Tuesday 25 June 2024
Refugees in Leiden learn to live from day to day: ‘A bomb could be dropped on you at any moment’
Last week was World Refugee Day. Mare spoke to three refugees who work or study at Leiden University. Two are still waiting for a residence permit. ‘For a month, I did nothing but run away from the police.’
Friday 21 June 2024
Trouble in teacher’s tent: misconduct beyond the Hofman affair
Is the work environment at archaeology ‘unhealthy’, as the investigating committee recently concluded? Mare spoke with several female archaeologists. ‘With one lecturer, you have to be careful if you wear a short skirt, another steals your data, and a third will shout at you angrily.’
Wednesday 19 June 2024
Evil at the Kunsthal: ‘The devil made me jump’
Grinning devils, scary witches and farting cats: as of last Saturday, the most macabre prints, drawings and engravings from the University Library’s collection are on display at the Rotterdam Kunsthal. ‘Look, it’s a severed head.’
Thursday 13 June 2024
Female archaeologists wonder: is there really systemic sexism within our faculty?
There are no Andrew Tate-like misogynistic monsters roaming the corridors of our faculty, only hard working and passionate academics, write eight female archaeologists, who don't recognise the image of institutionalised gender discrimination.
Thursday 23 May 2024
Rowing until you have blisters to pay for new hair piece
Because of an auto-immune disease, student Pien Scheer is going bald. Because she ‘didn’t just have three thousand euros lying around for a new hair piece’, she organised a rowing benefit. ‘My butt hurts, but other than that everything’s fine.’
Thursday 16 May 2024
Lectures in the hallway? Seriously? Foolish new designs will wreck our academic community
The design for the new Humanities Campus is an attack on the identity of the scientist, according to David Henley, Remco Breuker en Niels van der Salm. 'This is not a university: it is a managerial wet dream of a university, created by people who have never worked in one.'
Thursday 28 March 2024
Why is the debate at the university ruled by fear?
The current state of the university as bastion of silence is untenable, argue Max Adams and Ebrar Kaya. That is why their student parties are combining forces.
Monday 25 March 2024
Persistent prejudices: how students and lecturers of colour are being excluded
Today is the international day against racism and discrimination. Leiden students and staff also still face prejudice and hurtful comments. ‘They don't understand that I belong here.’
Saturday 9 March 2024
ChatGPT is here to stay
While ChatGPT has been widely adopted among students, the university still seems unsure of how to deal with the chatbot. ‘A lot of time has been wasted.’
Monday 4 March 2024
First this fence collapsed, then the Berlin Wall: how one picnic brought down the Iron Curtain
Political scientist and ‘border nerd’ Matthew Longo wrote a book about how a barbecue in a remote field on the Hungarian-Austrian border tore the first hole in the Iron Curtain. ‘That picnic was the spark that ignited it all.’
Thursday 22 February 2024
What are the limits of academic freedom? ‘Some conflict is acceptable’
Should academics speak out about Gaza or the climate crisis, or not? And occupying a highway in your academic gown, is that a good idea? Mare explores the limits of academic freedom. ‘Do you want to save the world? That’s great, but then you should become an activist and quit science.’
Thursday 22 February 2024
How Asian students celebrate the Year of the Dragon
Saturday, February 10, marked Chinese New Year. How do Asian students celebrate the Spring Festival? ‘I’ve been hyping up my boyfriend for three years now.’