Following in the footsteps of the student social societies SSRE, Demos and E.S.C, Ichthus too has managed to lay its hands on a monumental building in the city center. The corner building at Dommelstraat 6, where Ichthus held the official opening of its society building on Monday, September 3, dates from 1901 and has been the property of the Christian student club for the past eighteen months. Although, however, plans for the association's own premises were put in place some five years earlier, when it became clear that the Bunker would be closing its doors within a couple of years.

The total costs of the building, including remodeling, will be in the order of eight hundred thousand euros, Nieuwenhuyzen guesses: “The exact costs are not yet entirely clear; the work hasn't yet been completed.” For example, Ichthus wants to build a stage in the large association room downstairs, and work on the kitchen is still ongoing.

Favorable loan

Whatever the details, the new Christian society premises “have cost a pretty penny,” acknowledges the secretary. Certainly for a club that is - in comparison with the general student social societies mentioned above- relatively small. Ichthus has, he believes, been lucky, especially in gaining the support of a national Christian foundation, which was keen to assist the Eindhoven students by offering a “loan at an interest rate a little more favorable than the bank's.”

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To make its loan payments, Ichthus is relying mainly on the rent earned from seven student rooms on the two upper floors, for which a special foundation has been set up. The rooms, intended for members only, have been occupied since February of this year. The bar is another important source of income; in addition reunion-goers will be asked to provide financial support. For the rest, there are tentative plans to rent Dommelstraat 6 to external parties, although according to Nieuwenhuyzen this is not a high priority.

On Monday, September 3, in the presence of councilor Monique List-de Roos, the society building was officially opened. This was followed by events including a dinner with the boards of Demos, the Eindhoven Student Corps and the Delft-based Christian student association C.S.R. “They gave us masses of help with the building and all kinds of administration, offering tips you can only give if you have done something like this yourself.”

Studying

In Amnis at least once a week an activity of a religious nature will be held for the all the association's members. For the rest, the society's premises can be used for meetings of, for example, committees and disputen (society year clubs), and during the day the main activity there is avid studying, “especially during exam weeks when MetaForum is often full”.

For, say, dinners for the entire association the society building is too small - Ichthus currently has 96 members and expects to be adding another 35 newcomers to the count before long. But for evenings like this for all the association's members, the club can make use of a room in Luna designated for shared use by TU/e's faith-based organizations.

Much to Nieuwenhuyzen's satisfaction, the student association is doing plenty to promote itself. Not only at TU/e but “also within vocational higher education demand is growing”. The Eindhoven-based club is also doing well, he says, compared to other associations in the national Ichthus network. “In many student cities the Navigators (another Christian student network, ed.) have a higher profile; for example in Utrecht they have no fewer than six hundred members, I believe.”

Setbacks

The commotion of more than two years ago, when TU/e announced it would cease supporting religious associations and the issue even escalated to parliamentary questions, has had only positive consequences for Ichthus, according to Nieuwenhuyzen. “Of course we've had setbacks, but we have come through it all stronger. We received a lot of publicity, a lot of people heard about Ichthus and we received support from all over the Netherlands.”

Nonetheless the secretary is pleased that this past spring TU/e rescinded its decision. The association again receives board grants, and is allowed to use space on the campus. “The university is showing that they didn't want to push us away entirely.”