Emergency call from the students: adopt a study place!
We can all agree: these are bizarre times. A year ago, no one would have imagined that the virus' implications were so great. Fortunately, in Delft we do not give up, but we get up to come up with a solution.
On behalf of Thijs de Jongh and Job Vlak, from the student campaign 5voor12 and the Central Student Council respectively, Alumni Relations TU Delft sends you this call for help. They are two TU Delft students who stand up and want to think about improving the situation in Delft, in particular, that of the students during these challenging COVID-19 times.
At the beginning of September, a student pilot was started in Delft to deal with COVID-19. This went under the heading "it is 5 to 12": if we all deal with this situation responsibly now, we will keep the number of infections in check and then we can regain the freedom that we love so much as students.
A few months later, there are strong communication lines with TU Delft and the municipality. A poster has been made with the corona rules in student houses to raise awareness among students. A questionnaire was distributed among 2,300 students, to identifying the wishes and needs of the students. The results showed us that there is a great need for places to study. For more information about the other initiatives, see www.thuisbesmet.nl.
To meet the strong needs of the students, we have been in contact with all kinds of external parties to set up study places. In a short time we have facilitated study places at the student association Sanctus Virgilius. The board of Sanctus Virgilius has drawn up an extensive protocol in collaboration with TU Delft. This protocol is now being used to identify possibilities at 'Theater de Veste', other associations in Delft and other student cities in the Netherlands, among others. At TU Delft, we are currently also looking at optimising the number of study places.
The exam weeks take place at TU Delft in January. As you might remember from when you were studying yourself, that means that all students grab their books and focus on preparing for their exams. To help as many students as possible in finding the right place to study and to respond to the high demand for a suited study place, we have the following specific request:
- Can you help facilitate external study places for TU Delft students? Think of an office building, public or cultural facilities in the area of Delft, where you are willing and able or people from your environment are willing and able to open up these locations and furnish them with study places.
- Can you help in another way? Let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions for improving the student's study and living situation.
Finally, we would like to stress again that the situation should not be watered down. In fact, it is a very difficult and vulnerable time for students. That is now also widely endorsed:
In a study by EenVandaag of 25,000 people, 60 percent appeared to have psychological complaints, varying from worrying to irritability, depression and panic attacks. It was striking that 18 to 35 year olds in particular said they suffered mentally: 74 percent indicated that they had the latter of the situation, compared to 48 percent of the over-65s.
NRC, Oct. 2020
Thanks in advance for your understanding. If you are enthusiastic and would like to contribute, please contact us. We would like to see you soon from your laptop screen to think about the possibilities for study places!
Sincerely,
Job Vlak
Chair Central Student Council
J.L.Vlak@tudelft.nl
Thijs de Jongh
Student Campaign 5-to-12
Thijs@thuisbesmet.nl