thewaterfront YOUR UNIVERSITY, YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOUR VOICE, YOUR PAPER
22 February 2010 - Issue 187 www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
EST - 1995 FORTNIGHTLY AND FREE
FRESHERS’ REP FRETS OVER
‘FORGOTTEN LAND’ By Thore Haugstad
News Reporter
FRESHERS’ REPRESENTATIVE, Mitchell Theaker believes students at the Hendrefolian Student Village are viewed as ‘second class citizens’ by the university. A steady stream of complaints has been flowing to Theaker during the academic year by students who have experienced problems with accommodation at the student village. Students The Waterfront have spoken to have mentioned issues with mould, heating, damp, leakage, hygiene, doors and windows, and crime and security. Incidents have also occurred where mould problems have been ‘solved’ by painting over it, and some students have waited for months before things have been repaired. Theaker has lamented these conditions and is worried by the university’s ignorance towards the village students’ welfare. “The current state is not good enough. It’s just a completely forgotten land which is unacceptable considering the money we pay to stay here,” he said. “Every single week something will break in a house, something in the kitchen, the bathroom or the lights. It’s absolutely guaranteed and it just piles up. “It’s been going on for years. Nothing has been done to improve it and I really don’t think the university seems care anymore. “They know the village is going in five years now and why would anyone put loads of money into something which will be gone soon? Nobody would, but in reality they should, considering the amount of students living here. “I think it reinforces the fact that the village students are not only feeling like
IGNORANCE: Freshers’ Representative Mitchell Theaker believes the students living in the village are treated as ‘second class citizens’ by the University
second class citizens, but also viewed as second class citizens by the university.” Theaker also thinks the university is using the student lifestyle to their advantage when deciding how much money to spend on the village. He added: “I think they use the fact that we are students and that this is the way students are supposed to live. They think they can get away with it. “But even in one or two years, I’m not
going to give up on this. I can promise you that. “You don’t know what these issues will do to your health, and the crime is making people feel insecure. “The least you want to see is some evidence of care from the university, but you just don’t see any.” A number of first year students living in the village have stepped forward and told The Waterfront of their experiences.
Egyptology student Isabel Granville said: “We’ve been broken into three times. The doors have been smashed in while we were there and there’s still a hole in the wall which is yet to be fixed. “The oven didn’t work so we got in another one, which didn’t work either. They brought in a third oven which they didn’t install so we had three defective ovens.
“The bathtub upstairs starts leaking when you fill it with too much water. I can’t be bothered reporting it anymore. I’ve given up.” Law student Hannah Luffman said: “Four men just walked into the house at 4 o’clock in the morning and refused to leave. I woke up and saw them in the kitchen, I had never seen them before. I rang security and they took an hour to get here... Turn to page 3