Varsity
Since
1942
The official student newspaper of the university of cape town
12 February 2013
Volume 72: Edition 1
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Res policy causes housing fiasco Chris van der Westhuyzen he Administration of UCT says over-allocation is standard practice. The year started in disarray for hundreds of students, who arrived at their allocated residence rooms during move-in week - only to find that the beds they had been promised were already occupied by other students. Bianca Mlambo, a Zimbabwean student and newcomer to Forest Hill residence, said she was unable to move into her room when she arrived on January 29, despite her having received a letter of confirmation from the Student Housing office in August of last year.
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“There’s a bad energy when you move into a place knowing that someone else has just been kicked out”
Image: Jess Breakey REGISTRATION: Students waiting to register for accommodation. Representative Council (SRC), said there were several reasons why students often failed to follow through with their plans to stay in university housing. “Sometimes students receive preliminary acceptance, but then they can’t move in due to outstanding fees,” Devar said. “Others might fail a course or drop out entirely and return home … or they make alternative housing arrangements at the last minute.” In terms of its placement policy, the Student Housing office makes accommodation offers based
on the aggregate resident intake figures from previous years. This “calculated risk”, according to Willis, is an inevitable part of attempting to avoid financial loss and maximise room utilisation. Some students were surprised to learn of the policy, with many saying that they were never aware that it was being implemented. “This is my third year in res and it’s the first time I’ve experienced the negative effects of over-allocation,” said Tarah Norton, a first-time resident at Forest Hill. She was moved to temporary accommodation, after
being unable to stay in the room that was stated on her acceptance letter. Willis said the reason why the effect of the over-allocation policy was more noticeable this year, was because his administration had “simply underestimated the number of students [they] thought would return to res.” After being barred from their rooms, about 50 disgruntled resident students queued in the Forest Hill lobby on January 29, to raise their concerns with the sub-wardens on duty. “There was a lot of yelling,”
in this issue
"There were about 20 of us in the same confusing predicament,” Mlambo said. "My letter said I had been allocated a room in Block G, but when I got there they said that it was full." UCT has 16 residences that are reserved exclusively for first-year-students. These first-tier housing blocks can accommodate 2 100 people - though last year the Student Housing office made 3 600 accommodation offers, according to Grant Willis, director of Student Housing & Residence Life. Willis said the over-allocation of rooms was a necessary part of his administration’s policy. The data from previous years reflected a tendency among student housing applicants who, after accepting their place in a residence, failed to sign in at the start of the year. "Every year we have hundreds of students who accept their spots in university housing, but then they don't pitch up during move-in week," Willis said. "So if we don't over-offer we’re likely to end up with a bunch of empty beds." Jarred Devar, residences coordinator for the Students’
Mlambo said. “People were seriously upset and frustrated because the only response we were getting was ‘We’ll see what we can do’.” The Forest Hill sub-wardens were later joined by Residence Facility Officers and wardens, who had all received a mandate from the Student Housing office to evict any student with outstanding fees, Devar said. “It is unfortunate that the subwardens were made scapegoats of, because really, they were just following orders,” said a Residence Facility Officer who preferred to remain anonymous. In an effort to alleviate the unforeseen influx of resident students, members of the SRC helped to organise emergency accommodation in Fuller Hall and Baxter Theatre, according to Devar. “There was really a joint effort to help resolve the situation,” Devar said. “Many of these students are incredibly vulnerable … We are proud to say that each and every student has now been allocated a bed somewhere in the system.” Norton said she now shared her temporary accommodation in Forest Hill with a new flatmate, who had been relocated from Varietas residence. She said it was a relief to learn that all student residents had eventually been allocated beds, but the constant “shuffling around” of rooms continued to be an unsettling experience. “There’s a bad energy when you move into a place knowing that someone else has just been kicked out of there,” Norton said. “It’s not a nice thing to have that on your conscience.” Willis said he was aware of the widespread discontent among residence students affected by the controversial over-allocation policy. He said the Student Housing administration planned to review its admissions process once it has established the precise residence intake figures for 2013. “The next step is to go around to each res to consolidate numbers,” Willis said. “Once we know exactly how many students moved in this year, we’ll be able to make an informed decision … we may have to consider making less offers in future.”mage: Jessica Breakey
Sundance Fest
page 2
Fresher’s Braai
page 3
Mobile SRC
page 4
Plaza Week
pages 10 &11
Ikeys Rugby
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