At school I liked math and physics, but also the ‘creativity classes’, where we had to actually make objects. So I wanted to combine these interests in a university-level study, a combination which works perfect in Industrial Design. I could choose between Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede. I’d been to Delft and loved the homey atmosphere here, so here I am!”
As an aspiring model and student, which do prefer for after graduation: a modeling career or working as an industrial designer?
“By the time I graduate, I’ll probably be too old to be a model, so it’s not a real option. But I wouldn’t want to do modeling full-time anyway. All that fuss and fiddling is too much, although I wouldn’t say no to an occasional modeling job opportunity.”
Do you think being attractive will make it easier to find a job after graduation?
“Research has been published saying that it’s easier if you’re attractive, but I don’t think it really matters. If it is really the case, then I think it’s stupid and discriminative. What’s the definition of attractive anyway? Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, right?”
Does the ‘dumb blonde’ stigma mean that people don’t take you as seriously as they perhaps should?
“I don’t pay much attention to this, and I don’t allow people to stigmatize me.”
As a member of the WAVE swim club, how has sports benefited you as person and Delft student?
“I’ve been swimming since I was 10, and it’s a great sport. Training with a group is different, especially with a student club, since you get to know more people and do your sport with like-minded people of your own age. That creates extra bonding in the club and you make good friends.”
Each year more and more foreign students enroll at TU Delft. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?
“When I entered the MSc track I was surprised to see how many foreign students are actually studying here. There aren’t that many foreign students in the BSc track, so you don’t notice it in your first years. I think it’s positive to have lots of people from all over the world here; you learn about other cultures and our foreign students put the TU on the world map.”
What do your Dutch friends and social group think of foreign students at the TU generally?
“We don’t have deep discussions about this. There are however some cultural differences that need to be bridged. Asian students especially are sometimes shy to express their opinions. In some cultures it’s regarded as impolite to criticize your colleagues, but in Holland we say what we think. Criticism is good for the creative process, but for some foreign students it’s difficult to get used to the Dutch way of expressing it.”
What should the university and its student clubs do to help integrate foreign students and create a unified student body, regardless of country of origin?
“To be truly international, the TU must become fully bilingual, and this includes the student organizations. Currently, student clubs rarely promote themselves in English and none of the umbrella organizations that unify these clubs, like DSSF, the umbrella union for sports clubs, offers information in English on their websites. Providing comprehensive information in English would make foreign students feel more welcome in these clubs.”
Do you have a boyfriend? And have you ever dated a foreign student at the TU Delft?
“I have a boyfriend. He lives in Enschede. I’ve never had a foreign boyfriend, but it’s not on purpose.”
What characteristics does your ideal man have?
“Well, I can tell you those he doesn’t have. He shouldn’t try to be a hero for me. I can stand on my own! Also, I have my own life and want to keep it that way, so he shouldn’t try to boss me around.”
If you could live in another country, which would it be and why?
“Definitely France. Because of the climate, different landscapes and of course the food. Many people consider the French arrogant, but it’s not that bad really.”
Which book has had the biggest impact on your life?
“It’s a bit silly, but at primary school I was very impressed by ‘The Wizard of Oz’. It shows that you must use your fantasy and imagination, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere.”
Finally, do you ever go skinny-dipping in Delft? And if yes, where?
“Everybody’s born naked and we’re all naked underneath our clothes. Nudity is nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t get many chances to swim naked in the Dutch climate, but in the sauna its normal and I don’t have any issues with that.”
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