Last year, student Sjoerd van Eijk drowned in the canal near the Oosterhaven. On Saturday morning, his brother Job and his parents donated a mosaic sofa to the city in memory of their brother and son.Approximately eighty people, including friends, family, acquaintances, and Sjoerd’s Albertus Magnus club members gathered at the Oosterhaven on Saturday morning. Mayor Peter den Oudsten accepted the specially designed bench.
Sjoerd’s brother Job (24), recently named ‘ACLO Athlete of the Year’, had previously done an interview with the UK about his brother’s tragic death. On Saturday, he said it was a good day. ‘The bench looks great’, he said. ‘The location is really good.’
Thanks to his parents’ and the municipality’s efforts, the process of placing the bench from the Van Eijk family was expedited. Job: ‘We’ve turned this place that used to hold a negative meaning into something positive.’
‘He loved his life’
A text imprinted on the sofa reads: ‘For Sjoerd, who loved his life in this city’. His brother hopes to visit the bench often. ‘It’s a place where I can take my friends, whether they are from Groningen or visiting’, he said.
‘I’d also like to take new students here during the introduction period and tell them about what happened.’ He hopes to prevent something like this from happening again. ‘They’ve included my story in the booklet for the next KEI week. There will always be new students who come here and make new friends and drink. I just hope something like this never happens again.’