Collegiality,a great blessing,but also a subject of constant concern

The incorporation of the Veterinary College into the University of Utrecht, in 1925, had large implications for the social life of the students. Their student's union, named "Absyrtus", with its own club building and longtime traditions was dissolved. The students were supposed to become members of the several unions that existed in the university. But only about a quarter of them managed to do so, and these were divided over four or five different unions. After some years voices were heard within the Netherlands Veterinary Association that collegiality, highly valued in professional life, could be hampered if no social sense was cultivated during student's days. At the same time the number of students showed a jumpy increase, so that unemployment was to be feared. The plan for a new society of veterinary students, brought forward by a commission of three professors, set up by the Veterinary Association, was accepted, and in 1932 the new society was established.