26 >> studentKEEPING ABREASTVictoria’s Secret is taking a radicalstep: all <strong>the</strong> lingerie chain’s brasare <strong>going</strong> green. Well, greener. In<strong>the</strong> wake of a Greenpeace campaign,<strong>the</strong> company is banningtoxic substances from its underwear.Ironically enough, one categoryis <strong>the</strong> phthalates, which havebeen linked with hormonal disruption.Causing girls to developbreasts at a younger age.SPERMStudents, donate your sperm! Thefertility clinic at <strong>the</strong> Catholic Universityof Leuven is calling on studentsand staff to donate sperm.The demand for more sperm ismainly down to <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>clinic now caters for lesbian couples.In exchange, donors canexpect to pocket <strong>the</strong> generous sumof 50 euros.Housing association turns away StudentsThe <strong>Wageningen</strong> housing associationno longer provides housingfor students, in a new ruling thatcame into force on 1 January.Students may still register with<strong>the</strong> association but <strong>the</strong>y will nolonger be offered housing designatedfor young people inemployment. An unfair ruling,says VeSte. The student party isconsidering possible courses ofaction.As of 2011, <strong>the</strong> housing associationallocates 20 percent of itshousing by lottery (compared with8 percent before). How long youhave been on <strong>the</strong> waiting list (generallyat least 4-5 years) is no longer<strong>the</strong> deciding factor and <strong>the</strong> lotteryis done with registration numbers.‘This was meant to help starters,’says Marion Gorlach, head of Rentalsand Sales. These are youngpeople who are not in higher edu-cation but who want to leave <strong>the</strong>irparental homes. ‘But increasinglywe were seeing students,’ says Gorlach.‘Then we thought, this is crazy.We are not a student housingprovider.’Student party VeSte has expressedannoyance at <strong>the</strong> ruling.‘Not fair,’ is <strong>the</strong> opinion of spokespersonAnneriek Simons. In herview it is not fair ‘just to exclude allstudents’. She understands that<strong>the</strong> housing market is not kind tostarters, but ‘<strong>the</strong>re are not enoughrooms for all <strong>the</strong> students ei<strong>the</strong>r.’Idealis has enough on offer forstudents, retorts Gorlach, pointingto <strong>the</strong> (temporarily) empty units inEde. ‘We think we are within ourrights,’ she adds. It is stated severaltimes in <strong>the</strong> business plan that<strong>the</strong> association is not intended tocater for students.‘We think it was bad that <strong>the</strong> rulingwas not clearly communicated,’complains Simons. Most studentswho have registered with <strong>the</strong>housing association do not knowthat <strong>the</strong>y don’t stand a chance. The‘It is not fairto excludeall students.’ruling is stated on <strong>the</strong> website andon housing adverts, however. Aswell as being clearly stated in allbrochures, adds Gorlach. ‘And wenever communicated to studentsthat we would offer <strong>the</strong>m housingin <strong>the</strong> first place.’The housing association letsabout 350 houses a year. A tally in2012 revealed that about 7 percentof <strong>the</strong>se houses went to students.The association decided to monitorthis. Gorlach estimates that atotal of about 60 to 65 houses arelet to students. These sitting tenantscan stay put. RRLOO ROLLStudents at Mahanoy Area HighSchool in Pennsylvania must nowsign for receipt of a loo roll andhand it back after <strong>the</strong>y’ve ‘been’.Don’t suppose <strong>the</strong>y like that much.Thing was, <strong>the</strong> boys’ toilets werecontinually getting blocked withtoilet paper. So headmaster ThomasSmith came up with this ingeniousway of teaching <strong>the</strong> studentsa lesson.TOP OF THE EVENINGTO YOU!Drinking laws in <strong>the</strong> Irish provinceof Kerry have recently changed tomake it legal to drive after 2 or 3tankards of beer. Many Kerry folklive in remote areas and have nooption but to go to <strong>the</strong> pub by car.The law is intended to prevent peoplefrom drinking alone at home,which is said to lead to depressionand suicides. The more lenient law,passed on 21 January, was proposedby councilor Healy-Rae. Whohappens to run a pub.COME DANCING . Whe<strong>the</strong>r you had two left feet or werean experienced dancer, you were welcome at sportsfoundation Thymos’s annual Dance Evening. Theprogramme included jazz dance, showdance, hiphop andpole dancing.A total of about 200 enthusiasts turned up – numberswhich Thymos chair Marianne Benning was agreeablysurprised by. ‘We do get between 150 and 200 students atthis activity every year, but what with <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r wethought more people would stay at home this time.Luckily for Marianne, <strong>the</strong> students were not put off by <strong>the</strong>snow. LvdNRESO<strong>UR</strong>CE — 31 January 2013
student