By Julia Airey In times of war, unexpected alliances often occur. However in the present conflict with the Islamic State, better known as ISIS, no alliance was perhaps as surprising as the recent coalition of the Dutch biker gang “No Surrender” with their recent allies in the German biker gang, “the Median Empire Motorcycle Club”….
Boko Haram
By Becci Fobbe Given the accumulation of reports about exploding vehicles, kidnapping and brutal killings it does not sound too unfamiliar in our ears: attacks, suicide bombings, kidnapping, forced marriage. Boko Haram – which translates into ‘Western education is a sin’ – is one out of many extremist Islamic groups connoted with terrorism. The group…
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS!
The selfie that started it all… An interview with UCR’s boyband: Multiple Directions By Aimah Moiz On the Third Open Mic of the semester we saw a new band emerge amidst the pool of familiar performing faces. Multiple Direction, UCR’s #1 boy band. Members of Multiple Directions (or MD) live up to all the attributes…
Jelly Rats
By Sanne Tol Is it Halloween yet? A picture for the strongly stomached: no it is not a gummy rat gone bad, it is an actual see-through rat. Scientists have developed a new technique of making rats transparent, allowing them to see more anatomical detail than ever before. These details are necessary for high…
#UmbrellaRevolution: Democracy in Hong Kong
by Marijse van den Berg Over the past few weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in Hong Kong to fight for political freedom. One might ask if, being part of The People’s Republic of China (PCR), Hong Kong can achieve any form of freedom at all. In order to be able to understand the…
FGM: More Widespread Than You Think
By Aimah Moiz Sakina was thirteen years old when the village circumciser came to her house and cut off her clitoris. As she bled and throbbed in pain her mother congratulated her, for she had now officially become a ‘woman’. Sakina is just one of the 125 million girls and women who have undergone female…
The (lack of) Scottish Independence
What did the Scottish Referendum achieve? By Dan Hasan Being home to only a handful of Scots and a minority of Brits, it seemed UCR was largely unshaken by the events of the referendum on Thursday 18th September and it is unlikely that the date will go down in history as far as most UCR…
THE INTERNET ON FIRE: Journalists vs. Gamers
By Simon Giesen If you have visited any large forum, image board or social network (such as Reddit, Tumblr or 4chan) over the last month, you will undoubtedly have encountered one of the largest controversies the internet has ever witnessed, involving some of its most (in)famous personalities and celebrities. The event began in August…
Komkommertijd
By Kirsten Kapteijns ‘a time of year, usually in midsummer, characterized by exaggerated news stories, frivolous entertainments, etc.’, according to Dictionary.com That is the proper explanation according to the dictionary. Still do not know what I am talking about? ‘Komkommertijd’ is known by many different names: Sommerloch in Germany, la morte-saison in France, agurketid in…
Vanishing Freedoms in Hong Kong?
By Anonymous Recently there have been reports about numerous protests in Hong Kong concerning a controversial decision that has been made in Beijing: the central government has issued a statement regarding Hong Kong’s 2017 elections, namely that all the candidates must be approved by a committee beforehand, and that the Chinese government is choosing the…
Date Rape: Nailing it on the Head
By Sanne van den Tol Meet Undercover Nail Polish. Designed to tell you when your drink has been spiked with date rape drugs through changing colour simply by dipping your finger in your drink. The nail polish should be able to detect the three most common date rape drugs – Rohypnol, GHB and Xanax –…
Editorial: Old Prejudices Die Hard
By Rebeccah Steil Current Affairs Section Editor Throughout the past two UCR semesters, there has been a sudden rise in protests around the world. Whether it’s the ongoing revolution in Syria, election protests in Thailand, protests for human rights in Russia, protests in Taiwan, dissatisfaction in Venezuela, or the conflict in Ukraine, it seems that…
White Elephants & Dead Journalists
By Anita Bielicka UCR Class of 2015 At the moment, Brazil is pretty much on everyone’s lips for two prominent reasons: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the presidential elections in October, which are estimated to be associated with more quarrels than usual. First, however, a short overview of the candidates: Officially announced so far…
Assad Resigns, Citing Student Human Rights Group Instagram Pics
By Pieter Van de Rijn Class of 2040 DAMASCUS – Amid the bitter conflict in Syria, Bashar al-Assad announced his resignation as president of the Syrian government in a press conference early this morning. In an emotional address at the Presidential Palace, Assad told reporters of his plans to step down immediately and hold peace…
The Year of LGBT Rights, and Wrongs
By Becci Fobbe Class of 2016 We have all seen the pictures of people dressed in rainbow-colors, demonstrating in London or Stockholm calling for boycotts, or demanding more rights for the LGBT community and general approval of any sexual orientation. However, alongside these protests advocating rights, in various parts of the world being homosexual can…
Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in Europe: A Need for a Solution
By Tsjalline Boorsma UCR Class of 2016 “Do you want, in this city and in the country, more or less Moroccans?” Dutch Freedom Party’s leader Geert Wilders asked his followers. “Less! Less! Less!” shouted the crowd. This incident of anti-immigrant sentiment shocked many in The Netherlands and led to over 15,000 complaints of discrimination at…
The Politics of Food: Do You Have a Say in What You Eat?
We at Tabula Rasa strive to be, amongst other things, evermore critical. That’s why we bring you this article as a part of our new partnership with UCRITICAL. By Irene Pena Abellan & Sanne Raggers UCRITICAL Many people in the Global South starve because of land exhaustion and unequal food distribution. In…
Are Our Voices Heard? A Look at the Middelburg Municipality Elections
By Tsjalline Boorsma UCR Class of 2016 This Spring Break, most UCR students left Middelburg to enjoy the delights of other cities. Some, however, were here on the 19th of March to vote in the municipal elections. Every four years, the citizens of Middelburg get to cast their ballot and with that action, decide what…
Colombia’s Presidential Elections: A Choice Between War or Peace?
Anton Moggré UCR Class of 2015 Colombia has commonly been referred to as a “failed” country; a nation torn by violence, plagued by drug trafficking, and ruled predominantly by a combination of armed groups and corrupts politicians. However, times are rapidly changing, and in many regards Colombia can now be considered a success story. Only…
Curiosity about Mars
By Sanne van den Tol UCR Class of 2016 Coming up on the 10th anniversary of the first successful U.S. rover to land on Mars, the past missions have led to surprising scientific discoveries as well as fodder for the hope that humans may one day walk on Mars. In 2004 the rovers Spirit and…