“The TUC is more than a booze fest: It is a reward”

Since 2018, when the TUC had been held ten times, volunteering is a prerequisite to be invited for a beer at the Cantus. In doing so, Tilburg University made the event less casual, increasing students’ social engagement with the city. It is not only the university who makes an effort: over the years, the TUC’s boards have also contributed in many important ways.

The TUC board

The five members of the TUC board are recruited every year from among members of student association TSR Vidar. Master’s student of Strategic Management Jelle Post (24) was the chairman in 2022 and Global Law alumnus Tess Neervoort (22) served as the secretary. “I already knew a thing or two of what the TUC was about because I knew several former board members. The TUC concept had appealed to me for years and I had also some ideas of my own,” Jelle says. “I wanted to introduce them as chairman.” Tess explains that her communication skills served her well in her position as secretary. “In addition, I was committed to the visibility of the TUC and the social awareness of students. If you have studied and lived in this city for years, it is time you were doing something for its residents other than just biking past them on your way to the campus.”

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Jelle and Tess had a clear objective in mind for their board year: more focus on the quality of the volunteer work and on local interests. “In previous years, there were mainly activities like removing litter in parks. But the municipality also did that once a week, so it did not have much of an impact,” Tess found. “Or associations collected clothing for refugees. A fine initiative in itself, but it was not necessarily aimed to benefit Tilburg as a city. If your initiative is low-threshold, brings a positive vibe, and contributes to Tilburg society, then you have earned yourself a seat at the Cantus table!”

Partners

To help students find suitable and useful volunteer initiatives, TUC’s partners, all of them local organizations committed to serving the community, suggest various activities. Examples include Philadelphia, that facilitates assisted living and offers ambulatory care, and Stichting Met je hart (With your Heart foundation), that stimulates contact among lonely elderly people. “On the TUC website, our partners offer volunteering opportunities that students can sign up for,” Jelle explains. “Students’ own initiatives are appreciated, of course, but students can engage socially in more effective ways through our channels. As a result, both we as well as the students can be sure that their activity meets the TUC’s requirements.”

What strikes us is that students, having done some volunteering, have much more appreciation for Tilburg as a city

TUCforTilburg Day

May 3, 2022, was the second TUCforTilburg Day, the joint kick-off taking place in the council chamber of city hall. “That was our idea: an official occasion marking the start of the social season,” Jelle states. “Students as well as partners came to the council chamber and shared their activities. It was great to see how they inspired each other.” Tess adds: “A lot of volunteer work was accomplished on this day. For instance, student association St. Olof baked pancakes for Philadelphia residents and TSV Plato organized a carwash to raise money for our partner Stichting Stadsbomen (City Trees foundation).”

“What strikes us is that students, having done some volunteering, have much more appreciation for Tilburg as a city,” Jelle smiles. “At first, they may be a little prejudiced, thinking it is a dull place, but as a result of their volunteering, they see both Tilburg and its inhabitants in a completely different light.”

Hot and cold activities

“In the meantime, the TUC board had not been idle either,” Jelle continues. “Together with hockey club Tilburg Trappers, we organized an ice hockey clinic for pupils of an Islamic school. Many of the parents do not speak any Dutch and found such an activity rather daunting. But at the end of the day, they came down from the stands onto the ice to also have a go! The children as well as the parents enjoyed the day, which was quite wonderful to see.” Tess looks back at another activity organized by the board. “Together with Stichting Met je hart and lonely elderly people, we went on an outing to Beekse Bergen safari park. These elderly people were quite good walkers and they kept it up all day. They enjoyed themselves tremendously and made many new contacts! That’s our mission: Making Tilburg a more beautiful and social place.”

The TUC is a party for everyone

Apart from all these volunteer initiatives, the TUC board also organizes the Cantus. This involves things ranging from renting the tables to selecting the music. In the 2022 TUC board’s opinion, it was important to make the party inclusive. “The Cantus should be fun for everyone,” Tess thinks. “So also for international and exchange students. Therefore there are more and more English songs on the program and our English TUC website is only one click away. In addition, in our board year we introduced the 0.0 bar in addition to the regular beer bar at the Cantus! It serves non-alcoholic beer and it was more in demand than we had expected.”

“Not only students come to the Cantus, our partners are also invited to enjoy the party,” Jelle explains. “They have all made efforts for the social engagement of the students and the great actions to benefit Tilburg. So we seat them on stage in a place of honor, with a wonderful view of the long tables where everyone is singing and dancing. And that is our thank-you: a party whereby students enjoy a well-earned Cantus. Because of the social aspect, the TUC is more than a booze fest. It is a reward.”

Date of publication: 23 November 2022