Independent journalism about VU Amsterdam | Since 1953
10 November 2025
Magazine
Nederlands

Emma Sprangers

5 November 2025

‘Violent games don’t make you violent’ 

At student association Boosted Gryffins, you can play video games, board games, or chat about your relationship crisis. ‘At other associations, you often don’t belong if you don’t drink.’  
29 October 2025

‘You know they won’t shoot, but you still think about it’

Master’s student in neuroscience and philosophy Dario Crippa joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet sailing towards Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. He ended up in an Israeli prison.
16 October 2025

Student on Gaza flotilla: ‘There is nothing more to spare’

Among the activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla was VU student Mohamed Kotesh. His journey ended in an Israeli prison, where he was confronted with the paradox of being both Palestinian and Dutch.
10 October 2025

Less room for heroes at Martin Luther King Lecture

Who are our heroes, and should we even worship them? With this question, Nani Jansen Reventlow, human rights lawyer and founder of the Systemic Justice NGO, delivered the keynote address at the annual Martin Luther King Lecture on October 9.
16 September 2025

Kirk assassination raises alarms over campus autonomy

The murder of the young conservative speaker Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah could put further pressure on American academia, universities fear.
22 July 2025

Have a great summer

With only a few resits left here and there, lecture halls are empty, and the campus square is quiet. Ad Valvas is also taking a short summer break.
7 July 2025

Internationalisation act delayed again

Education minister Eppo Bruins was actually supposed to modify the bill aimed at managing the influx of foreign students before the summer. But he needs more time, he says.
19 June 2025

Knowledge embargo: fifteen red flags in five years

Nuclear physics, rocket technology, navigation systems… Over the past five years, Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences have submitted over 2,000 exemption requests for students and researchers. Just fifteen were denied.
19 June 2025

Bruins can continue the ‘Balanced Internationalisation’ bill

In the run-up to new elections, the Dutch House of Representatives often shelves pending legislation – but not the “Balanced Internationalisation” bill, parties agreed today.
28 May 2025

Overwhelmed by global suffering

Anxiety, shame, guilt, powerlessness. These are some of the emotions students experience when seeing distressing news or materials in class. How do you acknowledge these feelings, and what do you do about it?
Emma Sprangers
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