Ten first-year members of the student association Vindicat sustained first-degree burns during a weekend trip with their sub-society TYR in Friesland.
The injuries were inflicted by a senior member using a red-hot object, with one student suffering facial burns.
Vindicat disclosed the incident on Friday following an internal investigation and prompted by reports from Sikkom and Dagblad van het Noorden. According to the association, the senior student was under the influence of alcohol during a nighttime game at a remote forest location.
TYR is a sub-association of Vindicat and represents the Groningen Student Shooting Association.
‘Misconduct’
Vindicat stated that the trip was organized independently of the association. As a result, it has immediately severed all ties with TYR. ‘We condemn this misconduct in the strongest possible terms’, the association declared.
The association has advised the affected first-year students to file police reports and has arranged for medical care. Both the municipality and the University of Groningen have been informed, as required in cases involving student association incidents. The senior student involved is now permanently banned from Vindicat.
According to the association, the ten first-year students are in stable condition under the circumstances.
Celebration Overshadowed
Vindicat, which boasts over two thousand members, is celebrating its 210th anniversary this year, making it the oldest student association in the Netherlands.
The association had intended the anniversary to be a celebration ‘in which we explicitly sought to connect with the city of Groningen in a positive way’. ‘We deeply regret that this incident has now cast a shadow over those efforts’, Vindicat stated.