The history of elliott
In April of 2014, Elliott officially opened its doors to UCR students after years of hard work.
It all was catalyzed by the demise of the former UCR student bar, Barrel, in December 2011 after the building was demolished to make space for a retirement home. In the previous academic year, two students, Sam de Vlieger and Bart-Jan Veldhuizen, presented plans for a common house at a RASA GA, and they even added 25 euros to the RASA contribution. However, nothing came of it, so the students were given the option to refund this money. However, once news of Barrel's end was known, this sparked new interest in the project for a common house.
Thus, Stichting RASA Bar, now Stichting Common House Elliott, came to life! The chair, Mark Kamphuis (still involved today as the chair of the Board of Trustees), closely worked with the chair of the RASA Board of 2011-2012, Klaas-Henk Binnendijk. Together with a team of students, a business plan was written up and eventually backed by the former Managing Director of UCR (which was still called Roosevelt Academy at the time), dr. Jorrit Snijder, and the 25 euro contribution became yearly.
Then started the hunt for Elliott's home! Locations across the city center were considered, including one at the Damplein and one by the Lange Jan. Soon they came into contact with the owner of Lange Noordstraat 48, Elliott's current home. On May 4th, 2012, the rental contract was signed.
While the goal of the 2012-2013 Elliott Board was to open in September, they ran into difficulties. There was plenty to do to prepare Elliott, from fire safety and ventilation to internet and interior design. However, the biggest challenges were acquiring permits and facing resistance from the neighborhood, who didn't want a student bar in their street. Despite these obstacles, Elliott finally opened in April 2014.
At this point, everything was still uncertain. There were ongoing court cases against Elliott's permits by the neighbors, and the debt from having to open much later than anticipated was worrying. In the year of 2015-2016, however, Elliott began to settle down. In April 2016, the court cases ended in Elliott's favor, and the financial state began to improve over the year. In the following years, this growth began to establish Elliott as we know it, the heart of UCR (and the relationship with the neighbors has thankfully improved). Recently, Elliott has seen numerous changes, including the beautiful new study lounge funded by UCR, and the cozy remodeled Mensa thanks to RASA.
Sadly, in 2020, Elliott was struck hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In March, Elliott abruptly closed after a year of record-breaking parties and renewed excitement. Unfortunately, Elliott began to suffer as financial resources were quickly depleted without income. Due to the generosity of our community, a crowdfunding campaign managed to sustain Elliott through a few more months of closure. Thankfully, measures loosened enough for Elliott to open in June, September, and October, until additional measures meant a shift to only take-away options starting in mid-November.
While it has been a rough year for Elliott, it has also proven how united and strong our community is. This year has shown an impressive amount of support from both current community members and alumni, and we are forever grateful for their help to keep Elliott afloat. We are still waiting to see what 2021 brings, and we look forward to reopening in the near future!
It all was catalyzed by the demise of the former UCR student bar, Barrel, in December 2011 after the building was demolished to make space for a retirement home. In the previous academic year, two students, Sam de Vlieger and Bart-Jan Veldhuizen, presented plans for a common house at a RASA GA, and they even added 25 euros to the RASA contribution. However, nothing came of it, so the students were given the option to refund this money. However, once news of Barrel's end was known, this sparked new interest in the project for a common house.
Thus, Stichting RASA Bar, now Stichting Common House Elliott, came to life! The chair, Mark Kamphuis (still involved today as the chair of the Board of Trustees), closely worked with the chair of the RASA Board of 2011-2012, Klaas-Henk Binnendijk. Together with a team of students, a business plan was written up and eventually backed by the former Managing Director of UCR (which was still called Roosevelt Academy at the time), dr. Jorrit Snijder, and the 25 euro contribution became yearly.
Then started the hunt for Elliott's home! Locations across the city center were considered, including one at the Damplein and one by the Lange Jan. Soon they came into contact with the owner of Lange Noordstraat 48, Elliott's current home. On May 4th, 2012, the rental contract was signed.
While the goal of the 2012-2013 Elliott Board was to open in September, they ran into difficulties. There was plenty to do to prepare Elliott, from fire safety and ventilation to internet and interior design. However, the biggest challenges were acquiring permits and facing resistance from the neighborhood, who didn't want a student bar in their street. Despite these obstacles, Elliott finally opened in April 2014.
At this point, everything was still uncertain. There were ongoing court cases against Elliott's permits by the neighbors, and the debt from having to open much later than anticipated was worrying. In the year of 2015-2016, however, Elliott began to settle down. In April 2016, the court cases ended in Elliott's favor, and the financial state began to improve over the year. In the following years, this growth began to establish Elliott as we know it, the heart of UCR (and the relationship with the neighbors has thankfully improved). Recently, Elliott has seen numerous changes, including the beautiful new study lounge funded by UCR, and the cozy remodeled Mensa thanks to RASA.
Sadly, in 2020, Elliott was struck hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In March, Elliott abruptly closed after a year of record-breaking parties and renewed excitement. Unfortunately, Elliott began to suffer as financial resources were quickly depleted without income. Due to the generosity of our community, a crowdfunding campaign managed to sustain Elliott through a few more months of closure. Thankfully, measures loosened enough for Elliott to open in June, September, and October, until additional measures meant a shift to only take-away options starting in mid-November.
While it has been a rough year for Elliott, it has also proven how united and strong our community is. This year has shown an impressive amount of support from both current community members and alumni, and we are forever grateful for their help to keep Elliott afloat. We are still waiting to see what 2021 brings, and we look forward to reopening in the near future!
Our generous benefactors
Over the past decade, Elliott has been fortunate to have the support from many gracious sponsors. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, below we have named some donors who have contributed financially to ensuring Elliott's future.
Interested in adding your name to the list? Send us an email at elliott@ucr.nl!
Interested in adding your name to the list? Send us an email at elliott@ucr.nl!
AAC 2012 / 2013
A.L. Fides Andringa, Gerda Aurora Bezouwen, Wijnand van Brink, Jesper van den Dreu, Bianca de Gent, Tobias van Gunter, Nancy Ippel, Pieter Kil, Monique Klompenburg, Pieter van Meijer, Henk Mol, Annemerel Oetelaar, Pim van den O.M.D. Erodios Rijn, Alexander van Snijder, Jorrit Tönissen, Bas V.S.V. Illicio Veldkamp, Elmer Vliet, Jaco van Waasdorp, Pieter Weststrate Bazen, Jurian Brons, Robin Dillman, Bastiaan "Joël" Keizer, Ed Keizer, Myra Kooij, Chantal Kraamer, Kees Langemeijer, Harm Lotte, Kim |
Hamaker, Caroline & Gageldonk, Ted
Hazenoot, Corline & Kunneman, Dok Knaap, Raisa van der & Brons, Robin Mann, Pamela & Bovend'Eert, Koen Mennen, Esther & Masschaupt, Guido Pattianakotta, Zarah & Teunis, Gijs Toorn, Kim van der & Veen, Daniel van Verhulst, Kathie & Buddenbaum, Marit Wieten, Caspar & Franck, Kyra Familie Adema Berg, Marijse Berg, Willem van den Binnendijk, Klaas-Henk Boogaart, Roos-Maria van den Bruin, Carina de Coenen, Gerd Deurzen, Marjolein van Dillman, Rob Feitsema, Justine Ferri, Juri Fokma, Jolien Guicherit, Benjamin Hadtstein, Lukas Khalil, Yara Kooiman, Sven Koster, Cees Kuile, Saskia ter Leeuw, Jessica de Maaskant, Koen Maschhaupt, Guido Mennen, Esther Muller, Marieke Rensma, Ritske Sølvsteen, Keld |
Ruben van den Akker
RASA Board 19-20 Family Weterings Elliott DB 2020-2021 Jacob Scharmberg Sebastiaan Bye Marjon den Toom RASA Board 2015-2016 Martijn Filius & Diede Roth The Beals Family Odin Board V Odin Board VI FISA Vlissingen Timo, Lamba, Bloeme, Craig, Diez & Rosemarie Family Rijnhout Diederik ten Brink Ella Limbach Elliott DB 2015-2016 Jan Jaap HAC Board & Volunteers 2019-2020 Nele Pirsing & Family Family Vermeer Dana Zoutman AAC 2019/2020 Siteur, Alexander Strømsheim, Sondre Sommeling-Pronk, Merijke Stronsheim, Sondre Toorn, Kim van der Veen, Daniel van Verwoerd, Maria Waasdorp, Koen Wieten, Caspar Yusufli, Zahra |
The Previous Elliott BoardS
Founding Board
Mark Kamphuis – CEO/ Chair Maurits Brenninkmeijer – COO/Secretary Bastiaan Dillmann – CFO/Treasurer |
Board 2012 – 2013
Guido Mauschaupt – Chair Kim Voerknecht – Secretary Bastiaan Dillmann – Treasurer Pamela Mann – Event Manager Yara Khalil – Human Resource Manager Koen Waasdorp – Facility Manager Maria Verwoerd – Inventory Manager |
Board 2014 – 2015
Halyna Alekandrovych – Chair Daan Brok – Secretary Bas Nijhuis – Treasurer 2014-II J.S. – Treasurer 2015-I Frederik Snijders – Operations Manager Solya Luchechko – Event Manager Ruth Verhoeff – Human Resource Manager Philip van Klompenburg – Facility Manager Jack Vivié – Inventory Manager |
Board 2015 – 2016
J.S. – Chair Joery de Vos – Secretary Anouk Daams – Operations Manager Maximilian Negele – Treasurer 2015-II Joost Verheggen – Event Manager 2015-II & Treasurer 2016-I Ishany Balder – Human Resource Manager Andra Dols – Facility Manager Jacob Hepkema – Inventory Manager |