Issue 1: October 16, 2015 by IBCoMagazine

Issue 1: October 16, 2015

! y a D n o ti a du

Gra

g Celebratin

with

15 (p. 0 2 f o s s la the c

10)

MEET THE NEW

STAFF

p. 16

HOW TO PARTY LIKE A

FRESHMAN

p. 22

WE HAVE A

BLOG!

Check out our brandnew platform:

ibcomag.wordpress.com

L A I R O T I D E

ew Year’s day has always been my favourite holiday, because it signifies a blank slate that can be filled with overly ambitious goals. It’s quite similar to the start of an academic year, however, to my dismay, excluding the fireworks and champagne. Before class starts in September, I like to make a list of ‘academic’ New Years resolutions. I vow to read all the (mandatory) literature, go to each lecture, not wait until the night before a deadline, and get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Of course, my goals have to be materialized to keep me on track. So I march into HEMA and splurge on multi-coloured notebooks and adorable tiny highlighters. With a false sense of security and an abundance of colourful school supplies, I am ready to take on the New Year. Fast-forward to six weeks later, and my tiny highlighters remain unused. The year started of with a whole bunch of fresh impressions, such as; different courses, confusing buildings (how is there never enough space in Polak??) and new people.

However, as the leaves are falling, so do I, into an academic slump. I see the piles of group papers and untouched academic readings that surround us. How on earth do we get through another 3 terms? The answer is simple: we relive the initial excitement of the new academic year, and get a perspective of what the future has in store for us. IBCoMagazine is here to help you revive your spirits with an extremely wide range of articles. We take a retrospective look at major events, such as Eurekaweek, Boot camp, and graduation. We explore our current opportunities as we find out more about AIESEC, how we can help with the refugee crisis, and possibilities for doing an exchange or minor. Also, we get the inside scoop of international students, the new IBCoM staff, and even why Miley Cyrus isn’t such a bad person. Overall, this issue is packed with content that will get you pumped up for the upcoming year. It will be an especially exciting year for the new IBCoMagazine Team. If you haven’t seen it being spammed on your Facebook wall, our new blog (www.ibcomag. wordpress.com) is up and running! We envision IBCoMagazine as a multi-media platform where we can all interact, inspire, and make each other laugh about silly things. After all, this is not only our magazine, but also our year. This blank slate can be filled in with whatever we want. We got this. Jessica van Wijgerden, Editor-in-Chief, IBCoMagazine 20152016

IBCoM EVENTS 04 READY FOR TAKE OFF 07 KICKING OFF THE YEAR WITH BOOTCAMP 2015! 09 GRADUATE REFLECTIONS 14 A GLIMPSE AT THE NEW IBCOM STAFF 16 THE WORLD LARGEST STUDENTS’ ORGANISATION: AIESEC

THE STUDENT’S LIFE 18 THE TRANSITIONING OF WORLDS 22 BEST FRESHMEN PARTY, SO FAR 21 THE NEW BEGINING 23 MYSTERIOUS MINOR 26 WHY SAY YES TO EXCHANGE?

ENTERTAINMENT 28 MEDIA HEADLINES 30 ROFFA VS DAMSKO 32 GOING BEYOND THE GOSSIP: MILEY CYRUS 34 THINGS TO DO ON CAMPUS NEWS 36 THE REFUGEE CRISIS: WE DONATE TO HELP EDUCATE

CONTENT 3

READY FOR TAKE-OFF

An overview of Eurekaweek 2015, by Lianne Dusseldorp

Becoming an IBCoM student means a lot of things, not only do you start a new study but you might also move to a different city. Your student life awaits and you want to take every opportunity to make the most out of it. To help you figuring out how to do so, all first year students were invited to participate in a four-day-meeting with Rotterdam: the Eurekaweek. From the 17th until the 20th of August, the city was flooded by new students who all shared the same purpose: Getting to know the city, the university, fellow classmates and most importantly getting a taste of student life.

Traditionally, each year has a theme which characterizes the beginning of new period in life, this year the theme was: takeoff to space, or actually, to student life. On Monday morning the 17th of August, this â&#x20AC;&#x153;takeoffâ&#x20AC;? took place in de Doelen. With sleep in my eyes, I found my way from the crazy queues for the registration to the Willem Burger Zaal, where all groups of the international studies were gathered. After some introductions and a long wait, loud music, multiple rotating lights and a voice, which reminded me more of a TV-presenter than a professor, that finally indicated the ...

beginning of the ceremony. Introduction speeches, video clips, advertising by student and sports associations followed each other rapidly and before I knew, I was standing outside again in the pouring rain. The programme continued with a trip to campus for lunch and a short tour and ended at student association NSR for dinner. However, the highlight of the first day was the evening programme, which consisted of the Eurekaweek launch party followed by different parties of all student associations in Rotterdam. After having a great time in Maasgebouw, where acts such as Eva Simons put everyone in the mood we continued the party at a student association. Several busses were set up to bring as many students as possible to the different student association houses. Although it seemed easy to just hop on a bus, it was your own responsibility to find your way back home. A tip for future participants: it is advisable to either arrange a bike, or to party until you can take the first metro in the morning. The first night I ended up at Laurentius. Besides a party the association offered a great place to chill and get to know your fellow students.

In the meantime, members walked around trying to convince every first year to join the association, which sometimes resulted in not more than just some drunk rambling. An abundance of cheap beer and many laughs at the photo booth made the party a success, as it went on until the last partygoers left to catch a few hours of sleep before having to get up for Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schedule. For me, this 2nd day schedule kicked-off with a boat trip on the Maas, as my group did not belong to the die-hards who got up early for breakfast. . Although we got to see a different side of Rotterdam, the trip consisted mainly out of freezing, taking pictures and hearing horrible stories from each other about the places some people stayed. You see, in case you did not own a room yet, it possible to stay either at campus or one tions. of the houses of a student associations. For many people, the choice was easily made because the associations did not charge you anything. However, staying at one of the houses was at oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own risk, as you could not predict where you would end up. It could either be good or very bad.

The unlucky ones who experienced the latter, had to put up with things such as having to wake up to a smelly room or having to wait two hours in the middle of the night before being able to even get into their room. Although the student associations saw the Eurekaweek as the best opportunity to recruit members, having to stay at one of the houses sometimes only resulted in scaring the first years off. Doing a hygiene check of all houses might therefore be a good idea for next year, as well as providing more keys…

In my case, this started with dinner at the Erasmus sports building, followed by a little cocktail workshop from Rotterdam by Night and ended with a party at RSG. Keeping the big crowd from the previous night in mind, I skipped Mr. Polska at RSG and went to SSR instead, as this was the only study association which I had not visited yet. The best thing SSR offered? Two words: Domino’s pizza, which you could get for almost the same amount of coins as a beer. Trust me, it was worth it.

Putting the horrors stories aside, it was time to focus on Tuesday’s comedy night and the famous beer cantus, from which my group chose to join the latter. I think it is fair for me to say that this was probably one of the highlights of the whole week. Although some international students had trouble singing along with artists such as Guus Meeuwis and Marco Borsato, they luckily seemed to enjoy it as much as the Dutch students did. Later, my group and I continued the party at RSC and RVSV, partly out of curiosity for the performance of Dave Roelvink. Unfortunately, we turned out not to be the only ones, as it was almost impossible to breath as soon as he came on stage. Although it might seem fun to go see such acts, next year’s participants should also keep in mind that these artists attract full houses, making it sometimes rather a nightmare than fun.

After three amazing days, it was time for the last activities. Keeping in mind that probably all participants were exhausted by this time, the organisation had opted for a relaxed schedule for Thursday, which started with a brunch at Kralingse Plas and was followed by either the Down to Earth festival or Eureka speakers. The latter gave its listeners some insight into the life of an Erasmus alumni but I went to the festival to enjoy the music, get my fortune told and meet some other IBCoMers. Around 5 o’clock, we headed to café Beurs for a barbeque, Night of the Songs and the closing party. While it got a different name, Night of the Songs was basically beer cantus, as we got to sing along to some old classics and, obviously, drink beer.

Rotterdam is definitely, “de allermooiste rotstad die er is.”

While some maybe stayed in bed to sleep off the hangover the next day, there was also the possibility to visit either the information market or the Ready for Sport event at Excelsior stadium. Both events offered a great opportunity to get more information or do activities regarding several associations, as well as a place to relax and save some energy for the evening programme.

Arms were put around the shoulders of new made friends and the already raspy voices went through hell again to sing ‘Het Rotterdamlied’ for one last time, before the whole club went down during the closing party. With sore feet, I left Villa Thalia in the early morning with some fellow classmates, whom I could call friends by this time. We looked back on four memorable days from which we all could conclude one thing: Rotterdam is definitely, “de allermooiste rotstad die er is.”

KICKING OFF THE YEAR WITH BOOTCAMP 2015! By Nympha Richardson

s the tradition stands, Bootcamp 2015 opened up the official schoolyear for the newest batch of IBCOM students.

The Staff Introductions were held in the newly opened Polak building, before the students all headed off to Bruinisse, Zeeland where the Bootcamp was being held. The goal, as usual, is for the new 1st year students to get to know their classmates and even some 2nd year students as well.

After lunch, 1st year students, 2nd year Ibcompanions and even IBCoM staff all lined up for a speed-dating exercise where everyone got to communicate with more people than they could count and the first connections were being made. Once this was over, the groups were shuffled again and set to partake in the 2015 IBCoM Olympics! As an outsider looking in, the IBCoM Olympics is easily the most entertaining activity to watch. Among others, the

games included a biscuit eating challenge which sounds a lot easier than it actually is, the always exciting game of charades, some actually intellectually stimulating games and of course, the famous Dutch game dubbed ‘nailpooping’ (spijkerpoepen). Following the Olympics, and of course, dinner, students were given some free time to continue getting acquainted with each other before the Around the World themed party began. Seeing as IBCoM is such a multicultural community, the Around the World themed party asked students to dress up representing their country! In some cases, this was as simple as an orange jersey, while in others, people dressed up in traditional outfits and even had their flags painted on their cheeks (thanks Vicky!). It’s not an everyday occurrence that you get to be served drinks by lecturers and staff,

and it’s safe to say that the students definitely took advantage of it before heading off to a small bar in Bruinisse to continue the night. The next day, everyone was grouped together in the main hall for some of the last activities before heading back to Rotterdam. We even had some surprises, like when a 1st year took the stage and decided to beautifully perform for us! Even though everyone was exhausted, spirits were still high and we’re sure everyone had an amazing time at Bootcamp! Want a better impression of Bootcamp or want to relive every second of it? Head over to IBCoMagazine’s Facebook page where there’s a link to the full album available.

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Seeing as IBCoM is such a multicultural community, the Around the World themed vparty asked students to dress up representing their country!”

GRADUATE REFLECTIONS By Nympha Richardson

hile the past few weeks have been the start or continuation of studies for many IBCoM’s students, October 1st marked the official end of the journey for the 2015 graduates! !This year’s graduates are the fourth group of students to complete the program since its launch in 2009. We asked a few graduates, Monika Nikolava, Frank Holleman, and Katharina Baev for some tips for current students as well as some questions to paint an idea of how their journeys have been as IBCoM students! Monika is a 22 year old from Bulgaria, while Frank is 23 and Dutch (but grew up in Switzerland) and Katharina is a 21 year old German/Bulgarian. After completing IBCoM this past year, all three started the MScBA Masters in Management program at the Rotterdam School of Management.

FH: International and Global Communication and Cultural Influences on Communication. These were my favorite because they both had this philosophical touch. They both explained underlying mechanisms but also effects of communication, and illustrated what an extremely subtle yet powerful force communication is. I will never forget Augé’s lectures on propaganda and van Sterkenburg’s research about the unconscious racism of football reporters. KB: My favorites were Global Advertising, Corporate Communication and the Business of Media. All three of these subjects were taught in an extremely interesting manner and I have gained a lot of knowledge from them.

1 What were your favorite courses in IBCoM? MN: As I had Business and Politics as my two focus areas, two of my favorite courses belong to these spheres: the Business of Media and Public Diplomacy respectively. Throughout the course of Public Diplomacy, we had the opportunity to visit different embassies and explore the versatile world of international relations. And the practical touch of the final project for The Business of Media course actually landed me an internship at the Bulgarian National Television which was pretty amazing!

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2 What’s your favorite memory during IBCOM? MN: I have so many good memories throughout IBCoM! But I guess the highlight was in my first year when I went on the first ever IBCoM Study Trip to the beautiful island of Curaçao as part of the ‘Politics’ team. It was definitely one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had as an IBCoM student. FH: Sitting at the Erasmus Bridge with a kapsalon, watching the sun rise after having handed in my thesis and dancing and partying with all of the amazing people from my program! KB: There are just too many for me to pick one!

3 Where did you do an internship? How was it? MN: I did my internship in Copenhagen, Denmark during my exchange. I interned for a start-up company called 2GoCopenhagen and worked as their Social Media Coordinator. Throughout my internship there I created a social media strategy for the organization, implemented it and analyzed the results. FH: I was an intern at Barqo, a startup that is basically the Airbnb for boats.I created and worked on their social media strategy and helped to design the website. I got thrown into the deep waters from day one but I learned a lot, especially from being in that startup environment. KB: I did a sales and consultancy internship at Integral Education Programs. I had to do a lot of research for clients and work with the customer relationship management program (CRM). Moreover, I had the task of translating several documents and conducting presentations in front of clients.

4 In your second year, did you go on exchange or did you do a minor? MN: I went on exchange to Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark, and it was indeed a valuable experience. Copenhagen is a beautiful city to live in (although quite pricey), and CBS is a great university. I took courses in Political Science and Business Leadership which differed significantly from the ones we had in IBCoM, so I found it quite interesting to explore something new to me. However, if you’re planning on going there for exchange – beware, they have 24-hour exams! FH: I went to Istanbul where I had the best 4 months of my life. I got to know a differrent

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culture, learned about immigration and international relations and had loads of parties with both internationals and locals. I learned so much in each field, whether it was about culture, history, religion, politics, friendship, love, or languages!

Looking back, I KB: I chose to do a minor in Neuroeconomics. It was extremely interesting and taught me a lot of different things. It was rethink that I did ally different from IBCoM since it was a combination of Neuroscience, Economics and Psychology – so, basically somefind a good mix thing completely different from what I was used to studying. between studying and having 5 Looking back, are there any things time for friends.” you would’ve done differently? MK: I think I had a pretty great time as an IBCoM student, and IBCoM also helped me become more organized and diligent. So, no, I would not re-do anything. FH: You know, not much. I would definitely try to take more advantage of the Rotterdam Pass. KB: No. Looking back, I think that I did find a good mix between studying and having time for friends.

6 What was the thesis period like for you? MK: I made a strategic move (or at least I like to think so) to do my internship along with my exchange as I knew I needed to concentrate on my thesis when I got back to Rotterdam. I also knew what I wanted to write about when already choosing the focus area of the thesis, and was quite intrigued by the topic myself. So, these two factors combined benefited the smoothness of the thesis writing process. I like to plan ahead, so I only had a couple of panic-mode situations. Other than that I would say that if you like your topic and you plan correctly, it is not as crazy as it sounds. FH: It was stressful, but not hell. I wanted to finish up studying IBCoM well and by now I had enough discipline to do it. But it was also kind of a nice time getting the chance to see every one again after exchange and internship.KB: It was a new experience because I had never done research like it before. Therefore, it was also a quite stressful and challenging time.

8 Would you recommend IBCOM to anyone now that you’ve experienced it completely? Why? MK: Yes, yes! I would recommend IBCoM! It is a very versatile programme that helps you grow academically and professionally, leads you to discovering your interests and shows you the track towards pursuing them. Also, it is a very cosmopolitan environment and a place to meet great people. FH: Definitely. I think it is the perfect mix between real sociological research and the more practical side of business. Besides the content, I also loved the setting. I only now realize how fortunate we were to have so many true discussions during tutorial. KB: Yes, because I definitely enjoyed IBCoM and met a lot of amazing people here.

7 Name 3 things that got you through the thesis period. MK: My very understanding and patient boyfriend, detailed planning and icecream. FH: Drinks and good conversations with friends, a topic that I was genuinely interested in, and the evening TV show to reward myself for studying all day (accompanied by a bag of chips). KB: My parents, my friends and coffee.

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My parents, my friends and coffee.”

9 Lastly, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

but because this is how you actually achieve new skills and ways of thinking. I forgot the material I studied for exams, but the difficult hours of sorting my thoughts before I had even started writing on papers were worth a lot in the end.

MK: Oh, I have two scenarios in my mind: I would be either pursuing a PhD, or sitting in my corner office at one of the branches (preferably in a warmer country) of a successful multinational company!

KB: Start with your thesis on time and do all the assignments for it on time. This will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. But most of all have tons of fun because this so is the friends make last year together with your it count.

FH: Funny enough, not in communications. Not because I don’t enjoy it anymore, but I chose to do my masters in business because I’m more of a generalist. So in 5 years, I see myself perhaps living in Rotterdam and leading an ambitious group of people to succeed on a cool and sustainable project. KB: Hopefully in a warm country working in a job that makes me happy.

10 Do you have any advice for current IBCoM students?

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I’m going to sound like an old guy saying this, but I’m sure someone else will give important tips about partying”

MK: Generally – take as many opportunities as you can. Apply for internships, student organizations - be active! As a student you have a sea of opportunities to be involved in a lot of great things, and if you choose to do so it will indeed benefit you in the future. For the 3rd years specifically – choose a thesis topic that you yourself find interesting and want to know more about. FH: I’m going to sound like an old guy saying this, but I’m sure someone else will give important tips about partying, so, I can advise you to really dive into the topics (you like) seriously and not just do the assignments how you think the teacher wants you to or do ‘just enough’. Don’t do it just to get high grades (which might likely follow such an attitude),

A glimpse at the new IBCoM staff By Jessica van Wijgerden This new academic year does not only bring new students, but also a fresh batch of IBCoM staff. We would like to welcome those who have joined the team with a little shout out to four particular individuals. Since we are little curious to what kind of people they are, we asked them the important questions in life.

Delia Dumtrica Previous job Visiting Professor at Saint Louis University - Madrid campus. Current position at IBCoM Assistant Professor in Political Communication One movie you’ll never stop re-watching Tough call: is it Star Wars or the Matrix trilogy? The first new (academic) year’s resolution you consistently break Sticking to my research schedule. As soon as the teaching beings, courses and students take priority over research. This puts quite a pressure on me as a scholar, as research outputs are a major dimension of this type of work. Previous job I was a research master student until last August, but I’ve mainly paid my bills through freelance journalism and student assistantships next to my studies. Current position at IBCoM I currently teach the tutorials of the second-year course Quantitative Methods and will be teaching various other subjects this year. Worst day of the week For some reason Tuesdays always seem a bit boring.

Iris Segers

Most used ph one app Facebook and MapMyRun.

Previous job I was a student assistant at ERMeCC, which is the research centre of our faculty. I also have my own web-design company, but I am taking it easy with that to focus on IBCoM. Current position at IBCoM I am the programme coordinator for first year students and also take care of extracurricular activities such as the Honours Programme and the IBCoMpanion Programme Most frightening childhood cartoon Gremlins (although I doubt that I was supposed to watch that as a kid)

Indira Gerards

What song never fails to pump you up? Young Love by Jesse McCartney (or anything else from his latest album)

Previous job I was a postdoc researcher at the University of Amsterdam. I studied immigration and Media. Current position at IBCoM I’m a Lecturer in Media and Communication. Most underrated sitcom character I would say Charlie Harper - Two and a half men Friends swear your celebrity doppelgänger is Shakira, (laugh)

Amanda Paz Alencar Previous job Associate Dean for Asia at TIAS Business School Current position at IBCoM Assistant Professor of Organization and Corporate Communication Dog or cat person? Both, but dogs are more my style The last Instagram-worthy food/dish you’ve eaten Pho at Little V, Rotterdam

Yijing Wang 15

The world’s largest student organization: AIESEC By Merle Ullrich

IESEC Rotterdam is part of the global student network AIESEC, which creates professional opportunities and voluntary programs for students in 127 countries. The abbreviation AIESEC is French and stands for “international student association of economical and commercial science“. It was founded in Rotterdam after the First World War over 60 years ago. Strong leadership was seen as the only solution to the problems of the destroyed world at the time so AEISEC was founded with the vision to create leadership potential. Even though in the Western world of today times of war are over, new worldwide problems arise and old ones still have not been solved. Thus there is need for people with leadership skills, who take action and responsibility in order to solve these problems. Accordingly until today, AIESECs remaining main goal is creating and supporting the development of leadership potential. AIESEC offers exchange opportunities in two different domains to students to accomplish their goal. One of them are the voluntary projects or professional internships abroad and the other one are the board positions at the local AIESEC organizations. With the internships students are able to go either into professional coaching or into the marketing field while voluntary projects can for instance include teaching in schools. AIESEC is connected to companies and organizations all over the world in all branches, which makes it an attractive possibility to international work experience. The 2nd year student Anouk Torsing, 21 years old, took a board position at AIESEC this year. She is currently the Marketing Manager for AIESECs global internship program. She was born and raised in Amsterdam in the

Anouk at AIESEC - an IBCoM student in a board position creating opportunities for future IBCoM students

Netherlands and has lived abroad in Singapore, New York, Paris and London for two years before. Her main fields of interest are corporate communication and consultancy. Anouk incorporates the part time position, which takes up more than 20 hours per week with her studies now and really enjoys her current experience. She says „It’s an awesome learning experience with a group of people that is very tight and it includes many fun activities since AIESEC works according to the motto - work hard, play hard.“ Besides team building events, as for example a weekend on the Dutch island Ameland or the massive three day conference with all AIESEC associations of the Netherlands in Limburg they also schedule a lot of social events such as weekly drinks at Beurs in Rotterdam. She took the position in order to not just do something for herself but also something that helps others but is still relevant to her studies and allows her to put gained knowledge into practice. Since IBCoM builds a great foundation for positions in the marketing field by creating an understanding for communication Anouk was a suitable candidate for the job at AIESEC. Now she is capable of carrying many responsibilities this board position requires: Her tasks are basically all about communication. She runs the general email account of AIESEC Rotterdam but she also communicates directly with prospective employees. Besides that she mainly promotes AIESEC in all sorts of ways- she gives lecture talks, takes shifts at the AIESEC stand in the C-Hall on Woudestein Campus and also spreads flyers and posters.

Are you interested in adding a little extra to your CV, in extending your network or circle of friends and in gaining professional experience? Or would you like to know more about an exchange with AIESEC? AIESEC has scheduled information sessions and free drinks on the 27th and 29th of October in the evening. For an overview of positions in internship and voluntary programs open to applications you can visit the website www.internships.aiesec.org. Furthermore from December onwards a few board positions will become available at AIESEC so if this article triggered your interest feel free to drop by at the AIESEC office at N-Building [NB-09] to have a coffee or contact Anouk directly: application.rotterdam@aiesec.nl.

However, her ambition is building more opportunities for IBCoM students since AIESEC and IBCoM are generally a good fit, their common goal of creating cultural understanding makes IBCoM students not just suitable for their board positions but also for AIESECs internship program and voluntary projects. Her and her team are currently putting a new strategy into practice, in which they built partnerships with companies in cities all over the world. These partnerships result into „privileges” that grant a certain priority to students from Rotterdam. This strategy will hopefully benefit IBCoM students from now on, when they apply for an exchange with AIESEC!

Here I am, a first year student, new into this world of grown-up people, and what a difference it is. Like most people, I still remember my first day of High School. I grew up in a small village, I was a young, innocent, small ‘brugpieper’ (if you don’t know what that is, just ask someone who went to a Dutch school) and I had no clue of the life in a big city. I suddenly had to bike for fifteen minutes, which seemed like a lot back then, and all the people were so huge and wise! This seems like a long time ago, and now I’m suddenly the one that is considered to be wise (which I am not). This is, however, not the only difference. My travel time went from 15 minutes to more than an hour and going to school in a big city suddenly changed to going to university in a huge city. Where I first couldn’t find my classroom I’m now clueless wandering around campus to find another vaguely named building, where I first couldn’t remember the names of my classmates I am now expected to remember the names of about five times that much students, and where I first felt so small and scared, I now feel grown-up and ready to rock this study and my career after that. Because man.. I was so ready for this. Six years of high school has been more than enough for me and I was totally done with it last summer. Even though I haven’t even been to many parties yet, I already like this new life a lot. The first few weeks have been great, although there are a lot of things I need to get used to. Not only the traveling everyday but also the fact that I actually have to start doing something again, after my months long holiday. I also need to get used to the fact that there are so many people in IBCoM with lives that are hundred times more interesting than mine! All the stories I’ve heard so far are amazing, and here I am, a Dutch girl who has been living in the same town for my entire life.

I soon realized that my life actually is kind of boring compared to the lives of other students here. The only thing that makes me sort of special is my unpronounceable name and the way teachers struggle with that, I guess.

The transitioning of worlds: from High School to University

Luckily, IBCoM is just the study for me to expand my world and I am sure that in a few years I will have as many awesome travel stories as some of the students already have now, and my High School friends will think I am just as interesting as those students are. Thinking back of my High School life, I am becoming kind of nostalgic. I really liked High School and I do kind of miss my old friends, although I still see them sometimes. I still live at home, close to all the places were I used to go all the time, so if I want I can do whatever I like to get that old feeling back. For me, the changes aren’t even that big, but I know that this is different for a lot of you. I can only say that I have so much respect for the bravery of all the international students and the choice they made! But I am sure that every single one of you will find his or her place here, since my experience can tell me that the Netherlands is an awesome country. Just be careful not to ride your bike into a ditch, that’s never a good idea.

Best Freshmen Parties so far? By Reyhaan King and Jeroen Adriaanse Probably the greatest and most difficult question any freshman has on their mind; “Dude, where is the sickest party in this city”. Well, as a freshman myself I definitely had this question. So I decided to journey around Rotterdam to find the best parties to start off your university experience the right way. So without further adieu, let me present the candidates.

Crossroads at Blender Crossroads is every Wednesday at club Blender and is hosted by the IFSA. Blender pumps out a variety of music in their music halls, from Urban and 90’s to EDM and House. The club creates great vibes on the dance floors, if you can get down, do it because no one will judge you. However once you’ve reached your turn up limit, why not take a break outside with a cigarette and meet the versatile group of people all here to party. Crossroads recently celebrated their one-year anniversary with an awesome roaring 20’s theme. I definitely advise you all to check out the next themed party. I recommend Crossroads to anyone looking for a well-balanced party with good vibes and good music.

Chips at Bar If you are looking for something a little more intense, then Bar is the one for you. With two dance areas, you can find a laid-back mix of House, Disco, Soul, R&B, Garage, Funk and Classics with a little Hip Hop on the side! This epic mix of music will have you dropping, popping and locking it all night long. Trust me on this. The basement dance hall gets quite crazy as the night goes on and is definitely worth experiencing, especially how the light effects and smoke takes you to another world.

Toffler If you don’t know Toffler, it’s OK, I forgive you, because many people don’t know awesomeness when they experience it. Toffler is a classic for freshmen, pumping out solid deep house and bring out some of the craziest deep house DJ’s in Holland. The club has a simple design, it is basically it’s just a hall. The closer you get to the DJ, the crazier things get. The laser lights, smoke and epic bass will fill your body with feels and carry you the whole night, they also serve ice lollies which are a great way to cool down from the turn up.

Villa Thalia Champagne, laser shows, and dazzling DJs, Villa Thalia ticks all the boxes. It let you experience the vibrant nightlife right in the heart of Rotterdam. This club is renowned for their party on Thursday night ‘Nachtcollege’, but their Latin-house editions are also very appreciated. Villa Thalia offers a new experience to students, as this recently renovated cinema allows students to enjoy a night out in a luxurious atmosphere. If you want to go to a fancy place and enjoy a drink or two accompanied with some great beats, then I would recommend Villa Thalia.

De Apres Skihut Naturally, there are some people, who do not like to listen to House, R&B and Hip Hop. That is, however, no problem because Rotterdam has a lot to offer. Apres Skihut on Stadhuisplein, which is near Villa Thalia and a variety of other clubs, allow you to get a few drinks for an affordable price. You know, just to get you started. All in all, you will get familiar with some typical Austrian vibes, while the polonaise becomes the most popular dance of the night.

“If you don’t know Toffer. It’s Ok I forgive you” Photo source: Hakan Gavaz

t’s Sunday morning and I am about to leave for the Netherlands. But first let me take my prepared food and drinks, so that I don’t starve while being on my way for around six hours. The drive went well. Thanks to my mum and my brother joining me and helping me to transfer all my belongings, everything worked out smoothly. Rotterdam greeted us with an awful lot of cold wind and some rain drops here and there. I quickly learned that this was the norm here. However, that didn’t stop us from transporting all my things inside of my new room. We were pretty much done around dinner time and super hungry. So we went off to a nice restaurant close to my new home. There we already got to know some typical Dutch food and sat in between lots of people talking the language. In my opinion, the Dutch language sounds pretty funny and much like a mixture of French, English and German. On the flip side, I cannot really blame Dutch people for thinking Germans spit out their words. I mean we do sound a bit harsh in comparison, I guess.

The New Beginning Experiencing the Netherlands from an International Perspective

During the next days I went to Eureka week, got to know some parts of the city and did a Splash Bus Tour. The Splash Bus Tour was obviously the most fun. Where else do you go on a bus and land in the water? Seeing the city from a different perspective during the Splash Bus City Tour also made me fall in love with the futuristic vibe of the city. In the upcoming week I also joined the International Introduction Days. Even more impressions had to be processed. Luckily, I already made some friends who already knew their way around in the Netherlands. They helped quite a lot with feeling at home more and more each day. Generally, I find myself being a person without much sense of direction, but somehow here

By Carina Jung

in Rotterdam it only took me about three weeks to be able to find my way and funnily enough, every time I find myself back at the Market Hall! The Market Hall seems to be connected with every place I go to. So, cheers to that. I cannot get lost, thanks. Besides the Market Hall being so useful in terms of orientation, it is also the most amazing place to buy fruits from far away, which makes Rotterdam not only a place of the Netherlands, but also truly international. I mean everywhere I go, I am able to communicate in English. I feel so lucky. I can even read most of the signs you see around. Even grocery shopping as and eating out isn’t that hard, thanks to some similarities between the German and the Dutch language. However, I still feel kind of funny when the cashiers talk to me in Dutch and I respond in English. But I guess, I am getting used to that and them too. I have to confess, it took me quite a while to hop on my bike for the first time. I kind of felt intimidated by all the bike paths and the Dutch biking style. I mean bikers don’t stop, they always have priority in traffic, don’t they? When I finally made it onto my bike, it wasn’t quite that hard. Still, I am not quite sure about the biking paths and I regularly find myself pausing to gain back orientation, but I am improving day by day. However, I still prefer taking the tram. I kind of love their system of checking-in and out. This seems super modern to me. Probably a feeling that only internationals get regarding the Dutch travelling system. Furthermore, I have to add that I am quite proud of myself for managing all the paperwork here. I mean, there’s several papers for the registration, an awful lot of paperwork to open a bank account and some for the Uni and of course, my new apartment. Now manage to sort through that!

But, yes, I really did it. I managed to sort it all out, become a citizen of Rotterdam and a proud owner of a new bankcard. By now, I am already in week three of university life and I am super thankful that l I managed to get used to the Rotterdam way of life beforehand since university takes up almost all the spare time. Luckily we are now all sitting in the same boat and are about to bond new friendships, explore the city together and get to know the field of communication and media, which will probably help us to gain even more internationality and overall knowledge in our preferred study field. It’s quite a lot to take in, but guess what? You are not alone. We are all in this together and hopefully continuing to help each other out by providing a box of chocolate sprinkles or some homework information. Whatever works, it doesn’t matter! That is what makes us IBCoM students.

Mysterious Minor By Merle Ullrich When starting IBCoM, the exchange program is one thing that every new student gets excited about. Without a doubt, it is an outstanding opportunity that is amazing for one’s personal and academic development. In IBCoM, however, this is not the only option for students! Perhaps you simply don’t want to leave Rotterdam because you just got settle and became comfortable here, or you can’t go abroad for other reasons like not being able to leave due to a job or because of financial limitations, then the “mysterious minor program“ becomes an option for you! It actually is not mentioned or explained very in-depth until you get to the point where you face the decision between going on an exchange and taking the minor. In order to give students a bit of a head start and give an idea of what taking a minor means, what it is, and what to expect, I went to meet three third year students who follow different minor programs at the moment and asked them a few questions!

Can you summarize the course in a few words? Immy: It is a course, which has a theoretical and practical approach to negotiation. It is very useful to learn how negotiation fits in different settings and how to use tactics accordingly and also to your own advantage. In every lesson we have Mock negotiations with peer students, which is really fun! You basically dive deeper into this broad topic, which benefits you because it covers how negotiation works on different levels. I think it’s also helpful to know for every day life, lets say for example when negotiating your salary later on or just when you simply buy something on a market.

What is special about your minor? Immy: What makes it special is mainly the practical approach and skills training since it includes interaction on such an interpersonal level that you learn how to work with different personalities. Also interesting is the overlap with psychology, when you look at how people make their decisions. Plus we got a very helpful lecturer for this course and I’m pretty excited about the guest lecture held by the HR director of Deloitte!

How much is the workload? Immy: We have class 2-3 times per week and it is more comparable with seminars in the second year since classes are more like interactive lectures. We are constantly working in groups towards a final research paper, which includes an experiment! The readings per week consist of about one chapter and 2-3 articles.

What expectations did/do you have?

eet Immy Ransom, 20 years old, half American, half Dutch! She came to the Netherlands to start studying two years ago and recently did an internship in London in a PR company. She’s not sure if she really would like to stay in PR though.

Which minor did you choose? Immy: It’s called Principles of Negotiation, which is a RSM course. Two other IBCoM students are also taking the course with me!

Immy: Well, first of all I have a general interest in crisis communication and in the business field of negotiating, so I hoped to learn more about it. Besides that, I expect it to be helpful when entering the job market to represent your own value and to find a position in negotiating on behalf of larger cooperations, which I would like to do in the future! So generally if you’re interested in subtle cues, working together with others and if you like to deal with pressured situations and learn how to use them to your advantage then this course will be the right choice for you!

And last but not least, why did you choose a minor over exchange? Immy: I mean, I moved away from home already to study here and so I’m already experiencing living surrounded by a new culture. Besides that, I went away to London for my four months internship and I just really love Rotterdam! Furthermore, exchange just requires a lot of planning and is more expensive, and to join association committees for instance you can’t commit anywhere if you live for half a year somewhere else and half a year here. So you can’t get involved in anything properly neither abroad nor here. So generally if you’re interested in subtle cues, working together with others and if you like to deal with pressured situations and learn how to use them to your advantage then this course will be the right choice for you!

ext one to introduce her minor is IBCoM Sunshine Marléna Fishell, also half Dutch half American, from Stamford, Connecticut. She did her internship back home at a production company called Triple Threat Television for three months and she can definitely see herself in the production branch in the future!

Which minor did you choose? Marléna: My minor is called Influencing People: Psychology and Practice, which is a RSM course worth 15 ECTs.

Can you summarize the course in a few words? Marléna: The course literally teaches you to understand how people’s brains work when they make decisions to do things and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

What is special about your minor? Marléna: The lectures are fantastic! They’re held by enthusiastic and passionate lecturers, which makes them so interesting that I’m literally excited about them. But I am just generally really interested in psychology! We also had one lecture about marketing already, where we learned how to get your point across and how to use this knowledge in your own favor as well. At one point we are going to have negotiations in front of class, which is going to be challenging but I think also very exciting!

Merle: How much is the workload?

Marléna: The readings are a lot! But I guess every minor includes a lot of work, I mean it’s a course over 6 months. We get four readings per lecture and two lectures a week, which makes it eight in total per week, but that’s normal since psychology is very study and research based.

What expectations did/do you have? Marléna: Well, first of all I expected it to be extremely interesting, which it has been proven to be!! It’s soo interesting!! I also expect the exam to be difficult, but doable if you prepare properly. On the other hand I didn’t have very high expectations really. Influencing people was the only minor I thought about at all because psychology was something I considered studying before I decided to do IBCoM. I also had psychology classes in high school already so to get the opportunity to dive into it now is amazing!! It’s honestly really cool to learn how and why people do things!

And last but not least, why did you choose a minor over exchange? Marléna: I feel like I’m already on exchange since I moved here from the States to study. And the application process for exchange is honestly very competitive, which was a bit intimidating. I also didn’t want to take somebody else’s opportunity who never had the option to go abroad before since I already feel so lucky to be here in Holland! And I really love Rotterdam, it’s the best!! Plus, financially exchange would have been a lot more difficult for me than staying here.

nd finally I would like to introduce you to Veselina Gerova, 21 years old form Sofia, Bulgaria. She has been in the Netherlands for three years now and says she absolutely loves it! She did her internship in Berlin in Germany in a start-up company called Nestpick. Her position was called ‘Social Media Marketing Intern’, which she really enjoyed. Veselina gained a lot of practical experience and she can definitely see herself working in the marketing field in the future because she finds it to be very interesting and rewarding work.

Which minor did you choose? Veselina: This year I chose to take the minor “Entrepreneurship”. It is an RSM course worth 15 ECTs.

Can you summarize the course in a few words? What is special about your minor? Veselina: The minor is very interesting. It is a two month course in which the lecturers teach you how to start a company of your own. In the beginning you team up with several other people and you start brainstorming about company ideas. From the beginning, the teachers take you through every step and give you feedback constantly, mostly about your progress. You also get to meet with actual entrepreneurs who listen to your team about your ideas and progress and give you feedback, which I think is a great opportunity! Also, you are obligated to take an elective in the minor and you can choose between marketing and finance. In those electives you get to be in a team again and you work on your start up idea. Basically, by the end of the course you create a company with your team!

How much is the workload? Veselina: The workload is moderate. You typically have classes twice a week and you need to read certain articles before the classes. But the workload also really depends on your team, your ideas and the steps that you take in order to achieve the final goal.

What expectations did/do you have? Veselina: I would say that the minor met most of my expectations because it really teaches you step by step what you need to do in order to start your own company and you work on it for real, which I find to be very enjoyable and exciting! The great thing is that after you are done with the course you are ready to literally go forward and make your company an actual firm. This makes the process much more motivating and it is really rewarding for ones entrepreneurial spirit!

And last but not least, why did you choose a minor over exchange? Veselina: I chose not to go on exchange because I thought personally that by staying in Rotterdam, I could be much more productive and work more strictly towards my goals. So far, I’ve seen that I made the right choice for myself! Plus, after spending 4 months in Berlin for my internship, I felt like I already went on exchange!

Being a constant traveler who will nev-

er skip a chance to go somewhere (especially for such a long time, the question whether to go on exchange or not had the only answer for me: Yes! So here I am, an exchange student in Australia.

1 It is an opportunity to visit a new place and explore it as much as possible, or finally try to live in a country that you’ve always liked. I’ve always dreamt of going to Australia, but the distance and flight ticket prices are so enormous, that it seemed ridiculous to go there for only a couple of weeks as a tourist. Now I’m here for a semester: even though it still seems not enough for the whole continent, I still have a lot of time to explore.

2 You get to know a new culture and another way of life. Nothing broadens your mind as much as traveling and understanding (or, at least, trying to) another culture. The way people live, think, communicate and have fun - what can be more interesting? It is almost impossible to do it in short period of time.

3 You go beyond your comfort zone. It is always hard to adapt to a new culture, even if it is pretty similar to your own. But the more you challenge yourself, the more opportunities you have in the future. That space outside your comfort zone is where the miracles happen!

And, who knows, maybe there will be life-long friendship.” 26

Why say ‘Yes’ to exchange? By Alexandra Medvedskaya

4 You meet new people. I think I’ve met more people in Australia throughout one week than during two years of my bachelor study. They can share so much interesting information and stories with you and teach you a lot of stuff! My new Mexican friend showed me a lot of Japanese recipes she learned from her trip to Japan. My landlord works in the area of my future profession and helps me to gain more experience there, my French friend helps me with the French language. My Chinese friend knows a lot about the best places in Sydney and its suburbs, and of course, the Australians show me their way of life, and travelers in random places give recommendations about where to go! And, who knows, maybe there will be lifelong friendship. I’ve met several people here who I’d love to hang out with forever since we have so many common interests. Through the whole experience, you will get to know so many people from different countries that you can go anywhere in the world knowing that you know someone from there!

5 You become more independent. Especially those, who have never left their home for a long time before. I am an international student in the Netherlands, so it wasn’t a new experience for me to go far from my family and home; but if it’s your first time, I promise - this journey will change you a lot!

6 You can choose subjects your university does not provide. I got a chance to learn web design and fashion cultures, even though I’m communication student!

7 You can learn something new. For some reason, in a new place you are more eager to learn something random or something you’ve never even thought of before. New places may offer more opportunities than those available in your own country. You can learn about things only locals are keen on, or just try something you’ve never tried before just because you occasionally came across the place where you can do that. Besides surfing and diving, I’ve also received some barista skills, went to Latin dancing classes and even a sketching workshop.

For some reason, I never had time for it back at home, but here, I’ve somehow unlocked this additional energy that just brings me to new masterclasses.

8 Maybe this is the place you would love to call your new home in the future. Or, if you wasn’t sure whether you want to live there - consider this experience as a 6-months trial. Still want a full version?

9 You learn to appreciate what you have. Your family and friends, your home, your country and culture. And even that annoying neighbor next door. Admit it, you really miss him! I don’t even need to mention how much you start to appreciate your home university. It somehow starts to seem so organized and logical in comparison to the exchange one!

10 So you can share amazing photos on your Instagram and Facebook page. Because this would be one of the best experiences you’ve had in your life!

harrisonbrook.co.uk

MEDIA

ESHong N I L D HEA by Jaerim

hat is happening in the ‘real-world’ communication and media field? There are certain headlines that came along this month which are vital to know as a communication and media student. What`s happening in the field of business? Which field is ‘hot’ at the moment? How are you going to launch a career in this rapid-changing media market? What are the new technologies that are coming up that will affect the current media market? These are the topics that happened in September that may land you a job during the interview.

B USINES S

Rupert Murdoch`s Fox Pay Shrinks Nearly 5 Percent to $28 million While the new media landscape persists to pressure the old media, how is old media king doing? Twenty-First Century Fox`s annual shareholders meeting is coming up at 12-Nov-2015. What will Fox do?

Business Insider, Vox, Buzzfeed, Media: What`s Driving Digital Media`s New Investment Craze NBCUniversal invested $200 million in BuzzFeed, viral video and news site, in August. 22Sep-2015, Axel Springer, German media company, announced the plan to buy 88% of Business Insider`s stock for $343 million. Let`s see where money is flowing in to in this media world.

M AR K ETIN G What PR can Learn from Minimalist Web Design Philosophy Less is more. Google, Apple and numerous other companies in the field of innovative industry are heading toward the minimalist form of design. Everything simple. Like a google homepage. No banners, news, log-in for a gmail account, nothing. Just a search box in the middle under the logo, Google. What can PR learn from these trends?

HUMAN RESOURCES TECHN O LO GY

Social Media`s Impact on the Human Resources Industry This article positively views the impact of social media on HR industry. Social media makes recruiting easier and more successful. Social media helps company branding. Monitor employees` activities. Communication with employees. Want to know more?

CAR EER

Mobile Technology & Marketing Strategies That Matter in 2015 Massive consumers` demand to consume their media product via their smartphone devices are re-shaping today`s brands and businesses. What are the technologies that matter in 2015 for marketing strategies?

How to Launch a Career in Social Media Marketing Four things that students and graduates should know about the field of Social Media Marketing. One size does not fit all, “It`s all about the content”, results matters, and exemplary social media practitioners are thoughtful, creative and technical. Are you an ambitious student thinking your future in the field of Social Media Marketing?

SO UR CES • http://www.thewrap.com/business-insider-vox-buzzfeed-medium-whats-driving-digital-medias-new-investment-craze/ • http://www.thewrap.com/rupert-murdochs-fox-pay-shrinks-nearly-5-percent-to-28-million/ • http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/what-pr-can-learn-from-minimalist-web-designphilosophy-01341107 • http://www.business2community.com/human-resources/social-medias-impact-on-the-human-resources-industry-01338454 • http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/mobile-technology-marketing-strategies-that-matter-in-2015-01336265 • http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2015/09/29/how-to-launch-a-career-insocial-media-marketing

ROFFA DAMSKO VS

efore becoming a student at EUR, I lived in Amsterdam (or ‘Damsko’, the semi-official gangster name for the big city). I genuinely loved living there, but the study I was doing was not really for me, so I uprooted to the beautiful city of Rotterdam.

Mentally preparing for the move was a lot more difficult than the move itself. As with most capital cities, Amsterdam has a rival and like everywhere else, this rivalry was determined thanks to the competitive world of football. The teams Ajax and Feyenoord have been at each other’s throats for the past hundred years, which means that all of my Amsterdammer friends spoke very strongly against the whole of Rotterdam and what it stands for (despite never actually visiting). So, with my extremely low expectations, I moved to Rotterdam at the end of August 2014. Known as the “Dutch Manhattan”, my first impression of Rotterdam was that it doesn’t look like anywhere else in the Netherlands. After the bombing of the city centre during the Second World War, there was no effort to restore the old, historic buildings. Gone are the tiny streets and narrow houses on the canals, and instead tall, shiny new buildings have been erected in the centre, giving it a modern metropolitan vibe.

Now these are all differences that everyone knows about; these are the things easily noticed by anyone who walks out of the Rotterdam central station.

But the differences between the two biggest cities in the Netherlands don’t stop there. The atmosphere and local vibes are also worlds apart. An important aspect of any city for a typical university student is nightlife. Of course, education is crucial too… but no student life is complete without exploring the activities that go on passed midnight. Amsterdam is huge, and therefore caters to pretty much any type of night time activity you could think of. Coffee shops, Red Light District, jazz bars, R&B, oldies but goldies… The list goes on and on. However, there are two hot trends in Amsterdam when it comes to going out as a student. Firstly, dance cafes where 20% of the music iswellknown Dutch songs that arecreated purely to sing-along to when drunk, and the other 80% are embarrassing top hits from the early 00’s. Secondly, large techno parties thrown in venues

made to look like an abandoned warehouse. This may not appeal to everyone, but this is definitely what I experienced the most throughout my two years of Damsco party life. Luckily, both of these events have a similar dress code: the more homeless you look, the better. Do not wear good shoes; comfort is key. Do not look like you made an effort; effort is dumb. However, do go to the Urban Outfitters so you can spend about 100 euros on looking like you don’t care. The going out scene in Rotterdam is completely different. The biggest and seemingly most popular clubs are mainly Hip Hop and R&B, such as Club Vie or TwentySix. To go to these places, you are actually encouraged to look good and dress nice, a concept I’m not entirely used to. This is why I prefer to go to BAR instead, an actual bar called BAR that looks like someone’s basement, where everyone can look like a dirty hipster and not get judged. I love it. Amsterdam locals tend to have the typical arrogance that comes with big, touristy capital cities. Their city is on everyone’s to-do list and they know it, therefore outsiders are seen as more of a nuisance than human beings. I’ve experienced this personally as I attempted to make my way through the constantly full and busy Dam square. Between trying not get runover by trams, buses and cars on the tiny narrow streets, I also have to mind the bikers who speed passed, usually ignoring the bike path all together (or there just isn’t one in the first place). I have to admit, I have been both a victim and an active angry biker in this situation. The

streets are way too small. Additionally, most of the Dutch people in Amsterdam will notaccept you if you don’t speak, look or act like an Amsterdammer. Surprising for a city with almost half of its population consisting of international expats and a lot of the Dutchies actually being far from Amsterdam born and raised but rather come from small villages all over Holland. The social culture of Rotterdam is a bit more complex, as its history is so turbulent. The city is mostly made up of blue-collar workers due to the harbour (the largest in Europe!), students (thank you, EUR) and large organisations. This makes for a strange mix. However, despite the odd weird encounters – last week I saw a man have a full conversation with a parking meter at 3 AM – the locals of Rotterdam are always extremely helpful, and ready to lend a hand if ever you need it. Whether it consists of giving you directions on the street, or helping you find a student job on the side, I have only been in the hands of good and eager people. Now this, in comparison to the cold and unforgiving glare you receive when accidentally crossing paths with an Amsterdam cyclist near the Dam Square, is what I found varies the most among the cities. Rotterdam is big enough to feel like a big city, yet also small enough to have something Amsterdam lost a long time ago: a sense of community. Throughout my experience, I do have to say that in terms of the cities themselves, Amsterdam is definitely one of the most beautiful. You just can’t compete with those cute narrow (and overly-crowded) streets with equally adorable (and disease-ridden) canals! It’s vibrant, full of life, exciting and always finds different ways to stun you with its beauty. However, Rotterdam has a character of its own. It’s badass. It’s edgy. It’s dark and gloomy but in a modern and elegant way, with skyscrapers that would tower over those tiny little Damsco streets and make them cower in fear. It’s fast moving, forward thinking and innovative, bursting with new opportunities on every street corner. By Anna Le Guennec

D N O Y E B G N I O G IP

S S O G E H T

f one has to think of an artist that is unquestionably drowning in controversy nowadays, the name of Miley Cyrus is very likely to come to mind. “Just another young little Disney star who has completely lost it”, “a bad example for teenage girls” or just “straight up outrageous”; all kinds of remarks that often pass the table when Miley is discussed. With her new single Dooo It Miley further develops this persona, while singing about “smoking pot”, “loving peace” and “not giving a fuck”. Naturally, it cannot be denied that Miley is very much a provocative pop star in its natural habitat, doing things that one cannot always perceive as the rule, but there is more to this “woman” than just sticking her tongue out and twerking on stage.

First of all, I put woman in between quotation marks here, not due to the common thought that Miley is still an “immature girl” instead of a “woman”, but because of her recent remarks concerning her gender identity. What gender identity then? Well, that is the main point; she claims to have none. In May this year, she said the following in an interview with OUT Magazine: “I don’t

relate to what people would say defines a girl or boy and I think that’s what I had to understand; being a girl isn’t what I hate, it’s the box that I get put into” – a pretty ground-breaking perspective for a 22-year-old who is often perceived to be entirely off the map. Same goes for Miley being very open about her sexuality; she claims that she can fall in love with anyone – with gender not being an issue once again. With this perspective, she has become an inspiring example for LGBT-youth; there are many people within this community who are confused in terms of their identity and this can be of great help to them. However, the open-minded viewpoint presented here is not just limited to the LGBT-community; Miley also has a strong opinion on body image, nudity, feminism and so on, in which she makes a strong case against the unwritten, but not necessarily morally right rules in every day society. For instance, Miley recently discussed the paradox between men and women when it comes to media representation; when a man grabs his crotch while surrounded by “hoes”, no one criticizes, whereas if Miley does the same thing, she is judged to be humiliating women. Other than that, Miley has also pushed the boundaries concerning nudity, with which she tries to say the following; if people are going to hate anyway, one might as well be even more proud and show it to the world. Miley displays how preformed identity-labels are irrelevant and one should move beyond these boxes and simply be who one wants to be; it is all about freedom and equality, no matter what. Even though this might seem like something that has been said before, the fact that this is coming from a young superstar

with major influence on the younger generation it or not is irrelevant in this case, the facts are gives this standpoint on life an extra dimension. that Miley has created this space within the music industry where she can literally do whatever Of course these remarks are all fun and games she wants. She sings about topics that are close in theory, but what about concrete actions? Mi- to her own life; from her dead blowfish to past ley actually further transcends her view by ha- relationships to smoking weed, it is all present. ving set up the Happy Hippie Foundation, which Her team of advisers even brought up that they fights for homeless youth in the US. Among the- had “never seen someone at this level, especise youngsters, 40% identifies as LGBT; one of ally a woman, have this much freedom”. Having the core reasons why they are homeless is fa- creative autonomy even though one is signed to mily rejection based on this. Everyone should be Disney’s Hollywood Records label and fully intefree to be who they are while having a safe roof grated into the mainstream pop industry, definito live under; that is basically what this foundati- tely says something about Miley’s persona; she on stands for and Miley uses her fame in clever does things on her own terms no matter what. ways in order to expand the organization’s reach. Miley has been struggling with her own Overall, my main goal here is not to argue that identity throughout her life, with having the main Miley is some sort of holy spirit, but I do hope lead in Hannah Montana as the number one that this offers an opportunity to look beyond the cause. She had always been playing this pictu- prejudice, gossip and spectacle. One can hate re-perfect girl-next-door with blonde hair and lots or love her music, despise her personality or be of make-up – the representative product of the completely obsessed with it, but those subjective “perfect” society –, resulting in body dysmorphia matters cannot change the fact that Miley has and many other insecurities. Now that she has turned into this grown, open-minded person who made more sense of her own identity and what brings a progressive, powerful opinion to the tashe stands for, her main goal is to help other ble. Through her freedom both in terms of idenpeople in similar self-doubting situations, which tity and creativity she has the chance to spread has resulted in this foundation. this opinion with a mass public, which can help to put certain taken-for-granted conventions up for discussion, thereby maybe even questioning the narrow-mindedness of still strongly present conservative parts in society. What we have seen so far is probably only just the beginning; Miley can’t stop and she won’t stop, that’s for sure. By Ted Hoogkamer

It needs to be kept in mind that we are still talking about popstar Miley Cyrus here and even though there is this huge spectacle all around her, there is something else that was one of the main reasons for her fame in the first place: music. Recently, she dropped a new free album online – Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz – as a surprise after having presented MTV’s Video Music Awards. The Guardian conceptualizes the album as presenting Cyrus as the “colorful, twisted and self-dubbed pansexual, the furthest removed she’s yet been from the Hannah Montana persona that made her famous”. Whether one likes

things to do

on campus D

uring your time at the Erasmus University, you should not just study day in, day out. Sometimes, it can be very helpful to take a break and recharge your batteries. Luckily, campus Woudestein offers students a wide array of possibility to do so!

Let’s kick off by talking about sports. The Erasmus Sport Center is the ideal location for people interested in playing sports or just keeping fit. Playing sports does not only help you to stay in shape, it is also a perfect way to relax as it lets you concentrate on something else other than your pile of books at home. Moreover, for students who exercise sports at top level, the Erasmus Topsport Bureau is really helpful since they support and guide you during your time at the Erasmus University. Besides sports, there are a lot of other ways to

enjoy your time as an IBCoM student specifically. For instance, you can decide to become a ‘Year Representative’ in the Programme Committee. This will allow you to represent the student body in matters regarding the curriculum and set up of IBCoM. All in all, it is a great way to really represent IBCoM, since you will be the main contact person between students and theIBCoM programme management. Furthermore, there is also the SG Erasmus. It organises scientific, social and cultural programmes throughout the academic year that students are able to go to. You are able to go, for instance, to a lecture by the Dutch journalist Olaf Koens or by the American-Canadian and world famous philosopher Patricia Churchland. Besides these, the programme also consists of debates and other

events that may peak your interest! SG Erasmus allows students to expand their knowledge that is not necessarily related to their study, which is really interesting as it contributes to your cultural and social development as a person. We all know that students are people who know how to party, so a great way to enjoy your time after lectures, tutorials and workshops is to join ACE. ACE is the official faculty association of the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. ACE aims to create a connection between the students and their study by organizing many activities connected with your study. The good thing about a faculty association, like ACE, is that it actually is tons of fun. There are no obligations when you become an ACE-member. Even so, you are still able to join activities like parties and trips that the association organizes. Another great thing regarding ACE is that it gives up to a 10-15% discount on your study books. What university student doesn’t like discounts? The IBCoM community is truly a place where different cultures come together and interact. As

an IBCoM student, you will get to know people from all over the world. To get to know even more students, and expand your network, you should definitely consider joining the magazine you are reading at his moment – the IBCoMagazine. It is a great opportunity for aspiring journalists to get some experience as a writer and to develop your skills. As a writer, you will be responsible for the production of articles on various topics concerning the most important events and news about IBCoM. Additionally, some members of the Team of Writers provide readers with high quality photographs, expressing not only their writing skills but also photographic qualities. There are of course many more extracurricular activities within IBCoM and for all EUR students, so don’t be afraid to go out and look for them! Most likely, there is something out there that you can join that will really capture your interests. By Jeroen Adriaanse

The Refugee Crisis by Ilayda Hagens

e as students of communication and media are expected to be somewhat aware of relevant and current issues within the world of media. I think I can speak for most of us when I say that we generally do our best to stay up to date. Sometimes we gain the information from newspapers or news channels (or IBCoMagazine of course) and other times we stumble upon the news through a bit less reliable sources as Facebook and ViralThread. It does not really matter which side or standpoint we individually take regarding the ÂŠ Matz Amadeus issue, the fact remains that we IBCoMers are well informed. But there is one issue right now that has gotten so much attention that no one, IBCoM student or not, could have possibly missed, even if you tried: The immigration crisis in Europe. Of course putting it in these words sounds really degrading to the fact that most of these immigrants who seek asylum in Western countries were forced to do so because of the horrible civil war in Syria right now. But this war already started back in 2011 during the Arab Spring, so why is this issue only getting so much attention now? That brings us back to the issue of immigration but also to the fact that we as IBCoM students should not only be up to date with the current issues discussed in media but more importantly we should also be critical on what we hear, read and see in the media. We should ask ourselves questions like: Why is this particular issue covered? From which perspective is it written? Is this information the whole truth?

So, what are the facts?

Due to the civil war in Syria, 12 million of the 23 million citizens had to leave their houses to escape from war, terrorism and in some cases even death. The UN has estimated that since 2011 around 250.000 Syrian citizens have died as a result of the war between the Syrian government and different rebellious groups. The reason why this issue is deeply being discussed in Western media now is because a relatively small percentage (3%) of these Syrian refugees have come to Europe to seek asylum here within the EU. But you can imagine that given the current events of terrorism and subsequently the rising tension between the West and Middle East, there are mixed thoughts about this issue. For example, some take a more humanitarianism approach to the subject saying it is our duty to take in and help these refugees and others look at it from an economical perspective saying this will cost us too much because they expect many of the refugees to be uneducated and therefore will take advantage of our social welfare. The only thing we can agree on is that it is a very complex problem and there is no possible solution that can please everyone.

What can be done?

But why not focus on what we can do? This issue used to be too far away for some to grasp or comprehend but it is not anymore. We cannot ignore the fact that there are refugees right now in the Netherlands relieved to have fled the war in their country but still terrified for what is happening to them next. Luckily a lot of organizations and people understand that it is important that we help these people in every way we can and make their stay and integration into our country as smooth as possible. One of these organisations is our own Erasmus University, who has opened her (sports building) doors for 200+ refugees as an emergency shelter for many days.EUR has also started a scholarship fund that will be used to pay for the education of the young refugees that come here and still need to finish school or want to study. And all initiatives like this, great or small, combined will make a huge difference.

What can WE do?

There are many different ways to help the refugees and most of these things are very easy. To solve a situation it is first important to understand it, so read into it from different sources, talk about with people in your environment and do not shy away from a discussion because only when we stand together we can achieve great things. Secondly, more practical ways to help of course are donating money and doing volunteer work. In the box on the right you can find a list with organizations that you can donate money too or can apply © Matz Amadeus for volunteer work. As most of you probably know by now, we, from IBCoMagazine also took action and initiative to help out with this immense problem by raising money to donate.This way we help our university with their beautiful initiative of starting a scholarship fund for refugees. This fund combines our believes that both education and equal opportunities for everyone are the foundation of a healthy society and thanks to all the nice IBCoMers who made a donation a few weeks ago in our awesome donation jar we already raised about 130 euros! But we’re not finished yet; we will be collecting on different occasions throughout this school year, so keep an eye on our IBCoMagazine Facebook to see when and where we will be! At the end of this schoolyear we hope to make a huge IBCoM donation to our University’s Scholarship fund for refugees. Because one day we, our generation will be the ones leading this world so let’s start now with making a difference and letting our voices be heard. Everyone deserves safety, health and happiness, so everyone is welcome here, in our country. List of organizations for a donation: 1. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) is set up by the United Nations and playing the biggest role in humanitarian issues and right now helping Syrian refugees with supporting them in their integration process. 2. ArtsenzonderGrenzen (AzG) or maybe better known as MSF, is a non-profit organization that offers medical help in developing countries and wherever needed, all over the world. 3. Save the children is a more specialized organization that focuses on children in need, but has so far already helped 25.000 Syrian children. 4. Erasmus Education Fund – Scholarships for refugees as mentioned before our university is also helping young refugees with funding their education. And in case you want to volunteer: Check www.vluchtelingenwerk.nl or www.parttimeheld.nl or ask in your local city hall if there is something you can do.

TH AN K YO U FO R R EADIN G From Team IBCoMagazine: Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Copy Editor Creative Directors Advisory Team Photographers Writers

Jessica van Wijgerden Ilayda Hagens Nympha Richardson Thanh Huong Vu Joshua Kruter Indira Gerards Brenda Grashoff Emma Hamilton Johannes van Engelhardt Matz Amadeus Beatriz Mateus Ece Topcuoglu Jeroen Adriaanse Lianne Dusseldorp Anna Le Guennec Jaerim Hong Ted Hoogkamer Carina Jung Reyhaan King Alexandra Medvedskaya Brechtje Stam Merle Ullrich

Photograph: ÂŠ Beatriz Mateus