Alumni

When I went to my first constitutional law lecture back in the 1980s, and finally found a seat among the hundreds of other enthusiastic first-year students, the professor on duty had some good news. He informed me and all of the other bright young things that as of that moment, our first law lecture, the real start of our academic careers, we were entitled to call ourselves ‘lawyers’. You didn’t need to pass a single test or earn a single diploma, he said. We were lawyers from the moment we started our studies. Right now, I mean, from then on. You could say that I’m still a lawyer. But Mr. Moscowicszcsz is one too, so I don’t know if it means anything. And yes, I meant to spell his name that way; it looks so much more trustworthy. Henk Krolllll. Mark Rrrrrrutte. Ok, maybe it doesn’t work all the time.

‘I know for sure that many feel that the Vrije Universiteit is the place where they found their way in life. But I’m not one of them’

Since September 1981, I’ve been wandering around the Vrije Universiteit, studying at the Vrije Universiteit, getting lost at the Vrije Universiteit, and I admit that there wasn’t a single moment that I felt at home in the beautiful building in the dynamic Buitenveldert neighbourhood. But I want to emphasise that that was entirely my fault: I know for sure that many feel that the Vrije Universiteit is the place where they discovered life and learning, where the world opened up for them, and where they found their way in life. But I’m not one of them. I parked my rickety bike in the rack, attended the lectures or seminars I was expected to attend, drank tea at a coffee point (do they still exist, on the uneven floors of the main building? Or do baristas now saunter through the hallways to provide hard-working students with a soy latte macchiato?) – and then I went home. I was too shy at first to make contacts (networking hadn’t been invented yet, much less Tinder). Later on, I was able to make contacts, but not willingly. I wanted to get home to my tiny apartment in Watergraafsmeer, put on my trainers and hit the road. Make some kilometres. And then spend the rest of the day recovering. And a little bit of studying, of course. Being a lawyer gives you a certain sense of responsibility.

I eventually completed my studies and earned the now-archaic title of Doctorandus in Criminology, and in October 1985 I ran a marathon in 2.28. And since I was recently approached to write this column, I now know that I’m an alumni. Or is it alumnus? Because I was there, at the Vrije Universiteit, and I still sort of belong there. And that’s kind of a nice feeling.

> Comedian Dolf Jansen writes a quarterly column for VU Magazine.