- Campus , Intro , Student
- 21/08/2023
Intro 2023 | New Intro campsite is already fully booked
This year, for the first time ever, Intro attendees can spend the night at a campsite located behind student residence tower Aurora. Either in communal tents or individually in their own tent. The cost is 60 euros including breakfast. Eighty percent of the campers are Dutch. Rebecca Pelsser, who oversees the site from within the CIC, says this initiative is greatly appreciated because, as the French would say, the campsite is already “complet”: fully booked.
The main reason that Intro attendees have the option of camping on campus this year is the fact that the halls in the Student Sports Center (SSC) are unavailable because the SSC is currently being renovated. Pelsser, who studies BMT, says that while the SSC has a greater capacity, the ambiance there is not great. “People are huddled together in large groups, and every morning the halls have to be completely vacated by eight o’clock, because of sports.”
The temporary fenced-off campsite behind Aurora has 37 communal tents, sleeping eight or ten people, and room for 30 small tents to be set up. A total of about 330 people can be accommodated. This morning, the camping guests are being registered and either seek out their tents, or get to work pitching their own. Of course, there are toilet and shower facilities available as well. These facilities are divided between two trailers and will be cleaned regularly. Additionally, a separate tent is designated for first aid, should it be necessary.
Clear rules
Pelsser says that clear rules are in place at the campsite because they don’t want there to be any “party tents”. So at a certain time in the evenings, it has to be quiet and someone from security will be present to keep an eye on things. The campsite will be closed during the day.
As he sets up his dome tent, future Built Environment student Milan Raczewski jokingly wonders whether he has actually chosen the right program. “No, I’m not really one for camping and this might just be the first and only time.” Milan still lives in Den Bosch with his parents and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. “Living on your own is quite expensive and traveling between Den Bosch and Eindhoven is no big deal.” He has already become familiar with Eindhoven and has learned a bit about the program through a friend who is now a third-year student at Built Environment.
Train travel
Dante Linssen and Max Janssen, both Industrial Design students from Nijmegen, will also initially be traveling by train. “Yes, first I want to see how I like the program. There’s plenty of time to look for housing later, even though it won’t be easy to find a place in Eindhoven either,” says Dante. Both of them appreciate the fact that they don’t have to go back to Nijmegen every night this week because they are very much looking forward to the Intro nights. They are accommodated together in an eight-person tent and, according to Dante, it’s a tight fit with all those air mattresses lined up next to each other. “A ninth person wanted to join us, but there was truly no more room, so we kindly asked them to check elsewhere," Dante says with a smile.
Pelsser thinks the campsite has potential for future Intros, even if the SSC will soon be available again. “Because it’s clearly a success, we’re all booked up and the reactions are positive. And fortunately, the weather forecast for this week looks favorable for camping too.”
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