STUDENT LIFE FOR DUMMIES

Student clubs exist in all shapes and sizes and organise numerous activities such as pub crawls, cantussen (an activity where students sit at tables and drink copious amounts of beer while singing from a special songbook), TD’s (large parties in venues), panel talks and workshops. Perhaps you may first encounter your faculty or department club. This is the club associated with your programme, which will introduce itself in your auditorium at the beginning of the academic year. You can easily recognise a praesidium – the board of a club – by the wide ribbons across their chest. All faculty and department clubs are united in two umbrella councils or kringraden: one for the Stadscampus, which is located in the city centre, and one for the campuses in the green outskirts of Antwerp. What is the purpose of an umbrella council? Creating unity between the organisations, setting up joint events and organising meetings with the presidents and vice presidents of each club.

But that’s not all: within and outside of these umbrella councils, theme clubs exist that are not affiliated with just one faculty or department. You can even find study clubs on the Stadscampus. These theme and study clubs have a broader scope but still focus on only a portion of the university’s students. Are you still following? Let’s clarify with an example: De Chips (Stadscampus) and Campinaria (green campuses) are two theme clubs that focus on students living in student housing or koten. However, the official classifications are sometimes a bit flawed: some theme and study clubs are very closely related to a specific course. At an activity organised by Conservatio, you will quickly notice that there are many students studying Conservation-Restoration. You will see the same kind of trend at Socio-Economica and Imbit. It should come as no surprise that a club like Capitant, which aims to bridge the gap between students and the financial world with lectures such as Start To Invest, attracts more economics students than literature students.
 

sweating it out with the UA Sports Council 

The UA Sports Council is a special club on its own. The association is very similar to a typical student club: it is part of the umbrella councils, has a board that wears wide ribbons and regularly organises student activities. However, with two boards, one for the Stadscampus (CST) and one for the green campuses (BC), it is something of an outsider.

These boards aim to keep you fit through their range of group lessons and they also organise competitions. The Sports Council CST leads the Antwerp Students League (ASL) for various sports such as football and basketball. The Sports Council BC organises the Interfac competition, in which the student associations of the green campuses compete against each other every week in a different sport.
 

religious, ethnic or political inspiration

Completely different types of associations are the religious, ethnic or politically inspired associations. In Antwerp, you can find the religious associations Mahara and Ichtus. Mahara’s mission is to unite and inspire students and alumni based on Islamic values. There are no wide ribbons or club songs, and the activities are somewhat atypical. For example, they organise an iftar, various workshops, and panel talks on political themes such as decolonisation. Ichtus, on the other hand, is a Protestant student association that focusses more on (religious) togetherness and the study of religious texts.

The focus of ASA and AYO is on creating more ethnic awareness and (re)discovering roots. ASA, short for Asian Student Association, organises all kinds of activities related to Asian culture, such as a dumpling workshop and boba high tea. AYO stands for African Youth Organisation and organises game nights, museum visits and Sip & Paint evenings, among other things. Their goal is to bring together students with African roots and anyone interested in African culture. Read more about ASA and AYO on pages 16 and 17.

The list of politically inclined associations is more extensive. Like political parties, they span the entire political spectrum. However, there is not always a one-on-one relationship. For example, Comac and Jong Groen StuAnt are affiliated with PVDA and Groen respectively, while the liberal LVSV and the conservative KVHV actively emphasise their independence. While you probably will not associate with the political organisations as an international student, it is still relevant information concerning the political climate of Flanders.
 

the international scene 

A number of clubs in Antwerp are branches of an international network. These include ELSA, ESN and AIESEC, all three of which belong to the umbrella council of the Stadscampus but differ from other clubs. ELSA, or European Law Students’ Association, connects law students from 42 different countries, making it the largest student lawyers’ association in the world. It welcomes international students and introduces them to student life in Antwerp. ESN does the same, but for all Erasmus students. AIESEC focusses on leadership potential through volunteer work and internships abroad.
 
Another club with international dimensions is AntwerpMUN. The club is dedicated to diplomacy and international relations and organises UN simulations. It is an organisation for and by students of diplomacy, law, international politics and economics.
 

dedication to good causes

There are also clubs dedicated to helping students and good causes. One of them is the theme club Prisma, based on the Stadscampus. Each academic year, they devote themselves to a good cause and organise events to raise funds, announcing their chosen charity at the start of the year. They’re best known for the Bloedserieus blood drive in cooperation with the Belgian Red Cross, and for donating all proceeds to their chosen cause. This year they will donate to Kleine Tijger vzw, an organisation that brings sick children into contact with art and culture.

For dedicated law students, there is the Antwerp Law School Consultancy, ALSC for short. The association helps students and young entrepreneurs to resolve legal issues in an accessible manner and free of charge. It is also useful for non-law students, as it is the place to be for disputes with your landlord. 
 

from beer talks to coffee chats  

Alongside planned activities and clubs, informal meet-ups in bars and cafés play an equally important role in student life. In the city centre, Ossenmarkt and Stadswaag are especially popular spots for students to grab a drink. Ossenmarkt even has several cosy coffee bars where you can drop in at any time of the day. Elsewhere in and around the student neighbourhood, you will always find somewhere to quench your thirst.

Students on the green campuses unfortunately miss out on the charm of lively squares lined with café terraces. But don’t worry, café De Buis welcomes thirsty students with open arms.
 

cultural activities 

By now, it should be clear that there is more going on around the university than just shouting loudly at parties or hanging out in cafés. However, one important aspect is still missing: culture. Typical student clubs occasionally organise cultural activities such as movie nights or museum visits. Lingua, the department club for Linguistic and Literary Studies and Applied Linguistics, goes one step further with its annual short film festival and various open mics. It is not without reason that the club presents itself as the cultural club of Antwerp.

There are also music and theatre associations, and you will soon notice that they all have the same rehearsal space: Prinses16. This refers to the address Prinsesstraat 16 and is located above the better-known Universitas, a magical place for all your printing and textbook needs. Prinses16 also houses the Student Council office and our own editorial office.

Impressed by this huge range of activities? In reality, there is much more to experience. For example, there is De Flamingo’s, which brings together LGBTQIA+ students, or Mythica, which mainly organises geeky activities. In addition to UAntwerp, there are other higher education institutions in Antwerp that also have their own clubs, who would all love to see you at their activities. 
 

doop or nope 

Even if you have not researched the student clubs of Antwerp, you may have heard of the infamous case of Sanda Dia from 2018. This tragedy began with an initiation to a student club in Leuven and, sadly, ended in the death of a student. Since then, hearing about initiation, or dopen, has often left a foul taste in the mouths of new students.

But what is dopen, and what has changed since this tragedy? Many student clubs still organise initiations in various forms: some last only a day, others a week, though more and more clubs now opt for shorter versions. On such a day, the schachten (the initiating students) have to dress up and complete a series of activities, often ending in a ‘smearing feast’, where full members throw or make the schachten eat disgusting food. At the end of the day, participants recite an oath and are officially initiated into the club.

However, it doesn’t end there. Schachten have to prove themselves throughout the year by completing tasks to earn the title of commilito, which is awarded after an ontgroening where they recite another oath and can finally call themselves a full member of the club.

You might be asking: why would anyone want to go through all of this? There are many reasons: to make new friends, participate in typical student culture, gain kudos within their chosen club, or they simply enjoy the process. Some even initiate with multiple clubs because they like it that much.

To ensure that this process can still be safe and enjoyable, the Antwerp city council has introduced the doop- en feestcharter (initiation and party charter) as a set of guidelines for student clubs. Clubs have to sign the charter and follow its rules if they wish to keep holding initiations. The charter aims to preserve the physical and mental well-being of the participants and to limit alcohol use.

Whether you get initiated or not is entirely up to you. Still unsure? Many clubs organise information evenings at the start of the academic year, where you can ask questions in a relaxed atmosphere. You can also wait and get initiated in a later year. One last piece of motherly advice: you’ll find friends for life anyway, even without an initiation.