Arago: s.c.v.m.d.d.v.s.h.g. or just S.V.?

‘Scintilla’s commissie voor mensen die de verkeerde studie hebben gekozen Arago’¹, in short s.c.v.m.d.d.v.s.h.g. Arago or just S.V. Arago. If you have never heard of them, they are the study association for Applied Physics and a proud committee of Scintilla. You may have seen their board on the last committee market or heard them join in our ‘proost’ during a constitution drink. How did this start? Have they really been a committee of Scintilla? Or is this one of the student legends that everyone takes as a fact? At the Vonk we tried to find out how the story fits the history!

Since Arago is one of the older associations at the University of Twente (UT), the search started in the archive by looking back at the first study associations that started at the UT. This was during the school year of 1964/1965, at that time the UT was still named the Technische Hogeschool Twente (THT). During that year the need of student representation rose at the biggest studies of the THT: Chemical Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Together they decided to each start an organization run by students that would organize educational and fun activities for the participants of their study. To this day there is still some dispute on who was first in setting up their association. While I like to take sides, I’ll just point you to the yearly report of the THT at the end of the school year in Figure 1.

A couple years later, in 1969, Abacus was founded for the study of Applied Mathematics. In September of that same year the study of Applied Physics started at the THT but did not directly have an association for their students. Since this study was also based in the Hoogekamp or ‘E&F gebouw’ (which literally is an abbreviation of ‘Elektro en Fysica’) where Scintilla was situated this would have been a perfect opportunity to take on the Physics students at the electrical engineering association and starting a committee to support these extra students. But nevertheless, a clear indication of that happening cannot be found in the minutes of board or general meetings from that school year. The only clue that leads to some kind of indication that the students could have been part of Scintilla at that time are from the board meeting of 16-12-1969 where a letter has been brought in written by Dr. W. Valk of the physics department mentioning something about the Physics students not having representatives and that role should be taken on by someone, but no detailed decision is in the minutes. Also, the letter is lost and could not be found in the UT or Scintilla archive so the exact message cannot be traced.

In the next school year (1970/1971) on the 30th of November it is reported that an association has been founded for the study of Applied Physics. A couple of months later, via a competition to win a bottle of ‘Bokma’ (or similar liquor), the name of the association is chosen to be Arago on the 21st of January 1971. Around this time, board members of Arago frequently join the board meetings of Scintilla to see how the association is run. This led to a close cooperation between Scintilla and Arago, also given that both associations were located next to each other in the Hoogekamp. The years following Arago and Scintilla organized excursions together and every two weeks they screened a movie for the students of the associations. It can be read and stories are told that they pulled practical jokes on each other multiple times, like filling the Scintilla room with balloons or bricking in the door of Arago’s association room. While Arago was already a full-fledged association at that time could this close collaboration and its joking nature have started that Arago was a committee of Scintilla?

Now we must take a big jump in time to get some special mention of Arago. We go to the year 2000, the 7th lustrum of Scintilla, where Arago gives us the present of acknowledging E.T.S.V. Scintilla as the Electrical Engineering Association “Scintilla” and we are granted to use the chant: ‘Op Arago, op Scintilla!’. This could have been just an inside joke between the boards of that time but still points to the close relationship Arago and Scintilla had and still have. In the year 2000 the digital archive of Scintilla also started and since the beginning s.c.v.m.d.d.v.s.h.g. Arago is mentioned as a committee in our systems. Earlier mentions of this committee cannot be found in the archives and would have been amazing to explore but the origins of that committee and its abbreviation were not found in the history of both associations.

What could be gathered from the search in the archives and talks with the boards of Arago is that there always has been a special relationship between the two associations. One of collaboration on one side but also one of jokes and fun. I think Scintilla can be very proud of having such a wonderful committee for at least 24 years and should be thankful of the relationship they have with Arago. Op Arago, op Scintilla!

Since the archives are never complete, we are open to more stories, anecdotes and history that you have about the relationship between Arago and Scintilla. If you would like to share them with us don’t hesitate to contact the Vonk!