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The Arts Faculty Board and the University Board have agreed thatUtrecht University will continue to provide courses in CelticStudies, as the only university in the Netherlands. Particularlystudents in medieval studies, as well as those taking the literaryhistories of European languages, take Celtic Studies as subsidiarysubjects. The Faculty of Arts will sign an agreement with a foreignuniversity for the small number of students (at present two peryear) who wish to graduate in Celtic Studies. In addition, aProfessor of Celtic from the sister department will be appointed toa special or part-time Faculty Chair at the UU. This agreement willtake effect when Dr. Doris Edel, the incumbent Professor of Celtic,retires. The Utrecht Celtic library collection will be preservedfor purposes of teaching and research.

Campus tavern

The campus tavern at the Uithof will not be built as anextension to the Educatorium, as A. Sikkema, the Head of theAccommodation Department, wished. At an estimated seven millionguilders, the design Sikkema commissioned from the Educatoriumarchitect Rem Koolhaas proved far too expensive. A survey alsoshowed that the Uithof habitués want a traditional pub ratherthan a modern designer cafe. The present idea is to combine acafe-cum-outside terrace with a new entry hall and visitors' centerfor the Botanical Gardens directly opposite the Educatorium.However, this will take at least three or four years. Until thattime part of the administration center canteen could be furnishedas a pub.

Unemployed.

Social isolation is one of the main causes of depression amongunemployed women on income support. The social services could makea significant contribution to these women's well being if theyencouraged contacts between fellow sufferers. This conclusion froma recent study by Laurens Ekkel flies in the face of the idea thatthe depressions unemployed women suffer are caused by financialmisery. Ekkel, who will be awarded a doctorate at UtrechtUniversity on Friday 18 February, interviewed 109 unemployedRotterdam women between 19 and 57 years of age. The results clearlyshow that initiatives by unemployed women to create mutual supportstructures are particularly important, although, as Ekkel warns,there is the risk of a 'poverty culture' developing.