My name is Anne van Roozendaal. I mainly play the guitar, I sing, and I play a little bit of both the piano and the ukulele. What is your earliest music-related memory? My parents did a sort of experiment with me, when I was not even born yet. They played Street Spirit – Fade Out…
Humans of UCR – A Celebration of Our Diversity
Inspired by the world-famous Humans of New York project, I saw no better way to contribute to the diversity theme of this Tabula Rasa magazine than to take up such a project myself. I have always been intrigued by the fact that this wonderful world contains over 7 billion unique humans. Blessed with a rich…
Don’t Forget Them: Refugees in Middelburg
It has been a while since refugees have been prominent news. Much like any other news, the topic has been put on a backburner, because is anything more important than who Donald Trump has insulted this time?! Evidently not. So in light of this issue’s theme: diversity, I thought it was high time to show…
UCR Musicians #2: Sam Max
My name is Sam Max. I play drums and percussion. What is your earliest music-related memory? I’ve played music for almost longer than I can remember, so it’s difficult to think back to when I started. I do remember playing drums in the attic when I was three, playing along to the Beatles. I was…
A Sticky Situation
Shell strikes again: How an oil ‘giant’ pays no consequences for their actions So remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to never swallow your gum because it would stay in your stomach for 500 years? Then there would be that inevitable moment where you ended up swallowing your gum by…
Academia: A Tormenting Taboo
With this dissertation, we would like to raise our voices for a very common disorder on which rests an unspeakable taboo: Academia. This Intellectually Transmittable Disease (ITD) is relatively unknown, but affects many of us, as it is easily transmitted via prolonged contact with nerds. An open day might already be sufficient to contaminate the…
A Cut Above the Rest: An Easy Guide to Your Next Hair Appointment
A fresh start, while exciting, brings a boatload of problems with it. Questions of where to shop, drink, eat, bike, and where to walk to not get hit by bikes are probably at the forefront of many first years. However, those are not questions you see popping up on the Welcome to UCR Facebook page….
The global gag on abortion
During his first month in office – yes it has only been a month – Donald Trump has been signing executive orders left and right. From the Dakota Access Pipe Line and the wall on the border with Mexico to the infamous travel ban, there has been global outrage concerning his new legislation. However, there…
UCR Musicians #1: Hannah Davita Ludikhuijze
My name is Hannah Davita Ludikhuijze, and I play the cello. What is your earliest music-related memory? Music was always very central in the house where I was growing up, it was always playing in the background. Music was and is very much my idea of home. Apparently, when I was just learning to walk,…
Synopsis of Two Recent Voices
Much of today’s music works in tune with the 21st century vogue, celebrating the ego and promoting dull highs of living. This can especially be seen in the tracks that surface in the charts, centering on the semantics of dance-floors, mood-pushers and libido. At the top of the chain stand some aloof mega-stars fishing in…
UCR Votes: We All Want Jesse
And Dutch voters reject the Wilders movement The UCR Votes project started in the sociology class “New Social and Political Movements”, taught by professor Vazquez. For this course, all students have to set up an outreach project. The idea was to raise political awareness amongst UCR students – not that we lack political opinions at…
How I experienced the Women’s March in Amsterdam
Last Saturday, the 11th of March, I participated in the Women’s March in Amsterdam. The crowd gathered on the Dam and after some encouraging speeches we slowly made our way to the Museumplein. As one of the 15,000 people who came to Amsterdam to protest, I got to experience how separate voices can come together…
RAW Talent
UCR’s Review of Arts and Writing (RAW) magazine has long prided itself on its ability to provide a well-curated, high quality product showcasing our community’s creative abilities. The current board does not disappoint – the Fall 2016 RAW edition was ripe with experimental art and visually pleasing photo pieces. Amidst the busy preparations already underway…
Degrees of literality
Proposal for a 5-degree indexation for the literality of written text With the rise of digital communication, most notably that via textual conversation, comes an increased uncertainty surrounding the nuanced interpretation of written text. One of the particular sources of unclarity that is exacerbated in digital communication in comparison to direct conversation, is the matter of literality….
Near, Far, Wherever You Are: Where To Vote In Middelburg
I have 26 beautiful parties standing before me, but I only have one voting pass in my hands; and these parties represent the two of you that will still be in the running towards becoming Cabinet’s Next Top Party – uh, I mean next governing party, possibly… if you form the right coalition. The Dutch…
Column: The Demise of Democracy
By Anna Roodhof I am taking a train from Middelburg to Amsterdam. Across from me, two girls are chatting away in Dutch. One of them looks Caucasian. The other wears a hijab. They are discussing a party that they both attended the night before. This scenario is entirely in line with the motto of the…
Women’s March Amsterdam
By Joëlle Koorneef This Saturday, the 11th of March, the Women’s March on Amsterdam will take place. Go to the Women’s March to hear other people’s stories. Go to understand that we are all there for different reasons, with different backgrounds and different demands. If you think you know who is a ‘woman’, think again….
Fake News And Alternative Facts
The concept of ‘fake news’ has been in the public eye in the US since the news broke that during the 2016 elections, various websites have been sharing fabricated articles critical of Hillary Clinton and supportive of Donald Trump. However, the term was soon picked up by Trump’s team and supporters to refer to any…
My Shameless Obsession with Lana Del Rey
The notion of “guilty pleasures” bugs me, especially when talking about music. People often associate certain musicians with this categorisation – ABBA, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, etc. – but really, there is no guilt in listening to music that makes you go wild and scream out the lyrics. So when I say I like Lana…
Going to the gym: an honest review
A critical account of a self-proclaimed lazy person Let me start out this critical account by saying the #fitgirl does not, in the slightest, apply to me. I don’t own a pair of Sweaty Betty leggings, I don’t take pleasure in the aesthetics of avocado on toast and I am unfamiliar with the rush of…