Imperial’s halls solution is a travesty

For the past five years, when it comes to handling accommodation issues, Imperial has been following the mantra that two wrongs make a right and fixing problems by creating new ones. Last year prices were hiked in the South Kensington halls by 10% to compensate for the low rents in Woodward, since Freshers need to pay for a zone 3 travel card. In what seemed a victory last year, the Union Council was allowed to set the rents, but the College had a fixed bottom line, so rents had to be hiked somewhere else. The logic behind the increase in fees in Beit and Prince’s Gardens, was that if a fresher wants to live close to campus, let them pay a premium for it.

Such high rents will create ‘ghettos’ in halls

The issue was raised in the last council meeting and as a member, I am putting a motion forward for the union to start lobbying college to change rents. Such high rents will create ‘ghettos’ in halls, since only people from the same class and same background will be able to afford the rent. This endangers the very essence and purpose of living out, which is learning to live in a diverse environment.

As a hall senior this year, I can tell you that current prices are seriously affecting students’ ability to go out, drink, and party. In certain cases some of them had to rely on the £2000 emergency fund the college has in place for students in difficulty. At a starting price of £224 a week, that’s the equivalent of £8500 a year which a maintenance loan cannot fully cover. With further cuts in maintenance grants next year, there is a genuine concern that people from poorer backgrounds will never be able to afford to live in a South Kensington hall. Why are students from disadvantaged backgrounds being pushed out of central London by the college and given an 80 minute daily commute? Why does living in a hall close to campus need to be considered a “luxury” that justifies a premium, which has recently turned to extortion with a hike every year?

Fundamentally, why are students’ opinions being disregarded? Frankly the answer is that we were passive, we didn’t protest against mistakes that were made by college. We just read about it in FELIX when the halls closed and when the new ones opened, we joked that we wouldn’t want to be a fresher this year. The union came up short in mobilising students and raising awareness amongst them concerning these issues. And then comes mismanagement and flawed logic from the College.

I find it surprising that a university that’s been performing so well academically is so badly managed when it comes to student affairs. People will desire an Imperial education no matter what, but the college has to learn not to take this for granted.