In 2018, a British rock band released a song that sounded less like music and more like a news feed having a breakdown. “Love It If We Made It” by ‘The 1975’ was written as an introspective reflection of the social and political climate happening since 2016. It was not a protest song. It was not a call to action. It was something more unsettling, a shrug dressed up as a scream. “It’s the gem of hope amongst all of the rubble.” - Matty Healy, The 1975 "Love It If We Made It"

In our ever changing society, we have fallen in line with viewing the Middle East through a very narrow lens. This lens is deeply problematic. Governments, particularly U.S.-backed states like Israel, have long shaped policies directly impacting the lives of citizens in the region. Additionally, Western outlets tend to portray citizens as enemies and reduce lived human experiences to mere statistical numbers. As students, we are introduced to a variety of perspectives of the

Maastricht is a large student city, with 23.000 students coming here to study, live, and shape daily life. However, when it comes to political representation, this reality translates into few seats at the municipal table. In 2022, only 7% of municipal councillors in the Netherlands were under 30. The average councillor was over 50. Therefore, students are hardly represented in daily local politics. This matters. Decisions on housing, mobility, safety, and public spaces direct

“I still think about our revolution in 2018 when all Sudanese people were on the streets, united against Omar al-Bashir. The most beautiful was the sit-in on April 6, 2019, outside the General Command headquarters. We were all in the square. I remember people saying this was the future of Sudan.” — Musa, age 40, from Khartoum We are living in a day and age where some are granted the privilege to remain ignorant, while others suffer daily. If you belong to the former category

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello, welcome back to our eighth edition of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. We wanted to avoid this topic, but living in Maastricht, it’s impossible to ignore. Today, we’re talking about dating. More specifically, the syndrome that seems to have struck us all. There must be something scientifically wrong with Maastricht. One would think that with t

One of the grandest love letters to the city of Venice can be found at The European Fine Arts Fair (TEFAF) 2026. Though a month has passed since the event, conversation and sharing of impressions of those who have had the chance to attend continue to stir. Through painting and illustration, the highly anticipated annual art fair walked its patrons through squares, canals, and centuries. It became a beguiling invitation to those who have never been, and a chance to fondly reme

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello, welcome back to Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Let’s be real – even though the cobblestones are beautiful, they can get boring. This is a transcript of a conversation we had with Maastricht during a late night at LBB [ We are sitting on the couches, complaining about Maastricht, when all of a sudden they appeared – SHIT] Us: Oh, hey Maastri

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello! Welcome to our sixth issue of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Happy Easter! We hope you ate loads of chocolate in-between egg hunts and time in the sun! While preparing today’s column, we (for the first time), entered into a full-blown disagreement. Who has better chocolate? Celia insists the Belgians do, while Ella defends the Germans. Here i

Whilst the current crisis in Iran has demonstrated that geography is a strategic asset in times of conflict – with the Strait of Hormuz bringing global energy trade to a standstill when it was closed – this strategic chokepoint is, unfortunately, not the only one threatening what little stability appears to remain in the region. Another strategic point could be held hostage, but this time extending the conflict zone beyond the Gulf States to include the countries of the Horn

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello! Welcome to our fifth issue of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Welcome to April! What better way to kick it off than with a celebration that demands no budget, no family dinner, no formal outlet. All you need is a little sense of humor and some imagination to make someone's day a little brighter or worse… April Fools' Day is our kind of celebr

Welcome to the new six part series here at the Diplomat, called Democracy Dismantled . My name is Ella Leffler, I am a third year UCM student studying international relations and philosophy. As a German-American, the history and state of U.S. politics has frustrated me for as long as I can remember taking an interest in politics. The past year however, has been especially angering. Donald Trump has facilitated a multitude of domestic and especially international violations,

in the back of my mind there’s a door big hardwood door painted white, cracks in its paint a testament of time that’s passing by. the door left ajar, invites to a storage-like room, where one can stop by and think of all the things that lay covered in dust, present, and past, in my mind’s labyrinth of tall, standing shelves. on one shelf, there’s a home: cozy and warm, parental love, filled with laughter, music, and games, blankets and hugs, kisses goodnight, my duvet tight;

As the war in Iran is now into its fourth week, concerns are growing that this could pull Europe and in particular the Netherlands, into economic instability. According to a report by the Atlantic Council , Europe’s decision to move away from using Russia’s pipelines for oil following the war on Ukraine in 2022 is now putting pressure on Europe to find other means of refilling their reserves. Even though the war unfolding in Iran might seem distant to students in Maastricht,

Life feels like it’s passing by in a blur— where has time gone? With exam season luring me into a constant schedule of studying, university work had me in a chokehold. It was a practical one week, a project the next and a proposal to write the day after— it had me occupied. So occupied that my unread messages had been piling into one big, giant list. Friends whom I had the time to meet so much last year, suddenly were the very people I only see weeks after. On top of that, th

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello! Welcome to our fourth issue of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. On March 29, the clocks will leap forward one hour, marking the start of daylight savings aka the best time of the year! As we welcome the season of longer daylight, warmer weather, and more time in the park with friends, we can’t help but feel how sudden this has all come on. It

The results of the 2026 municipal elections in Maastricht reveal a significant change to the city's political landscape. Voters reshuffled the balance of power, paving the way for coalition talks that will determine policy for the next four years. These elections will directly impact daily life in Maastricht, affecting everything from student housing to cultural spaces and urban mobility. Following the ‘Visions for Maastricht’ Editions, it is interesting to examine the outco

Eyes on South Korean Cinema IMDb, still from Lady Vengeance by Park Chan-wook. (2005). 여자가 한을 품으면 서리가 내린다 If a woman harbors han, frost will fall “The concept of han (한) has been invoked as crucial to understanding the Korean character. A supposedly untranslatable term, it denotes a uniquely Korean sense of profound sorrow, regret, resentment, rage and other negative emotions that are all bound up inside an individual as well as the people as a whole. It has been clai

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello! Welcome to our third issue of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Yesterday, TEFAF closed its doors. For those who don't know, The European Fine Art Fair is one of the most prestigious art fairs in the world and it happens right here in our beloved Maastricht. Conveniently, or rather inconveniently, it takes place in the MECC: the very same venue

And more on why you should vote on March 18 We, the students of Maastricht, have learned to live and love this city. Even if many of us see it as a stopover on our life paths, a means to our ends, we become the actors who help make this local community shine. Over the months and years we have lived in Maastricht, we have discovered the many challenges this city faces. A majority of us have struggled to find housing, dealt with the overbearing landlord, complained about the l

On Thursday, March 12, the Maastricht Diplomat moderated a Local Elections Debate for the Maastricht municipal council elections. Sponsored by OmniUM and student party NovUM, the debate saw participation from 10 of the 17 parties, with five candidates present being leaders of their lists. They included: Muun Ubbink (#6) Socialist Partij, Floris Soeren (#5) Partij van de Arbeid/Labor Party, Luc Callemijn (#1) GroenLinks, Jules Vaessen (#1) Partij voor de Dieren/Party for th