A day in the life of a student in 2025:

7:30 a.m. boulder training at the (fortunately still cheap) SSCE
8:45 a.m. lecture on Power System Stability and Dynamics
10:45 a.m. break, read an article about the presence of extremist rightwing ideas in the Dutch army
11:30 a.m. modelling of a single phase Grid converter
12:45 p.m. lunch with friends, discuss the blackbagging of US citizens in America, and if such a thing will happen here anytime soon
13:30 p.m. lecture on Submarine and Underground Cables
15:30 p.m. discussion about climate disaster and the challenges the power system still faces in becoming sustainable
18:00 p.m. quick dinner in the Scala Kitchen, cheap and home made by amazing volunteers
19:00 p.m. salsa lesson
21:00 p.m. have a drink with roommates
23:00 p.m. bedtime!

We are living in a very tumultuous time. A Dutch Minister spends valueable time preventing children that fled from war zones from getting a trip to the Efteling, distracting us from our higher education being hollowed out. Looming in the back of everyone’s mind - in the heat of this year's April - is a climate disaster barreling towards us only slightly slowed down by the solar panels we are installing. Politicians demanding less rights and less freedom of speech. There is a genocide being carried out by Israel, Russia is still invading Ukraine. I get a gnawing feeling of inability. What can I do for a world that feels like it’s already going down the drain?

Powerlessness

I wonder if this is something that is felt by all students, not just those that are more politically inclined. Having been a member of the University Council (UC), I am used to being bombarded with things that are wrong, whether they are sustainability, the right to protest or social safety. However, I was also given paths to create change (or at least that felt like I could create change). I had quite a direct influence in the functioning of the university. Now that I am no longer a member of the UC, I feel a lot of powerlessness. I study, exercise, see my friends. I do all the things that one needs to do to be a good student, but I still have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind: “Am I just standing by?”

On the 4^th of May, next to the victims of the Second World War and other victims of war, I thought about my family who were impacted by their time in history. One of my great-grandfathers was a Jewish banker who went into hiding with his family, for obvious reasons. My other great-grandfather was a civil engineer with a comfortable management position at a public service. He was not Jewish, but he still needed to go into hiding. The public service he worked at was the Nederlandse Spoorwegen and he was part of the organization of the February strike in 1941.

Poem

The famous poem by Martin Niemöller always comes to my mind when discussing WWII:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out
     Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
     Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
     Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

My great-grandfathers are in this poem. They came after one, and the other spoke out. Back then, not enough people spoke out, and it let to the disaster of their time. Our time once again demands people to speak out for the few besieged to prevent intolerance from taking power.

New avenues

I am worried about the state of the world. There is no doubt about it, fascism is back. AfD is the second largest party of Germany, our minister of immigration tries to disregard the High Court of the Netherlands and in the US they are trying and succeeding to disregard the right for a fair process. Recently I found a way to ease my mind. Not by turning off the news, but by finding new avenues for action. I joined a political party. An environment filled with people with the same drive for change, and experienced people who can guide my efforts in a way that works for me. It costs as little as 2 euros a month, and for more peace of mind, to me that is a good deal. Try it for yourself and let me know if it works for you as well!

Lucas van Bentum is a master student in Electrical Energy Systems at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.