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Jaargang 43, 23 augustus 2001 English page

Freshmen on the go from dawn till dusk Twelve hundred freshmen are being introduced to the wonders of TU/e and the city of Eindhoven this week. It's a busy time for the newcomers, in which various 'serious' activities are punctuated by parties and live performances on campus. The week is fully booked from morning till night. There is even a ten o' clock 'hangover breakfast' scheduled on Friday. The only activity not scheduled appears to be sleep. "We want to inform freshmen as widely as possible about student life and about this city", says one of the six intro co-ordinators Erik Visser (fourth year Mechanical Engineering). "People need to get to know the university and their own departments as quickly as possible. We try to give an impression of as many aspects of the university as we can, including sports, student associations, cultural activities and politics. You name it, we've probably got it." Some of the games organised for students in the introduction week contain elements of traditional 'ragging', although there is not much serious initiation of students at TU/e or even in the Netherlands. Industrial Design freshmen were given an interesting assignment on Tuesday morning involving a problem with an egg According to Industrial Design unit manager Lacides Marquez, the exercise is hilarious, encourages creativity and forges team spirit. What more could a freshman ask? Hot coals As introductions to university life go, this introduction week is very mild and friendly. More serious ragging will take place next week when the student associations take new members off for a few days of camp. But TU/e has no recent incidents with freshman initiation getting out of hand. However, a number of other universities have had problems. Aspiring business students in Leiden were asked to walk on hot coals by management guru Ratelband last week. Ninety students tried it, and fifteen had to be treated for burns. One girl was kept in hospital with serious second-degree burns to her feet after she panicked in the middle of the bed of coals. A few years ago, a student in Groningen downed a litre of 'jenever', the Dutch version of gin, during an initiation and died of alcohol poisoning. This put an end to drinking competitions at the University of Groningen for a while. The student's father recently protested in the national press when he found a drinking competition programmed for new members of the 'Hendrik de Cock' club in Groningen again this year. Another student recently posted a story anonymously on the internet detailing a terrible week in which she and her contemporaries were fed only beans and porridge, were not allowed to wash or change clothes and were continually humiliated by older students. At the end of the week she threw away the clothes she was wearing. Although her turn to humiliate freshmen came around a year later, she was still so disgusted she decided to give it a miss. Reactions to her story on the net are somewhat irate, as she was supposed to keep the details secret. Real men Mark Bax, a fifth year physics student at TU/e, remembers his induction into TU/e's Demos. "I can't tell you exactly what went on, but it made an impression. After five years I can still recall it clearly. Nothing physical happened, but they really had me going. I was quite scared." He said the Eindhovens Studentenkorps and electrical engineering student association Thor are known for more serious initiations. "Thor is where the real men go." Madhu Marur of Hydrabad, now a Masters student at Stan Ackermans Institute, remembers the 'ragging' he saw in Hydrabad as mostly in fun. "Freshers had to sing and dance and play the drums. I got out of most of it because my godfather was in the 3rd year and he said 'no ragging to this guy'. So I sat with the seniors. Still, later on they made me jump off a ten-foot pole and I sprained my ankle." Edyta Patrzek from Kilce, Poland, now at SAI, says her introduction consisted mainly of speeches and a tour of the university facilities. "There were no parties, except in the student houses. It was nothing special."   The introduction week at TU/e includes a sports tournament, three big parties, a pub-crawl, a cultural tour of Eindhoven and a music festival in the centre of Eindhoven. "We want to make sure the freshmen have a really good time. They are also as much information as possible about their new life at university. We hope they can then make some informed choices," concludes intro co-ordinator Erik Visser./.

In the stocks by random chance What would you rather sell: your body or your soul? Are you good at lying or do you blush easily? These questions were part of a 'personality test' given to freshmen on Tuesday afternoon at the Amnesty International stand. Those who gave wrong answers were locked in the stocks Amnesty TU/e specially acquired for the occasion. Is it better to be fair or correct? A new Mechanical Engineering student asks carefully what they mean. The answer is not important, because the dice determine who has a 'bad character'. Amnesty worker Christy van Hastenberg explains: "In many countries whether or not people end up in jail is quite random." After the questionnaire is filled in, in quiet concentration, Bastiaan turns out to be the 'wrong' one. His group mates gather grinning around the stocks, and Amnesty worker Frank Jansen takes a picture. "You can download it from our website later." To free Bastiaan, his comrades must sign a petition. TU/e's Amnesty group hopes this playful exercise will get them signatures and attention. The group is only ten strong and is looking for more members. It is uncertain if the exercise will have the desired effect. "I think this is a good cause, but I myself don't have time," many first-year students commented. Frank, a Computer Science freshman, has just been freed from the stocks. "This was an amusing exercise, but it didn't motivate me to become a member. I'm more likely to join if I find out things for myself." Nonetheless, Christy van Hastenberg is sure the action has not been wasted. "Even if we recruit only one student, it won't have been for nothing." Industrial Design student Werner is perhaps that one enthusiastic student. "I'm against the death penalty and I think freedom is important for everyone. I want to see how much time my studies leave me, but I'd like to do something for Amnesty if I can."/.

Name change ST The Chemical Engineering building on campus is in for a name change. It will no longer be called 'ST' (Scheikundige Technologie). The name will be changed to 'Helix' as of January 1 2002. Kleisterlee to chair Supervisory Board Gerard Kleisterlee is the new chairman of TU/e's Supervisory Board. Kleisterlee succeeds Cor Boonstra for the coming four years as of September 1. Kleisterlee (54) is the CEO of Philips. He graduated from TU/e with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1973. Drs. Trude Maas (54) will replace drs. Ria Kuip as a member of the Supervisory Board on September 1. Maas is president of Hay Vision Society and was a member of the Upper House of Dutch parliament from 1998 to 1999 for the labour party (PvdA). Construction Construction works at De Wielen are moving east to TNO and W-Hoog. In two weeks the streets De Lampendriessen and Het Veken will be resurfaced. The crossing at the new entry road near TNO and De Wielen will then be closed for two weeks. TNO's parking lot will remain accessible. From campus, TNO will be reachable via De Wielen. At the same time, the construction at Den Dolech will resume near the Auditorium. One lane will be closed during construction, keeping the road passable. The Auditorium parking lot and the main building will remain accessible. Construction around the Tema field and Laplaceplein (in connection with the Dogtroep performance this week) will stop during introduction week. Onno at TU/e Theatre company Dogtroep have started performances of 'Onno' this week. The outside production will take place on TU/e's Laplace square. Onno is performed in an area of 500 square metres, between the two walls of sea containers that can be turned and over turned, and an enormous video screen showing city scenes. Local extras will also be taking part. Tickets are available at fl 42,50- from the Uitlijn 0900-0191 or VVV Eindhoven. The English Page is written by Paula van de Riet. She can be reached at engcur@stud.tue.nl.