1997. Created by two German students, The Voice wanted to give a voice to the international student community in Leuven. Portulaca, now LOKO International, took the project under its wings. Therefore, this is – drum roll – the 14th year for The Voice.

So what is The Voice? It is a newspaper/magazine made by and for the international student community of Leuven. It could not be more simple. However, entering my second term as editor in chief and third as contributor to The Voice, I started to question the newspaper's positioning.

That is why I dove back into the archives to see if and if so, how far, we had deviated from 'the path' over the last two years. I took a look at some contributions made by predecessors. Edward Cameron, editor in chief for most of the issues of year 1 and 2 (1997-1999), wrote some words anyone who worked on The Voice can identify with. In December '98, he wrote: "The finished product gives little insight into the long and (and painful!) process, which is endured month after month. From the initial proposals, to the writing of the articles, looking for advertisement [The Voice was self-financed back then, red.], grammatical editing (not always successful), and lay-out, a lot of effort and sacrifice is made. As you can imagine, at the end of this process, we are all so familiar with the issue, that it becomes difficult to pick ourselves up and start ALL over again...".

Therefore, it is not always easy to judge your own work, let alone to accept criticism. However, The Voice is not written for the team, but by the team (Yes, we have been called self-centered, whatever that may mean in an editorial context). So we listen to you. What is on your mind, what can we help you with? On top of it all, you do receive news value. We have been called boring and serious, as well as superficial and childish. Is the 'good' way to be found in the middle, then?

Still judging by other words of Edward Cameron, the division between these two ways of looking at a international student newspaper is nothing new. He called it 'the United Nations syndrome' ("we're in the middle"): to be between the Easmus-students ("perceived as being fun-driven and beer-filled") and students in international programs and PhD-students ("viewed as chess-laying, deep-thinking and Pangaea-locked").

Now, 13 year later, I repeat his words: "We would be happy if both sides compromise. We live in a serious world and Erasmus is a learning experience designed to help us develop in this world. We also live in a fun world and the lighter side of life makes the whole thing worthwhile. So our advice to you: protect you own side diligently, but please learn to appreciate the opposite side of the coin!"

In other words, on whichever 'side' of the international student community you are on, don't let you voice fall silent. Make your voice heard. When you have something to say, say it with us! To repeat the lemma of the University Library: Satisfied? Tell others. Not satisfied?