A matter of life or death: organ donation in the Netherlands

Quite recently the shortage of organ donors was a hot issue on television and in newspaper in the Netherlands. Now, the Dutch government is struggling with the problem of donor registration. What is the problem and what do Saxion students say about this matter?

While there are long waiting lists of people who urgently need new organs, there are not enough people who have registered as donors. On average, a patient who needs a donated organ has to wait for four years before he or she gets it. Within that waiting time, other severe patients may have died. This serious problem brings up the question if all citizens should be automatically registered as donors. But in October last year, a proposal of this nature was rejected by the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

A few Dutch students do not think the automatic donor registration system should be rejected.

Photoshopping, jamming and exercising

You probably think that Dutch people are only interested in football. Or you know that some of them spend their free time on going out, meeting friends in café, having parties, or clubbing.

But not every Dutch Saxion student shares those interests: Below three students tell about their hobbies and what they do besides studying. Perhaps you have the same interests.

Ron Krukkert studies Art and Technology. Therefore, it is no wonder that he likes to spend his free time behind his computer as well. Sometimes he designs or draws, using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It is his hobby.

Visiting TwentseWelle

A Museum of the Human Adventure, where the Cultural and Natural History come together

The museum
Located in Het Roozendaal, Enschede, TwentseWelle tells the story of Twente. The museum combines the cultural and natural history in a package. It tells the history of people, animals, science and technology, and climate from pre-historical ages until modern days. It has various collections such as photographs, fossils, artefacts, machines, dioramas, movies, and prototypes of the future.

Celebrating the New Year in different cultures

December is the last month of the year and many of us already have plans for the last night, waiting for 2009 to arrive. How do people in other countries welcome it? Speaking to Sax Magazine, some international students tell what happens on New Year’s Eve in their countries and what they will miss now that they are studying abroad.

Street party
Welcoming the new year in Curaçao is always a crowded affair. Milly-Ann Barhorst, International Business and Management Studies (IBMS) student: “It’s not as cold as in the Netherlands, so everything we do then, we do outside.” Some people go to church and others party together in the streets, playing music. Their gathering is unique: no matter if they are family or not, they visit neighbours by going from door to door and celebrate together.

Christmas through non-Christian eyes

Christmas in the Christian faith is a day of commemoration and celebration of the birth of Christ. Many people go to church on Christmas Eve. Some exchange gifts at home. Their houses are full of Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree, blinking lamps, and religious songs. Others prefer to visit family and friends to have dinner. But what do people who are not Christians think about Christmas? Some students give their opinion.