Even though Radboud's official birthday is not until October, it is already celebrated exuberantly. Across campus, there are outdoor lectures - about sluts, super intelligence, and more. Comedian Arjen Lubach will conclude the afternoon, after which Radboud Rocks (main act: hip hop artist Kraantje Pappie) will take over.

22.46

‘Hé little Craney hoe gaat het nu? / ‘k heb je al een poos niet gezien in de mijn jong’ (Hey little Craney, how are you now? / Haven’t seen you in a while my dear’). There he goes! Main act Kraantje Pappie –a Dutch hiphopper– closes Radboud Rocks. Almost, at least – mind the afterparty in the CultuurCafé. Cheers!

19.25

On the main stage: indie pop band Rondé, around front woman Rikki Borgelt.

19.04

People danced around while mummifying their friends, and the shining lead role was for a korfbal pole: this afternoon, six students association battled each other in the Great Student Battle. After an epic quest, the Christian association VGSN-TQ won the title.

18.37 uur 

Sweaty music for sweaty students.

16.54 uur

The Great Student Battle has begun! After a game of ‘korfbal’, students fanatically mummify each other using toilet paper. In groups of two, team members are being wrapped. They give everything to obtain the ultimate prize: a tile with the name of their association on the street in front of the Culture Cafe.

16.45

Radboud Open Air has evolved into Radboud Rocks. For who missed Open Air, here is a video impression:

16.22

The sun slowly shows itself behind the clouds when Arjen Lubach begins his lecture. While he starts, students start arriving from all corners of the campus. You do not want to miss this! Lubach shares four lessons about change with the crowd. Don’t be an asshole, is the first one, that will get you nowhere. Then: don’t be minister Wiebes, and always prepare.

Also, forget the idea that you can see everything coming, coincidence is always an aspect of life. Finally, Lubach tells the students to find a job that is as fun as possible. ‘Of course there are less fun aspects in any job, but if you only enjoy life during your annual vacation in Spain, you don’t really have a life.’ Lubach illustrates his story with personal anecdotes and reacts sharply to his crowd of students. How big is the chance that in a group of 35 people, two people have the same birthday? ‘Small’, a student reacts. ‘Must be a humanities student’, says Lubach with a sigh.

15.33

For a moment, there was a bit of confusion when Hans de Kroon wanted to start his lecture at the Ostrom-building (where the rain had stopped after Marc van Oostendorp’s presentation): in English or Dutch? English it was.

The professor in Ecology gave a talk about the dramatic decline of the number of insects, research with which De Kroon’s group was all over the news the last year. ‘I’ll keep it positive’, he reassured. The ecologist had brought one of the black insect-catching nets with which the small creatures were lured into a vial for measurement. ‘When the study started, thirty years ago, this one-liter flask was completely full, but after a number of years a much smaller bottle was already sufficient.’ Disturbing. But as citizens, we can help in putting a stop to this decline, was De Kroon’s activist message to the audience. By sowing flower seeds, and not maintaining the garden too meticulously: ‘that way, enough room remains for insects.’

‘It’s kind of worrying’, says Alexander Lindberg (19), student Molecular Life Sciences afterwards. But it’s also something that’s difficult to change as a student. ‘We don’t even have a garden. And we can’t buy only organic products either.’

14.59

In the first round of lectures, Marijke Naezer spoke about gender and sexuality. The current sexual moral is still unequal, the researcher stated. Women are burdened with the most responsibility. ‘They face prohibitions, they have to learn how to say no.’ And if it goes wrong, there’s often the case of victim blaming: you should not have made that sexy selfie. This way, they are victimized twice.’

Naezers plea sparked a discussion in the grass ‘room’: is it realistic to think that some day, men and women are seen as equal, asked Kees Oost (24), employee and former American studies students, rhetorically. Is it possible that this works counterproductive? Naezer: ‘Sometimes, people are dismissed and called pushy or ‘snowflakes’. But if you try to get attention for something from within a minority, you are the biggest hero.’

14.00

Professor of Dutch and Academic Language Marc van Oostendorp speaks –in English!– on the Dutch Language. Is there something like a ‘pure’ form of Dutch? Yes, thinks someone in the audience. No, says Van Oostendorp: ‘Every language is affected by other languages.’

12.01

This time, the kick off of the festivities is not a Eucharistic celebration and academic ceremony. These official gatherings will take place on the 17th of October this year, during the university’s actual birthday. The dies has been celebrated in May for the past 17 years, but when he was installed, rector Van Krieken decided to move it back to the end of the year.’

11.40

Radboud Open Air will start at 12.45. At four locations, there will be short lectures by scientists. Below, you find the schedule, and you can find the full programme with more information about the lectures here.

11.30

The weather report gives no reason to be optimistic, but the temperature will be pleasant.

11.20

Dark clouds pack over the Pieter Bondamplein, and now and then the rain already pours down. But organiser Patrick Leijzer (see picture, in the middle) is not worried. ‘Maybe it will stay dry later.’ If the weather really gets problematic, the visitors will be sent into the university buildings. ‘And the glass of beer can come too.’