History
A.S.V.Gay was founded in 2010 with the goal of providing a place where LGBTQ+ students can be themselves, meet, and support each other, something previously lacking in Amsterdam. We are certainly not the oldest association, but in the 14 years of our existence, we have achieved many milestones that we are proud of.
“A lot has happened. From four nervous girls who didn't even know each other very well, we became close friends. From laughing and being creative to crying, arguing, and resolving conflicts: all emotions have passed” - Chair Fien
L.t.r.: Suzanne, Nora (top), Merel (bottom), and Fien
2010-2011 Founding year
In the beginning
In 2009, Fien de Vries begins her studies at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Soon she finds out that there is not much to do for gay students in Amsterdam. She thinks it's time for something new; a place where she can meet like-minded people from her own generation. She discusses the idea with her friends Nora and Merel, and as three lesbian musketeers, they decide to go all out!
The trio talks to all sorts of different organizations and associations, and increasingly feel that setting up their own gay association is going to work. Only, of course, you don't just set up a student association. All sorts of official matters need to be arranged, and for that they really do need an old pot of, um, hand in the trade.
After several months of drinking beer and fantasizing, Suzanne suddenly appears. Through the grapevine, Suzanne had heard about the idea of the three women to start an association focused on LGBTQ+ students. She is very interested, and she immediately hits it off with Fien, Merel, and Nora. Additionally, Suzanne turns out to have an extensive network of older lesbian women who are more than willing to help these young women.
Official
Finally, the writing of the statutes and a policy plan can begin. On February 23, 2010, it is finally time: after some discussions about clothing and directions, the four arrive, panting but just in time, at the notary. For the price of a single Hema cake, the deed is signed, and A.S.V.Gay is a fact!
Later that year, a borrel (drink, get together) is organized at the COC with around 80 attendees. Here, people socialize and drink beer, but there is also serious brainstorming about what A.S.V.Gay should look like. What committees should the association have? How often will we have borrels? What kind of activities should there be? All attendees believe in the dream of an LGBTQ+ student association and offer their support to A.S.V.Gay in their own way.
On July 1, 2010, the official recruitment of members begins. Fien, Merel, Nora, and Suzanne, now really together as the founding board of A.S.V.Gay, still cannot agree on whether we had 22, 45, or 100 members at this first registration moment. Either way, the moment when people could first register as members of the very first Amsterdam student association for LGBTQ+ students is etched in our memories as an incredibly big party.
The original statutes of A.S.V.Gay
2011-2012 Second year
The second year of A.S.V.Gay begins with a major setback: our website is hacked, and the web server is wiped. Although some backups were made, this means we have to start all over again.
Fortunately, a lot of good things happen shortly after! A big step towards professionalism is taken – we move from a free email provider to our own email service: @asvgay.nl. Additionally, thanks to the hard work of the founding board, we get our own boardroom! If you ever find yourself in CREA and wonder where that pink wall in room 2.14 comes from: the second board of A.S.V.Gay.
Ontrozing
To better integrate new members into the association, the very first Ontrozing weekend is organized in September of this year. During this weekend, our banana and biscuit tradition is born.
In the winter, A.S.V.Gay moves from its first official borrel location Prik to Amstel Fifty Four. It started with a New Year's borrel to get a taste, but all members are so enthusiastic that the board can't avoid it: we move to the Amstel!
Throughout the year, all sorts of new activities are organized. From a city trip to Cologne to a game of theater sports, some spectacular parties – Hard Candy, Rock Chic – a winter sports trip, and A.S.V.Gay meets Ichthus.
For the second year in a row, A.S.V.Gay is allowed to join Amsterdam Pride’s Canal Parade, but where the boat was shared with UvA Pride in the first year, this boat is all ours!
With nearly 175 members, it turns out to be a year full of growth and innovation, and above all, the realization that A.S.V.Gay is not going anywhere for the time being.
The banana and biscuit tradition during the Beer Olympics
2012-2013 Third year
To make room for new members and get even more active members, the committees are expanded. This results in more activities and trips than ever before. Additionally, the new wave of members is so enthusiastic at the borrels that it is decided to make the borrels, which until then took place every other week, a weekly event.
With the large influx of new members, the needs of the members also change. We go from an oversized group of friends to a real student association where everyone has a place. The Ontrozing weekend is therefore only for new members.
On the way home from the Ontrozing weekend, the A.S.V.Gay song, written by Thieu Driessen, is transformed from a half chorus into a full-fledged song. The song is not yet widely used, but that will follow in the coming years.
For the first time, A.S.V.Gay gets bylaws, a multi-year plan, a protocol for voting during the General Members Meeting (GMM), a Selection Committee (SoCo), and an Advisory Council. This lays the foundation for the current structure of the association.
Many new contacts are made, and existing relationships are intensified. One of the fruits of this is the memorable, very first sister weekend (zusjeskamp).
Dies gala 2013
2013-2014 Fourth year
The association proved to be a great success in its first three years. The number of members grew faster every year. Therefore, the fourth board decides to focus on bonding between members and facilitating smoother integration of older and new members. A key initiative to achieve this goal was the introduction of the Kweekweek, a longer introduction period for all new members, made possible by the efforts of active members, including Vera de Raad. The observation of a gap between old and new members, and the lack of a full introduction for those who couldn't attend Ontrozing, led to the creation of this new introduction period. Thanks to their perseverance and enthusiasm, the first Kweekweek was a roaring success.
In this association year 13|14, committees are given more autonomy for the first time. Instead of board members sitting on committees, it is decided to switch to a system where committee chairs report to the Commissioner Internal Affairs.
After a year of borrels at Café Bordó, it is decided, after much deliberation, to change the borrel location. A.S.V.Gay returns to Amstel Fifty Four.
Following a suggestion from honorary member Henny Bos (prof. dr.), that A.S.V.Gay should organize a scientific conference, this year sees the realization of the first scientific conference. The theme of the conference is homosexuality and gender non-conformity. Researchers and students are invited to submit papers. Eventually, a diverse palette of research is chosen from the submissions, ranging from the persecution of homosexuality in the Middle Ages to trans care for youth. It is a great success.
At the end of the academic year, at the beginning of the summer vacation, the first trip ever to a Pride abroad takes place. Cologne is the destination. A successful trip with a relaxed atmosphere is the result.
Canal Parade 2014: athletes coming out
2014-2015 Fifth year
International students are increasingly finding their way to A.S.V.Gay, and to make them feel at home, an International Student Committee is established. Additionally, the PowerPoint presentations of the GMMs are now in English.
After playing their first official match in 2013, the A.S.V.Gay hockey team becomes an official committee with a budget in 2014. The Babygays add a fantastic sporting element to the association that many members enjoy over the years.
Lustrum I
A.S.V.Gay turns five years old, and that has to be celebrated! Various events are organized, including a delightful dinner, a lustrum weekend, and a grand lustrum party at Club the Warehouse, where everyone enjoys with pride. At the opening borrel, the founding board gives an emotional speech in a packed Amstel 54.
Het Parool writes an article about the association, which will be referenced years later by various parties seeking contact with us: that year, A.S.V.Gay is the fastest-growing association in Amsterdam!
A.S.V.Gay now has three hundred members, making it the fastest-growing student association in Amsterdam. This influx shows that gay students have a need for their own club, while the developments in Amsterdam's hospitality industry are moving in the opposite direction: in recent years, several gay bars have disappeared because younger gay and lesbian people no longer want to go out as a separate group. Woest, M. (March 3, 2015). Drank en een luisterend oor. Het Parool, p. 13.
The Activities Committee, in collaboration with the Travel Committee, organizes the association's first car rally. Members drive in teams, without knowing the destination, along an exciting route from Amsterdam to Ostend. Various hilarious assignments are completed, culminating in a fantastic trip to the Belgian coastal town.
Lustrumcommittee - Lustrum I
2015-2016 Sixth year
The first trip of the year takes members to the beautiful city of Bremen. After an exciting train rally on the way there, all gay bars are immediately explored on the first evening. After a short night of sleep, the Christmas market is visited, Glühwein is drunk, Bratwurst is eaten, and the afternoon ends with a city walk through the center. A successful trip!
Many members still remember it well: the first A.S.V.Gay-wide epidemic. The scabies mites spread rapidly to many student rooms, prompting President and at the time also medical intern Niels (van Kampen) to post a reassuring message on the member page.
On Saturday, May 21, A.S.V.Gay organized the now annual symposium. This year, the theme was "minorities within the minority." This resulted in an interesting range of speakers, with topics ranging from bisexuality to bicultural LGBTQ+ Muslims, and from rainbow families to the asexuality spectrum. There was a noticeable trend in the lectures and workshops: acceptance of specific smaller minorities still has a long way to go!
At the beginning of the summer vacation, the board organized the last trip of the year. It was only one night, but the overnight stay was on an actual hotel boat! The murder game also led to many interesting situations: after all, you could only be 'murdered' if you were alone, turning even a simple bathroom visit into a group activity. It was a short but very successful trip!
Pride Amsterdam was even bigger than usual this year, as it was EuroPride. The event lasted two weeks, and A.S.V.Gay didn't stay behind. A barbecue, a game, a feature on Gay TV, and as the highlight, of course, the canal parade where everyone dressed up as students — a highly fitting theme.
True Colors 2016
2016-2017 Seventh jaar
In the seventh year of A.S.V.Gay, the first clubs were launched. Olijf, Drama Queens, and The Bridge kicked off the now very successful initiative for member bonding.
On January 6, A.S.V.Gay left with 42 members for Antwerp. Once there, the members were divided into five groups. Each group aimed to solve the mystery of the kidnapped pils princesses. By completing tasks spread over the weekend, the groups could earn short audio messages with hints to solve the mystery. The mystery was revealed on the roof of the Museum aan de Stroom. Tired, but definitely satisfied, the A.S.V.Gay members returned to our beloved Amsterdam.
A.S.V.Gay’s Got Talent, an evening where all members show their best side. This year again, the jury had a tough time with acts like a drag show, a lip sync battle by the Activities Committee, beautiful singing, and, of course, chugging a half-liter of beer.
The first long-distance trip of A.S.V.Gay became a reality: from April 21 to 25, a group of 25 A.S.V.Gay members took the bus to Prague! The committee had a busy schedule ahead, with a bike tour through the city; escalating during the pub crawl; breaking out of an escape room while hungover; dining at the Hard Rock Cafe and, above all, a lot of fun in a city where beer was dangerously cheap!
The Pride Committee had been preparing for the Canal Parade for a long time and came up with the wonderful theme “Thanks to your fight, we continue the Pride,” which fit beautifully with the general theme “This is our Pride!” All A.S.V.Gay members received a shirt in one of the rainbow colors, forming a living, dancing, drinking, partying rainbow!
Canal Parade 2017: Thanks to your fight, we continue the Pride
2017-2018 Eighth year
In the eighth year of A.S.V.Gay, the proposal to develop our own A.S.V.Gay app was approved. Although the app could not yet be launched this year, it was the beginning of modernizing the association's internal communications.
Chair Andra and Treasurer Kade had the honor of speaking on behalf of the association during the memorial ceremony at the Homomonument. It was a solemn ceremony with the highlight being the laying of a wreath by various LGBTQ+ organizations. Secretary Isabella and another member laid a wreath on behalf of A.S.V.Gay.
For the first time in A.S.V.Gay's history, we traveled by plane, and we certainly knew it! The trip was so popular that extra tickets had to be booked. The Travel Committee had jokingly warned us about the weather, but upon arrival in Manchester, it was delightfully sunny. During the day, we ran around dressed as hippies playing real-life Monopoly, and in the evenings, we hit up the gay bars (and there were quite a few). Great food, cheap beer, a fun city — it’s no wonder everyone who went still looks back on this fantastic weekend with great pleasure!
Pride week
A.S.V.Gay joined over 12,000 people in the annual Pride Walk from the Homomonument to the Vondelpark, where Pride Park took place! Along the way, A.S.V.Gay members met Ellie Lust and, of course, had to take a picture. The association also participated in a panel discussion hosted by Salesforce, an international software company, during Pride Week. Topics included sexuality and gender identity in the workplace, in sports, and in student life. All in all, it was an educational afternoon!
On the first Saturday of August, it was finally time: 100 A.S.V.Gay members and their friends, adorned in opulent rainbow capes, sailed under boat number 4 through the Amsterdam canals, cheered on by hundreds of thousands of people. It was a spectacular event — a day to never forget!
The first plane trip of A.S.V.Gay
2018-2019 Ninth year
The ninth year of A.S.V.Gay began with an overwhelming number of new registrations. In November, the association, in collaboration with EXIT, organized its first-ever party: INV!TED. This event aimed to raise funds for LGBTQ+ refugees. Eventually, A.S.V.Gay was able to donate a significant amount to a project by the Rainbow Group. Monthly parties were organized throughout the year.
An official A.S.V.Gay house style was introduced, accompanied by a major website update. The house style was recorded in the bylaws and served as a guide for the internal and external communications of the association, also in the following years.
The association introduced official merchandise for the first time: our members could keep warm in the winter with the first A.S.V.Gay socks. Throughout the year, A.S.V.Gay pins and reusable cups were also added to the assortment.
Internally, communication was streamlined with the introduction of our own mobile app. Additionally, the board implemented the policy of publishing monthly calendars to maintain an overview of the many borrels, activities, and hangovers throughout the year. Transparency was an important focus for the ninth board.
Socially, A.S.V.Gay was active on various fronts this academic year. Our members managed the entire bar during the opening of the Pink Halls, participated in the Rainbow Conference of the Municipality of Amsterdam, and attended Work Place Pride. No means no, but yasss means yes! Contacts were made, strengthened, and renewed where necessary. The year ended spectacularly at the boat parade with the theme #breakdownthenorms.
Board IX with the cheque for the Regenboog Groep
2019-2020 Tenth year
We entered the tenth year of A.S.V.Gay, which meant it was time for the second Lustrum! The year kicked off with the Lustrum opening party at the SoHo, where the founding board was invited to give a speech. Additionally, for the first time, a party in collaboration with the Trut was organized during the introduction period, with the theme: 80s!
In the professionalization of the association, the tenth board took several steps that year. For instance, a 'General Committee Handbook' was developed, an online member agenda was set up in Google, and each active member received a personal email address. With an eye on sustainability, a storage space was taken into use, an inventory list was created, and a sustainability week was organized. Additionally, the use of pronouns on board and committee shirts was introduced, which was very successful.
In February, it was finally time for the Lustrum! For ten days (but actually twelve), activities were organized. From a dinner to fishing plastic out of the canals, from dancing on Tuesday to a centurion on Thursday, there was something for everyone! The highlight was the Lustrum Gala (Titanic), where we sang, laughed, and cried as we sailed over the IJ for a few hours. The ten-day event was concluded, hungover and with a piece of cake, at CREA to celebrate the actual birthday of A.S.V.Gay. An incredible week full of celebration and joy, not to be forgotten!
Meanwhile, COVID-19 was getting closer. Just before the first lockdown began, the lustrum weekend was organized in Dwingeloo. Another weekend to remember, especially because it would be the last carefree weekend for a long time. A week later, everything closed, instantly changing the year. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we switched to online activities as an association. We continued to see each other every Wednesday evening online, enjoying stuttering borrel chats. To support the members during this difficult period, 'quarantine packages' could be ordered, containing a drink, snack, game, and puzzle book. As summer approached, things slowly started to pick up again. The need for social contact was so great that we even organized boot camps in the park. Ultimately, the summer turned out to be a special one, where everything that was even remotely possible was organized. A 1.5-meter distance party, seated boat rides during Pride, canoeing, and a lot of walking through the city. We were happy to see each other again!
2020-2021 Eleventh year
Year eleven started with good hope: during the summer, the first lockdown measures had eased, the first borrels and parties had been held, and a big Kweekweek had just started! Unfortunately, the number of COVID-19 patients increased rapidly, causing the country to go into lockdown again on October 13. This lockdown lasted until March, including a curfew and other far-reaching restrictions.
Despite these restrictions, the association did not stand still! Everything had to be different, but the same fun remained. We still had weekly borrels: first via Zoom, then via Gather. We still organized an (online) gala, an online Ontrozing, online pub crawls. Highlights were the online beer tasting, where everyone received a beer package with a real A.S.V.Gay beer at home, and our election debate, with prominent speakers from almost every party!
From March, more and more became possible again. First, we had terrace borrels with twenty people, then we had larger activities again (do you remember Dansen met Janssen?), such as parties, themed borrels, and the production of the very first A.S.V.Gay nude calendar!
Year eleven was not an easy year, but it was certainly a special one. We are incredibly proud to have experienced this together: despite unique situations, still the same fun.
2021-2022 Twelfth year
In the twelfth year of A.S.V.Gay, COVID-19 seemed to fade into the background, and all normal association activities suddenly became possible again, making the year fortunately filled with many firsts. A fantastic open period was organized with packed borrels, the classic opening party at the SoHo, and a physical Ontrozing! We also went on a trip with a whole column of A.S.V.Gay members. This time to Paris, where we explored Disneyland and immersed ourselves in the French gay nightlife.
Socially, the twelfth board paid a lot of attention to social safety within the association. A social safety policy was written, and various workshops on topics such as consent, boundary-crossing behavior, and bystander intervention were organized throughout the year.
This was also the year of the special cocktail, or rather, the 2-for-1 cocktail deals during the weekly borrels. Cocktails were shared with besties, crushes, pre-relationships, or just enjoyed by oneself. And we could also sail through the beautiful canals of Amsterdam again during the annual Amsterdam Pride with our own boat. With the theme Love All Flavours Of Gender, Taste The Rainbow, we celebrated all gender diversity within A.S.V.Gay!