Here we are again at the end of the first weeks of the Dutch University season. Just over a month since INKOM, the energy of new beginnings in Maastricht are still palpable now, even as the first exams are looming over the horizon. After all, these are strange circumstances with last year's new students only now really being able to experience student life to its, near, fullest. This almost creates a double cohort of new students excited to engage with Maastricht.
The United Nations Student Association, and other associations, experienced great interest by both these very new and the slightly less new students. The 310 spots to the UNSA’s 15th birthday party were taken within just a few hours and some committees, including the Maastricht Diplomat, received more applications than ever. We are thrilled to have so many new faces from all over the world on board this year who are itching to share how they view the world and its complexities through articles, podcasts, or other media. It feels great that we can build on the work of our predecessors and take the Maastricht Diplomat forward into an exciting new year and beyond.
Going forward, the Maastricht Diplomat wants to keep the momentum from last year and continue to be a voice for students in Maastricht. Last year we dove into the deep end of student politics, which culminated in our coverage of the election and hosting of the UM Student Elections Debate in May. We will keep up this engagement with what is happening behind the scenes in the university and how the student parties are dealing with issues that affect students – Covid and the housing crisis to name only two of the most pressing ones.
More than ever, we want to explore our reviving city and the many stories it has to tell in sound, image, and the written word. But of course we will also continue our long tradition of covering stories large and small from all corners of the globe (don’t read into the geometry too much). Also, as shown by the success of the MD podcast (follow us on your podcast platform of choice), the MD is a place for experiments, and a place where ideas can thrive.
Finally, we would like to keep engaging with you, our readers and listeners this year and foster constructive dialogue on important topics. Have you read or heard something and want to react? Comment on social media or send us a reader’s letter. We want the MD to become a collaborative work of the student body and a go-to platform for students to engage with the city.
So we hope that you had a good summer and we are happy to be back in full force for another year!
Yours with great enthusiasm,
Brendan Hogan and Peter Pelzer
Head Editors of the Maastricht Diplomat
2021/2022
