POPcorner The Hague turns five: the meeting place for and by students
POPcorner The Hague has become a familiar and trusted space at Leiden University in The Hague. It’s where students meet, find support and work together to build an open and approachable student community.
POPcorner The Hague in Wijnhaven is open on weekdays (during lecture weeks) for students with questions about their personal or professional development. Study skills training and a buddy programme help them find their feet at the university, within their faculty or in their degree programme.
Students as the driving force
An important aspect of POPcorner is that students build their own community. Student assistants and ambassadors develop initiatives that reflect students’ concerns and interests. What does POPcorner The Hague mean for students? Five of them share their experiences.
Amanda
Amanda studies International Relations and Organisations and as a student assistant helps with the everyday running of POPcorner. ‘New students often feel isolated or overwhelmed by exams’, she says. ‘Obviously, there are study advisers and psychologists, but POPcorner is somewhere in between. It’s a welcoming space outside formal support, where it can be easier to talk about your problems with fellow students.’
Amanda also coordinates the Campus Covey Buddy Programme, which brings students together in coveys. ‘These are small buddy groups that help students find their way around the city and university’, she explains. ‘They share tips and make sure the coveys meet regularly: to go bowling, for example.’
Buddies Boray and Nynke Marije
Boray is doing a Master’s in International Relations in Leiden and is an active buddy in The Hague. Nynke Marije is studying Public Administration and has been a buddy at POPcorner for three years.
For Boray, POPcorner is mainly about meeting up in your free time. ‘I went on a boat trip in The Hague and took part in a filmmaking workshop, things I wouldn’t be likely to do otherwise. The highlight? The bitterballen!’
Nynke Marije recognises how important it is that it’s easy to join in. ‘If you’re new and don’t know anyone, it’s an easy way to meet people. I’ve seen students grow over the past three years: they’re a bit quiet at first, but they gradually become more open.’ She didn’t have a network in The Hague when she started her degree. ‘The buddy programme was ideal for me. You help others, but you get a lot out of it yourself too. My degree was in Dutch and I wanted to make international friends.’
This, says Boray, is what makes POPcorner so valuable in The Hague. ‘The university has a big international student population here and less of a student association culture than in Leiden. POPcorner is the place for social activities.’
Mara
Mara is doing a Master’s in Crisis and Security Management and is a student ambassador for POPcorner. She organises the Offline Tuesday Club and Food for Thought.
‘Lots of students are constantly online and always on’, she says. ‘By going offline together, we create space for real conversations. We put away our phones and do something together.’ She sees students open up during these activities. ‘You might start with something simple like a game or making a bracelet, and before you know it, you’ve been chatting for hours.’
With Food for Thought, she and Amanda bring large groups of students together for good food and meaningful conversation. ‘Sometimes 60 strangers sit down together. By cooking, eating and talking about topics like insecurity, they form connections.’
Ellie
Ellie is a student ambassador who became involved in POPcorner for personal reasons. During her Health and Medical Psychology degree, she realised there was little attention at the university for students with a disability.
‘I want to create a safe space for this group’, she explains. Students4Students provided the opportunity to do so. It’s a platform where students start projects to support one another. ‘I now organise interviews with students with a disability so that we can address the challenges we face at the university.’
Door is open to all students
Five years on, POPcorner The Hague has remained the same at the core: a place where students are welcome, whatever their needs. POPcorner recently moved from Beehive to the Student Pavilion in Wijnhaven (ground floor), a central location on campus that increases its visibility and makes it even easier for students to drop in.
Come and say hello. The door is always open.
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Offline Tuesday Club -
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Free Soup Friday organised by POPcorner The Hague