Laser v. starling
Last autumn we wrote in this space about the nuisance caused by starlings in the neighbourhood of Wyck. A row of trees on the Wilhelminasingel formed the temporary sleeping place for tens of thousands of birds, which resulted in many (swap) bikes and parked cars getting covered by a coat of excrement every night. The question at the time was how long this inconvenience would last: with the tree losing its leaves, the swarm could easily move on to a new place, said the Maastricht ‘bird working group’.
This prediction did indeed come true, although some of the starlings did not go far: they landed a couple of hundred metres further along in the Sint Maartenspoort neighbourhood. That is where they have been merrily continuing to be an inconvenience. Residents are complaining about disrupted night’s sleep due to the loud twittering that goes on until late into the evening and the stench from the large amounts of excrement in their gardens. Research by the Area Health Authorities showed that this situation could even lead to health issues, RTV Maastricht writes.
The city of Maastricht has now come up with a solution for the residents: a laser. By shining this on the animals on a daily basis, they could be moved on in an animal-friendly way. But how effective is this approach? And is the use of lasers actually permitted in public spaces? Chairwoman of the CDA fraction, Gabrielle Heine, submitted written questions about the matter to the city council last week. This included the question: is the problem not just going to be relocated, if the starlings are chased off to another place? To be continued.
Stolen Nobel Prize
How two Dutch doctors discovered vitamins and one took off with the Nobel Prize – it is the exciting subtitle of the new book De Vitaminepioniers, (The Vitamin Pioneers), by historical researcher Rob van den Berg from Leiden, who, delved into the life of professor Gerrit Grijns (1865-1944) from Wageningen for the past two years.
Grijns discovered at the end of the 19th century that lack of a substance (still to be named) could make humans and animals ill. A completely new insight. “The reigning doctrine was that all we needed was carbohydrates, fats, protein, and minerals,” says Van den Berg to sister newspaper Resource in Wageningen.
Not everyone was immediately convinced about the existence of this new class of substances – later to become known as vitamins. Especially doctor Christiaan Eijkman, Grijns’ supervisor, felt that the idea was absolute rubbish. “For almost thirty years, he openly fought against Grijns’ vitamin theory. All that time he taunted Grijns’ ideas and tried to brush them aside,” says Van den Berg. “It was not until 1926, when vitamin B1 was isolated, that he changed his mind.”
A change of heart that quickly reaped rewards: three years later, in 1929, Eijkman received the Nobel Prize for – yes – the discovery of vitamin B1. In his acceptance speech he did not even give Grijns a mention. “There is so much wrong with this award,” says Van den Berg, who sees his book as “an attempt at rehabilitation”.
Shortcut to a degree
Skipping all your courses and starting immediately on the final thesis. That was the plan for a bachelor’s student of Business Administration at Leiden University. He had already collected 144 credits from various universities of applied sciences (hbo). According to him that is equal to almost a full university study programme of Business Administration, so he applied for dispensation. He believes that the accumulated credits at hbo prove that he has an “academic level of working and thinking”. After all, the law uses the term ‘bachelor’s level’. So, what does it matter whether you gained the credits at a university of applied sciences or a ‘regular’ university?
According to the study programme’s Examination Committee, however, there is a difference in level between hbo and university. The Examination Committee’s Board of Appeals (CBE) at Leiden University agreed. Bachelor’s students at universities have to meet different requirements. Moreover, the CBE refers to precedents that stated that students must follow a considerable part of their education at their own institute. Then there is the point that those 144 collected credits do not sufficiently match the study programme.
The student didn’t give up: he took matters to the Council of State. But there too, he came away empty-handed at the beginning of this month. Although the judges did not mention the difference in level, they delicately remarked that a student of Business Administration can never apply for dispensation for more than thirty credits.