As the academic year comes to an end and the last papers, skills projects and resits are being overcome, most students are preparing for a few weeks away from Maastricht. Summer plans come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from internships, language courses, adventurous backpacking trips or relaxation at the family home while being cooked for and pampered once again. In short: most students’ plans involve a lengthy absence from Maastricht. But what does this mean for the city and the average Maastrichtenaar?
“It’s actually my favourite time of the year”, one UM employee tells me. “Apart from the streams of tourists roaming the city centre, the rest of the city seems very quiet and peaceful”.
Are students so disruptive and annoying that the city needs a break? “Sure, we have a bit less to do during the summer months,” I am informed by the local police, “but students only cause minor disruptions anyway – some parties, some drunk rowdiness.” So what keeps the police busy during the summer? “There are many more burglaries in July and August. They take advantage of everyone being gone and houses being empty.” It’s a scary thought: returning to Maastricht and finding that you’ve been robbed. So how do students deal with it?
“I’ll be in and out”, one student says. “I don’t think I could stay with my parents the entire time anyway – we’d just get on each other’s nerves.” Others take advantage of the fact that some students have to hang around in Maastricht for summer language courses in preparation for starting their studies in autumn. “I found someone to sublet my room”, a student reports happily, relieved about the financial side of things and the fact that someone will look after the house, and the plants, during her two months of absence.
But what about the businesses that usually rely on streams of students for their income? “I’m closed for three weeks, but even after that, things are still slow”, says the owner of the sandwich store Something Good. “Luckily I still have my catering business, and some UM staff still need their lunch.” Generally, while bars and stores a little outside the city centre have to deal with a much slower stream of customers than businesses downtown, the latter are blessed by masses of tourists ready to spend their holiday money there. “So in all honesty, who is more welcome in the city?” I ask a local. The rather surprising answer: “The students, of course, because this is somehow their home too, so they care more about the city than someone who is here for a few days on holiday.”