Living in De Uithof can and should be better

The debate was inspired by a survey conducted by the data scientist and USP resident Nene Merit Aguzien during the recent Neighbours' Day. Some 731 residents, more than a fifth of the total, responded.

The survey revealed that residents live at USP for an average of 1.9 years. In addition, 1 in 8 residents feel lonely, and only 30 per cent spontaneously join social activities. So, there is plenty of work to be done for the twelve candidates.

They debated three hot topics: participation, social safety and future development. The fifty or so attendees (mainly administrators and residents) could ask questions.

The candidates agreed on many things, but also had a few minor confrontations. The campus's name was one of them. Justin Klein Tank, number 2 on the Socialist Party list and a Liberal Arts & Sciences student at Utrecht University, insisted on saying “De Uithof” instead of “Utrecht Science Park”. Thijn van Rootselaar, number 9 on the Party for the Animals list, “didn't mind either way”.

Then they discussed how safe residents feel on campus. Elise de Leede, number 2 on the Link list (that's a local offshoot of the left-wing party GroenLinks), proposed appointing a confidential advisor for each building. According to her, fear has become normalised in our society, and there is “a lot of hatred going on, even in a neighbourhood like De Uithof”. Jaap Verlinde, number 5 on the far-right JA21 list, thought that was a bad idea. He argued that solving "domestic problems" is not a municipal task. 

The candidates also discussed the role of housing authorities, the task of the neighbourhood police officer, the influence of the relatively large population of international residents, and the vacancy rate of "concrete blocks" such as the Van Unnik building. But everyone agreed on one thing: things could and should be better. Justin Klein Tank made a hopeful prediction. "In two years, if you tell someone that you live at Science Park, they'll say: 'Wow, cool.'"