Publications 

My parents love to joke that out of all my siblings, I’m the least likely to marry outside my race. It’s funny to me, especially when I think back to my primary and middle school days. Back then, I was deep  into white boy culture. My phone wallpaper, my bedroom walls, my lockscreen… all white boys. My motto back then? The whiter the chocolate, the better. But then I moved to France and actually met white boys in real life, something shifted. I could feel it: my Blackness was

UCU is a busy place. People on campus seem like they have everything figured out as they balance committee meetings, dance classes, cooking every day, and studying for their courses. Yet, in today’s world, where busyness is celebrated and taken as a marker of success, being busy doesn’t necessarily equate to having it all figured out. On the contrary, everyone is confused, and everyone has off days. It's okay not to have it all figured out, because growth is not linear and it

I lose brain cells when talking to you.” While attempting to listen to your drunk friend give you directions during Bartender’s Weekend or when sitting in awe as someone recites hours of “Italian brainrot” or “six-seven” phrases, you most likely found yourself saying this phrase. Whether meaning it honestly or simply following modern lingo is a question in itself, but for those who took the saying literally, you have been brainwashed. To begin, let’s detangle the idea of losi

I have a great dad, so it means a lot when I say that Ben and Jerry are probably two of the most consistent male figures in my life. I often convinced my parents to buy their ice cream by citing the brand’s dedication to activism and social entrepreneurship. That’s why it unsettled me to see Jerry Greenfield resign through a statement sharing that he had been “silenced and sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.” As a European witnessing troublesome discourse on First

Before I got to UCU, I never thought I’d feel homesick. Sure, I knew I’d miss my family, my cats, my friends… But, the extreme feeling of missing my home, the warmth, the smell of my parents' coffee in the morning, sitting on a terrace and being loud, being allowed to be loud, cackling, passionately hugging... that  is something I never expected, even less after having lived abroad for two years already.  So, in the spirit of recognizing and acknowledging my feelings, I decid

I bought this book in late spring and scheduled it carefully to be a light and breezy summer read: this is exactly what it was, and yet, so much more than expected. The blurb on the back describes the novel as “kaleidoscopic,” which is, to date, the best adjective I’ve found to describe it.  Oyeyemi’s work is a mosaic of constantly moving, interconnected parts, all sufficiently colourful individually, but which, when combined, form an unparalleled, dazzling tapestry. It would

In December 2023, South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice, alleging that Israel had  and was continuing to commit genocide in Gaza. Since then, 30 states and 4 organisations have joined the case against Israel, including Ireland, Spain, the African Union, and the Non-Aligned Movement. This stance  from South Africa is firmly rooted in a rejection of Apartheid, given its own history, with President Cyril  Ramaphosa saying: ‘We won’t be silent as apart

I kissed an icon of Mary once. I remember thinking it was dusty. I remember being confused as to how putting my lips on a painted slab of wood was supposed to bring me closer to God. I was maybe five or so, and questions don’t really get definitive answers at that age, so I’d just done what my grandmother said. Several years later, I would be equally confused about why admitting to a priest that I stole 5 lei (almost 1€) from a classmate would stop a plane from crashing with

Since 1962, Cuba has lived under an American economic embargo, preventing any real economic growth in the country. On the front lines, Cubans have seen their living conditions severely affected and must cope with the many resulting shortages: food, medicine, fuel... But what justifies what has become the longest embargo in modern history?   The remnants of colonialist ambitions Cuba had already attracted the United States in the 19th century. Valued for its strategic location

I have long wanted to write an article for the Boomerang. Many ideas have come into my head, but because of my own doubts and self-criticism, they have been dismissed. Although I would consider myself quite knowledgeable, sometimes even smart, every time I have an opinion I deem worth writing about, I find myself overanalysing anything I have ever thought, which always results in dismissal. Looking at Master's I might want to apply to, my eye keeps falling on journalism and d

I remember arriving at UCU for the first time. It was an uncomfortably hot summer’s day, and I had missed my bus on the way to Utrecht and gotten lost meandering the streets of that overwhelmingly new, fantastical land. For the Southern European, the organization was uncanny, and the beauty was so grand that it edged on artificial. And there I was, amidst it all, drenched in sweat, carrying my huge bag with all my belongings. A fringe skinny figure, towered by the blonde Dutc

It is quiet and cold, you can feel the darkness pressing you from all sides. Your heart is beating in a fast, irregular manner, you can feel eyes boring into you from heights you cannot fathom. Your grey fur is wet from the rain shower not minutes before, and you can feel your hunger carving a hole in your belly. Poor little mouse, there is no hope for you now. You rub your tiny paws together to try to conserve warmth. In the luminous green grass of summer, the home where you

On Saturday, 20 September, 2025, the ILFU (International Literary Festival Utrecht) hosted the Lezersmars voor vrijheid en democratie , which translates to Reading March for freedom and democracy in English. It began at the Jaarbeursplein Utrecht, behind Utrecht Centraal. At 12.00, over 1000 people gathered to begin the walk from the Jaarbeursplein, looping around the city center, to the Domplein. People clapped, played drums, and whistled as pedestrians and bikers watched an

My biggest hot take as a Latina? I hate Bad Bunny. Well, I used to. Reggaeton, trap, and rap music with shallow lyrics about the usual drugs, women, and clubs wasn’t my cup of café . But then came Debí Tirar Más Fotos . Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, whose stage name is “Bad Bunny,” is a 31-year-old three-time Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter spreading Latin music throughout the world from the small Caribbean island. Bad Bunny’s newest album, Debí T

With more access to information than ever before, it is easy to get lost in the bombardment of news. Social media and networks broadcast conflicts occurring in Ukraine, the Congo, Palestine, Myanmar, and many more, magnifying genocides worldwide. Although knowing is important, and acknowledgement is often essential when seeking support and solutions to stop these conflicts, are these methods truly effective? Can we trust news outlets for reliable information? How can a social

There is a cognitive bias so delightfully named that it could double as a band name: the toupee fallacy. It goes something like this: “All toupees look fake. See? Look at that one: it’s clearly fake.” The problem, of course, is that you’ve only noticed the bad toupee. The good one passes under your radar, precisely because it’s good. It’s a cognitive blind spot, one that applies far beyond men with suspiciously dense bangs.  The toupee fallacy is really about invisibility: ab

The first ever election in which I will be able to cast my vote is getting closer and closer every day. If the Dutch cabinet hadn’t fallen this summer, I would’ve had to wait for another three years. Instead, I’ll be voting in October. That means it is my turn to announce who I think is fit to decide my future. As someone passionate about making the world a better place, I have been reading some agendas to orient myself. GroenLinks-PvdA (a collaboration between the Green Par

Art, Authenticity, and the Weight of External Opinion Everyone knows the feeling of staring at a blank page, willing something, anything, to appear. Usually, when I write, it is out of pure urgency; words spill out faster than I can catch them. But lately I feel stuck. Mostly because I have started to que stion the authenticity of my writing and wondered if it is even possible to write something that is truly mine: perhaps this feeling itself is worth writing about, an existe

Recently, news broke that singer, songwriter, director, and producer, Taylor Swift, is engaged to some football player. Immediately, the Internet exploded with discourse, as everyone rushed to share their opinions on the matter. A normal reaction to an engagement between two people we don’t know personally. Some celebrated the news, congratulating her as if a trusted friend had finally found happiness. Some chose to criticize this positive reception, especially from Swift’s f

S et theory begins with the simplest idea: collect things together and call that collection a “set”. At first, that seems innocent enough, but here’s the complication: a set isn’t defined by what it means, but by what it holds inside. That’s its beauty, and also its cruelty.  Take two strangers on the internet. They are already two sets themselves, or perhaps just two members of the larger set we might call “Strangers”. But does belonging to that set mean anything at all? Or