UIT expands to Rotsoord and discourages heavy drinking

During the Utrecht’s Introduction Week (UIT) from Monday, August 11 to Thursday, Augustus 14 thousands of new students will discover the city of Utrecht and its student life. The upcoming edition has several new components. The UIT will be expanded to the Rotsoord neighborhood, where there will be several activities on Tuesday night.

Last two years there was already a pub quiz at the poppodium de Helling in Rotsoord. This edition participants can also go to the pub, dance at the silent disco and play a board game together at one of the other bars. There will also be a movie morning instead of the open-air cinema organized in previous years. On Wednesday morning, UIT participants can watch Jurrasic World Rebirth at Kinepolis Jaarbeurs. 

Program
Familiar program elements also return. On Monday morning, the UIT traditionally kicks off with the opening show in pop venue TivoliVredenburg, after which participants get to know Utrecht during the city introduction. The day ends in TivoliVredenburg with the Opening Party. Tiktok star and music producer Jack Shore will perform that night.

Tuesday features the sports market at Olympos and the student association market in park Lepelenburg.  On Wednesday, four Utrecht museums open their doors. Participants can visit the Centraal Museum, Utrechts Archief, Huis van Ravesteyn and Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht for free that day. On Thursday morning, participants can recover from all the activities during a lunch at the Universiteitsmuseum, after which the week will end with a big festival. 

Alcohol
The introduction week means a lot of partying and drinking for the new students. But this edition, the UIT team is trying to make participants more aware of their alcohol consumption with the ‘Choose your Cheers’ campaign: a student initiative that started last year at the introduction week in Nijmegen. It should make students realize that they are allowed to decide for themselves what they want to drink.

The campaign aims to convince participants that non-alcoholic drinks are just as normal an option as alcoholic ones. Dupré says: "Participants of the UIT are getting to know student life for the first time. They may experience peer pressure to drink. We want to encourage everyone to experience the UIT in their own way. It doesn’t matter whether this is with or without alcohol. The most important thing is that the week is enjoyable for the participants."

This year cider will be added to the bar to offer an alternative to wine. Dupré: "A nice new drink with a low alcohol percentage that is gluten-free. People with gluten allergies who want to drink alcohol won't have to drink just wine." 

Alcohol and drug policy
At the UIT, possession or use of soft and hard drugs is not permitted. Underage participants receive a different color band and are not allowed to drink alcohol or a 0.0 drink during the UIT. Dupré: "A 0.0 beer is indistinguishable from a ‘real’ beer, so we cannot check whether minors are drinking alcohol. Therefore, both drinks are not allowed for participants of the UIT under the age of 18."

The rules are shared with mentors and crew members. The alcohol and drug policy states that mentors must ensure that participants follow these rules. Mentors have an exemplary role regarding alcohol consumption and are required to hold their mentor children accountable for their behavior if the rules are violated.

The UIT team has the right to exclude persons who have visibly had too much to drink or are under the influence of other narcotics. A staff member or participant may have their wristband cut, thus denying immediate access to the UIT. 

Social safety
In recent years, the UIT made efforts to improve social safety during the introduction week. When purchasing the ticket, participants sign the code of conduct. They agree to the principles of the introduction week and promise, among other things, to respect others, respect others' boundaries and contribute to a safe atmosphere. An external confidential advisor is present at the UIT to whom participants can turn if they have a problem or encounter undesirable behavior. In addition, participants can call the central telephone number to report incidents.

UIT team
In previous years, the UIT board, like many other student associations and organizations, had to contend with dwindling enthusiasm to be part of a board. It became increasingly difficult to find successors. Dupré: "In the current economy it is not feasible to make ends meet on a board grant alone. As a result, board members had to work alongside their board year or borrow extra from DUO. That puts people off."

Last year, the board consisted of only three board members for a board of normally six people. As a result, board members were given double roles. This year was even worse. “The enthusiasm for the UIT board year was so low that it was actually impossible to organize the introduction week.” 

This had to change, thought also the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) and the Utrecht University (UU), the principals for the introduction week. So this year there is no longer a UIT board, but a UIT team with six student employees employed by the educational institutions. The students receive loan instead of a stipend, which means higher compensation. 

It helps to find more people, according to Dupré. And having a larger student team to organize the UIT is nice, too. "We're really looking forward to the start of UIT week. It's nice in the office, but the real work has yet to begin. Every now and then we do marvel at how big the UIT actually is. Then I do realize that we are working on the biggest student event in Utrecht." 

It is still possible to purchase a ticket for the introduction week. The sale runs until Thursday, July 31. A total of 4,000 tickets are available. In addition you can still sign up to help during the UIT or as a crew member. The UIT band will be announced Friday, July 11, on the UIT's Instagram page.