By Anja Hermann UCR’s summer holiday lasts around three months and the winter 6 weeks, making the semester a 15-week intensive period for both students and staff. Both groups have questioned whether the heavy workload and semester length is contributing to stress and anxiety. If the length of the semester were to change, it…
How to Have a Threesome
Based on a short interview, one anonymous female student tells us how she managed her three threesomes, what to do the next morning, and how to deal with the aftermath. Student X walks amongst all of us, but has likely gone where not many have gone before: into the arms of not one, but two…
Too Old Or Too Gay? – The Marginalisation of LGBTQ Elderly
What comes to mind when you think about LGBTQ issues? The gay pride in Amsterdam perhaps, the supreme court granting same-sex marriage to everyone in the US last year, or perhaps just a same-sex couple happily in love? But what about those who spent the greatest part of their lives fighting for same-sex marriage and…
An Hour or Two for Raymond Carver
Days that have you short on inspiration are days when nothing seems so worthwhile as sauntering over to the Zeeuwse Bibliotheek and hiding between the pages of a book. If, by chance, you are a reader who finds solace in sinister fiction, you would do good in picking up a book by American short fiction…
Transcending Assumptions – A Transgender Guy’s Experience with Gender Expectations
Yes, I have a vagina. No, I am not a woman. As crazy as it sounds, this is something I feel like I should explain every time I meet someone new. When I introduce myself as Niels, people tend to frown at me. Why do I introduce myself as Niels even though I obviously have…
Why I Am Betting My Future On AI
Coming to UCR, I knew I had a passion for physics and mathematics, but also a general interest in computer science. If anything, my second choice was to study applied physics at Delft University of Technology. During my time at UCR, this sure has changed. While I still have a passion for physics and mathematics,…
A Black Ring – How my asexuality made me wear jewelry every day
When I went to my first self-defense class (shout-out to Silvano and his merciless pushup regime), I knew I had to take off my ring. Deliberately taking it off, putting it on my nightstand, and walking out the door to go to a public place was one of the strangest things I have done in…
Camera In Love – Ed van der Elsken in Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
You might have already seen it if you went on the CultureCo Amsterdam trip in February, but if you haven’t already, make sure you get to Amsterdam as soon as possible. Stedelijk Museum, a museum for contemporary art, is hosting an exhibition on Ed van der Elsken, a Dutch street photographer. Ed van der Elsken…
Why We Need To Stop And Listen
The Dutch elections have been over for a couple of weeks, and many were relieved about the result. It seems that the populist tide from the United States did not carry over, in the sense that the PVV did not do as well as many had anticipated. But in some ways, this might not be…
In search of “diverse” literature
While “diversity” is in many ways a subjective concept, it is difficult to argue that there are an infinitely wide variety of unique human experiences. As our collective interconnected worldview expands, so does our awareness of the existence of people other than ourselves. With a focus on race, origin, sexuality, 2017 has so far shown…
‘Life Beyond the Bubble’
UCR’s alumni about transitioning from a UC program to a master at a regular university Do you believe that there is something more? Do you believe in life after UCR? I mean, I don’t want to be too dramatic here, but around your fifth semester you do start to wonder what life will have in…
Time to Party
If you have read any news article, sporadically scrolled through your Facebook feed or talked to anyone with an opinion, you have noted that the Dutch elections are nearing at an enormous pace. You might want to vote in these elections, or you are just generally interested and would like to be aware of what…
The Great Pizza Experiment
There is one question every UCR student wonders about at one point during their time in Middelburg: Where can I get the best and cheapest pizza? Surprisingly enough, this pressing subject has never been properly researched. In this qualitative research, Pijpelink and Van Doorn (2017) will be reviewing the most obvious and not so obvious…
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…
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…
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…
Calais: All in all it’s just another brick in the wall
While the news coverage of the refugee crisis might have slowed down; the refugees are still trying to settle somewhere, with many more still fleeing the terrors that face them in their homelands. Trying to find a better, safer, and more secure life in Europe, the struggles along the way have only increased from the…