More commonly known as De Bolk, which is the name of their building, this small relaxed fraternity was founded in 1960.
Jelle Schut, secretary, explained that in order to allow the student community to grow in the 1960s DSC bought the building, founding De Bolk.
Now far removed from their founder, there are no airs and graces here at the fraternity house at Buitenwatersloot 1-3, which could easily be mistaken for a bar as you walk by.
With around 160 members, there is no formal structure or hierarchy. “We don’t need it because we all know each other,” said Schut. Around 30% of members are female, but no internationals. “We have a few sign up every year but they never last long. The main language here is Dutch. We try to adjust a bit, but when an international member comes in everyone has to switch to English, and it’s hard to keep up,” explained Schut.
The fraternity has its own boat called Trui, which is a big part of their identity. It’s an original wooden fishing boat from 1875, kept at Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen, and maintained by members. New recruits spend their initiation period sailing on Trui, getting to know each other.
So, what do they get up to? “As a board we try to let members organise activities and parties themselves,” said Schut. You can eat a three course meal there for €3.50 on a Monday to Thursday, prepared by fraternity members. There are sub clubs such as the beer brewing club, and the ladies that take part in a handbag throwing competition. Aside from sailing, there are no sports clubs. “People here notoriously don’t sport for some reason,” said Schut.
You can walk in and join De Bolk at any time during the year. “We do encourage people to join in OWEE though. It’s easier then because we have the getting to know each other period on the boat. We also see that people who join in OWEE generally become more active,” explained Ivo van Kreveld, bursar.
Their building used to be an inn just outside the city walls, first mentioned in municipality records in 1500, where it was noted that the owner charged a penny for depositing fish on the path outside. It is believed this fish, called bolk, is the reason the building and therefore the fraternity got its name. In fact the fraternity logo is a fish, and they have a tank where Bob the Blind Fish resides. An apartment complex can be reached from the bar area where 21 members live. “Some people actually live closer to the bar than the toilet,” laughed Schut.
For more information about De Blok, visit their website.
In this series we’ll be meeting TU Delft’s student fraternities. These fraternities are called gezelligheidsverenigingen in Dutch, which translates as ‘social clubs’, but in fact they’re far more than that. If you’d like to suggest a fraternity for us to cover, please email us at deltainternational@tudelft.nl.
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