Back to the beginning of law in Maastricht
Student, lecturer, researcher, programme director… Ria Wolleswinkel (72) has a rich history at the Faculty of Law. In 1982, together with 98 fellow students, she formed the first cohort of the Dutch law programme at Maastricht University. As part of the faculty's 45th anniversary, Ria looks back on her time as a student.
Photo's: Joey Roberts and Ria Wolleswinkel's archive
Ria, as she puts it herself, ‘already had quite a life behind her’ when she began her law studies at the University of Limburg (in Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Limburg). After secondary school, it was time to study, and she hesitated between journalism and drama. She ultimately chose journalism in Utrecht, but unfortunately, Ria was not selected in the lottery. “Then I chose sociology, but I didn’t find my footing there. It was too far removed from social reality,” says Ria. “I switched to the Social Academy and subsequently worked in a psychiatric hospital for six years.” In her work, she visited the courthouse with patients, where she encountered lawyers who had a very different way of thinking and spoke a very different language. “I wanted to understand that way of thinking and jargon myself and decided to study law,” says Ria. It just so happened that her husband received a PhD position at the medical faculty in the same city where a law degree was about to start. Together with their first child, Ria and her husband exchanged the then-rough Amsterdam for the quieter Maastricht. ‘We’ll do that for about five years and then see what happens’ … they thought.
Different from what it used to be
In 1982, 99 students enrolled in the Law programme, which was then housed in the Jesuit monastery on Tongersestraat. Not long afterwards, the programme moved to the Nieuwenhof complex on Zwingelput. The composition of the study groups back then looked quite different from today, and the way of studying has also changed significantly. “The average age of our cohort was 28 and consisted of students ranging from those fresh out of school to snack bar owners,” explains Ria. “A study block consisted of six weeks of classes and a week without classes. You didn't really have a real break then, though, because you had to write a five-page essay on the theme of that block.” Books—nowadays laptops—were not allowed on the desk in the very beginning; you had to argue based on your own sense of justice and find the best solution for the case being discussed. Ria: “We also spent quite a few hours in the study area, which is now the library, and surrounded ourselves with towers of books, case law, and photocopies. So, you learned to write very well, reason legally, and conduct source research. We had a progress test three times a year.”
“Everything moves and changes. We had very short lines of communication, so everyone knew each other: staff and students. Problem-Based Learning was new to everyone, which is why it was constantly evaluated during contact person meetings,” she explains. “We had a lot of influence on education, and I remember well that students themselves designed a module. That would be unimaginable now. As more external professors joined, the education became somewhat more distant from the students and was dictated more from above. That may have been inevitable, but personally, I find it a pity.”
Story continues after photo.
Learning by doing
When asked which moment from her student days at the Faculty of Law she would like to relive, Ria quickly knows the answer: the role-playing exercises. “We acted out a complete case and had to respond from the position of various parties. I really enjoyed that, learning all those different legal roles.” She also clearly remembers founding ‘Recht in de Praktijk’ together with her mentor Gerard Mols and fellow students, a kind of legal clinic for the region. “And then we had De Salon, a group of staff and students who studied legal philosophy together. All fun and educational extracurricular activities.”
A career within the faculty
After completing her studies, Ria stuck around the faculty for quite a few years. She taught, conducted research, earned her PhD, and eventually became programme director. “With the introduction of the bachelor-master system and many budget cuts, among other things, it was a difficult period. It was quite a puzzle, but I loved having an overview of the complete picture,” she says. “I have had many opportunities and chances to grow.”
Looking to the future
Looking ahead to the next 45 years, Ria hopes that the faculty and the university will continue to mean a great deal to the region: “I have always found the idea of ‘the balcony of Europe’ very beautiful about Maastricht. The centre of Europe; I can almost picture it like a painting. I hope that the faculty remains accessible to everyone and continues to hold significant societal importance.”
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