By Lila Burkle Collage by Nieka van Lieshout Amsterdam University College is a potential exception from the proposed Dutch government policy that could significantly impact international students and programs across the Netherlands. The recent policy, which calls universities to suspend active international recruitment, sparked significant nation-wide opposition within the university community. However, AUC’s management, including…

By Lilla Illes, Paula Vermaas and Pola Folwarczny Art Board If the unrelenting rain is making you want to hole up in your room, wrapped in a warm blanket with a mug of steaming tea clasped tightly your hands, consider throwing your own chill art session instead. Just like Art Board, you can invite your…

By Deirdre de Leeuw den Bouter and Wilma Tynkkynen Walking out of your 17:30 class on a December day is miserable for one specific reason: the enveloping darkness. As many students can attest, winter in Amsterdam is dark, cold, and windy. There’s not even a promise of snow on the horizon to bring some winter…

By Lisa Jesudas After dark, stillness falls over Amsterdam Science Park. The sounds of wind howls on a November evening echoes through the AUC Academic Building (AB). As three students descend the ground floor staircase and approach the revolving doors, the familiar figure of Augustine Okeke manning the reception heartily bids them, “Have a good…

By Pola Folwarczny and Kama Wojtuszko Collage by Sabine Besson It’s late November, maybe early December. Last Christmas is blasting from your neighbour’s speakers, bright lights are flickering all over the city and the smell of oliebollen follows your every step. Regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you cannot escape that picture. But…

By Violet Domínguez Collage by Sabine Besson — Camie Clarkson, a Dutch third-year Humanities student, cried, clapped and hugged her friends and family after screening the results of the general elections that took place on 22 November. “It was very emotional. We all got very drunk to drown our sorrows,” she laughs. The far-right Partij…

By Klaudia Sobczyk In July 2023, Robbert Dijkgraaf, the outgoing Minister of Education, proposed a new educational bill restricting the English language in higher education, a huge blow to the academic opportunities for non-Dutch-speaking AUC graduates. The bill calls for using Dutch as the primary language in the academic programs, a measure to reduce the…

By Pola Folwarczny “The contrast between the urgency of some issues versus the length of administrative procedures is probably one of the biggest challenges,” says Lisa Dondainas, an AUC graduate who personally experienced the lengthy administrative procedure which students must undergo to receive disability support at AUC. The process, despite being significantly shorter than its…

By Lou Boot Within the walls of AUC, the first floor has transformed into a focal point of student activism, as sit-ins protest AUC’s perceived indifference to the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. To gauge the pulse of this movement, we conducted quick interviews to capture candid student opinions on the protests and the broader issues at…

By Lou Boot, Violet Domínguez, and Ben Kiem Please note: While this article is meant to highlight the emotions students feel at this moment, this is not an accurate representation of all affected. The scope is restricted to students who chose to share their experiences with us, and as such, it lacks the perspective of any…

By Lisa Jesudas and Kama Wojtuszko All throughout the summer holidays of this past year, the AUC Class of 2023 Whatsapp group chat bustled with discussion over issues with obtaining their vital statements of graduation and AUC diplomas. For Mirthe van Veen, the stress was enough to consider taking legal action against AUC as she…

By Deirdre de Leeuw den Bouter and Malavika Libish Starting life at university and coming to AUC is already a daunting task, but one often overlooked issue arises for many new students: English proficiency.  When applying, students must prove their English proficiency through a number of ways. Firstly, the application itself is all in English….

Interview by Kristina Horinková I’m from Berlin, 20 years old. I really love acting and doing nails. I love philosophy and physics, but also painting and creating things.   I like reading a lot about theoretical physics and especially astrophysics. I feel like it relates to philosophy to a certain extent because there comes a point…

By Violet Domínguez and Ben Kiem When course registrations opened, students were caught by surprise when they could not add the ‘creative courses,’ namely Film Lab, Creative Writing, Performing Arts: Music, and Theatre, to their schedule for next year. More than two weeks later, the official confirmation followed in a newsletter: the creative courses will…