Whether you want to recruit members, make appointments or announce activities, a Facebook group is the best way to maintain your community. How is Wageningen presenting itself? Take a look at our editor’s choice of much-visited or simply fun Facebook groups.
Wageningen Student Plaza (> 3,740 members)
Books, squash rackets, kitchen cabinets, train tickets, chairs, a PC screen: nothing is too whacky to be put up for sale on Wageningen Student Plaza. Sometimes the price is fixed, but often it is open to negotiation. Any haggling takes place either on the group page itself or between the buyer and seller in private.
Wageningen Uitgaans Promotie (Nightlife Publicity) (> 1,859 members)
An exhaustive list of parties in Wageningen, posted by clubs, cafés and the page moderators. Anything which remotely resembles a party makes the list: lustrum parties, open parties, gigs by bands, the list goes on and on and that, as it happens, is the weakness of this page. It lacks a handy overview. Finding a party for tonight is going to mean a lot of scrolling.
IxESN Wageningen (> 1,289 members)
A Facebook group packed with events run by IxESN Wageningen. These tend to be typically Dutch activities or trips to Dutch or Belgian cities. Occasionally, group members ask whether anyone wants a lift to another European country. Besides Erasmus and international students, Dutch students are also welcome.
Wageningen Room Subrent (> 1,143 members)
At a university where so many students do an internship (often lengthy & far away), and so many students are looking for a room, a Facebook page for subtenants is bound to be a roaring success. The group’s traffic confirms this: there are many postings by students seeking a room or offering one. It may not be well organized, but it does have a charming cosmopolitan vibe. Wageningen vermiste jassen commotie (lost coats commotion) (> 353 members) ‘You know what it’s like… it’s the end of an open party and you stumble up to the coat rack only to find that some drunken idiot or other has taken your coat. It’s a pain in the neck.’ With this sombre introduction, the brand new wvjc has managed to draw more than 350 members within a week. It is much needed, it seems, now that Wageningen Uitgaans Promotie has placed a spam ban on lost coat messages.
Exploring Wageningen and surroundings (> 323 members)
A Facebook group for international students keen to find out about Wageningen’s local activities. The group was set up by ‘true’ Wageninger Lennart Verhoeven. He tells the members about the Hoge Veluwe National Park, announces the arrival of Sinterklaas and flags up interesting local events. And he draws enthusiastic responses: ‘Dutch colleagues usually only mention activities like these after they have happened.’
Food Addicts (> 172 members)
In this group, Wageningen students post recipes and a photograph of the end result. And now and then a potluck dinner is held. Wageningen-related food news is also reported, such as how to sell your own sustainable food through Cormet or that Eveline Cooks got a mention in the local paper.
Magic club Wageningen (> 24 members)
Nostalgia. Despite the torrent of digital games, a small community of fantasy enthusiasts can still be found in Wageningen, people who would rather play the game Magic with a deck of cards. They use their Facebook group only to swap cards, make game dates and recruit new players. The play together (in person) on Monday evenings in the Forum. Oh, those halcyon days of yore!
Facebook ‘persons’
Some students organizations do not present themselves as a group on Facebook, Some prefer a personal profile, like Popcultuur Wageningen, SWU Thymos, VeSte, Aid Wageningen, Bunker, Woeste Hoeve, ScienceCafe Wageningen and ISOW Wageningen. You can even ‘like’ Wageningen University if you want to keep abreast of news, or become friends with Resource.