Internationals on the university council
‘We can offer valuable insights’
Door Yuling Chang
By Yuling Chang
Yuling Chang
Kik Marais (21)
Third-year liberal arts and sciences student
Nationality: South African
Party: Lijst Calimero
Oana Florea (22)
Second-year biomedical sciences student
Nationality: Romanian
Party: Lijst Calimero
Mariia Abdurashitova (20)
Second-year international relations student
Nationality: Russian
Party: Studenten Organisatie Groningen (SOG)
Ruben Wagenvoort (20)
Third-year international law student
Nationality: Dutch, but grew up in Denmark and the USA
Party: Studenten Organisatie Groningen (SOG)
Marios Lazarou (25)
Third-year medicine student
Nationality: Cypriot
Party: Lijst Calimero
Kik Marais (21)
Third-year liberal arts and sciences student
Nationality: South African
Party: Lijst Calimero
International students tend to be less involved in university politics, because they feel more pressure to finish their study in the nominal time, thinks Kik. But not her: ‘Politics is how change happens. It influences everyone’, she says.
She’s always had a strong interest in politics. ‘Just like most South African students. We’re more politically involved than other students.’
Kik first got involved with the UCG faculty council. ‘But UCG is a small faculty and there’s a limit to what you can change there. I felt the issues for internationals would be better solved on a central level.’
Politics is how change happens, it influences everyone
She chose to join Lijst Calimero because she felt the party was the one that friendliest to internationals. ‘I knew I would be welcome’, she says.
The working language on the university council, which convenes once a month, is Dutch, and most policy documents are in Dutch as well. There’s always a translator present who transcribes what is being said, though. ‘I read it to know what the others are talking about and reply in English’, Kik explains.
Still, it’s not easy for international students to get involved in university policy-making, she admits. ‘It isn’t just about language, but also the understanding of Dutch society.’ She’s learning Dutch, but it’s not good enough yet to use in a formal meeting.
The international council members have a different role than their Dutch counterparts, she says. ‘We can offer valuable insights into what the actual problems are for internationals.’ It’s not just housing issues and the like, but more subtle. For example, she says: ‘They might be more vulnerable to unsafe behaviours from others. It’s hard to pinpoint, but we should always keep in mind that we can’t expect the same systems to work for internationals as for the Dutch.’
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Oana Florea (22)
Second-year biomedical sciences student
Nationality: Romanian
Party: Lijst Calimero
Before moving to Groningen, Oana read every letter on the UG website. ‘I was preparing for my new life’, she says. So while internationals often struggle at least a little to get used to their new environment, she was off to a flying start.
She had arranged a remote part-time job at the university’s Career Services beforehand and signed up as an editor for student newspaper Groninger Studentenkrant, and as a committee member at her study association.
We need internationals to be inclusive in the decision-making process
Oana soon found out, though, that ‘there is a gap between student life and education’. While your study programme caters to your educational needs and student associations cater to your social life, who is concerned with housing problems and other internationalisation issues?
She had already given suggestions on how her study programme might improve matters for internationals, but she joined Lijst Calimero because she wanted to do more at the UG’s central level. ‘I wanted to be involved in the decision-making process, and I wanted to be the bridge.’
Since getting a seat on the university council, she’s become even more aware how important it is to have international representation there. ‘If you discuss a topic without internationals attending, you only have the Dutch perspective. So we need internationals in order to be inclusive in the decision-making process.’
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Mariia Abdurashitova (20)
Second-year international relations student
Nationality: Russian
Party: Studenten Organisatie Groningen (SOG)
‘I know what it feels like to be a newcomer in a totally different culture, so I want to speak up for other internationals’, says Mariia, who lived in Singapore for six years. They’ve noticed that slight cultural differences can lead to a significant gap.
Especially non-EU students need representation on the university council, Mariia feels. ‘Most international students are from the EU, which means they have similar rights as the Dutch.’ Those from outside the EU, meanwhile, pay higher tuition fees and have to deal with limits on part-time work. ‘So they have different needs, but their voices seem to be dismissed.’
Non-EU students have different needs
That’s why Mariia chose to join SOG. ‘Marginalised voices deserve to be heard and they were the leading party for that.’ SOG always takes international students into account when discussing a topic in the council, according to Mariia. And that’s essential, they say, because ‘internationals are a minority at the UG and it’s easy to exclude them’.
Inclusivity isn’t just a one-way street, though, they stress. ‘There should be a willingness to accommodate each other from both sides.’
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Ruben Wagenvoort (20)
Third-year international law student
Nationality: Dutch, but grew up in Denmark and the USA
Party: Studenten Organisatie Groningen (SOG)
As a Dutch national who had never lived in the Netherlands before coming to Groningen to study at the UG, Ruben can empathise with both Dutch and international students. ‘You can definitely notice that I’m not a native Dutch speaker. But I’m also not fully international, because I do speak Dutch’, he says.
The internationalism at the UG makes him feel at home. ‘I’ve learned to embrace my position of not entirely belonging to either Dutch or international groups. It’s actually a blessing. I can see both sides of the story and build the bridge in between.’
I can see both sides of the story and build the bridge in between
Ruben hoped his unique background and perspective could contribute something to university politics, so he joined SOG. ‘I wanted to facilitate other students. I felt SOG was the best fit, and I was right’, he says.
The way to bring international and Dutch students closer together, he feels, is to focus on the similarities, while still being aware of the differences and finding room for them. ‘We are all students. We need to find a balance. That may take time, but I know we can do it.’
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Marios Lazarou (26)
Third-year medical student
Nationality: Cypriot
Party: Lijst Calimero
Marios moved to Groningen in September 2020, excited to start his new life. Then, a month later, the Netherlands went into a second lockdown because of the Covid pandemic. ‘That first year was a difficult time for me. I had to get used to a new culture, a different way of studying, the Covid measures, and many other things’, he says.
His experience motivated him to help other international students by representing them on the university council. However, he stresses, ‘I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of both the Dutch and internationals. I want to see and listen to both sides.’
What he’s noticed is that internationals often complain about being treated as outsiders, while the Dutch are bitter about changes. ‘But merely complaining doesn’t help us to understand each other’, he says. ‘We need to meet in the middle; we need to be open.’
Complaining doesn’t help us to understand each other
What helps him in his intermediary role is that as a medical student, he has to learn Dutch. ‘The teaching language will switch to Dutch in our master programme’, he explains. ‘So speaking the local language lets me understand Dutch society better.’
He constantly tries to see the issue from both his own and others’ perspectives when discussing university policy related to internationals. ‘For example, I’ll ask myself: how would people in my country react to so many internationals coming to study?’ That way, he finds common ground between the Dutch and the internationals to inform his policy suggestions to the UG.
Only around 20 percent of students voted for the university council elections last year, Marios knows. ‘That’s not enough to represent all students’, he says. He wants to urge everyone to vote, Dutch and international students alike. ‘The university council may seem far away from students’ lives, but every policy we’ve approved so far directly impacts everyone.’
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