- Student
- 19/09/2025
Students protest housing shortage with street rave
A convoy of vehicles will roll through downtown Eindhoven on Saturday afternoon, making plenty of noise along the way. It’s a protest march organized by the youth to draw attention to the housing shortage. Two TU/e students are helping with the organization.
Twenty vehicles, several bands, and dozens of DJs will parade past Eindhoven hotspots tomorrow between 2:00 and 7:00 p.m., delivering a hefty dose of decibels. The driving force behind the protest is 21-year-old Rigo van Son, who is being supported with the organization of the event by clubconcept Haven at youth organization and music venue Dynamo. Soon after, several collectives in the city joined in, each representing their own music genre and/or subculture. Choosing a street rave as form of protest was therefore an obvious step.
Punk
Each collective will contribute its own vehicle, blasting its signature sound through the streets. TU/e student Stijn van Doornum (Computer Science & Engineering), involved through the techno collective Puin, is partly responsible for marketing the protest. The team deliberately chose a rebellious tone. “We drew inspiration from the roots of using music as a tool for protest: the punk scene. It does feel rebellious — you’re making a lot of noise while moving through the city.”
Van Doornum himself has been fortunate in finding housing, he explains. “But many of my international friends have struggled to find a place.” In the past, he even housed students without a permanent address. “They had been couchsurfing for a while because they just couldn’t find housing. We had the space for them.” They have since become some of his closest friends. “So something beautiful did came out of this as well.”
Stuck
TU/e student Teun van den Braak (Innovation Management) is involved through Melting Pot, a collective for electronic music and art. He sat down with the police and the municipality to help ensure the protest runs smoothly. Although he lives comfortably himself, he sees the housing crisis all around him. “I have friends who are still living at home, and whose parents would really like them to move out, but they simply can’t find a place. I see the same with friends who are already working, even though they have a bigger budget. The problems are massive.”
That is why Van den Braak decided to commit himself to the housing crisis. “What I find most important is that people who are so frustrated about this entire situation — who truly can’t get started and find themselves stuck in their personal development — get the chance to make their voices heard.”
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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