Being initiated to a student association is not exactly fun

The association debate is organised yearly as part of the Utrecht Introduction Week (UIT). Chairs Sytze Hoekstra (Biton), Jette van Dam (SSR-Nu), Rik Tinga (USC), Sanneke Crezee (Unitas), Esmee Streefkerk (UMTC) and Marielotte Riedstra (UVSV) faced each other off this time.

As a warm-up, they were asked to describe their student association with three words. Van Dam, from the Christian student association SSR-Nu, said they are a “small association where everyone knows each other.” In addition, SSR-Nu members were defined as critical. “We have Christian and non-Christian members,” said Van Dam, arguing that this allows members to have “intense but interesting conversations”. Van Dam added that SSR-Nu members are “all good drinkers, of course.”

Inappropriate behaviour
The president of the Utrecht Student Corps (USC) described the fraternity as “ambitious, friendly, and open.” Tinga explains it as follows: “After five years at USC, you leave with a lot of friends and find that you have developed yourself in many areas.”

Men-only association USC is generally seen as a closed community. The fraternity has been in hot water in recent years due to its members' rowdy behaviour. Now, they are under pressure to change their culture. 

President Tinga has had a tumultuous year. USC came under fire earlier this year because some of its members divulged a "slut list" containing the names, contact details and sexual preferences of several members of the sorority UVSV. Utrecht University (UU) and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) have withdrawn their subsidies as punishment. USC also had to come up with an improvement plan with clear steps to change its culture. The infamous list was not discussed during the half-hour debate.

Hierarchy
They did discuss the hierarchy that exists within their clubs. The participants had to react to the following statement: "A hierarchical structure is important in our association". For example, most associations make a distinction between first-years and seniors. In some cases, year clubs, disputes or committees have more prestige than others.

According to Crezee, Unitas is “a traditional association. We have an initiation period that first-years have to go through to become members. At Unitas, first-years are given extra tasks to get involved with the association. Committee work requires some experience, which is why seniors are asked to do this but, in principle, first-years are full members after their inauguration.”

Riedstra, from UVSV, agrees. According to her, it is “really nice to learn” from those who have been in the association for longer. "You could call that hierarchical, but that word has a rather negative connotation. It is actually pretty nice to learn from the experiences of members who came before you.”

Biton is a non-hierarchical student association and therefore an exception. “We do not have year groups or year clubs,” says Hoekstra. “To us, everyone is equal the moment they join. There are equal opportunities to get to know other people. First-year members can simply join a committee. In addition, our introduction is not about hazing and Biton has no obligations. You are not obliged to come to our drinks.”

Hazing
Speaking of hazing, the chairs had to react to the statement "Our introduction is the most fun." Van Dam, from SSR-Nu, would not call their introduction "fun", but “afterwards, you form a very close bond with the group and that is a good basis for your college years.”

According to Hoekstra, “fun is definitely the right way to describe" Biton's initiation. "We do fun activities together for two weeks.” There is no hazing involved: “everyone is together, having drinks.” The president also says that Biton has “the largest collection of spirits among the entire student population of the Netherlands”.

UMTC has a shorter initiation camp compared to other associations. President Streefkerk says: “We have an intense programme. What other associations do in ten days, we do in four.” According to Streefkerk, their introduction is fun at times, but it does include less fun moments. "We might not have the most fun introduction, but it is certainly not the most unfun either”.