Jelle Schuitemaker, Master’s student of Innovation Management, gives Cursor a tour of the Buurman Mols Burcht. He and four other students are the original occupants of this house. They have been living here for over a year, after extensive renovation of the former office building was completed.

The main rule in this Christian house is mutual respect. “We don’t need a shower schedule, or a timetable for laundry. We do have a cleaning schedule of course.” A more than useful deterrent against the mice in the abandoned drug house next door. They still used to drop by during the first six months, but that became impossible after the holes in the wall were sealed with tape.

Why did they name the student house Buurman Mols Burcht? When Jelle and fellow occupants Christiaan Bremmer (mbo student) and Levijne Nieuwenhuyzen (third-year Electrical Engineering) were teenagers, they were devoted fans of the online animation character. They still know all the songs. In fact, they turned half of their fellow society members (of Christian student society Ichthus, total membership of around 130) who had never heard of Buurman Mol before into fans as well. “We keep the flame burning.”

App for bible study

Each Tuesday, members of Christian student society Ichthus gather in the Buurman Mols Burcht for bible study. During these Tuesdays, fifteen study circles convene in fifteen different houses. The students start with singing some Christian songs. “You don’t have to be a great singer for that,” says Eva Stoffelsen (in between studies) with a smile. “Then everyone takes turns and shares how they are doing. We talk about exams, illnesses, family, etcetera. About problems and successes,” Jelle says. He explains that no one carries a bible, but that they read from a smartphone app.

The discussions with students from different denominations “make you look beyond your own religious perspective, but always from a Christian point of view of course,” Jelle says. Bible study ends at ten in the evening, followed by drinks.

TU/e is visible from the roof terrace, and you can find student association Ichthus downstairs. But it wouldn’t be wise to step inside today; first, a bale of hay needs to be cleaned up. It was left behind by the previous board, spread across the floor, because the current board (of which Levijne is the secretary), took the chance of going on vacation for a week. But now the board is back to clean up the mess. That has become a tradition by now.