FORTUNA

STUDENT ASSOCI ATI ON

Annual Report
2014- 2015

ANNUAL REPORT
2014- 2015

W rit t en by:
Samuel Hopcroft
Chair of Fort una

&

I vanna Yurkiv
Execut ive Assist ant t o t he Fort una Board

August 14t h, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................................................................4
Fortuna board overview....................................................................6
Legal affairs......................................................................................7
Advisory councils.............................................................................8
External boards............................................................................9-10
Housing council..............................................................................11
Committee affairs............................................................................12
Committee affairs:
Committees................................................................................13-17
Committee affairs:
Teams..............................................................................................18
Committee affairs:
New committees........................................................................19-21
Other organs....................................................................................22
Student representation....................................................................23
Finance summary................................................................... ........24
Survey
overview.....................................................................................25-26
Closing remarks..............................................................................27

INTRODUCTION

Dear all,
Another year has come to an end, and LUC students have spent
their summers flying to all corners of the world, returning as better
global citizens with better summer tans. It is the perfect time to
reflect upon the past year: what has gone well, and what could have
gone better. Hopefully, this annual report will do just that, showing
the steps we have taken this year as a community, and the goals we
are still working towards.

Overall, this has been a good year. We have begun to turn Anna van
Buerenplein from our house into our home, welcoming 200 new
students through our doors.
With new legal, financial and structural foundations, we have built a Fortuna which can flourish
in the future, and with our biggest ever growth in committees and teams, there has hopefully
been something for every crevice of our community.

Honestly, I am proud of what we created. Not necessarily because it was perfect, but because
people were involved. Now with over 600 members, and over 150 committee board members,
housing council members and student representatives, LUC is a community which cares. And it
is a privilege to have served such a community. There are still improvements to be made, and it
is with great excitement that we hand over to the 2015/16 board to guide the association
through its next steps.

All the best,

Samuel Hoproft
Chair of Fortuna 2014/15
4

E
R
A
E
W
WHO
FORTUNA BOARD
Samuel Hopcroft

Chair

Tijmen Lamers

Secretary

Cox Bogaards

Treasurer

Bene Colenbrander

Housing Chair

Thomas Giacoletto

Committee Affairs Officer

Stuart Smith

Committee Affairs Officer

O
D
E
W
T
A
WH
M I SSI ON STATEM ENT
The Fortuna Student Association aims to provide and build student life at Leiden University
College The Hague. It does this through:

- Organising co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, through its committees and teams
- Funding opportunities for students outside of the classroom
- Working with organisations and universities inside and outside of The Hague
- Working closely with Leiden University College

FORTUNA BOARD over view

MISSION: The Fortuna board facilitates the
running of the association.

Overall, throughout 2014/15, the Fortuna board

effectively facilitated the functioning of the whole
association.
Every Wednesday afternoon the board convened, and
discussed & decided upon matters ranging from
student housing to finance to committees.
In February, Stuart Smith was elected to the Fortuna
board, as a Committee Affairs Officer.
As well as facilitating and managing the association,
the board also organised three general assemblies,
two fortunity weeks, the Fortuna elections and a
thank you event for committee and team board
members. The board also helped organise
Introduction Week.
The term of this Fortuna board ran from 1st August
2014 - 31st July 2015.

WORK L OAD
The workload of the Fortuna board was very high
due to structural and legal challenges, which the
association faced. Due to this, the board established
various commissions and teams to help run the
administrative side of the association, such as the
Legal Team and the Representative Assembly.
The board also hired an executive assistant on a
voluntary basis. Ivanna Yurkiv was appointed, who
helped greatly in the background. The internal
teamwork and cohesion within the board throughout
the year was very strong. The board met for
approximately three hours a week with the entire
board, and approximately 20 hours a week for
individual meetings between different board
members.
Due to the workload, Joe Cotton stepped down in
December, and Jan Bogaarts in March. In the
future, the workload of board members should be
made very clear during elections, when students are
considering running for positions.

INITIATIVES FOR NEXT YEAR

The workload should be lower for 2015/16, given the structures which have now been established between 2013
and 2015, and the clarification of the role of Fortuna. For this reason, a strong focus on new extra-curricular
opportunities, communication and growth of committees and teams is recommended.

L EGAL AFFAI RS
General Assemblies (GAs) are the highest decision making organ of Fortuna. Any amendments to the
Articles of Association and Rules of Procedure need to be approved by a GA. This year, the legal
team drafted such amendments, which were approved during the second GA.
The legal team was made up of Charles de Cocq, Lexi Rowland, Jacob van de Beeten, Joris Broeders and Thomas
Giacoletto.
The legal team drafted new Rules of Procedure and Articles of Association for Fortuna. In December these
documents were presented to the Fortuna board, and after editing, were passed by the General Assembly. The
Articles of Association are now legally binding, and both documents can only be edited by a General Assembly.
The documents give more freedom to the Fortuna board, and give more clarity on the workings of the association.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: September 2014

Chair: Miika Korja Secretary: Cas Bezembinder
140 Fortuna members were present or represented at the GA.
The assembly:
-

Approved the Annual Report and Annual Financial Report

Discharged the previous Fortuna board
Approved the Annual Budget
Approved the Student Representatives

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: February 2015

Chair: Samuel Hopcroft Secretary: Tijmen Lamers
319 Fortuna members were present or represented at the GA.
The assembly:
- Approved the amended Articles of Association
- Approved the new Rules of Procedure
- Approved the semester review of the Annual Budget

GENERAL ASSEMBLY: May 2015

Chair: Cas Bezembinder Secretary: Peter Sprietsma
188 Fortuna members were present or represented at the GA.
The assembly:
-

Discussed the LUC student council

Dissolved the Student Representatives
Changed the electoral method to alternative vote
Granted Miika Korja and Anna-Liisa Springham honorary membership

ADVI SORY COUNCI L S:

COL L EGE COUNCI L
MISSION: The College Council advises the
College Board, ensuring transparency and quality
of decision making in LUC.

The College Council members: David Ehrhardt (co-chair), Samuel

Hopcroft (co-chair), Bene Colenbrander, Brid Walsh, Johanna Renz,
Joppe Brieffes and Thomas Schmitt.
2014/15 was the first fully fledged year of the College Council. The
Fortuna board was involved in the College Council as the College Board
decided that this was the best way to ensure student representation in
College decisions.
The College Council responded to individual queries and complaints from
students, as well as addressing more structural issues within the College.
The council also organised a College Assembly, in which all staff and
students could raise issues.
In 2015/16 the College Council will release a report each block, organise two College Assemblies and establish the
LUC newsletter. Further, upon request of the Fortuna board, the student members of the College Council will be
elected students, as opposed to Fortuna board members. This ensures that the Fortuna board can focus on its
primary aim of providing for student life and welfare.

ADVI SORY BOARD

MISSION: The advisory board is an independent
student-staff mixed board which advises the
Fortuna board.

The advisory board members: Charles de Cocq (Chair),

Joris Broeders (Secretary), Boudewijn van Eerd, Henry
Abbink and Paul Behrens (previously Niki Sol).
In 2014/15 the Fortuna board was made known of three complaints which were sent to the advisory board for further
investigation. The Fortuna board received formal, written advice from the advisory board on one occasion, in October
2014, in response to one of these complaints.
This advice concerned the structure of General Assemblies, and was implemented by the Fortuna board. The
Fortuna board received little formal advice from the advisory board, based on the Fortuna board?s minutes, general
conduct or performance, over the course of the year.
Hopefully, the advisory board will take a more active role in advising the Fortuna board in 2015/16. Henry Abbink will
be stepping down from the advisory board, and Tim Kluwen and Lisa Smits will be joining.

EXTERNAL BOARDS:
Studievereniging Over leg Platfor m
StOP brings together all the studieverenigingen in
Leiden. It deals mostly with matters related to student
and academic life in Leiden, and many of the topics
discussed therefore do not directly relate to Fortuna.
However, one of the most important topics discussed by
the StOP is the El Cid week in The Hague - the
introduction week for all Leiden students. In the past it
has often been lacklustre and not as engaging as it
could be. Next year, the El Cid will be greatly improved,
and Fortuna will be involved to a greater extent.
The week will comprehensively introduce prospective
Fortuna members to The Hague. This way, students
can get to know about all the other associations and
student opportunities in our city.

Verenigings Over leg

The VerO is the board of the different study associations in

the Hague. It ensures better communication and
inter-study events.
In 2014/15, the VerO met approximately once a month and
exchanged information on the activity of the different
studies in The Hague. They also organised two campus
parties, and promoted other inter-study activity. Examples
of these were joint sport and art events, as well as events
by Amnesty International and the Gospel Choir. Further,
the VerO proposed to create a student hub, with the
municipality, in The Hague, where all students could come
together. Hopefully, this could happen by 2016.
Next year, the VerO will hopefully continue to promote
inter-study events, also on a larger scale. The plans to
build a student hub should also be developed with the
municipality, and the role of the study associations in the
new Wijnhaven building will be established.

EXTERNAL BOARDS:
UCSRN
MISSION: The University College Student Representatives of
the Netherlands stimulates inter-UC events and collaboration.

Social committee
This year the social committee organized two main events - the UCSRN
Spotlight and the UCSRN Tournament. The UCSRN Spotlight took place on
the 22nd November 2014 at University College Utrecht, and was attended
by over 200 students from the six member UCs. Each UC had 20 minutes of
performances, which included bands, singer songwriters, sketch-comedians,
dancers and much more. The (semi-formal) spotlight prize for the best
performance was won by Fortuna's Choir for their brilliant Gospel medley.
On the 18th April, the UCSRN Tournament took place at Amsterdam
University College. In the tournament, students competed in basketball,
battle of the bands, chess, dance, debating, 48 hour film competition,
football (both male and female), hockey, improvisation, League of Legends,
painting, relay race, table tennis and volleyball. The event was won by AUC,
ending UCU?s four-year-long winning streak.
Joe Cotton represented Fortuna in the UCSRN social committee.

Academic committee
The main project that the academic committee prepares is the academic
conference. This year, it took place in February at the University College
Roosevelt. During the conference, participants and speakers had the chance
to discuss the role of a student in the 21st century. Different speakers took the
floor during the plenary, and Victor van der Poll from LUC also shared his
thoughts on the topic during the parallel session.
Next academic year, the UCSRN academic committee hopes to introduce the
inter-UC academic journal. More information on this will follow once the
academic committee representatives are back from their summer breaks.
Marije Plak was elected to represent Fortuna in the academic committee.

10

HOUSI NG COUNCI L
MISSION: The Housing Council aims to assist
students in residential issues and to represent student
interest in their communication with DUWO and SEA
Housing.

The Housing Councils of Anna van Buerenplein and De Klok were made up
of Bene Colenbrander, Felipe van de Kerkhof, Elissavet Karamichail, Jerzy
Brinkhof, Davinio Dwarkasing and Christian van der Woude.

This academic year, the housing councils of Anna van Buerenplein and De
Klok worked on and accomplished the following initiatives:
Semester 1
- Collaborated with the New Babylon on the petition regarding tram noise
- Submitted legal complaints to Juridisch Loket about the number of keys that residents should be given
- Investigated student housing opportunities for next year's third year students
- Searched for potential party venues (for Fortuna parties)
Semester 2
- Distributed the second set of keys to the Anna van Buerenplein residents
- Organised an information session for second and third years about the housing options for their last year
- Sent petitions regarding the tram noise
As well as these accomplishments, the housing councils of Anna van Buerenplein and De Klok significantly improved relations
between Fortuna and DUWO & SEA Housing. This was done by holding regular meetings with the representatives of these
organisations.

INITIATIVES FOR NEXT YEAR

Next year, the housing councils need to work out their involvement with the De Klok and the Stamkart student residences. Since
only a small number of LUC students reside in this student accommodation the housing councils will need to decide whether to
retain the housing council of De Klok and if a new housing council needs to be established in Stamkart. Furthermore, the
housing council will need to continue searching for venues to hold future LUC parties. They will also need to maintain good
relations with DUWO and SEA Housing.
The housing chair will no longer be a part of the Fortuna board. This decision was made because the housing chair has a more
representative role than other Fortuna board members. In addition to this, board meetings often focus on discussing the budget,
committees, legal issues and events - the responsibilities of the housing chair do not fit into this.

11

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS
MISSION:The aim of the committee affairs officers is to
help students set up and manage committees, stimulating
committees to reach their own goals and provide for LUC
students.

Committee Affairs Officers:

Thomas Giacoletto
Stuart Smith

Thomas and Stuart regularly met with the chairs of the committees to discuss their progress and answer any
questions regarding finance, event planning etc. This academic year, the committee affairs officers also conducted
regular large-scale meetings with chairs of all the committees. This was done to improve the communication
between the Fortuna board and the committees, and to help different committees work together.
Broadly, the responsibilities and tasks of the committee affairs officers remained the same from semester to
semester. They organised two fortunity weeks, which took place in week 3 of block 1 and 3. The purpose of the
fortunity week is to introduce students to different committees. It also gives the chance to committees to attract new
members by demonstrating the skills and experiences that potential members can gain. They also organised a
committees fair during introduction week, introducing new students to the plethora of opportunities at LUC.
During their term, Thomas and Stuart helped establish various new committees and teams. In the first semester,
LUC Humanity, the Yearbook Team and LUDENS were established. In the second semester, the History Reading
Group, Underground Student Life, South America Day, Vagina Monologues, the Cooking Committee and 22 F(M)
joined the list.

INITIATIVES FOR NEXT YEAR

Thomas and Stuart hope that next year the committee affairs officers will find ways to improve the communication
between the committees, the committee affairs officers and the treasurer. This year, the committees had to
communicate the same information to the treasurer and the committee affairs officers. This communication loop
should be amended to make the communication more effective.
In addition to this, they hope that next year's committee affairs officers will also think of ways to increase the
participation in the second fortunity week of the year.

12

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
COMMITTEES
Beyond Arts Committee
Chair:

Giulia Giacometti

Board:

Anna-Liisa Springham
Koen Rutten
Camille Steens
Dilara Barthel
Jessie Foest
Kristian Kristensen
Carla Vlaun
Sabina Menotti

Beyond Arts had an exceptional year, winning Fortuna's

'Committee of the Year' award. Each of their five sub-committees
individually excelled, hosting both exciting events for the whole
community, and weekly sessions for the very involved.

201
4/2

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Com
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Events ranged from the renowned Beyond Arts Housewarming, now hosted in AvB, to Chekhov
plays & music performances; each of their events was successful in a different way.
The committee was very organised throughout the entire year, allowing them to work closely with
other committees, and to represent Fortuna at the UCSRN tournament.
They have given the 2015/16 board a very strong transition, and we hope the new board are just
as engaged, committed and hard-working as this board was.

Sports Committee
Chair:

Liza Lemaine

Board:

Jente Althuis

Sportsco, Fortuna's biggest committee, had a great year, with more sports than ever before.
They offered male & female football, hockey, volleyball, rugby, basketball, climbing, tennis and
running, and represented Fortuna against other UCs and at the UCSRN Tournament.

Matthias Schotanus
Ella Verver
Katharina Bauer

In the past two years Sportsco has laid the foundations for the committee. In 2014/15, regular
trainings and training venues were established for all the above sports and the organisation of
teams ran very smoothly, with seperate team leaders for each sport.
Hopefully next year the board can organise even more additional events alongside the regular
training and matches.

13

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
COMMITTEES
Act Aware Committee
Chair:

Robin Vroom

Board:

Naomi Bruijnooge
Evi Hella Zaborszky
Silas Gairdner
Nynke Blomer
Bente Fonkert
Anne Mai Baan
Lily Zeitler
Adriene Hill Strathy
Dieneke de Weerd

Act Aware had an exciting year, putting on

events ranging from a World Food Day, to movie
nights, to clothes and book swaps. They also
maintained the rooftop garden and began to
grow our very first LUC fruit and vegetables at
the allotment in the Zuiderpark.
Next year, with LUC?s support, the rooftop
garden should be completely revamped. We
also encourage Act Aware to plan even more
events in semester one, and have more regular
events for those who are very interested in
environmental and social sustainability.

Siri Ockerman
Christina Hassenhuttl

Amnesty International Committee

Chair:

Anne Flake

Board:

Thomas Schmitt
Aiken Besley
Klaudija Cremers
Jamie Holton
Kelsey Bischot

Amesty International had a strong year. They put on their

staple events: letter writing, Jamnesty and the silent
auction, involving students from all over The Hague.
They also introduced new events with mixed success,
such as lectures and pub quizzes.
Next year, the committee can hopefully organise
themselves better at the beginning of the academic year,
which will allow the Fortuna board to give them more
financial and inter-committee support.

Careers Committee
Chairs:

Ari Fishman
Sarah Wildeboer

Board:

Maxime Hue

This year, Careersco put on various workshops and forums, which

each helped students identify and plan their future careers. They also
managed a very helpful online platform - LUC careers, sharing
opportunities for students.

Mathijs Hageraats
Ioano Dumitrescu
Lieke Mulder
Lilly Wig

In the next year, we hope to see more collaboration between the

networking and events sides of the committee. This will allow for
more career-oriented events and a broader careers fair, with more
professionals invited to LUC than ever before.

Sara Bolghiran

14

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
COMMITTEES
Dutch Language and Culture Committee
Chair:

Naomi Bruijnooge

Board:

Marleen Bornat
Dennis Meyer
Olivia Kelnreiter

DLCC, one of Fortuna's more academic committees,

had another very strong year. The classes, led by Lieke
Schreel, were a great success. Alongside these, DLCC
conducted a trip to the Mauritshuis.
We are excited about the continued development of
such an important committee, and we hope the
committee can help inspire other language committees
to develop over the next year.

Film Committee
Chair:

Anisa Gasper

Board:

Josh Treacher
Mariska van der Zee
Lorraine Besnier
Esma Yavuz
Nadine Kops

Filmco is one of Fortuna's oldest committees,

and this year it experienced a revival of its
successful past. Movie screenings in AvB
had generally good results, and events such
as the Cannes Film Festival were extremely
successful.
Filmco is a committee that could really take
advantage of students' wishes to 'get out of
the bubble.' Hopefully in the coming year,
they can get involved with even more cinema
excursions and film opportunities in The
Hague and further afield.

LUC Diversity Committee

Chair:

Cris van Eijk

Board:

Katharina Ebner
Madelaine Alber
Silke Zwijsen

LUC Diversity had a very strong year, taking the committee

from a small online platform to a committee which puts on
films, lectures, exhibitions and more. The Exposure project
in May was one of the most fascinating exhibitions LUC has
ever hosted. The committee also worked well with other
committees and teams to plan events, including Beyond
Arts, LUC.ID and South America Day, and was one of our
committees to venture beyond the bubble, organising a joint
borrel with BASIS - the association for International Studies.
Next year, a more experienced board will allow the
committee to better hit the ground running in terms of
events, planning and budgeting. We are really excited to
see what LUC Diversity comes up with!

15

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
COMMITTEES
PAX Committee (student magazine)
Chair:

Bob Pierik

Board:

Jarre Middeljans
Rob Boemen
Maxime Boumans
Nadine Froughi
Rosie Underwood

PAX developed hugely this year, building a

professional and exciting student magazine. They
released four editions, one per block, and each
edition sold out. The board developed a magazine
which struck a balance between informing and
entertaining, and it was a treat that students would
always look forward to during the reading week.
Next year, we would love if PAX would be even
more financially ambitious, striving to create more
regular magazines available for students, and
striving to create a stronger online presence at LUC.

LUCMUN (Model United Nations Committee)

Chair:

Daniel Witte

Board:

Alexandra van Walraven

Thomas Borghols
Liselotte van Balen

LUCMUN had a great year, sending LUC students to

more conferences and winning more awards than
ever before. The committee trained and interviewed
prospective delegates, before sending them across
Europe for various conferences. They also organised
LU-Crises, which got lots of students involved in
simulation and debate, and sent delegations to a
simulation of The Hague Peace Conference.
We hope that LUCMUN continues their good work,
and finds ways to get even more students involved in
MUN.

LUCV (Volunteering Committee)

Chair:

Elisabeth Schellekens

Board:

Simon van der Staaij

Henry Abbink

LUCV hosted four volunteering weeks this year,

in which they had small-scale projects students
could sign up for. They also were heavily involved
with Ann Wilson's projects at LUC - students
seemed to really appreciate the hassle-free
opportunity to volunteer.
Next year, despite not needing much financial
support, closer bonds with the Fortuna board can
help LUCV involve more students and access
more volunteering opportunities in The Hague.

16

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
COMMITTEES
LUC Debating Committee
Chair:

Joris Broeders

Board:

Inga Steinberg
Simon Touissant
Stela Gineva

The debating committee had a decent start to the year

with a successful event in the first Fortunity Week.
However, due to workload problems for board members,
the committee was not active during the second
semester.
As LUC is a community which loves debating, hopefully
the committee can reinvent itself in the coming year. The
commiittee can also do joint events with associations in
Leiden who already regularly organise successful
debates.

Esperanto Committee
Chair:

Iris van der Lugt

Board:

Steven van der Have

La Espero, our Esperanto Committee, had a

good second year as a Fortuna committee.
Whilst it is one of our smaller committees, it
has a very 'LUC' ethos in terms of what it
teaches.
We therefore hope that more students
become involved in Esperanto, as it is such an
exciting and interesting language to learn. The
committee could potentially introduce trips (as
DLCC did) to incentivise attendance, and do
joint events with our other language and
culture committees.

LUC.ID (Photography and Media Committee)

Chairs:

Maxime Boumans
Thomas Cytrynowicz
Martin Grahovski

Board:

Kimberley Schoenmaker

As Fortuna?s multimedia committee, LUC.ID

were present at many of the events, with
photos and videos that ensured you would
never forget the events (which in the case of
some parties may be unfortunate). LUC.ID
cooperated with other committees to bring
Fortuna two art exhibitions, and worked with
and supported LUC during events as well.
If LUC.ID can really work next year on
recruiting an even bigger team, there is much in
store for this creative side of Fortuna.

17

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
TEAMS
Dies Fatalis Team
Chair:

Rik Rutten

Board:

Clara Haberberger
Ruba Nawaz
Lotte van der Kamp
Theresa Lieb

Suffice to say this year?s Dies Fatalis show was an

evening never to forget. Living up to the high
expectations of all members, the Dies Team and
their many volunteers showed incredible
dedication to show LUC students and staff alike
that it?s not very hard to make fun of a Liberal Arts
degree. Lots of committees and students ensured
that the event maintained its reputation as the
highlight of the LUC year! The addition of a huge
Pries Fatalis helped add to the excitement and
funding of the event.
Next year, it would be good if the team could try to
get in their budget as early as possible, to ensure
the funds the event needs are available.

Hitchhiking Team
Chair:

Rik Rutten

Board:

Bob van der Mortel

Thomas Giacoletto
Silke Zwijsen
Lisette Alberti

The Fortuna hitchhiking team organised two trips

this year, to Budapest in the autumn break, and to
Vilnius in the spring break. Both events were
attended by a large number of members with over
100 people going to Budapest, and Fortuna is keen
to see this continue, as the hitchhiking competitions
are becoming one of the highlights of their
respective blocks.
We?re curious to see what exotic destinations the
team can come up with and hope they can find
even more ways to make it as safe as possible.

LUC Pool Club

Chair:

Davinio Dwarkasing

Board:

Arvid Plugge
Thomas Borghols

The Pool Club organised two events this year: a

singles and doubles tournament. Both attracted a
large and inclusive audience, appealing to those
who can (and can't!) play pool.
Next year, we hope the club can expand, seeking
deals with local pool clubs as it did in its first year.

18

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
NEW COMMITTEES AND TEAMS
HISTORY READING GROUP
The aim of the history reading group is to enable
students to interact and engage with history. This year,
the committee members focused on discovering the
causes of WWI.

Chair:

Stan Mencke

Board:

Ruben Van Zoest

Lucas van Oppen
Joost Thuis

The group met 2-3 times per block in pubs around The
Hague. To participate, members were encouraged to do
2-3 readings on the topic of the meeting. The group
also visited a residence of the German Kaiser.

Jori Korpershoek

The history reading group is also a platform where

students and professors can interact in a
"non-academic" setting.

YEARBOOK TEAM
Board:

Enya Seguin
Lone Mokkenstorm
Kelsey Bischot
Jan Bogaarts
Regis Hijnekamp
Boudewijn van Eerd

The "bubble-like" nature of the LUC community encouraged Enya

(class of 2017) and Jan (class of 2016) to pursue a yearbook
project.
To release their first yearbook on May 18th, the board members
had to collaborate with external sponsors (for printing and a design
program). Board members had to also ensure that the yearbook
met students' expectations. This was done by involving all year
groups in its creation.
The team expects the yearbook to become an inherent part of
LUC. You can apply to be a board member of this team if you wish
to be involved in (quite literally) making the history of LUC.

22 F(M)
Maria (class of 2016) came up with the idea to create LUC
Radio after seeing a post about a university radio on her
newsfeed on Facebook.

Board:

Jack Lindsay
Maria Borsa

Although 22 F(M) only had its first show at the beginning of

May, the committee won the hearts and minds of LUC
students very quickly. To reward them for their effort, Maria
and Jack (class of 2016) received the "New Committee of the
Year Award".
The radio should continue to entertain and unite students
over 2015/16.

19

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
NEW COMMITTEES AND TEAMS
LUDENS
Chair:

Cas Bezembinder

Board:

Peter Sprietsma
Victor van der Poll
Tijmen Lamers

The aim of the LUDENS founders is to unite students interested in

multi-player games. Cas, Victor, Peter and Tijmen noticed that
there were different groups of students playing board games, but
not interacting with each other, so decided to create a committee
which could bring them together.
LUDENS organised a simulation about the Fall of the Roman
Republic and other game sessions. Preparation is not required to
enter the games. The committee also trained a team to participate
in the League of Legends competition during the UCSRN
Tournament.

COOKING COMMITTEE
Considering that LUC has many students who are first time
chefs and others who are well on their way to being
considered proper chefs, Giacomo and Raghav decided to
set-up a cooking committee; a chance for LUC?ers to meet
up, share their passion for cooking and eat well. While they
couldn?t get permission to use the 2nd floor kitchen, they
decided to put the resources of around 400 LUC kitchens
to good use. Participants sign up a week in advance for
this biweekly event, divide up in teams and compete to
come up with the best dish. The event at the end of block 4
of the second year produced dishes varying from fried
cinnamon bread to stuffed chicken with a side of coconut
curry.

Board:

Raghav Nath
Giacomo Santoro

SOUTH AMERICA DAY

Board:

Jerzy Brinkhof
Lisa Staadegaard
Packy Soukthavone

The South America Day team organised one day this year solely
dedicated to the South American culture. The idea originated from
the previous year's celebration of Africa day. This academic year,
the South America Day team involved lots of different committees,
collaborating to create a day of music, film, debates, food, and of
course, education. Lots of people got involved, learning about
everything from gospel choirs to human rights, and we hope the
team are up for organising such an event again next year.

20

COMMITTEE AFFAIRS:
NEW COMMITTEES AND TEAMS
LUC HUMANITY
Founded by Ashley and Hoba, LUC Humanity aims to
help raise awareness about refugees, and how we can
help. This year, the committee raised money for Save the
Children in Iraq through organising events, exhibitions
and more. Their refugee night allowed students to
simulate the life of a refugee for an evening, whilst they
also organised a lecture with a war correspondent to raise
awareness.

Chair:

Hoba Gull

Board:

Ashley Chin
Tessel van der Putte
Haris Qandhari
Sanne Luijendijk
Sjors Aartsen

As well as this, 'Bring Back Our Humanity' bracelets have

become a common sight at our college thanks to their
hard work - we are excited to see what they come up with
in the future.

USL- UNDERGROUND STUDENT LIFE

Chair:

Monica Sanchez Groeneweg

Board:

Alexander van der Meij

Figo Sodeberg

This committee formed after Christmas Committee and Carpe

Diem decided to merge. Both of these committees had similar
goals, so they decided to work together under the same
banner. This year USL was run by Monica and the committee
organized parties on the first floor of Anna van Buerenplein, in
particular taking the lead in the Winter Gala. The committee
also organised parties outside of the building, in The Hague.
Next year, USL is aiming to have even more parties outside of
the bubble and to find new, more permanent locations for
bigger events, such as the Winter Gala.

VAGINA MONOLOGUES
The Vagina Monologues team was set up in order to continue the
tradition within LUC to raise money for Stichting Wende, an
organization providing shelter to victims of domestic violence in
The Hague. To raise this money, the team organised a
performance of the Vagina Monologues, as they had done two
years before. The performance was a great success, attracting a
very big audience over two nights, and raising ?1,811 for
Stichting Wende, and a lot of awareness about their work too.
The Vagina Monologues won the 2014/15 Team of the Year
award!

Board:

Christina Hassenhuttl
Lena Volmer
Johanna Renz

21

OTHER ORGANS
LUC Student Bar
Chair:

Martijn de Zeuw

Board:

Maria Clota Borsa

Tim Kluwen
Raven Hoogendorp

Previously, Akbar had always been a committee

of Fortuna. However, LUC and Fortuna decided it
was better to set up the bar as a foundation
(stichting) under LUC, with the Fortuna board
acting as a supervisory board. The bar is also
supervised by the managing director of LUC.
The bar has had a very good year, catering for
many LUC and Fortuna events. Their finances are
very healthy and they have maintained a close
relationship with the Fortuna board.
Next year, the bar team will hopefully contribute to
redecorating the first floor, creating a better
atmosphere for events and work towards paying
back their ?2,500 loan from Fortuna.

Fortuna Library
Chair:

Ivanna Yurkiv

LUC's library was officially established in August 2014 with the aim to make more
academic and non-academic books accessible to the LUC students. This year, the
library has not started functioning properly because of delays and different issues
arising in the process. Nevertheless, a library team was formed at the end of the
academic year.
During their first meeting, those participating came up with some ideas to expand the
library and make it popular among the students. Other students (outside of the library
team) voiced their opinions on how the library should be run in order to make it useful
to the LUC students. Currently the library has over 300 books in stock (academic and
fiction). It also has over 100 DVDs and 50 academic journals. Next year, the aim is to
set up a system that will allow the current library stock to be more used by LUC
students.

Sponsorship Team

Chair:

Cox Bogaards

Board:

Olivia Kelnreiter

The Sponsorship team's aim was to provide LUC students with discounts, with its first
goal specifically to make a discount booklet for the new first years. However, due to
circumstances, this did not happen.

Victoria Smit
Wietse van den Bos
Raven Hoogendorp

In the beginning of the year, the team aimed to get discounts and put them on the
Fortuna website. The team printed stickers and brainstormed about ways to tackle
sponsorship issues. However, in the end again this did not succeed.
For next year, it is extremely important that a clear goal is set and that regular
meetings are held, to be able to keep track of progress and motivate each other.

22

STUDENT REPRESENTATI ON
WI THI N THE COL L EGE
Whilst student representation no longer falls under the mission of
Fortuna, the association took it on as a responsibility this year, due to
lack of another body dealing with concerns being raised.
Many students raised concerns this year that they were not being involved in college decisions and they were not aware of the
changes the college was making. The Fortuna board therefore set up a taskforce which investigated student representation at
the college. Following consultation with University College Utrecht and Amsterdam University College five action points were
decided upon jointly by a group of students and the College Board.

1. Meetings every block with an informal student forum

The College Board will strive to meet once a block (and minimally once a semester) with the students of the Programme, College
and Faculty Councils, the senior Residential Assistant the student member of the Programme Board and the Fortuna Chair.
These students will act as an informal student forum. Non-confidential minutes will be made available to all students.

2. Programme Council and College Council reports

The Programme and College Council will both compile reports each block on the work they have done. These will include the
advice they have sent to the Programme and College Board, and the reaction to that advice.

3. Results from student course evaluations

The College Board will ask the academic staff if course evaluation results could be published on a local Intranet.

4. Open office hours: Programme Council and College Council

The Programme and College Council student members will have open office hours, in which they will be allowed to discuss the
activity of their councils and then ultimately bring up student suggestions to the Programme and College Board.

5. Induction for Programme Council and College Council members

The Programme and College Council student and staff members will have a proper induction upon being elected/appointed,
where they learn exactly what powers they have, and what their role is.

A student representatives system existed in 2014/15 to

ensure better representation in the association.

WI THI N FORTUNA

The student representatives system was introduced by the first General Assembly as a means to increase representation within
Fortuna, and to better engage and inform the student body. The system was voted in with 119 votes in favour and 17 against. A
representative was elected for each floor of AvB, and four representatives were elected to represent students living outside AvB.
The representative assembly convened about once a month, and discussed the Fortuna board minutes and other ad hoc things,
such as where to hold parties and how to deal with limited bike space for students. A delegation of student representatives also
organised the South America Day and another delegation helped write LUC's new Social Honour Code.
In May 2015 the General Assembly discussed whether the student representatives were necessary, as students could approach
the Fortuna board directly if they needed to. The General Assembly dissolved the student representatives system with 119 votes
in favour and 18 against.

23

FINANCE SUMMARY
The first General Assembly passed the annual
budget, drafted by the Treasurer of the Fortuna
board. This is the predicted expenditure in the chart
to the left. It is compared to the actual expenditure,
correct as of 31-07-2015.
The total expenditure tended to approximately match
the predicted expenditure. Note that under
'Interaction with other UCs', the total cost is an
estimation as Fortuna has yet to receive an invoice
for their membership of the UCSRN.

COMMITTEE FINANCES
Some committees and teams did not manage to spend
their entire budget, hence the approximately ?3,000
difference between the predicted and total committee
expenditure. The semester review of the annual budget
helped to make this difference smaller.
Next year, the Fortuna board should help stimulate
committees to utilise as much of their available budget
as possible, and present a semester review of the
annual budget as was done this year.
Sportsco, Fortuna's biggest committee, spent the most
of all committees, followed by PAX.
Dies Fatalis, Beyond Arts and LUC Humanity alll spent
much less than they had expected to. Next year, new
committee boards should look at their spending this year when deciding what funds to request.
The buffer left for 2015/16 will be ?12,857.75. This is a relatively small decrease in the buffer. This buffer is extremely
important because it gives future boards the ability to invest. Moreover, it can also be used by the board of 2015/16
for the Lustrum.
The annual financial report has a much more in depth look at these finances.

24

FORTUNA ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE SURVEY:

FORTUNA BOARD
In order to evaluate the performance of the Fortuna Association as well as the board, a survey was sent out to
students. The survey was open for 15 working day and 150 Fortuna members participated. Here are some of the
results:

1. The board is transparent in its decision-making:

4. I am satisfied with the current board:

Strongly disagree

12.5%

Strongly disagree

8.0%

Disagree

43.75%

Disagree

15.0%

Agree

37.5%

Agree

62.0%

Strongly agree

6.25%

Strongly agree

15.0%

2. The board members are easy to reach:

5. I feel like the current board engages all years equally:

Strongly disagree

13.1%

Strongly disagree

3.5%

Disagree

33.3%

Disagree

7.0%

Agree

49.3%

Agree

64.5%

Strongly agree

4.3%

Strongly agree

25.0%

3. The board members facilitate the functioning of the

association:
Strongly disagree

3.0%

Disagree

11.7%

Agree

66.0%

Strongly agree

19.3%

RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) The Fortuna board should aim to involve more students in decision making. Given the General Assembly's decision to
dissolve the student representatives, this may be challenging for the new board. The first step may be finding an accessible way
to inform students of what is discussed in board meetings.
2) The Fortuna board should make sure to not exclude third/fourth years in events, especially when they take place in AvB.

25

FORTUNA ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE SURVEY:

COMMITTEES
6. The committee affairs officers are easy to reach:

9. Committees are democratic in their decision-making:

Strongly disagree

1.5%

Disagree

16.0%

Strongly disagree

6.5%

Agree

65.0%

Disagree

37.0%

Strongly agree

17.5%

Agree

50.0%

Strongly agree

6.5%

10. I feel like I am an important member of my

committee:

7. Committees are easy to join:

Strongly disagree

3.5%

Disagree

10.0%

Agree

59.7%

Strongly agree

26.8%

Strongly disagree

5.3%

Disagree

12.3%

Agree

56.8%

Strongly agree

25.6%

8. Committees fulfill their purpose and goals:

Strongly disagree

1.3%

Disagree

11.3%

Agree

73.3%

Strongly agree

14.1%

RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS:

1) Committee boards should try to make an even bigger effort to involve their members in decisions about the committee.
2) Committees should encourage open elections for vacant board positions.

26

CLOSING REMARKS
Thank you to the College Board, faculty and staff of LUC for your continued support of Fortuna.

Thank you to Evi Zaborszky, Maxime Boumans and the LUC.ID committee for the photos in this report.

Thank you to Oliver Antczak and Nadine Froughi, for helping the board with design and communication work
whilst we were without an internal communications officer and Ivanna Yurkiv for assisting the board, especially
the chair and secretary, throughout the year.

Thank you to the previous boards of Fortuna for helping build an association this College can be proud of.

A special thanks to Tijmen, Cox, Thomas, Bene, Stuart, Joe and Jan. Throughout this year, you sacrificed
your academic and social life to build an environment which best supports all the students at our college. Often,
your diligence and dedication went unnoticed, but you all made my year, and every LUC students' year, much
more enjoyable.

Most importantly, thank you to all the committee board members, housing council members, student
representatives, bar staff and anyone else who took on a voluntary role within Fortuna - it is because of
you that our association offers everything it can, and it is because of you, that we can be proud of our
community here at LUC.

I hope everyone stays involved in and committed to our association, and I hope that in the years to come, we
can build an even better Fortuna. Have a great Lustrum year, and all the best for the future.

Samuel Hopcroft
Chair of Fortuna 2014/15

BOARD MEMBERS 2015/16

Chair

Jelle Dorst

Secretary

Arthur Holthaus

Treasurer

Sophie Auton

Committee Affairs Officer

Joost Thuis

Committee Affairs Officer

Myrthe Kemme

Internal Communications Officer

Stuart Smith
27

Fort una St udent Associat ion