It is raining Vidius awards for UU students and board members

Every year, the student organisation Vidius appoints the Best Council Member and the Best Student Board Member of Utrecht University (UU) and the University of Applied Sciences (UU). But, this year, there were not three winners, but six, because new categories have been added to the awards ceremony, such as an award for the Best University Council member and Best Council member at a faculty council. 

As for the award for best board member, a distinction was made between social associations, study associations and other types of associations. “There are different participation bodies and student administrators. We thought each of them should feel well represented in the award ceremony,” explains Quincey Mok, vice-chair at Vidius and a former Vidius Award winner. The HU student got the Best Council Member award last year.  

University Council
The prizes were awarded during the Night of the Utrecht Student, which took place at the NAR club in Zuilen. UU students won five of the six categories. Rachèl Verhoeven was the only HU student awarded that night. She took home the award of Best Student Board Member for Study Associations.

Claire Bruls took home the title of "Best Council Member in Utrecht" in the central council category. Claire is secretary of the University Council and is committed to increasing the compensation for students who serve on boards. The board grant of 425 euros has remained unchanged for eight years.

According to Mok, Claire has “worked pretty hard in recent years”. In the previous academic year, 2022-2023, she was a member of the faculty council at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The year before, she chaired the study association for Psychology, Alcmaeon.

Faculty Council
Axel van Dijk is the "Best Council Member" in the decentralised category. He studies Philosophy and is a member of the faculty council at the Faculty of Humanities. Mok describes Axel as “sharp, committed, curious and easily approachable”.

Axel was praised for how he knows how to “get students involved”. He has previously served as a chair for FUF, the study association for Philosophy.

Social clubs
Two UU students won prizes for "Best Board Member". Marielotte Riedstra, president of the sorority UVSV, won in the social clubs category. Riedstra has completed her Bachelor's degree in Human Geography and Planning. She has had a turbulent year, after the publication of a list of UVSV members ranked by their physical appearance and sexual preferences. The list was made by members of the fraternity USC.

Mok says: “Marielotte has shown great commitment when reacting to the incident that came to light at Utrecht Student Corps last spring. She assisted those affected and communicated strongly to USC and the media. Social safety is a major theme that she is committed to.”

Other associations
The Best Utrecht Board Member award for other associations went to Niels Vreeswijk, chair of the Utrecht Sports Council. Niels is a Master's student of Infection and Immunity. Next academic year, he will serve as the student assessor to the Executive Board. Previously, he chaired the Utrecht Student Hockey Club (USHC) and joined the training advisory committee of the Bachelor's degree in Chemistry.

As the chair of the Sports Council, he was committed to the expansion of sports fields and halls during the renovation of the Olympos Sports Centre. He wrote an op-ed on DUB in which he criticised the Executive Board. In the piece, he wrote that the university is mostly concerned with the costs of student sports, underestimating the benefits.

Mok: “Niels ensured that the interests of the Sports Council were heard. He has proven to be particularly strong in bringing the importance of student sports to the attention of the municipality and other institutions.”

Social Impact
The last UU student to win a prize was Lisanne van Barneveld, who got the Social Impact Award. She is a Master's student in Science and Business Management and previously completed a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences.

She chaired the Biomedical Sciences study association Mebiose and worked as a mentor during the pandemic. Mok describes her as someone who is "committed to other students”, so much so that she "improved collaborations with other associations”.

Public votes
Last year, the Vidius Awards ceremony had to be cancelled because the organisation didn't sell enough tickets. "A shame," says Mok, because the ceremony is "a moment to reflect on the students who commit themselves unconditionally" and pay attention to the often "invisible work" that they do.

Mok therefore committed himself to making this edition unforgettable. A professional jury nominated the council members and board members in all categories. The jury included Ruben Snijder, a group leader at Student & Starter; Jill Delsink of the HU Advisory Team on Participation; and Jelmer Becker, Education Policy advisor at the municipality of Utrecht. Students and employees from both UU and HU could then vote online for the eighteen nominees. A total of 510 public votes were cast.