College meets with postgraduates to hear accommodation concerns

Last Wednesday, senior members of the College met with postgraduate students to discuss their concerns and experiences with accommodation.

In an email to student reps announcing the meeting on Tuesday, Deena Blumenkrantz, President of the Graduate Students' Association (GSA) told students that "College has heard our cries that their housing is too expensive". Jane Neary, Director of Commercial Services, Denis Wright, Dean of Students and John Anderson, Chief Executive Office of the College Fund were present at the meeting with around 20 postgraduate students.

The general feeling after the meeting was positive. PhD student Mikaela Smit applauded the College for reaching out to postgraduates, saying: "it is great to see staff are seeking out students' views."

Postgraduates at the meeting told College that they would prefer to live with other postgrads, in "family-sized" accommodation. This amounts to having a bathroom between 3 or 4 people, and a kitchen for every 4-6 students, rather than studio apartments with en-suite facilities.

The issue of cost was brought up at the meeting, with those attending saying that they paid up to £130 per week and that they would prefer to cycle than pay a premium for living closer to campus.

The GSA has said that they will be creating a survey based on the discussions to discover if these views are reflective of the wider postgraduate population.