This time – the event took place on Wednesday, September 13 – the hundred or so student association board members and TU/e managers walked to an Eindhoven location. On previous occasions, the participants had taken buses and boats to such places as Rotterdam, Maastricht and Nijmegen.

At Restaurant BunkR, Rudy van Beurden (Built Environment alumnus, but functioning as a moderator today) guides participants through 35 statements. They cover categories such as alcohol, diversity and inclusion, the scale jump, and wellbeing and internationalization. The open-mic setup turns out to be a recipe for success when it comes to interaction: students repeatedly line up to have their say into the microphone.

In his word of welcome, Van Beurden asks the participants to tell him the topics most prominently on their minds. Wellbeing, study debt, and being allowed to be yourself and to think critically are mentioned most frequently. The host then gives the floor to the Executive Board, which – at that moment – is present as a whole. Rector Silvia Lenaerts says she hopes “it will be an open afternoon with everyone listening to each other”. When asked if as a student he ever thought he would one day hold his current position, Secretary of the University Patrick Groothuis answers in the negative. Executive Board President Robert-Jan Smits is curious about the opinions of the students and advises them to make sure to enjoy their time at uni. “I myself graduated too fast.”

Inclusion

As the debate goes on, it becomes clear that especially the students want to make their voices heard and that they have more to say on diversity and the scale jump than about alcohol (“a couple of drinks are part of the fun” and “be careful not to overregulate”), or the location of the associations. Everyone votes down the statement that all associations need to be housed in a central place on campus.

On the topic of whether TU/e is doing enough for the LGBTQIA+ community, a lot of students request speaking time, but Van Beurden first hands the microphone to Smits. He proceeds to ask a rhetorical question – “So who is TU/e in this context?” – and answer it himself: “All of us, I’d think.”

Not all students feel accepted at TU/e. A board member of Quadrivium says that students do feel safe at her music association and that this gives her “food for thought”. A Mechanical Engineering student responds by saying that he sees that everyone around him respects one another. A board member of umbrella association SCALA says that back when he was a GEWIS member, he was bothered by a song that the board sang and that mocked gay people. A current GEWIS board member addresses this: “I’m a trans man myself and I’m sorry you had to go through that. But I do strongly feel like we’re changing for the better.”

Scale jump

A board member of umbrella association FSE doesn’t agree with the statement that TU/e is doing enough to house associations and teams. “Data Science Pattern’s study association repeatedly asked for its own space but still hasn’t gotten it.” Van Beurden gives Director of Real Estate Dorine Peters the opportunity to respond to this comment. The reassurance she’s able to offer FSE is limited: “We’re talking about it.”

Van Beurden asks if everyone agrees with the scale jump, which is to bring in an extra eight thousand students. Students in particular hold up a red card (meaning they’re against it), whereas staff members show a green one. Two even, in the case of Smits. “The scale jump is necessary to serve society, but I do insist money and housing should be made available by the central government.”

Should all decentral cafeterias be closed and should one central one be opened up once the scale jump has been completed? Those present are unanimously against this. However, as an Ichtus Board member subtly remarks: “I don’t care, students can’t afford buying anything at the cafeteria anyway.”

Jeu de boules

Today, the active students don’t have to spend any money on dinner: they are offered a buffet at Mooie Boules Eindhoven on Kleine Berg. Tuna Ciudad de Luz leads the walk to the restaurant. Once inside, groups of one staff member and two students are formed for a jeu de boules tournament, but if anything this serves as an interruption of the animated discussions rather than as a necessity to connect the participants. Because that connection was unmistakably present from the very start of the Mystery Tour.