In the three years that we attend UCR, most people engage in committees, perform as motivated students and “occasionally” party. In other words: academics, extracurricular activities and socializing with or without a specific context. We probably need sleep, too. Sometimes these activities clash; your friends are partying when you have to study, a housemate wakes you up when you wanted to catch an early night. We all need freedom to choose our own habits. To guarantee this freedom, it is important that we appreciate the needs of others and are considerate – that we respect the way people allocate their time.
Thursday September 5th, five gentlemen from Erodios forgot these principles of consideration and respect and that is unacceptable. As Erodios, we want to take this opportunity to apologize for the fact that many people were woken up that night. None of this should have happened, we’re sorry and we’ll work to improve this, as well as to improve Erodios overall.
But what is Erodios? Erodios is a setting for socializing without specific context. It’s a meeting point for people who feel that education is not just about classrooms and books, but also about meeting people– in the words of Stephen Fry: Education is the sum of what students teach each other in between lectures and seminars. You sit in each other’s rooms and drink coffee – I suppose it would be vodka and Red Bull now – you share enthusiasms, you talk a lot of wank about politics, religion, art and the cosmos and then you go to bed, alone or together according to taste. I mean, how else do you learn anything, how else do you take your mind for a walk?” And indeed that is what we do, although beer is generally preferred over vodka Red Bull.
This view on the importance of social life in combination with academics results in a group of ambitious, socially active students, who because of this compatibility, tend to make great friends. Certainly, most members make friendships within Erodios that they’ll never forget. It also results in high participation within RASA and a stimulating academic environment. Any society serves to further the interests of its members – Erodios (as part of our “Greek System”) assumes this role in a similar way, though in a different context.
There is more to this story though, than just the events of last week. Erodios has always been the subject of dislike and stereotype amongst a part of the students at UCR. It is a shame that prejudices exist with regard to Erodios, but we accept that as a group one invites these opinions, Erodios perhaps more than some others.
Stereotypes, however, are dangerous. Plenty of current students have not met many of our members, yet some would, knowing someone is in Erodios, have an opinion of him based on stereotypes of arrogance and loudness that have been around longer than any of us. Every Erodios member has had many friends outside of Erodios and frankly, no person can be as bad as the caricature of Erodios makes them out to be.
Then, there are certain things that are often attributed to Erodios that people take issue with. We want to shed a bit of light on these issues, as we fully understand that some things may come across negatively.
Firstly, Erodios is not arbitrarily exclusive. The selection process exists because we want people to make a commitment to each other and the group. We want prospective members to be aware of this. We offer a chance to anyone who’s interested, and through our selection process, some people find that Erodios is not really something for them, but we don’t turn people away.
Secondly, there’ve been several non-Dutch students in Erodios. In general, Erodios has attracted more Dutch than foreign students, but it has multiple members who don’t speak Dutch and this is not an issue. Lastly, there’s no dress code within Erodios. People dress in what makes them feel comfortable, and judging people on dress is rarely the best strategy.
People often say they dislike the group but like the individuals. On the one hand, members of Erodios should behave decently, just like everyone else. On the other hand, people shouldn’t judge individuals based on group reputation. Everyone at UCR deserves respect for the way they decide to spend their time, and this includes Erodios.
We will try to be more respectful, more open, and more social. In the meantime, everyone should give us a chance: try to get to know some people from Erodios before you judge them. You might just like us.
Bastiaan Dillmann
On Behalf of and Representing Erodios
Thanks for the explanation 🙂