Lukas Jan de Ruiter (pictured above) is a foreign exchange student from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He majors in history and has involved himself in many student organizations including String Band, College Republicans and The Lamron (Udeshi Seneviratne/photo editor).
History fanatic, foreign exchange student Lukas Jan de Ruiter is studying history at Geneseo through a partnership the school has with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Since his arrival, de Ruiter has made strides to assimilate into American culture through his involvement on campus.
“At the beginning, I had a three-day orientation where they were kind of holding us by the hand,” de Ruiter said. “I felt a little bit belittled because I really wanted to fully experience the American college experience so after that, I kind of took a step back from the international group.”
Shortly after orientation, de Ruiter immersed himself in the Geneseo community through involving himself in various student organizations including String Club, The Lamron and College Republicans.
“I really like debates, especially with the current politics going on, so sometimes I join the College Republicans just to see if there are any hot debates going on,” de Ruiter said. “I’ve become friends with a few of them, they’re great guys.”
De Ruiter discussed his appreciation of the small campus feel at Geneseo in comparison to the metropolitan feel of the Netherlands.
“What I really like about Geneseo is the idea of a community. If you go to any hall, you’ll find someone that you’ll know. It’s very normal for people to join two or three different clubs here which is absolutely not normal in the Netherlands,” de Ruiter said. “I like that no matter where you go, even if you are just going down to Orchard Street for a party, you always see people running around that you know.”
While de Ruiter enjoys his semester in the United States, he recounted on aspects of American culture that have been harder for him to adjust to.
“I’m not saying that American food is bad because there is a lot of great food, but the fact that [Campus Auxiliary Services] has a monopoly on food that is absolutely disgusting here baffles me. I thought this was the land of the free and the home of the brave and then there is this one company that provides everything.”
Beyond the cuisine, de Ruiter shared his observations in the classroom and noted differences between American and Dutch education systems. He focused on the way history is openly discussed and areas of his concern.
“I take history really seriously. There is this problem that I’ve noticed much more around here than at home, and it’s that some people talk about history lightly,” de Ruiter said. “Us against them, this group against that group, which is very dangerous because the more that people make those kinds of unacademic statements, the less value history has.”
De Ruiter expanded by discussing his belief that a form of the scientific method could be applied when analyzing history. He believes that more people using the scientific method in history will help history become stronger.
“The scary part about what I’ve noticed in Geneseo is that a lot of courses that should have been academic and used that scientific method make too many generalizations and claims that are quite subjective and not academic and therefore, they are diluting history as a course,” de Ruiter said.
He urges students to be critical and inquisitive in college to make the most out of their four years. De Ruiter claims that an argument that’s never challenged will never be a good argument.
“Whatever you do, always remain critical, always remain open and never take things how they are. Discussing things in the open doesn’t mean you’re challenging someone’s perspective on it. It’s a good thing.”
In his free time, de Ruiter enjoys playing the piano, banjo and carving wood structures. He will be returning to Amsterdam in the spring to complete his final semester of college.