During the two-hour debate, which was organized by Studium Generale and the three student associations, it became obvious that many attendants feel Eindhoven could do more to become a proper student city. Although Executive Board member Jo van Ham spoke of ‘an exciting student city’ in his opening speech, and politicians of PvdA, VVD, CDA, D66, SP, and GroenLinks characterized Eindhoven as ‘bustling’ more than once in their elevator pitches, the students present clearly felt there is room for improvement.

Those present all believed the city of Eindhoven is discouraging student housing in the city center. They claim the city isn’t creating new accommodations because they’re against ‘splitting’ houses into rooms or apartments for students. Yasin Torunoglu, PvdA representative and municipal executive of ‘Wonen, Wijken en Burgerparticipatie’ (Housing, Districts, and Civilian participation), defended the city policy by stating that splitting houses is discouraged to prevent problems with migrants from Middle and Eastern Europe (MOE-landers). His remark caused uproar among the students. “We’re not MOE-landers!” Torunoglu: “You can’t differentiate between students and MOE-landers. That’s discriminatory.”