ORAS again wins six seats, Lijst Bèta three and Dé Partij one. With the number two candidate from Lijst Bèta, the Central Student Council will soon have another international member.
The leaders of Oras, Dé Partij, TU ResQ and Lijst Bèta. (Photo: Thijs van Reeuwijk)
The Student Council elections of 14 and 15 May did not bring about a shift in seats. ORAS retains its six seats, Lijst Bèta its three, and Dé Partij wins one for the third time. The newcomer, TU ResQ, did not win any.
This year, 30.7% of TU Delft students voted for one of the four parties. This is 1% less than last year, but more than in recent years. In 2019, before the pandemic, the turnout was 35.4%. The TU Delft website states that in total, 7,590 students voted.
Strengthened again
Three years ago, Dé Partij was the newcomer, but has once again strengthened its position. When Delta phones, party candidate Koos Meesters says that the champagne is already open. “That we have won a seat three times consecutively shows that people are confident in our ideas.” The number of votes for his party were a little lower than in previous years, but he believes that that there is an explanation for this. “Our positions were adopted by other parties. For example, I see our call for transparency now being taken on by ORAS and Lijst Bèta.”
Lijst Bèta is happy with three seats, says the current Chair Merel van Gruijthuijsen. “We were close to getting four seats, and of course it’s always in the back of your mind that we may have gotten them back.” But the Chair says that last year her party demonstrated that you can have an impact even with three seats.
Leading position
The bottle of champagne was also open on Friday afternoon at ORAS. The current Chair, Step Kruisinga, says they are happy. “We worked hard and are proud.” With six seats again the party, that concentrates on extracurricular developments, is firmly in the lead.
Guuske Kouwenhoven, Rienier van Montfrans, Diede van Rheede, Jochem van Paridon, Thomas Walta and Elaine Wan will represent ORAS on the Student Council. As the biggest party, one of them is likely to be the Chair of the Student Council.
Third time in a row
Representing Dé Partij, Meesters will have a seat for the third time in a row. He says that this brings advantages. “You can be more effective as you have a better understanding of how TU Delft works and what you need to do to bring things about.”
Meesters will finish his bachelor’s next year and wants to do a master’s at another university. Can Dé Partij manage without its flagship? Meesters thinks it can. “And otherwise you can always set up your own party. What is important to me is that there are more than two parties on the Council to ensure that students’ opinions are represented.”
Non-Dutch speaking
Sophia de Gaay Fortman, Pablo López San Martin and Casper Harleman will represent Lijst Bèta on the Council. With Pablo López San Martin, it means that there will be a non-Dutch language speaker on the Student Council again. The language policy will have to be revisited.
Lijst Bèta assumes that the Council will communicate in the language that everyone, including López San Martin, understands. Thus English, which is not automatic for all parties. Dé Partij believes it is important that international students are represented on the Student Council. Gruijthuijsen says that “One in 10 is the very least.”
What does the Student Council do?
The members are elected every year. The Student Council has a consultation meeting with the Executive Board every month and may give its advice on subjects such as education, the organisation, management and financial support for students.
The Student Council has the right of consent for a number of subjects. This means that the plans in question may only go ahead with the agreement of the Student Council. The Student Council also has the right of initiative so that members can propose ideas. Being on the Council is a full-time job. Apart from the Central Student Council, each faculty has its own Faculty Student Council that works on faculty issues. The Student Council acts in unison during the academic year, but each party has its own profile and priority areas.
- More information? We answered seven questions about the Student Council and the elections in this previous article.
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