Billboards and banners along your cycling route to class? Check. Party tents and party slogans? Check. Enthusiastic people thrusting flyers and bottles of water into your hands? Check. It’s election time.
Here’s a recap for the first-years (and those seniors who have somehow so far managed to miss the annual spectacle): This week, RUG students can cast their votes for the university and faculty councils. These are the university’s representative bodies that help to shape and advise policy.
Especially the parties that are looking to secure a seat on the university council will be campaigning fiercely this week. But the question remains whether it actually works. UK reporter Puck Swarte talked to the five student parties’ target – aka students – to find out if they were interested in the elections. (Spoiler alert: not so much.)
Don’t worry
If you haven’t decided who to vote for yet, don’t worry: there’s more than enough time to get informed. And it doesn’t even necessarily mean being beleaguered by people with flyers.
The Groninger Studentenbond has put together a voting aid that lists all the important election themes. This voting aid is available in both Dutch and English.
Monday 14 May at 7 p.m., you can have a look at the party leaders in action. They will debate each other on flexible studying and whether student associations should be punished financially for their members’ digressions. The debate will last until approximately 8:30 p.m. and takes place in the Senate room of the Academy building.