Students locked up in glass house for charity

The glass house has grown into a real tradition for the student association USC. For years, the fraternity has been promoting the three-day Ancient Party with Ancient Radio, a show presented from a glass house. In addition to promoting the party, the radio show is produced for charity. The students play songs in exchange for donations, for example. This year, the Ancient Party is going to take place from November 10-12. It is a huge party attended by members of the Corps from all over the Netherlands. 

Mixed crowd
Ancient Radio is slightly different this year. Whereas in previous years the glass studio was always built on the property of the fraternity, this year it was put in the middle of Janskerkhof square. By doing so, USC members hope to engage everyone who lives in Utrecht, not just students.

That seems to be working, says Luuk Smits, a second-year law student and one of the DJs locked up in the glass cabin. “Yesterday, an elderly couple came by to request a song. They had read about us in the newspaper. That’s nice, isn’t it?". The glass house also has a terrace, where people can have drinks from 5:00 pm. The proceeds also go to charity. According to Luuk, this bar has also been attracting a mixed crowd. "The initiative is much more alive this year. Several news outlets have paid us a visit, including the NOS, Algemeen Dagblad and the Telegraaf."

Food bank children
The attention is welcome. After all, they hope to raise 10,000 euros. The students chose the charity, Stichting Kinderen van de Voedselbank, themselves. It is a foundation committed to helping children of families who depend on the food bank, making sure that they get more than the bare essentials: a birthday party, new clothes or tickets to the Efteling amusement park, for example. The students find that the foundation's work has become even more important now that inflation is rampant. "We know we are privileged," says Luuk. "That's why we like to help people who are less fortunate."

The DJs will know whether they've managed to reach their goal today, November 11, when the final amount raised will be revealed. Regardless of the outcome, they sure did their best. Apart from donating money to have the students spin a record, people can also spin the "Wheel of Unfortune" for a fee. The wheel displays a number of unpleasant assignments for the six students in the glass house, which have to be performed live, during the broadcast. One of the challenges is eating surströmming, the infamous fermented herring from Sweden. Last but not least, a number of famous artists will stop by the glass house. On Thursday, for instance, they were visited by the group Turfy Gang.

You can listen to the radio show (in Dutch) until November 11, 11:00 pm, ancientradio.nl