UCR’s Political and Law Society (PoLaw) organized an English-language election debate on Monday October 20, in preparation for the national elections. This event was the only election debate in the entire province of Zeeland, and eight parties sent participants, including two City Council members and two Members of Parliament (Pepijn van Houwelingen and Anita Pijpelink). Moderated by Barbara Oomen, the parties discussed four topics: internationalization, public transportation, housing, and climate. These issues are important for students, especially international ones, but also for the general public, as seen by the fact that 80 people attended the event, roughly a third of whom were locals. PoLaw organized the event to bring more awareness of political issues and parties to students, especially since most UCR students can vote in the upcoming municipal elections. PoLaw hopes to organize more events like this in the future!

The debate was also covered in Omroep Zeeland, you can read that article here (in Dutch).

Dean Gerda Andringa remarked: “This was a thoughtful and timely initiative by our Political and Law Society, bringing together voices from across the political spectrum to discuss issues that matter deeply to our community, from internationalization to housing, transport, and the climate. It’s encouraging to see our students create space for genuine dialogue and public engagement here in Zeeland.”