Hereby we would like to present to you the outcomes of the ASIC Elections. After hours of eloquent speeches and fierce debate the following persons have been elected to hold office in the All Students Interest Council 2010-2011:

• Chair: Gert van Vugt
• Vice-Chair: Dennis Ramondt
• Secretary/Treasurer: Ralph van der Maat
• Academic Advisor: Richard Bartels
• Executive Officer: Loes Loning

After an intense transition period, this new team of revolutionaries will be there to represent your interests at any subject in the academic year 2010-2011.
Below you will find a table with the total number of votes cast for each candidate.

We would again like to thank everyone who has helped out and made these elections the success it has become.

Lovingly yours,
ASIC 2009-2010

Niels Brants
Irina Toma
Berend Booms
Mischa Schirris
Kees Oude Lenferink

Vote count

Chair
Gert van Vugt: 257
Julie Arends: 38
Abstain: 41

Vice-chair
Dennis Ramondt: 184
Tim Schoot Uiterkamp: 103
Abstain: 49

Secretary / Treasurer
Ralph van der Maat: 271
Abstain: 65

Academic Advisor
Richard Bartels 158
Neelam Melwani 110
Abstain: 68

Executive Officer
Loes Loning: 165
Hans de Blooy: 131
Abstain: 40

Have a good look at the list below, these are the current candidates for the ASIC Elections to be held this coming Thursday. Their Election Statements can be read in Dining Hall as well as on this website. To do so, please click on the name of the candidate to read his or her election statement.

Chair: Gert van Vugt, Julie Arends
Vice-Chair: Dennis Ramondt, Tim Schoot Uiterkamp
Secretary & Treasurer: Ralph van der Maat
Academic Advisor: Richard Bartels, Neelam Melwani
Executive Officer: Loes Loning, Hans de Blooy

The possibility to run for the ASIC board of 2010-2011 still exists! All you need to do is send in your election statement before Sunday, midnight, to asic@uu.nl. If you feel you are fit for the job, do not hesitate and send in your election statement now!

Lovingly yours,

ASIC 2009-2010

Niels Brants

Irina Toma

Berend Booms

Mischa Schirris

Kees Oude Lenferink

as the academic year slowly crawls to its end, so does the term of ASIC 2009-2010. Though sad as it may be for us, this gives YOU the opportunity to make a difference in academic ánd non-academic issues next year!

Therefore, we are proud to announce that the ASIC Elections will be held on:

Thursday April 22nd
Auditorium, 19h30

What is ASIC?

ASIC is the All Students Interest Council and as such, we represent your interests in all academic and residential issues you can think of.

ASIC bridges the gap between the students and College Hall when it comes to academic issues such as the quality of your courses and professors, graduation requirements, language tests, class attendance and academic rules and regulations. As the main representatives of the student body we take seats in the College Council and College Board and have an important vote on all academic issues. Also, we work on residential issues such as creating and maintaining student lounges, improving Dining Hall’s menu and structure, opening the Meditation Room for all to use, and getting wireless internet on campus. Lastly, we have adopted some other services; we for example organize semesterly book sales and rent out bikes and ovens for you to borrow.

The positions within the ASIC board are:

* Chair
* Vice-Chair
* Secretary & Treasurer
* Academic Advisor
* Executive Officer

Even though the ASIC members generally function together as a team and take on several projects of their personal interest, some issues are specific for a certain position. A small description of the different positions within ASIC can be found below.

Chair

Within the ASIC board, the Chair is the one keeping the team together and coordinating the different tasks across the board members. Being the one ultimately responsible for all the decisions being taken, he/she is the one keeping an overview of what is happening. The Chair chairs all the ASIC board meetings and takes on an important position within the College Council.
Outside the ASIC board, the Chair is the main face of ASIC to the general public, and is thus present at different meetings with the administration, social events and gatherings, and some meetings with external parties. The Chair must be able to keep in close contact with the student population, has a clear vision of where ASIC should be heading in the future, is charismatic and open for anyone to approach.

Vice-Chair

The Vice-Chair is not (merely) the right hand of the Chair, as the title may imply. One of the most important tasks of the Vice-Chair is being the only Student Representative within the College Board, where most decisions on UC policy are made. The Vice-Chair thus keeps in close contact with the ‘higher’ ranks of the administration, such as the Dean, and makes sure to be kept informed about any developments within College Hall. Besides that, the Vice-Chair has enough space and time within its function to adopt other projects that are vital in ASIC’s success outside of College Hall.

Secretary and Treasurer

Secretary, External Representative, Treasurer: it’s too long of a title and is normally thus shortened to Secretary, but it involves much more than solely taking minutes at ASIC meetings. The ASIC Secretary is the main responsible one for organizing the semesterly ASIC book sales, which are not only important for the students but also play a key role in ASIC’s functioning since they generate most of ASIC’s funds. Therefore, it is not illogical that the Secretary also serves as a Treasurer and decides where ASIC’s growing budget is allocated to. He/she also officially serves as the External Representative towards parties such as New Bricks, the U-Raad, and RASA. Lastly, he/she plays an important role as the Secretary in the College Council.
A Secretary has great organizational skills and is able to keep a clear overview of everything that’s going on. He/she is precise, diligent, trustworthy, socially skilled, open and helpful.

Academic Advisor

The Academic Advisor is in charge of providing the students’ viewpoint on all academic issues at UCU. He/she keeps in frequent contact with students to find out what they experience as needing improvement or lacking at UCU, yet at the same time the Academic Advisor lobbies and negotiates with the Heads of Departments and the Director of Education. The Academic Advisor chairs meetings with student representatives from each department and organizes informative events with them, while in the process of proposing new policies and being in informal contact with different people across the college, from tutors to fellows. An Academic Advisor is hard-working and very easily approachable. He/she knows a lot about UC academics and regulations, and is not pinned down on improving just one department or issue.
With the higher authorities, the Academic Advisor is a negotiator with courage and patience.

Executive Officer

The Executive Officer is formally in charge of dealing with all residential/non-academic issues such as Dining Hall and student housing. Consequently, the Executive Officer remains in close contact with the Dining Hall staff, the facility manager, housemaster, Landlord, and Managing Director. Furthermore, the Executive Officer is a member of the College Council; he/she keeps in contact with the maintainers of the vending machines; and the Executive Officer looks after the ASIC Services. Also, and importantly with regards to the near future, the Executive Officer is in charge of the Lounges around campus and seeks to maintain and develop them.

A good Executive Officer is active and involved around campus and knows what students want or is willing to explore it. He/she is a diplomat with the managing staff, a know-it-all and a handyman.

ASIC would like to inform you that even though the bike shed under the Kromhout residents is commonly known as the Kromhout bikeshed, and serves its function as a bike storage area for said units, you can actually get access to it even if you don’t live there! For all former residents that left a bike there, owners of misplaced bikes or hobo’s, contact Gert Pater to get access to the Kromhout bike shed!

Student IT Helpdesk

The UCU student helpdesk is an organization made up of students skilled in both computer software and hardware. The helpdesk’s primary task is to assist system management in the maintenance of the UCU computer facilities. Students can report to the helpdesk in case they encounter computer related problems, such as: their cable network connection and wireless networks provided by UU, if they suspect their computer being infected with a virus, solismail, workspaces, etc.

Office hours: Sunday - Thursday, 8-10 p.m.
Office location: Quiet Area, Voltaire North, 1st floor
Contact: ucu.helpdesk@uu.nl

Also, other information is posted on the UCU intranet (home > students > it facilities).

Utrecht municipality council elections

As you may know, the quadrennial municipality elections are coming up. On March 3rd you can cast your vote for the Utrecht municipality council. The election booth is conveniently located in the Dining Hall lounge.Be aware that voting is not restricted to Dutch nationals! If you are EU citizen, or if you are not but have lived in the Netherlands for at least 5 years, you can also do your democratic duty (source).

Not quite sure yet what to vote? Take a test at Stemwijzer.nl (made by an independent organisation, Dutch language only) and see what party fits best with you.

Lost and found: Toolkit

Quite a while ago a grey toolkit with a blue handle was borrowed from the ASIC Office. Insofar this item has not been returned to our office. If you are currently in the possession of this toolkit or know where it is, we would greatly appreciate it if you return it to our office during office hours.Lost something yourself? Found items are often taken to ASIC, so just come by our office and hopefully we can return your lost item.

Not only did we manage to give you an extra hour in the academic buildings, we also provide you with the energy you need to keep studying for as long as possible! Every night at 9 UCSA and ASIC will hand out all the sweets, chips and drinks you need to make these nights as productive as they probably have to be.

Kind regards,

ASIC ‘09-’10

We’ve got you covered!

If you have any additional comments, please share your thoughts with us by sending an e-mail or by dropping by in our office.

If UC is your gap, ASIC is your bridge
ASIC - We’ve got you covered!

ASIC ‘09-’10 would like to present to you the summary of the final Budget Cut Proposal. A lot of rumors and discussions are going on around campus right now about how the curriculum will look starting from next year. Indeed it is the most important change that has affected UCU ever since it’s establishment so the current document hopes to explain the final measures that are being discussed now between the administration, teachers, tutors and students. As you will see in the attachment which you received in the ASIC informs, some of the measures are quite innovative and would require major course redesigning, restructuring and harsh decisions about what is vital to the Liberal Arts and Sciences Education and what needs to go in a time of economical crisis.

Science Department Students Meeting: Thursday, November 19th, 20.00, Newton UpstairsSocial Science Students Meeting: Monday, November 23rd, 20.00, Locke

Humanities Students Meeting: Monday, November 23rd, 20.00, Voltaire

For further information, please check your email for messages from the Students Representatives of your department. Lastly, if you would like to read the final, unabridged Budget Cut document, please send an email to asic@uu.nl with the title ‘Student Budget Cut’ and we will send you the full document. Also, we look forward to welcoming you in our office if you feel you want to talk to us about it.For now please read the attachment for more information.

If UC is your budget cut, ASIC is your student meeting
ASIC - We’ve got you covered!

• 15% cut on education budget resulting in 12% of our classes being cut; will you still be able to finish your Major?
  More info

• Wednesday morning classes; are they going to be permanent?
  More info

• Living off campus; will you be living in the city center in your 3th year?
  More info

All the information you need to be a part of these discussion can be found on our website by following the links above.Do not be afraid that if you have not read the documents you cannot participate; all topics will be introduced during the AGORA as well. Your opinions are vital for us to be able to represent you will in the meetings we have with the administration, so drop by, speak up and, while having a free drink, make sure that this college stays on the right track!