Last night, the Kick-In committee sent out an email saying that the programme would go ahead as planned. ‘I didn’t expect it to be cancelled either,’ says Joris Ruiter of D.R.V. Euros. ‘Rain is annoying, but it’s not dangerous or anything. And yes, I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I cycled to campus this morning. It was absolutely pouring down. Once we arrived, we got stuck in and quickly put up the gazebos. Normally, we use them for extra shade. This year, they’re keeping us out of the rain.’
Student association Taste also bought two additional gazebos this year. ‘That’s a coincidence, but they’re certainly coming in handy now,’ says board member Job Chatrou. ‘Although the real Kick-In feeling is missing a little. I’ve been through quite a few editions and normally you’re walking around in shorts and putting on sunscreen. This weather is a bit of a shame. For the first-years as well.’ Still, the members are highly committed to helping out. ‘The Kick-In is special. You want to be there. It’s always fun. Rain or heat: not going is not an option.’
‘We were completely soaked’
The same goes for Hielke Bossers of student association Audentis. ‘The weather this morning was exactly as expected. I did have to summon a bit of extra motivation, but we’ve already been busy for two days getting everything organised and collected. This terrace had to be ready before nine today, so we started setting it up at a quarter to seven this morning.’ According to Bossers, everyone showed up. ‘No, nobody dropped out. Everyone wants to contribute, even though we were completely soaked despite the extra ponchos. We all brought dry clothes with us. That helps.’
Misery loves company
Further along are Thijmen Sunter and Lucas Weening of Het College Cnødde. ‘We’re the newest cohort, so we have to help out the most and be there earliest during the introduction,’ says Sunter. ‘I was woken up by a phone call at half past eight this morning. We were still busy with all the preparations until late last night. The rain wasn’t much fun.’ Weening: ‘We were literally setting everything up in the pouring rain. We didn’t check Buienradar, we just went. They did hand out ponchos.’ Sunter: ‘And we managed to arrange that rickety gazebo at the last minute as well.’ Weening: ‘How do we keep our spirits up? Being together helps, misery loves company. We haven’t seen each other all summer either, so it’s nice to catch up, despite the rain.’
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Lieve Casteels of AEGEE called several former members over the past few days to ask for advice. ‘I wanted to know what they used to do in bad weather. The answer? Make the best of it.’ And that is exactly what they did this morning. ‘Of course you’re disappointed when you open the curtains in the morning, but everyone was there. The Kick-In is also when we all see each other again after the summer. We brought a speaker along to create a bit of extra atmosphere. In previous years, we’d be discussing whether we had enough bottles of water and sunscreen. Now we’ve brought extra gazebos.’
AEGEE is handing out waffles to the newcomers today. ‘It’s going really well. And that smell, come on, how can that not make you happy?’
