It’s Election Season! Names and posters have been flying around for a while, and everyone is getting prepared to present themselves and their ideas next week at the Election GA. Each year, Tabula RASA gives the candidates the opportunity to react to a quick Q&A, so that the whole student community can read a bit about who they are, and what they stand for. In this article, you can read about Guido for RASA CAO, Tess for HAC Secretary and Hannah for HAC Chair.
- What is your full name, semester, hometown, and the position you are running for?
My name is Guido Noteboom, I am a fourth semester, I am from the beautiful Zwijndrecht and I’m running for RASA CAO!
- What is it that you feel you can contribute to RASA?
I think that I can contribute a lot to the RASA board. I have been in the Summertrip team (two times), the HAC’s Christmas market team, gradweek team and the Sportsco board. I think that I have gained a lot of experience in these committees, which will help me a lot with the tasks of a RASA CAO. Furthermore, I think that in my nature I’m very social. In my former board experiences, I realized that I really like helping people and I think that this attitude will help me a lot in helping the committees reach their full potential. Furthermore, I think that I can work really hard for RASA. I have found that I am really passionate about organising and working in committees.
- What issues do you consider to be the most pressing for RASA?
I think for the RASA board one of the most pressing issues remains its reputation. On a daily basis the RASA board is very busy with all sorts of projects. However, sometimes I have the idea that people do not know what the RASA board is busy with, or why they make certain choices. I believe that very intensive and clear communication with the committees will help solve this problem, as they are most closely involved with RASA.
- Please outline a few ideas/initiatives you would like to implement if elected.
I personally think that I can be most helpful for the committees if I stay in close contact with them. Therefore I would like to implement a schedule where I make sure to join their meetings on a regular basis. The exact way of implementation for this will differ per committee.
Furthermore I think I have a lot of good ideas on how to improve Introweek. I have been a godparent twice now and I think this gives a valuable perspective on Introweek. For example, last spring Introweek the RASA board organized an escape room for the Introweek families. I personally really enjoyed this and I would like to look into the possibility of also doing this in the coming fall Introweek.
- What is your favourite icebreaker activity?
My favourite icebreaker activity is a rather simple one. When I first meet someone I always ask where they come from. What follows is often a very interesting life story. At UCR we have a lot of really different people, from a lot of different nationalities, and I find it fascinating to learn about them.
- What is your full name, semester, hometown, and the position you are running for?
My full name is Hannah ten Have, I am a fourth semester student majoring in Law, Politics, and History. I was born in Breda but have lived in Rijen my whole life. I am running for the position of HAC Chair.
- What is it that you feel you can contribute to the HAC?
I believe I am very perseverant: when I want to achieve something I do whatever it takes to reach this goal. This is one of the things I have learned in my eight years at high school (I have three high school diploma’s; Mavo, Havo, and VWO) to never give up and always strive to reach the highest goal. This does not mean however that it always has to be my way or no way. No, just the opposite, I believe that working together is very important. I have learned to work together, and reach the same goal, mostly through my time as team captain of my Ladies First field hockey team. Communication is key, even in stressful situations. I believe that these are two of the (many) skills; perseverance and communication, that I can contribute to the HAC.
- What issues do you consider to be the most pressing for the HAC?
The most pressing issue for the HAC is improving communication. First of all, the communication between the campus- and floor/house elders needs to be improved. As both (former) house elder of B10 and (current) floor elder of Bachtensteene first floor I have experienced that as floor elder you are not often told what is discussed. I believe this is an issue because more openness towards all students can result into a better campus life.
Secondly, the communication between students and Villex is still not where it supposed to be. When calling the Villex emergency number, you often reach the voicemail or you reach someone who cannot resolve the problem at this moment. However, when there is an immediate situation this communication could mean life or death (I mean this figuratively of course), but it is very important.
- Please outline a few ideas initiatives you would like to implement if elected.
If I get elected as HAC Chair, I would like to implement monthly meetings between campus- and floor/house elders. These meetings can be as informal as people want, it will suit the purpose of informing floor/house elders on pressing issues discussed by the HAC. Besides this, I believe that good things take time. If I get elected, the new HAC board should continue projects of the current board, such as improving sustainability on campus, focusing on the legal aspects of our contracts and the improvement of campus locations.
- Describe your dream house!
My dream house will be in the center of a big city. It does not have to be big but everything does need to match. With a color scheme based on pink, white and grey. The room where I will spent the most time is the kitchen. I love to bake and cook. Having family and friends over for dinner in my huge kitchen is the dream! My second favorite room in the house will be my walk-in-closet where I display all my bags, shoes and clothes. Of course this room will be all color coordinated 🙂
- What is your full name, semester, hometown, and the position you are running for?
My name is Tess Schijvenaars, I’m a fourth semester student, I’m from Geldermalsen (of all places) and I’m running for HAC Secretary.
- What is it that you feel you can contribute to the HAC?
I like to think of myself as an organized and structured person. Occasionally a little bit too much of the above, planning every single minute of my day with my infamous planner ☺. However, as a secretary I hope that these attributes will help me to keep the general overview in the board; to plan meetings, write the newsletters, and update the Facebook page. Furthermore, I’m a hard-working person, on top of all my work at least a week in advance to the annoyance of some people as I can imagine… ☺. However, when it comes to the HAC I hope that this will help me to successfully combine a four-course workload with a big board. Finally, I generally really like to help and assist people. As a secretary, I want to be approachable for confidential student issues and legal support, like helping students with their rental allowance for example.
- What issues do you consider to be the most pressing for the HAC?
First of all, I think that the housing quality of some of the campus locations, especially Bagijnhof, seriously needs to be improved. Bagijnhof is practically slowly crumbling down, and thus in need of significant improvements. I think the current board has already done a lot, like renovating most of the bathrooms and some of the kitchens. However, I think the next board should definitely continue pushing for these renovations.
Additionally, I think that the quality of communication between Villex and UCR students is a pressing issue, as Dutch e-mails informing tenants about internet issues are simply unacceptable in an international student environment. Finally, the response rate of repair requests is alarmingly low, often taking a few weeks or even months before a repair request is acknowledged and acted upon.
- Please outline a few ideas/initiatives you would like to implement if elected.
If I get elected as HAC Secretary, I would mainly like to focus on continuing projects of the current HAC Secretary and Board. One board year is simply not enough to finish all projects and fully achieve results. In my case this would entail continuing the review of the legal contracts HAC has with other parties (Villex and Woongoed), as well as improving the sustainability of the campus locations. Furthermore, I would like to continue the move of the HAC to a more strictly legal organization, as in essence the HAC is a rental association. This means that I think the majority of the budget should be spent on the (legal) representation of the housing interests of UCR students.
5. Describe your dream house!
My dream house would be one of those giant mansions in Amsterdam near the Vondelpark. A spacious home with big windows, a veranda, and a lush green garden. For every bedroom an ensuite-bathroom, and one of those lovely industrial-styled kitchens with a herbs rack and kitchen island. I imagine the entire interior would be either wooden, green, or yellow with lots of plants hanging from the ceiling. Ow, and an entire wall dedicated to books with a moving ladder, so you can be like Mr. Olivander in Harry Potter, and slide to your favorite book. I would love that.
