Panorama

VEK suspended for four weeks after misconduct during initiation

The VEK student association at UGent has been suspended for four weeks following an inappropriate initiation ritual that caused new members to vomit.

5 September 2026Tagblick Newsdesk

AI-generatedWritten by an AI system, editorially responsible — how we work

Archive photo: VEK suspended for four weeks after misconduct during initiation — Archive photoPhoto: FrDr · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Flemish Economic Circle (VEK) at Ghent University has been suspended for a period of four weeks. This measure was taken by the Faculty Convention (FK) in response to an initiation ritual that took place in the spring.

During the initiation task named 'SOS Piet', new members were required to consume ingredients for spaghetti, resulting in them vomiting into a bag. This incident has raised concerns about the well-being of the participants.

According to an anonymous internal source, the behavior exhibited was unacceptable and not in line with the agreements made for student initiations. The involvement of the student association in this case has led to a suspension.

Youth alderman Evita Willaert (Groen) has expressed her disapproval of what transpired and emphasized that such behaviors cannot be tolerated.

In response to these events, Ghent University has indicated that regulations regarding student initiations will be revised. This aims to contribute to a safer and more responsible approach to such rituals.

The suspension of VEK will be in effect during the first four weeks of the new academic year, emphasizing adherence to specific rules regarding student initiations to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

This item was written by an AI system on the basis of the headlines and short teasers of the independently operating newsrooms named below. We disclose this under Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). Before publication we check origin and verifiability — anything that appears in only one place is not published — as well as language, substance and legally sensitive content. No separate substantive review of each individual item by a natural person takes place; we therefore do not rely on the exemption in Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of the AI Act. Editorial responsibility for this publication rests with the person named in the imprint (§ 18 Abs. 2 MStV). Please report errors to [email protected] — we will correct or remove the item. Full reports are available from the sources listed.