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Last week, student council party ORAS and tenants’ organisation WijWonen handed over 127 letters to student housing provider DUWO. In the letters, tenants share their experiences with house hunting, housemates and living together.
In June, DUWO announced its intention to amend its current tenant selection policy. Existing tenants would no longer be allowed to choose their new housemates entirely on their own. DUWO’s aim in doing so is to increase equal opportunities for house hunters.
‘More than just a selection tool’
The announcement caused unrest in several student cities. Eighteen Delft student associations sent an open letter to DUWO director Anneleen Lagae to express their concerns.
In the new letter campaign, both Dutch and international students share their experiences with hospiteren, housemates and living together. Both positive and negative. The letter writers live in different types of houses, including association houses, mixed houses and two-person houses.
According to ORAS and WijWonen, the letters reveal ‘a clear desire for free roommate selection without pre-selection’, they write in a joint press release. They believe that the current admission policy is more than just a selection tool.
Local politics
The issue is also being discussed in local politics. Municipal council party STIP previously submitted written questions to the executive board of the municipality (the mayor and aldermen) about the proposed policy change. The questions and answers can be found on the Municipality of Delft’s website (in Dutch).
There was a lot of smoke on Julianalaan on Sunday evening due to a fire in the historic TU building Gele Scheikunde (Yellow Chemistry). The fire started in a small pile of rubbish. The fire brigade arrived at the scene at around 6.35 P.M. and was able to extinguish it quickly. The fire was under control by around 7 P.M., according to the fire brigade. There were no casualties.
The former TU building opposite the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment has been vacant for a long time. There have been frequent break-ins, according to District 8 (in Dutch) which also reports that the police are investigating arson.
For many years, Gele Scheikunde was home to the department of Chemical Engineering. TU Delft sold the three-hectare site to project developers six years ago. Shortly before that, the municipality of Delft had already acquired ownership of the Kramers Laboratory, part of Gele Scheikunde, for the symbolic amount of 1 euro.
Although it is currently vacant, the municipality and the project developers have big plans (in Dutch) for the space. Part of the historic building will remain standing and be given a new function. In addition, around 300 owner-occupied and rental homes will be built, supplemented by space for businesses, shops, restaurants and an underground parking lot.
In medium-sized cities there is sometimes insufficient knowledge and experience when it comes to student housing. The government needs to do something about that, according to a motion submitted by the Dutch Parliament on Thursday. The signatories are the future governing parties D66, CDA and VVD, along with GroenLinks-PvdA and ChristenUnie. They are already guaranteed a majority in the new Cabinet.
In medium-sized cities there are usually no specialised student housing providers, these parliamentary groups say. Housing associations in these towns therefore do not always have enough knowledge and experience. The same goes for the local officials who have to apply the strict rules on houses in multiple occupation and the subdivision of dwellings.
The government should set up a support programme for student housing in which housing associations and officials in large university cities share knowledge and experience. The aim is to speed up the construction of non-self-contained student accommodation.
Splitting and sharing
Housing minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) said she could not pledge extra funding for this. She does, however, also believe that there is room for improvement in the splitting and sharing of homes. In the municipality of Utrecht, you no longer have to apply for a licence if you share a house with up to three people, she told the House of Representatives.
She outlined the dilemma faced by policymakers: municipalities are responsible for local housing policy, such as the subdivision of homes, because that is the level at which such decisions can best be made. “At the same time, you can see in practice that local authorities simply do not have enough administrative capacity,” Keijzer believes.
You could then create national policy, Keijzer explained, but that is less tailored to local circumstances. She is leaving those choices to the next government.
HOP, Bas Belleman
On Thursday evening, January 15, the TU Library will be closed to students due to a dinner for outgoing rector magnificus and executive board chair Tim van der Hagen. During the day, part of the University Library will be closed for preparations for the dinner. Student council party ORAS calls the timing of the temporary closure ‘inconvenient’ due to deadlines and exams.
Van der Hagen will say goodbye during the Dies Natalis on January 15. This will be celebrated with drinks on Tuesday, January 13, and a farewell speech and dinner for 130 guests in the university library on Thursday. From 5 p.m. onwards, students will therefore no longer be able to study in the university library. From that time onwards, staff will have to use the staff entrance instead of the main entrance.
Impact on students
Student council party ORAS is critical of the closure. “We wish Van der Hagen, who has led the university for ten years, a wonderful farewell. But we think it is unfortunate that it is taking place in week 8. This is a time when students are working hard for their final deadlines and exams.” This period is particularly important for first-year students, says ORAS, because the coming weeks are their resit period before the February 1 dropout deadline. ORAS would have preferred a location for the farewell that had less impact on TU students.
The University Library has 1.250 study places. Students can use alternative study spaces arranged by the TU. For example, Flux will be open, offering 750 study spaces. Students can also use existing spaces in the Pulse and Echo education buildings. Library Secretary Linda Heemskerk estimates that there are sufficient alternative spaces available in Pulse and Echo.
Are you studying at TU Delft, do you have experience as a photographer, do you own a good camera and do you want to improve your skills in journalistic photography? Then come be a photographer for Delta, the independent news website of the TU Delft!
This photograph was taken by student Thijs van Reeuwijk, who has been photographing for us since February 2023 and will soon be leaving us.
We are looking for a gutsy student who likes to interact with people and wants to shoot stock footage on the TU Delft campus. What we mean by ‘stock’ material? Photos of buildings, of students and staff in many different capacities, of full lecture halls and everything else you might come across when you are out and about for us. We use those photos for our news releases and background stories. Sometimes we also ask the student photographer to photograph newsworthy events or portraits.
What else are we looking for: you are studying at TU Delft, you have an eye for composition and detail, you make super-sharp images and you sticks to commitment. Are you interested? Then send us three of your very best photos with a brief explanation and a motivation before 26 January and who knows, maybe you can join our team, starting with a half-day trial assignment (for a fee, of course).
- You will start as soon as possible (in agreement/consultation).
- Payment through FlexDelft, based on a five-hour per week contract excluding holidays.
- Contact through Marjolein van der Veldt, delta@tudelft.nl.
Ghent University rector Petra De Sutter was set to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam next week, but has decided to decline after multiple AI citations were discovered in her inauguration speech.
“Dogma is the enemy of progress, as you may know.” In her speech last September, the new rector Petra De Sutter quoted Albert Einstein, among others. But what turned out? He never uttered these words; the quotes were fabricated by AI.
The Ghent-based gynecologist was to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) next week for “her important contributions to medical science” and her “influential social engagement”, but that will no longer happen.
Not an appropriate moment
De Sutter has announced that she is withdrawing from the ceremony. She feels that, given the circumstances, it is not an appropriate moment and, moreover, she does not want to harm UvA, according to university newspaper Folia. An UvA spokesperson said they understand the decision and call it “the right step”.
During her election campaign (rectors are elected in Belgium), the rector warned against the blind use of AI. Now she is taking responsibility: “I deeply regret that I fell into this trap. This experience has been a good lesson for me and will undoubtedly further stimulate the debate on the use of AI,” De Sutter told VRT NWS.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
Master’s student Tijmen Snel has secured qualification for the Olympic Games in Milan. At the Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) held in Thialf at the end of December, he recorded the second-fastest time in the 1,500 metres, earning an Olympic starting place.
In the 1,500 metres, Snel was beaten only by Joep Wennemars. Wennemars won in 1:43.43, while Snel finished second in 1:44.33, thereby securing his first-ever Olympic appearance.
For the Biomechanical Design student, qualification represents sporting redemption. Four years ago, Snel appeared set to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing, but despite finishing third in the 1,500 metres he was not selected. At the time, the selection committee of the Royal Dutch Skating Association (KNSB) opted for team-mate Marcel Bosker, who was deemed an indispensable member of the team pursuit squad.
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Selection matrix
The KNSB uses a pre-determined selection matrix for Olympic qualification. The Netherlands may enter two to three skaters per distance, but may send only nine men and nine women in total. As a result, some skaters compete in multiple events, while others may be omitted, even after finishing on the podium at the Olympic Qualification Tournament.
The ranking within the matrix is based on previous international performances and expected medal prospects. In addition, there are three discretionary selection places per gender, for example to assemble strong teams for team pursuits such as the team sprint.
This selection method proved disadvantageous for master’s student Naomi Verkerk (Technical Medicine). She finished third in the 1,000 metres at the Olympic Qualification Tournament, yet was nevertheless left out of the final selection. In the matrix, she placed tenth, just outside the group of nine women the Netherlands is allowed to send.
Curling
Master’s student Tobias van den Hurk (Computer Science) will also not be competing in Milan. Together with the Dutch curling team, he narrowly missed qualification at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Kelowna, Canada. The team finished fifth but needed to place among the top three nations to secure one of the two available Olympic berths.
You are free to read Plato, just not when he writes about race or gender. A professor of philosophy at a major university in Texas has been required to skip certain texts in his classes.
The history of philosophy is sometimes described as a series of footnotes to Plato. The Greek philosopher lived around 400 BC and is one of the founders of Western philosophy.
But in the United States, it is no longer allowed to teach freely about topics such as racism and gender. Even Plato has not escaped censorship. Texas A&M University, one of the largest public universities in the US, wants philosophy professor Martin Peterson to remove certain texts deemed controversial from his teaching.
Peterson sounds bewildered in an interview with the New York Times: “A philosophy professor who is not allowed to teach Plato? What kind of university is that?”
Ethics
His course focuses on ethics and addresses contemporary issues such as abortion, the death penalty, equal rights, racism, and gender. It will come as no surprise to anyone in the United States that his classes are under fire. But the fact that even certain passages from Plato on love have to be removed from the reading list shows how much academic freedom in the US is under pressure.
President Trump views universities as adversaries and at times exerts heavy financial pressure to bring them into line. US science policy also affects Dutch academia, for example when American journals no longer accept certain articles or when collaboration becomes difficult.
The largest collaboration between Texas A&M University and TU Delft is in the field of flood research. The project is lead by Bas Jonkman, professor of hydraulic engineering (Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences). He notes that, within the area of coastal protection, they have so far noticed no restrictions or changes in policy.
HOP, Bas Belleman
Things went wrong during the transition to a new administration system: on Monday, employees at Leiden University suddenly found themselves able to view the personal data of their colleagues, among others.
Names, home addresses, and sometimes even phone numbers… the personal data of everyone who had submitted an invoice to Leiden University was suddenly visible to all university employees, as discovered by the university magazine Mare. Private data belonging to various board members, deans, and the protected professor of law Afshin Ellian could also be accessed.
Transition to new computer system
The data breach occurred on Monday morning during the transition to a new computer system for financial and administrative matters. The IT department had already discovered it and the problem was resolved that same day, after a few hours. According to the law, the university is obliged to report the breach to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP).
A few weeks ago, the AP imposed a fine of €175,000 on the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences for failing to adequately protect its employees’ data. Four years ago, a single vulnerability in the system led to the data of hundreds of thousands of people being exposed. In 2020, TU Delft suffered a data breach after an unencrypted laptop was stolen. (HOP, NB)
Despite the persistent winter weather, lectures and exams at TU Delft will continue as usual on Wednesday. This was decided by the Executive Board (CvB) on Tuesday (intranet). The university is also not advising its employees to work from home, unlike Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch infrastructure agency, in Dutch), which did so earlier on Tuesday due to heavy traffic and dangerous conditions on the roads.
Nevertheless, many students stayed at home on Tuesday, Delta heard from those who were on campus that day. In some cases, only a few students were present in lecture halls built for many more. The winter weather, combined with the disruption to the NS rail network on Tuesday, meant that many of their fellow students were simply unable to attend, they said. Some students reported that resit examinations had been cancelled.
This is not TU Delft-wide policy. Just like exams, tests will in principle continue as usual, according to the Executive Board. However, it does state that lecturers can make their own decisions if necessary. The fact that TU Delft is not making any adjustments is due to the relativity low weather warning, says the Executive Board. Students and staff must therefore weigh up for themselves what is safe and feasible. A code red would trigger an urgent travel advisory, but codes yellow and orange do not.
More snow
The KNMI has again issued code yellow for Wednesday since another three to seven centimetres of snowfall is expected during the day. TU Delft is monitoring developments closely, the Executive Board writes, and will inform students (via Brightspace) and staff (via the intranet) if the situation changes. If necessary, TU Delft-wide advice will follow.
Utrecht University did take measures on Monday and Tuesday, cancelling all lectures and examinations.
