V.U.G.S. was founded on October 13th 1922. The founding was the result of a separation as a sub-association of the Utrechts Studenten Corps. Back then, V.U.G.S. was better known as the ‘Utrechtse Club voor Aardrijkskunde’, until the name was changed in May 1931, leading to V.U.G.S., as it has been called since then.
Before the War, V.U.G.S. was just a small association, mainly used as a way of communicating between students and professors. V.U.G.S. organised only a few activites, during the war, and even became temporary discontinued at the end of 1942.
After the War
In the years after the War, V.U.G.S. grows to a lively association. Back then, there was a lot of attention being paid to geography, while nowadays Spatial Planning has become important. Since 1947, V.U.G.S. can be titled as a literary-philanthropical faculty-association, whereas the association belonged since then to one of the seven faculty-associations. In these years, V.U.G.S. organised barely any leisure activities. Though there were leisure activities, all of them organised by the disputes, which were ubiquitously active in the sixties. After these years, disputes became less attractive and many of them stopped existing. One dispute survived and even kept on growing until the nineties, when it became so big that it split up to an independent association: Drift ’66.
In the seventies and eighties, V.U.G.S. changed to an association, in which her members gained more and more participation and equal say in the policies of both the association and the university.
In short notice, V.U.G.S. became a Marxist association. There took more and more leisure activities place: there were a volleyball-league, an introduction camp and many lectures for the members.
‘80s – now
During the eighties, V.U.G.S. gets more and more committees, which develop their own set of activities. The board is therefore forced in the role of a mediator and represent of V.U.G.S. These years, the board existed often of more than ten persons. This changes during the nineties, when the board is a group of six fulltime members for one year, financed by the university. Also during the nineties, traditions from the past return, such as the traditional board-ribbons and the banner of the association. After the traditional early years, de Marxist seventies en eighties, V.U.G.S. starts the 21st century as a booming and sparkling association, becoming one of Utrecht’s biggest and most active association, organising many different activities, from symposiums to football tournaments to parties and educational activities. Therefore V.U.G.S. is a really tempting alternative to the corps, which is not really surprising for an association aged 95, being one of Utrecht’s oldest study association and the biggest geographical study association of the world.
Honorary members
V.U.G.S. has a number of honourary members, a title obtained for their special performances at the association. Nobody has been titled as honourary member since the War. The last person that obtained the title of honourary member was Wim Eggink, resistance fighter and chairman of V.U.G.S. during the War.
V.U.G.S. has also a number of members of honour. These members have had a special contribution to the association or to geography in general. V.U.G.S. thanks these members by referring to them as members of honour. This membership of honour can be nominated by other members. The last time this happened was in 2008-2009.
You can find the list of members of honour and honourary members below. Behind the name of the previous board-members of V.U.G.S. is the date of their board-membership displayed.