Pizza cutter / can opener | USVA
Beer and pizza, the two products students consume the most. But beers must be opened and pizza must be cut! USVA managed to solve all your problems in one go. Kudos.
Scouring sponge | SP
Rood, the youth movement of political party SP, wants to ‘conquer the future’. So they mad scouring sponges in the form of a tomato, their logo. Indeed, what revolution didn’t begin with a good clean-up first? Good for scrubbing a caked pasta-pesto pan while contemplating the rise of the proletariat.
Card holder | Dizkartes
Every student is familiar with the situation: you wake up after a great party, head pounding, and gingerly inspect yourself – grateful to find you still have all your limbs. But it turns out, that’s all you have: your phone, your keys, and your wallet are all gone. This card holder allows adheres to your phone, so at least you’ll lose everything at once.
‘Dish up your CV’ spoon | UniPartners
That slogan is an absolute winner. And the spoon is indispensable in a student kitchen: great for stirring the pesto through the pasta.
Beach ball | Jonge Socialisten
Good for hours of fun, especially if next summer is as hot as this one. Groningen even has a city beach where you can toss it around. De Jonge Socialisten (the youth division of the socialist party PvdA) really scored with this one.
Stressbal | Webhelp
Webhelp responds to the impending burn-out of students trying to combine their studies, social lives, committee work, and jobs. A stress ball is a handy preventative.
Card decks | SP and Dwars
Circle of Death, spoons, fuck-the-dealer and Indian poker: these are just a handful of the possibilities a deck of cards has to offer bored students. Friendships are forged or finished at the card table. A useful item in any student room.
Ice skating cap | JOVD
Climate experts predict increasingly broiling summers and fiercely cold winters. Summer is ending, and when the temperature gets below zero in Groningen, ice skating fever takes over. You’ll be the one to steal the show with this great cap, warm and generous gift from the youth organisation of the political party VVD.
The Bible | Ichtus
For when student life gets overwhelming and you don’t know what to do where to go. Dutch and English translations combined in one pocket size cover that you can carry easily to take it to the library, the gym, or the pub.
Well, gross.
Not all items on the introduction market are praiseworthy. In some cases, they’re just cringeworthy. The undisputed winner for that category? The liberal youth organisation JOVD, who handed out free condoms with packaging that reads, ‘feel the liberal in you’.