Hugh's...the saga goes on
The ongoing St Hugh's 'New Building' saga remains unresolved. Weeks of delays on the building front have left students dissatisfied, and problems of noise and disruption seem no nearer a satisfactory solution.
An emergency meeting at St. Hugh's JCR was called to try and resolve some of these issues once and for all. Many of the students, who would be living in the building while it was still under construction, expressed concerns for their own safety. In search of compensation for the trials they have had to endure, students have embarked on rent strikes.
Raph Mokades, JCR president, told the Oxford Student that the 96 students who were living in the unfinished building were refusing to pay their full rent. To make the living conditions a little easier, the single-room students will only pay 50 percent of their rent for each week that their peace and quiet is disturbed by the builders, whereas those in shared rooms will only pay 25 percent of their weekly rent. Mokades feels that, " being joined on the rent strike by the MCR will further the cause of the JCR students."
The strength of this rent-strike initiative is a fair reflection of the degree of disappointment and frustration felt by St. Hugh's students to date.
Mokades further commented that the students who have taken the rooms in the infamous building have had to put up with all kinds of inconveniences.
He complained that today was the first day in two weeks that the builders had not rudely awakened the students before 8 a.m. On more serious issues, Mokades also alleged that, "stuff has been going missing," and that while going about their work the builders had been wandering in and out of students' rooms uninvited. With the hullabaloo created by the builders, and related inconveniences, there is evidently a need for some kind of resolution.
Mokades was hoping that the issue could be, "brought to a head," at the meeting of the Governing Body on Wednesday. It seems that with the building work continuing past the set deadline and the students becoming more vociferous in their complaints, this problem is set to continue for some time.
28th Oct 1999