While channel-surfing last Sunday evening, I stumbled upon an interview with Dutch author Cees Nooteboom. Even now, at the age of 89, he still writes every day. After all, he is still curious, he told Wilfried de Jong, one of the two hosts of the TV books programme Brommer op Zee.
Curiosity doesn’t just drive book authors; it’s also what fuels journalists. Questions arise every day here at the Observant office. Some we put on the shelf for later – no time for that right now. Others we leave untouched – not interesting enough. But there are many questions we follow up immediately.
Take the University Council meeting that was supposed to take place last Wednesday. It was cancelled because the Council “wanted to reflect on internal affairs”, we were told. That’s all they were prepared to say. What’s going on there? Why is this act of reflection so urgent it takes precedence over a planned public meeting? Reason enough for journalist WD to delve into the matter. As is often the case, it isn’t easy to get people to talk.
What about the workplace temperature, journalist YM wondered as the weather grew colder and the thermostats in UM buildings remained set at 19 degrees. He popped into various buildings in both Randwyck and the city centre, spotted lots of people in warm cardigans and sweaters, and found that most of them were understanding of the lower indoor temperature. “We’re also reducing energy consumption at home.”
How many Ukrainian researchers have come to work at UM since the beginning of the war? Ten, twenty, or more? For which faculties do they work? That’s what journalist MT wondered aloud during an editorial meeting. We actually had no idea. Time to find out. He approached the various faculties and soon discovered there hasn’t exactly been an influx of researchers from Ukraine. The current count is one.