Independent journalism about VU Amsterdam | Since 1953
25 March 2026
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Blog 5 March 2024

On their own merit

Stepping into university life as a first-generation student brings both excitement and challenges. It’s a delicate balancing act, managing academic pressures, personal expectations, and the persistent fear of not measuring up in a terrain where each step seems fraught with…
Blog 8 February 2024

Tattoo memory

One of my earliest memories of Morocco concerns my great-aunt Fatima. I must have been aged four or five, but I can still see her fragile, wrinkly face as she stood in front of my sister and me in the…
Blog 29 January 2024

‘Generation of Misfortune’

The term Generation of Misfortune refers to the majority of current students (including myself) who studied between 2015 and 2023 and were under the student loan system. Many consider us part of this so-called Generation of Misfortune. Personally, I believe…
Blog 19 December 2023

The importance of free discussion on-campus

Last year, in the Netherlands, strong, organised student protests led to the government reforming the student loan system to a version of pre-2015. To this day, regular protests regarding housing are held frequently to draw attention to the ongoing housing…
Blog 27 November 2023

Keep on supporting the underdog

I dropped out of my first study. Admitting this perhaps doesn’t instill confidence in my abilities, though I would say otherwise. Progressing in spite of adversity is a feat that I am proud to have achieved. So just how did…
Blog 20 November 2023

Let’s watch a Woody Allen movie

For me, filmmaker Woody Allen is one of the few who wonderfully merges the light-hearted and the heavy side of life. His witty characters, often a projection of Allen himself, are always searching for something in life. What am I…
Column & Blog 19 November 2023

Care for our most vulnerable

Since the beginning of life, disability has existed, whether it be through genetic variation or illness or injury. Archaeological evidence dating throughout Prehistory shows that those within early hominid societies who lived with disabilities were well cared for, and disabled…
Blog 11 November 2023

Explore who you are

I was never the easiest student to teach. I was always off doing something other than my homework. I was hardly ever present in my Latin classes for example. And in one of the rare occasions where I was present…
Campus 6 September 2023

Mirjam van Praag: ‘It was a wonderful time, but tougher than I thought’

“During my presidency, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has hopefully become a better place. And VU Amsterdam has also made me a better person and a better tactician”, says Mirjam van Praag, who said farewell as President of the Executive Board last…
Campus 23 June 2023

‘Real friendships are created here’

From painting courses to bowling and kickboxing – as a ‘people connector’ at Life is Better in 3D, Ferdi Kabak brings VU Amsterdam students into contact with each other.