At the VUB I can be myself, but we should be able to be ourselves everywhere
“Three years ago I left my hometown De Haan to study Physics and Astronomy at the VUB. I could read physics and astronomy closer to home, but I still chose Brussels. At this university everything is so much more accessible. In class there are sometimes only four of us; you could almost call it private lessons. That makes the contact with the teachers even more personal.
I didn’t want to commute by train on a daily basis. That’s why I rent a student room. When I do come to the campus, I am never alone. Every day I am accompanied by my only real companion, Surtur. This fictional parrot on my left shoulder is named after an Old Norse mythological figure that will destroy the world. I think he has a scary look, but so far he’s been acting good. My parrot is sewn to my leather jacket, I wear it every day.
I styled my hair this way for the first time when I was about fourteen. My hair has been styled many different ways, but this hairstyle is completely copied from my dad. You know, I’m the spitting image of my dad. I do my hair myself and it takes about three hours. What do I use? Gel and a lot of patience. Some people think I’m special, but I’m just me. At the VUB, you can and may do that, but actually we should be able to do it anywhere and everywhere.”
Afgebeeld: Jethro Stoffels (20, BA3 Physics and Astronomy) poses for a picture before going to class
On the occasion of the VUB’s 50th anniversary, prof. dr. Martina Temmerman asked the students in her introductory course on journalism genres to make portraits of people on the VUB campus. The ‘snapshots’ resulting from the project Humans of the VUB offer a lovely cross section of life on our university campus in 2019/20.