Students, Stempas, Maastricht

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 lack of bike-friendly infrastructure, or felt unsafe on the streets after a night out. 

We often discuss these issues between ourselves in casual conversation. Treating them as a simple impasse in our daily routines. We negate our ability to participate and bring about change to these hurdles. Students do have the power to make these feelings heard;  this is exactly what you can do on March 18, by voting in the local elections.  This includes EU students registered in Maastricht as well as non-EU citizens who have resided in the Netherlands for a minimum of 5 years.

It could be hard to get a foot in the door of local politics; and sure, the number of parties running for these elections may seem intimidating. 17 lists with 17 differing perspectives, but the one thing they all unanimously agree on is the need for students to go vote on Wednesday. Despite Maastricht’s strong reputation as a “university city,” when ballots are counted, the student constituency is nearly absent. In taking to the polls this election season, Maastricht could not only be a student city, but a city shaped by students. In voting, we reinforce the need for Maastricht to listen to its young population, tasking the 39 council members with representing our concerns and needs. 

A majority of us are international students. Out of 25.000 students at Maastricht University, 60% come from abroad. The city centre thrives thanks to different cultures that make it lively, all of these backgrounds that coexist and rely on each other. Still, this diversity is very poorly represented in the city council. Why couldn’t the city council of Maastricht, a city that has played a transformative role in European history, translate this diversity that makes it so attractive? 

At Maastricht University, we study a range of topics, often on a global scale. Coined by Scottish urban planner, environmentalist, and sociologist Patrick Geddes, taking active control of your civic participation can be boiled down into one motto: think globally, act locally. For international students, you might not feel concerned by local decision-making, but it is often the most tangible level of politics. It shapes the streets we cycle through, the housing policies that affect our rent, the cultural agenda proposed to us, and the safety we feel in our neighbourhoods. This is an act of civic participation and a fundamental stepping stone in the future of the city that we hold in our hands.  We have lived here for some time, we know what the problems are, and voting now will solve these issues for those who will come after us. 

Maybe you are not fully convinced after reading this text, though we hope that it will make you think about your decision to vote on Wednesday. Of course, all the challenges we face won’t disappear with a single vote. But if we all take five minutes of our time on Wednesday, our shared determination will make a difference. It shows that students are not passive residents but active citizens of a city that matters to us all. 

So where will you cast your vote? Find the list of polling stations here.

Sincerely,

The Maastricht Diplomat Board