When the Going Gets Tough
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Will there be an end to Why are the students Twenty metres is superfl uous packaging? so quiet? too far to walk Global network of multinationals wants Minister replaces basic grant with a social New attempt to tackle bike problem at to make products sustainable. | p.12 | loan system. The Malieveld is empty. | p.18 | Leeuwenborch. | p.24 | RESOURCEFor students and employees of Wageningen UR no 11 – 31 January 2013 – 7th Volume Insect ambassador Marcel Dicke doesn’t mind fi ghting his corner When the going gets tough... (5(6SEHHOGLQGG 2 >> labour of love >> FRANS + BLUES Frans van de Goot, fi nancial controller Social Sciences ‘Variety is our strong point’ Thursday evening practice with the guys has been a fi xture in bass player Frans van de Goot’s life for 17 years. And now and then a performance with his band Double-U-Blues (formerly Gazzary). It’s all about having fun with music. Blues because it’s so relaxing, and a wide variety of covers. The ‘Double-U’ stands for the W for Wageningen of course (see www.double-u-blues. com). RK / Foto: Guy Ackermans (Do you have a colleague with a passionate interest? Let us know: [email protected]) RESOURCE — 31 January 2013 (5(6SEHHOGLQGG COVER PHOTO: MANON BRUININGA >>CONTENTS no 11 – 7th Volume >> 4 >> 20 >> 27 ‘CHERISH THE DISSIDENTS’ THE LONELY HALF VERA COMES HOME Outgoing education director: ‘We How do partners of international staff ‘Well, you’ve had one Tripel too many,’ should be more open to critical fare? ‘Wageningen is not very lively.’ said Willem-Jan. refl ection.’ NO CHOICE AND MORE... So that’s how it goes when a merger is unscrambled. This is the last Resource to 2 Labour of love be distributed to VHL. There will be no more stories about the solar boat Sin- blues nfretter, student research on barn fi res or war relics in Mariëndaal, or lack of 4 News and opinion confi dence between the VHL board and the staff council. 8 Science That’s it, folks. Over and out. We have no choice, and that is how it feels too. We 11 Resource.wur.nl have built up relations with student reporters, administrators, teachers and the 12 Leading lights participatory bodies. Take Emma Holmes, for example. She lives in the Benne- 16 In the picture kom residence Beringhem. She knows the Wageningen pubs and the internatio- goose game nal student community. She cycles around the campus, attends lectures in the 18 Sustainability Forum. She is a columnist for Resource (see page 29) and writes with humour – 20 The lonelier half often directed at herself – and verve. But she’s out of a job now. Because Emma 22 IMO is a VHL student. basic grant Emma, as far as we are concerned, you are welcome to pick up a copy of Resour- 24 Student ce in the Forum. But keep it under your hat! 29 Column 32 Typical Dutch Gaby van Caulil Dutch doctor >> And the goose gets away again. A reconstruction of Holland as a goose heaven – in the form of a goose game. | p. 16 31 January 2013 — RESOURCE (5(6SEHHOGLQGG >> news *52(1è&+(5,6+<285',66,'(176é trendsetters among the students.’ tance or dissidents, or else they )520:$*(1,1*(185 ðè0DQDJHUVEHFRPHOD]\LI That is why you need a structural think they can get away with any- 72+(/,&21 WKHUHéVQRUHVLVWDQFHé dialogue between the university thing. ‘A strong organization is ð8QLYHUVLW\FRQVXOWDWLRQVZLWK and its students ‘starting with the prepared to make room for dissi- Ab Groen has spent more than VWXGHQWVQHHGWREHPRUH acknowledgement that young peo- dents because they improve the 30 years at Wageningen Univer- PHDQLQJIXO ple should have a say,’ argues Groen. quality of the decision-making pro- sity, first as a student and then He feels consultations between the cess.’ According to Groen, it is tho- as a lecturer in the Animal Bree- board and the student council are se very critics who throw a diffe- ding and Genetics group and la- Wageningen UR should have the too much of a ‘ formal exercise’ wit- rent light on matters and who can ter head of teaching within Ani- courage to be more open to critical hout ‘the intrinsic willingness to expose the weak points in policy mal Sciences. He has spent the reflection and listen to the ‘dissi- discuss key policy decisions.’ choices. ‘We must have the coura- last seven years as director of dents’ within the organization. The university directors should ge to have honest differences of Corporate Education, Research & That was the key message that edu- organize such questioning of its opinion. There needs to be a cultu- Innovation at Wageningen UR. cation and research director Ab policy themselves, says Groen, who re grounded in commitment and As of 1 February, he will be Groen put across in his farewell acted as an advisor to the board for creativity in which staff feel safe to chairman of the board of Heli- lecture on 24 January. the past seven years. ‘Make sure take risks and take action. Resistance con, a centre for pre-vocational Groen was not afraid to reflect there is sufficient critical reflecti- is about voicing your own views and and vocational agricultural edu- on the directors present in the on.’ He says managers become lazy seeking links with others based on cation. room. For instance, he said it was if they aren’t confronted with resis- your own sense of worth.’ AS ‘hilarious’ that university directors and researchers advocate autono- my and self-monitoring ‘in view of the recent failures in self-monito- ring in the case of directors’ pay :$,7,1* and scientific fraud.’ Such contradictions raise the )25$ suspicions of the general public. Groen thinks that you can only )5267 change this by paying more atten- tion to the individual motivations of students and researchers. He is against the abolition of the basic grant, selective admissions and setting up so-called honours pro- grammes. Such measures are tur- ning the universities into ‘Hum- boldt institutions’ - ivory towers - whereas they should be developing 5HVHDUFKHU+DQV9HUGDDWLV into networking knowledge insti- VWDQGLQJLQWKHPLGGOHRID tutions. ERDWIXOORIŊVK7KH\DUH Universities also need to make VSUDWVDQGDERXWNLORV sure they do not lose contact with ZHUHFDXJKWLQWHQPLQXWHV the students. ‘The biggest challen- è$ELJFDWFKéVD\V9HUGDDW ge for universities now is to be ,PDUHVLVGRLQJUHVHDUFKRQ aware of the trends among young WKHQXPEHUVRIJUHEHVDORQJ people.’ He mentions the use of IT WKHQRUWKHUQ'XWFKFRDVW as an example. ‘A lecturer found it *UHEHVIHHGPDLQO\RQŊVK irritating that students were mes- 6RWKHDLPRIWKLVH[SHGLWLRQ sing around with Facebook and LVWRJHWDQLGHDRIŊVK Twitter during practicals. I don’t VWRFNV9HUGDDWKRSHVWKHQWR agree. Sixty percent of new stu- EHDEOHWRVHHWKHUHODWLRQ dents have mobile internet. So it EHWZHHQWKHGLVWULEXWLRQRI should be the other way around - WKHELUGVDQGRIWKHLUIRRG the lecturer should start tweeting VXSSO\7KHUHVHDUFKHUVKDYH with them instead. Wageningen EHHQZDLWLQJPRQWKVIRUD University should invest more in VHYHUHIURVWVRWKDWWKH\ the use of social media in the lear- FRXOGVWXG\WKHVLWXDWLRQ ning environment so you are gi- XQGHUZLQWU\FRQGLWLRQV ving enough support to the IT '(SKRWR6WHYH*HHOKRHG RESOURCE — 31 January 2013 (5(6SLQGG news << 5 25*$1,&&203$1<672366833/<,1*:$*(1,1*(185 reported by professor of Entomo- animal rights organization Wakker that there are other perspectives in ðè3HRSOHWKLQN:DJHQLQJHQKDV logy Marcel Dicke in an interview Dier’s cam paign against force-fed Wageningen than this one.’ WXUQHGLQWRDELRLQGXVWU\ with Resource (see page 12). ‘Last chickens. In Dicke’s view, Wageningen is FOXEé week one of our partners cancelled According to Dicke, relations currently alienating itself from the collaboration because of Aalt with this company were good. The people who feel a bond with it. Dijkhuizen’s statements. The entomologists sourced chicken ‘People we have worked with for The continuing debate about response was prompted by the blood there for breeding mosqui- years on sustainability issues can intensive livestock farming has article headed ‘Organic farming toes that can spread the West Nile no longer relate to the noises prompted a large organic poultry damages environment’, in the virus. Dicke wants to enter into coming from Wageningen. People farm to end its relationship with Telegraaf of 12 January, in which dialogue to mend the relationship. feel Wageningen has turned into a Wageningen UR. This was Dijkhuizen responded to the ‘Of course we will try to explain bio-industry club.’ *Y& NRUW NjNj(;32&(175( NjNj$*5,&8/785( (JJIXOORIIRRGH[SHUWLVH *RYHUQPHQWZDQWVWKRURXJK A seven-storey egg where knowledge is DPPRQLDVWXG\ dispensed about nutrition, health and State secretary Sharon Dijksma and sustainability. Such a building should be the Dutch parliament want Wagenin- 6&+$0,1(ljlj a reality near Ede-Wageningen station in gen UR to do further research on am- four years’ time. It is to be the Dutch monia emissions in agriculture. This agrifood sector’s international visiting follows a thesis by a student of agro- (OIVWHGHQWRFKW card: the World Food Center Nether- nomist Egbert Lantinga’s, which casts We’ve had a wintry few weeks, with sub-zero temperatures lands. The Association of World Food doubt on the accuracy of the current day and night. And true to form, the Dutch soon started Centers named Ede as the site of the new model of ammonia emissions. This speculating as to whether it would freeze hard enough for expo centre last week. Rotterdam was in had led to consternation in the agri- the traditional eleven towns skating race, the Elfsteden- the running too, but it was the plan put cultural press. Dijksma has asked Wa- tocht. Previous heroes of the race Jan Uitham and Reiner forward by Ede and Wageningen coun- geningen UR and RIVM in writing to Paping were on television most nights.