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…
Meet the team #2 – Huib Hubregtse
Have you ever wondered who deals with your exchange/IRP/additional semester requests? Who is responsible for all tuition fee payments? Who makes sure that broken lights are being changed? It’s the UCR staff! We don’t always realize it, but UCR consists of more than just students and faculty. Without its staff this place could not function….
The Flash #5: Poison, Rising Temperatures, And Less Intelligence
Somehow, we have already arrived at week 6. This means midterms, papers, presentation – the stuff of nightmares. Luckily, TR is there to provide the news, so that you can keep on studying. VX poison Source: The Guardian Kim Jong-Nam, half-brother of North Korea’s leader, died of a high dose of XV poison. Malaysian health…
Tabula Rasa Spring I Print Edition: Diversity
At Tabula Rasa, we decided we wanted to do things just a tiny bit different this Spring semester. That’s why we’re releasing not one, but two full-blown print editions this semester! The first, themed ‘diversity’, will be released in just a few days, while the second is coming your way after the Spring break, featuring…
Updike’s In the Beauty of the Lilies – A Reader’s Review
John Updike’s In the Beauty of the Lilies (1996) may not be new, but this has in no way infringed on its ability to ring true. Through the format of a multi-generational saga, Updike tells the story of a changing America. While an accurate historical timeline of events is interspersed throughout the text, the dramas…
UCR Votes: An Experiment
Bringing Dutch Parliament Elections Closer to You The past year was a political hurricane, to say the least. England is now making concrete steps to leave the European Union, and we are being confronted with US President Trump’s shenanigans every day again. But buckle up everybody, there is much more to come! Germany, France and…
An Interview With Wouter Meijer: “Sports, royalty and a little bit of sex before the weather”
By Mijke van Leersum On the 22nd of February, Professor Luscombe’s students in the Capstone-course Comparative Media (CAP 317) got to conduct a skype-interview with Wouter Meijer, a reporter with the NOS (the Dutch public broadcast corporation) who was stationed as a foreign correspondent in Berlin from 2008 until 2014. Ever since he moved back,…
Nine Instagram Grid Worthy Places in Middelburg
By Yonna Kuipers As liberal millennial snowflakes we only communicate online, if at all. Our filtered sheltered lives are filled with difficult dilemmas: whether to recycle or not when the paper bins are full, whether to walk across the bridge near Roggeveen or break the law and bike across it anyway. It is hard being…
“Abstract”: A Realist Insight Into Design
By Yonna Kuipers There are two things that unite a nation more than anything: sports, and a new (Netflix) hit series. So if your country is not playing in the Six Nations, you might as well get behind this new documentary: Abstract (2017). It is an eight-part documentary focusing on different aspects of design. From…
The Flash Week 4: Deals, Coral, and Grexit
By Annick Wijnstra The first four weeks of the semester have passed and we’re completely back into the game that’s called UCR. Essay deadlines, midterm exams and the release of our very own first print edition of the Spring semester are drawing near. So much to do, and so little time to catch up with…
Stukafest Middelburg 2017 – A Festival Review
On a grim Tuesday night every year in February, artists from all over the world find their way towards the student dorms of Middelburg. For one night only, the entire town transforms into the vibrant festival heart of Stukafest, a national initiative organizing performances in student dorm rooms. The performances are spread throughout the town…
A Penny-Pinching Student’s Guide to Buying Art
In the process of glitzing up your space, two main factors come into play – taste, and budget. You: a sense of style classier than Buckingham palace, your budget: little to nonexistent. Nonetheless, with a few creative solutions, you can get your abode up and running. Now if only you could figure out where that…
Upcoming Event: Swan Market Rotterdam
If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, especially since it’s early in the semester and you can still allow yourself to leave the confines of Middelburg, why not head on over to the Swan Market in the Van Nellefabriek in Rotterdam this Sunday. For some any opportunity to leave Middelburg is enough,…
The Flash #3: Michelle Obama, Smog, and Yale
The first three weeks of the Spring semester have vanished like the snow in Middelburg. Stats exams, election GA’s and regular UCR life might get in the way of keeping up to date with current affairs. Luckily, section editor Annick is there to provide you with some of the most important news stories of the…