By Eva Versteeg
On Friday afternoon, buckets full of water and sponges were awaiting the by then exhausted IntRoweek children on the Market Square. The weather had finally taken a turn for the better and the sun was shining happily over the kids’ faces. And it could not have come at a better time, because this year’s surprise activity was: dodgeball. Including, of course, super soakers and wet sponges.
The godparents did not waste any time kicking in the children’s survival instincts and thus a hard-fought game of dodgeball was played. Armed with super soakers, they took on the task of performing a rude wakeup call by firing their water on the backs of the poor, innocent children – and succeeded. Immediately action was taken as the first-years unleashed hell both on the other team as well as on the godparents. It was a spectacle not to be missed, with sponges and screams flying everywhere, facial expressions ranging from extremely focused to hysterical laughter.
The delight was not limited to all those participating in IntRoweek, but transcended the UCR bubble. As the game progressed, the smiles of tourists who were enjoying the sun and a drink in front of the many cafés on the Market Square grew larger. One older man even decided to join in, showing much more enthusiasm than most of the tired newbies.
The first game was won by families 11 till 20. But it was not over yet, two more matches followed: parents and godparents versus the children, and the classic of boys versus girls. The results are unsurprising and even though they were a minority, the boys made the best of their underdog position and ended up winning.
Overall, this final active activity of IntRoweek was a testimony to IntRoweek’s power. Small groups of new students were sitting together, taking selfies, laying about and talking amongst themselves, while others used up the last bit of energy they had left to conquer their enemies, but do so with a smile. This Friday afternoon game of dodgeball showed IntRoweek’s power of, respectively, bringing students together and instilling them with our own unique RASA spirit.
Eva Versteeg, class of 2017, is a Religion, Philosophy and Anthropology major from Nijkerkerveen, The Netherlands.
