"Next year we expect two hundred students more than there arenow, so we're going to be busy", Van Oosten says. "We'll be dealingwith 380 students then, and again there will be a large group ofEastern European students. They were granted a Fortis scholarshipby the VSB bank, which enabled them to come over. There will alsobe exchange students, which is new and for which we made a contractwith California University. Ten of our students will go there,among others to Berkeley and to Smith College in Northampton."

Most strikingly, the future incoming students - that is, thosewho have had intake interviews - are conspicuous for their interestin the Dutch

language and literature. "We'll be offering them a full track ofDutch

next year", Van Oosten says. "In addition, the English languagecourses

will undergo major changes. Under the heading 'English forAcademic

Purposes' they will be combined with the Writing and Compositioncourses and so gain a more skills-like character."

In order to provide housing and teaching accommodation for allthese

student at the Kromhout campus, a number of building activitieshas been planned. "For teaching purposes we already had theVoltaire Hall for Humanities and the Descartes Hall for 'AcademicCore'. As from September 1st, the Newton Hall for Sciences and theLocke Hall for Social Sciences will become available", Van Oostenanticipates. "The teaching facilities will be completed then, whichis much more practical. There is no need any longer to squeeze alanguage lab or a computer instruction room into a Sciencebuilding. Each building will have its own disciplinarycharacter."

Petanque

There will also be a special place for socializing: the DiningHall will undergo some adjustments, as a drama practice room willbe created, as well as some rooms for student activities, such as aroom for the Boomerang editorial staff, a board room for theUniversity College Student Association, a reading room, etc. "Andthere will be a College Bar", Ineke tells us. "A real pub, which issponsored by the Grolsch Brewery." Next to the Dining Hall outdoorsports facilities are planned where students can play football,basketball, petanque, or tennis in between or after classes.

Ineke van Oosten: "As for the student housing accommodation: thelastnewly built houses are finished, providing 234 rooms. Togetherwith the rooms in three of the four teaching buildings, and therooms in two more 'barracks', that should be enough to accommodatethe large number of students starting in September. A further 121rooms will be built; a sensational design by architect Koen vanVelzen, integrating a noise barrier into a block of houses."

The grounds themselves will be cleaned up as well. Part of thegigantic

parade-ground right behind the front entrance will remain intactfor

historic and cultural reasons, but seating units will be added."And for

the rest it will be much greener", Van Oosten predicts. "Therewill be lots of grass, and the buildings will be connected by'elephant tracks' (paths following the natural connecting lines).And there will be a new lighting system, a kind of spot lights onthe buildings. For University College should be much more 'open',much more accessible to the public", Van Oosten thinks. "Because ofthe continuous renovations and the unsuitable grounds we have keptthings a little secluded up till now, but later on it will be muchmore open in character. Especially if there are going to be anannex of the Cultural Center Parnassos and an Auditorium, which arepossibilities we are exploring at the moment."

Armand Heijnen