Last week the Dutch government confirmed that students at higher education institutions will not be permitted to close their so-called ‘introduction week’ with the usual big parties. Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has therefore been busy making alternative plans.
Industria, TU/e’s association of Industrial Engineering students were already armed with a plan in case the government decided not to allow introduction week parties. This was reported by Cursor, TU/e’s student newspaper. Stefano Dimastrapasqua, spokesperson for Industria, says he is happy that parties in some form are allowed to continue.
Bar in the Sky
‘For a while it looked like having a drink at 1.5 metres distance would be the most we could do,’ Dimastrapasqua says. ‘But now we want to pull out all the stops,’ he continues. ‘We therefore organised “Bar in the Sky”, where you can have a drink 50 metres above the party location.’
The party will take place on Thursday evening on the Flux area of campus. It is open to all new students and their so-called ‘intro-parents’ (older students responsible for welcoming new students). Other students are also welcome to attend, so long as they purchase a ticket in advance.
Other student associations have similar parties planned, or are still exploring other means to throw corona-safe celebrations.
Celebrations for everyone
In principle, all associations should be able to host celebrations with sufficient safety measures in place, says Jeanette Schoumacher from Cursor’s introduction week committee. ‘All associations have been assigned a “field” on campus for this reason,’ she continues.
If an association cannot or does not want to organise a party, Schoumacher says there are alternatives. ‘They can have a drink outdoors at 1.5 metres distance,’ she suggests, ensuring students still have the opportunity to meet fellow students from their degree program.
14,000 tests
To ensure the introduction week at TU/e goes ahead safely, students are strongly encouraged to take daily corona tests. More than 14,000 self-tests have been purchased in preparations. ‘That ensures enough tests for every Bachelor and Master student at the introduction week to test themselves daily, either on campus or at home,’ Schoumacher says.
Source: Studio040
Translation: Rachael Vickerman
