- Student
- 09/09/2025
Behind the scenes | Juul Verheijen, full-time Commissioner
From technicians to schedulers and from IT staff to cafeteria workers: it takes a lot of hands to keep TU/e running smoothly. Who are these people behind the scenes? In this series, Cursor shines the spotlight on TU/e employees. This time: student Juul Verheijen, full-time Commisioner of Extraordinary Activities at the Mechanical Engineering (ME) study association Simon Stevin.
Fourth-year ME student Juul Verheijen spent the past academic year as one of six board members of Simon Stevin. At September 10, the 68th board will be succeeded by a new seven-member team. Simon Stevin is the oldest study association at TU/e and has nearly as many members as there are ME students. Many of those members are actively involved in the association; Verheijen estimates the number at about 130. We meet him in the brand-new bar in the basement of Gemini-Noord, most easily reached via the lowered terrace on the MetaForum side. The hardest thing about the bar is its name: De Weeghconst. That’s old Dutch for “art of weighing” and comes from the book De Beghinselen der Weeghconst by the scientist Simon Stevin himself.
What time do you clock in?
“The doors to our space open at 8:30 in the morning. We do that so our members can grab a coffee or a soft drink before classes start. Some even have breakfast here with their own food or a toasted sandwich from the bar. At lunchtime, plenty of sandwiches are eaten; in a regular month we sell about 150 toasted sandwiches.
I’m not always here that early. Every weekday, two of the six board members are present. A lot of students drop by with questions. Now that we’ve only just moved into the renovated Gemini-Noord, most of those questions are about where to find lecture halls or offices.”
What does your role involve?
“I’m responsible for the bar, for maintaining ties with the Wervingsdagen career fair, and for supervising committees. I make sure the bar runs smoothly: that there are people to pour drinks, there is sufficient stock, finances are in order, and contracts with supplier Grolsch are accurate.
Simon Stevin has 25 committees, ranging from serious to more social. I’m responsible for, among others, the crafting committee (which organizes workshops like leatherworking or making wooden beer mugs, ed.).”
Why take on a role that demands full-time commitment as a student?
“As a first-year during Intro, my ‘Intro moms’ were also board members. I immediately felt at home at Simon Stevin and soon joined one committee after another. A board year interested me because it’s something I can learn a lot from and it’s a way to give back to the association that has given me so much. I’ve really noticed my personal growth. And I even managed to pass two courses alongside it.”
What’s special about Simon Stevin this year?
“In May we moved from Traverse to this new space in Gemini-Noord. It’s wonderful to see how everything eventually came together. We’ve been able to add our own touch with unique items. For example, the tree stump we use for the game ‘nail hammering,’ and the scale that shows how much beer is left in a keg.”
What’s the best part of this job?
“Seeing our members come here to relax. Our three pillars are education, career, and leisure, and we devote attention to all of them. Every Wednesday we host a company for a lunch lecture, and our education commissioner organizes study sessions. But the best part is definitely leisure in De Weeghconst, and I love that we can provide that.”
And the least enjoyable part?
“To be honest, the process of building the new bar was sometimes frustrating. There were constant delays, we barely managed to get the liquor license from the municipality, and many of our questions remained unanswered. There were moments when it really wasn’t fun. The cooling system we wanted to bring here from Traverse, for example, didn’t fit because the bar was built too low. The original plan was to move in January, but we had to postpone several times. Another downside is that we’re not allowed to use glasses on the terrace. That wasn’t clear for a long time, and now we have to work with hard cups. But we’ve managed to find a solution for everything.”
What time do you clock out, and what comes next?
“We close the doors of the members’ space at 4:30 p.m., except on Thursdays, when we have drinks until 8 p.m. at the latest. After tidying up, we lock everything away and check whether there are still board tasks to be handled. Then I bike home in ten minutes and have dinner with housemates or other students. One or two evenings a week I also have a Simon activity.”
Was your opening party on September 4 the biggest event you (co-)organized?
“No. The biggest party we’ve had was the German borrel. That’s a big one every year. We only drink wheat beer, and this year we drank it from large wooden mugs.”
Why do so many students walk around with ripped polos tied around their waists?
“Those are the incoming board members. The polos are so torn they can no longer be worn. The tears happen because every member is allowed to pull on their shirt when they make a mistake, for example, arriving late or not doing a task correctly after it’s been explained multiple times.” As Juul explains this, it becomes clear that not everyone in De Weeghconst knows that you’re only supposed to rip when an actual mistake is made. “I rip polos without any reason,” says a former board member lounging on the couch. “That’s just fun, right?”
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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