By Junghyun Song Ever since moving into Koestraat from my former campus two months ago, Isabel, the campus elder of Koestraat, has helped me greatly to ensure that I settle down smoothly in a new environment. I have had asked her for help a myriad of times such as when something in my room got…
A Dive in the Deep – Why You (A First Year) Should Run for A Board
By Justin Kist Every year in Middelburg, a peculiar phenomenon appears. Roughly on the border between Winter and Spring, the students of University College Roosevelt congregate for info sessions, write motivations and speak with students boards. All online this year, of course. It signals that Election season is in full swing, and the members of…
Chinese Lunar New Year with Culture Committee of UCR
By Junghyun Song As most of you have already heard about, this year, 12 February, marked Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival. As the date varies every year, it is very important to check the dates every year around January and February as it typically falls between those two months. Lunar New…
My Take on Political Correctness at UCR
By Junghyun Song Disclaimer: The following article is strongly opinionated and is entirely based on my personal experience, and does not speak on behalf of anyone or Tabula Rasa. We live in a politically correct culture. Political correctness is a term used to describe attempts to speak in a way that minimizes offenses in regards…
Critical Sociology at UCR- Why We Should Take at Least One Course at Some Point in Our UCR Life
By Junghyun Song This article is not for me to preach. I merely want to share my experience with a sociology course at UCR. I am not a Sociology major, and I have only taken one course: Modern Sociology 200, so far, so, do take what I am about to say/write with a grain of…
Humans of UCR: Fenna Capelle
By Maud Smulders I have to admit I was quite nervous when I came here. It was new, I came right out of high school, and I obviously didn’t know anyone. I have never been particularly good at adapting to social situations. But it has been amazing, to be honest, I never expected it to…
The Facade of Diversity at UCR
By Junghyun Song UCR is an international honors college of Utrecht University. That is what it says on UCR’s website and on the Internet if you look it up. Besides all the other reasons, this purported international community boasted by UCR was a determining factor that made me want to come here. However, my anticipation…
The Lurking Presence of Big Brother in UCR Facebook Page?
By Anonymous The University College Roosevelt Facebook Account (UCRFBA) should not be a part of nor should be interfering with the “Welcome to UCR class of 2023” Facebook page. This is the first time they have been included and involved. This was not the case for the “Welcome to UCR class of 2022”, and the…
Distance Teaching: How Have the UCR Professors Coped With Online Classes?
By Junghyun Song As a student myself, I tend to think and write about the problems arising from online learning only from the perspectives of students. But a single narrative is dangerous as we do not get the full picture of how different groups are affected differently by the pandemic. As such, I figured that…
Humans of UCR: Derin
By Maud Smulders I’m a dude, who lives in Bagijnhof 3. Occasionally I cook things, I love making people food. Well, not make people-food, but make food for people. I wouldn’t make people-food unless someone asked me that as their deathwish. Recently, I made a hot sauce and people seemed to like it. Then I…
We Need to Talk about Mental Health
By Marco Segantini After writing about the value of cartoons and some of my favorite movies in my previous articles for Tabula Rasa, it seems strange to now sit and write about mental health. I almost wish I could be here writing about “The great friendship between Teddy and the dragon” (those that attended the Budget…
The Summer Break in ‘The New Normal’
By Junghyun Song The summer break this year was certainly nothing like the one we have had before. With all the uncertainties ushered in by the novel coronavirus, it has been very challenging to make our normal plans and execute them the way we used to. As such, I thought it was time to ask…
Reflection on My Unforgettable Spring Semester
By Junghyun Song When I got an email in March that all the classes would be canceled for the week, I was more relieved than shocked because I was not ready for my mid-term exams. Also, the gravity of the virus situation did not fully strike me at the time, so I naively believed that…
The Power of a Simple “Thank You”
By Eva Kloppenborg My time at UCR is regretfully coming to an end. Soon, my three years spent in this beautiful bubble will become a memory that I will look back at with a wistful sense of nostalgia. Over the years there have been many hurdles, many doubts and many nightly feelings of a gnawing…
Fill the Void
By Justin Kist Now is not the time to rest your weary head. As we are kilometers apart, ranging from a few to some thousands, life continues. The world turns and so does UCR. Assignments, exams, and projects still exist. In a different set-up, yes, but it still continues. Like UCR always seems to do….
The Pixels of a UCR Quaranscreen
By Luna Erica “Go to sleep,” someone says. You find your bed, and everything goes black. When the light floods into your field of vision again, you see the sun rising through your window. It is square. This is Minecraft. Now that our “real lives” are compromised, UCR students have taken to digital lives as…
Well, fuck.
by Mathilde Eon It has been over two weeks since UCR closed the doors of its classrooms to students, teachers and staff. I remember hearing cheers outside my Bagijnhof house as I was reading the email announcing the decision of management. Next week’s classes and exams were cancelled until further notice, the night was still…
Bit Bored? Big Board. (part 2)
By Luna Erica In the first article of this short series, we discussed the general technicalities of the different boards and their elections. In this second half, we hear the boards’ stories about motivation, skills, and social life during their board years. Six members of current big boards have shared their experiences to be broadcast…
Bit Bored? Big Board. (part 1)
By Luna Erica Bit bored -> big board? Well, not necessarily. As the spring semester creeps up on our stressed, fetal-posed bodies, the UCR election season bowls into view. Every year, the boards we have grown to see as invincible entities submerge back into the sea of other students. Then, a few lucky fish swim…
The Thunder Down Under: Stories of an Exchange in Australia
By Luna Erica Going on exchange can be tiresome and is, no doubt about it, a lot of work. In the past, this has discouraged heaps of people from going at all – a fact that is not an absolute waste (after all, UCR isn’t that bad, right?), but that may have been a dream…