Colleges threaten action over rents
Wadham has threatened a rent strike over battels
Wadham students are currently considering rent strikes, after a proposed increase in their accommodation charges. College authorities plan to introduce an 8% increase this year, a rise that students claim has not been fully justified by the college. Battels have risen by over 7% per year since 2002. In contrast, the Retail Price Index inflation has averaged 2.2% over the past four years. Increases in student loans are indexed to this figure.
According to a new survey carried out by the NUS, Oxford’s accommodation is more expensive than that of UCL, LSE or King’s College. The same survey revealed that rooms in Oxford colleges have increased in cost by an average of 35%, compared to London’s 8.6% and the regional figure of 3.5%. A motion passed in a Wadham JCR meeting on Sunday noted all these facts, and added, “The rises in battels over inflation are severely adversely affecting students’ finances.
It named concerns such as students having to rely on parents or holiday jobs to fund their education, the latter of which could affect their workload, as well as the possibility of students being put off applying to Wadham in the first place due to the expense. “Wadham should maintain its reputation as being an accessible college, concerned with the welfare of its students”, the motion concluded. Rent strikes are being considered as a last resort.
Michael Sprack, who proposed the motion, said: “I am fully expecting the situation to be resolved through negotiations: but ‘considering strikes’ is, I feel, a response proportional to the unexplained rent-rises well above inflation of the past years culminating in a proposed and unexplained rise of 8% this year. “The overall thrust of the motion is that we’re not happy just paying more without hearing good reasons why.
No argument has been put forward to explain why battels should be rising so much. The only reason given is the increase in energy costs, but Wadham JCR President Navid Pourghazi responded that this is not a satisfactory explanation, since energy has only increased by a maximum of 25%. It was decided that Pourghazi would present these beliefs to the Finance Bursar and Domestic Bursar of the college. They also resolve to negotiate a battels rise only if it will not make Wadham students poorer.
Pourghazi said. “We’re not buying it unless they improve services. But if they’re going to give us higher rents along with en suite bathrooms, then maybe we’ll say okay.” First year Wadhamite Tom Rackham said, “The predicted termly increase is about £80, which is £10 per week straight out of a student’s budget. This is more than a little unfair, as we aren’t receiving any additional services.
“As for the strike, although it seems that students would like to take action as other colleges have previously there is concern that a rent strike in Michaelmas term might be more than a little bit of a shock for freshers.” Speaking on behalf of the University, Sir Michael Scholar, Chairman of the Conference of Colleges, said, “Colleges still significantly subsidize student accommodation and meals.
“Over recent years most of us have tried to reduce this acrossthe- board subsidy, in order to divert finance towards particularly needy students and to academic support, instead of providing an indiscriminate and untargeted subsidy to all students.” Students at other colleges are also unhappy with rents. Brasenose charges £955 per term, making it the third most expensive college to live in.
They passed a motion in a JCR meeting last week to reopen rent negotiations for the coming year, noting that top-up fees are already placing a further burden upon students next year and not wanting to deter potential applicants in the future. Christine Quigley, Brasenose JCR President, said, “We fully support other colleges facing rent negotiations this term, believing that even the median rent of Oxford colleges is too steep.
Oriel are also planning to open negotiations about rent, having been given a provisional figure of 5.8% for rent increases next year. The college’s JCR President, Frank Hardee, is trying to negotiate a 2- 3% rise instead, since this is how much student loans will be rising by. He told The Oxford Student that he is optimistic about these negotiations. “We’re having a meeting later in the term and I think the college are very open to listening to us.”
Energy Bill promotes green concern
Rising energy costs and consumption by students have resulted in rises in battels across the University. Students at Christ Church have received electricity bills for as much as £300 per term. “It’s worrying,” JCR President Will Dorsey said. “This seems to be an abnormally large amount”. One first-year student, who was charged £200, said, “We did use a lot of electricity”. Christ Church claim that the cost per unit of electricity has risen from 0.25p to 0.70p in a year, which represents a 300% increase. Wadham is currently paying 25% more than in 2002 for electricity. In an email to Wadham students, JCR President Navid Pourghazi said: “The college’s energy consumption has sky rocketed recently, and a lot is being done to bring energy consumption right down to its necessary level. This is for financial and for environmental reasons.
Students are being asked to be careful with the amount of energy they use by remembering to switch off electrical applicances when not in use. Energy consumption is being investigated by a number of colleges. St Hugh’s Energy and Environment Rep Jessica Murray Smith has asked the Carbon Trust to visit the college to perform an energy audit and present an energy efficient solution.
She said, “I think that we should be actively looking to reduce our energy consumption, not only to help reduce rent rises but also the tremendous impact on the environment.” St Hugh’s has installed 150 CFL light bulbs. “It is a tremendous breakthrough, but I feel there is still a lot more that can be done,” added Murray-Smith. The unusually cold winter meant that Merton students found themselvespaying far more than usual for heating.
JCR President James Lamming said, “I’m a southerner and therefore a bit of a wimp, I did my best to keep my room at a temperature akin to a Sauna last term. Lovely though this was when I came back in from the cold, it meant I got stung with an electricity charge for being so greedy. It’s the first time many of us have been charged because normally the weather isn’t so cold.
Green Party Cllr Matt Sellwood urged students to take individual action, as well as calling on the University to implement environment-friendly policies. He said, “There’s absolutely no reason why the majority of lighting in colleges can’t be energy efficient.” no reason why the majority of lighting in colleges can’t be energy efficient.
11th May 2006