Women at the VU
For decades, the VU was the domain of the 'male brothers'. Managing and executing were, just like with the Reformed Church and the Anti-Revolutionary Party, reserved for men. According to church and party, women's place was in the household and with the family. There was hardly any room for women in the VU and VU Club. Only in the 1920s, female students were accepted sparsely. The first female lecturer would not take up office until after the Second World War.
Savings from the household budget
Until 1950, the Vrije Universiteit was financed entirely by private individuals. There was never enough money to realise the ambitions of the ever-growing university. From 1932 onwards, a few women led by Sibbeltje Verdam-Okma started a large-scale collection for the foundation of a Medical Faculty. Later, the goal was the laboratories of mathematics and physics, and still later, perks such as better accessibility of the hospital for the disabled. The women set aside doubles and nickels from their household money and stored them in the famous VU van. The coordination of the savings campaign (emptying the boxes and counting the money), with 115,000 savers at its peak, was organised entirely by women
Helping Hands
On the occasion of the VU's 100th anniversary in 1980, the Women's VU-support donated this tapestry depicting the 'Helping Hands' of diligent savers - in all possible shapes and materials. The initiative came from Mrs J. Bonker-Blotevogel, one of the provincial representatives.
