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…
Offensive Fashion
By Anita Bielicka In light of the latest uproar concerning the “Kent State University” sweater by Urban Outfitters— which was made in a vintage design and splattered with fake blood, causing one to remember the shooting that took place in 1970— it is interesting to explore some of the rather controversial fashion items that have…
“Banks: the true Goddess of contemporary music”
Album Review By Eden van der Moere Every once in a while, a debut album comes along that is truly magnetizing. Goddess, the debut album of solo-artist Banks, is such an album. Banks is an upcoming young singer-songwriter from California—and not the most traditional one. Instead of only using a guitar, a microphone and a…
The Middelburg Mindset
By Maddy Slot As you see the sun set in Middelburg while you stroll around the city, you wonder how people who have lived here all their lives see it. You wonder whether they, too, think of Middelburg as a bubble, a city in the middle of nowhere. The students of UCR only see a…
Burning Man
By Agate Rublovksa The Black Rock Desert sun hangs heavily above your head. The heat is excruciating. The empty void of desert surrounds you—under your feet, there is nothing but hot sand and dust, and above your head, a clear, blue sky. At a distance, there are art installations that seem to emerge from the…
The Open Mic
By Merlijn Veltman Humanity has always had a fondness of performing on stage, whether it was a musical performance, theatre, or even sports. We like putting ourselves out there, and show the world our talents. The ancient Persians showed their archery skills, the Greeks their theatre and their music in competitions, the Romans their…
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…
With the World in One Hand and a Bolus in the Other
By: Laura van der Laan On November 12, 2014, the whole of Middelburg will gather; the young and the old, the professors and the businessmen, the shop owners and students; all in order to explore a concept that has become increasingly important in our highly industrialized and modern world: sustainability. The term sustainability has been…
Money Cannot Buy You Happiness, But It Can Buy You Chocolate
By: Laura van der Laan and Madeleine Slot (Section Editors) A walk down the Lange Geere in Middelburg takes you past Amore, the place to be at 2 a.m. after an Elliot Party, the place where Crostini’s used to be, and finally a little shop called Chocolate Lovers. Chocolate Lovers is a non-profit…
Thumbs Up for Soop
By Laura van der Laan According to Martin Luther, “the hair is the richest ornament of the women”. While I do not agree with this statement entirely, I must say that a bad haircut is quite unpleasant. I rue the day that I have to find a new hairdresser. Not particularly because I am high…
The International Community and Its Hidden Cultural Treasures #1: Portugal
By Agate Rublovska The UCR community is a diverse, international community – this seems to be a fact most of us are aware of. Because of this, most of us have also had quite some contact with the international students, from whom we learn about their culture, traditions, language, important historical events, present concerns, and…
The Roggeveenhof Food Bazaar
By: Ivar Troost It is a popular misconception that the Roggeveenhof Food Bazaar is solely a Facebook group. Indeed, a Facebook Group does exist carrying this banner; a group instated earlier this year in order to save almost-spoiling food in the building. This column is not about that Roggeveenhof Food Bazaar, though. The newly found…
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…
Hullabaloo: A Way to Save 2D-Animation?
By Liesbeth Visee For most, two-dimensional films are part of the earliest memories: after all the evenings spent watching Disney films like Cinderella, The Lion King, Jungle Book ensure they will always remain the ultimate classics. Yet unfortunately, the art of 2D-animation, or hand-drawn animation, is under threat of dying out as nowadays the more…
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…
Excellence
Last week Wednesday, Her Royal Majesty the Queen, Máxima came to visit Middelburg. She was formally opening the center of teaching and learning; a new flagship promoting the excellence that is UCR. But that’s not all. It has become a weekly event that our dear University College is proud to announce that, yet another newspaper…
Dotan & Blaudzun at Zeeland Nazomerfestival 2014
By Eden van der Moere Every year, when summer is coming to an end and the last few German tourist are wandering through Middelburg, the province of Zeeland organizes an event to celebrate those last days of sunshine: the Zeeland Nazomerfestival. The festival is a weeklong event, full of performances, concerts and happenings. It revolves…
Kensington: Short, but sweet at Zeeland Nazomerfestival 2014
By Eden van der Moere Who has not heard of Kensington these days? While the band was founded in 2005, Kensington’s rather impressive journey to the top of the Dutch music industry started in 2008, when the band was named “3FM Serious Talent”. Two years later, their debut album Borders was released and a very…