Rip-off rent
The rooms at SiB’s building at Danmarksplass are getting
pricey. Now the monthly rent is close to 4.000 NOK. – I simply
can’t afford to live here anymore, says tenants’ representative
Ellen Isaksen. Several of the tenants feel let down by SiB.
In January, it was announced that the rent would not exceed
3.500 NOK. The electricity bill has made the price for an
18 square metres room approach 4.000 NOK a month. Eivind Kildal
is chairman of the board at SiB. He has no problem admitting
the challenge students face paying these prices. Student Morten
Caspersen says it isn’t possible to be a full-time student
at these rates. Kildal points to how this residence was built
according to students’ wishes. 40 percent of the rooms in
Damsgårdsveien are now vacant. Kildal points out how SiB have
rooms costing from 1.850 to 5.000 NOK a month, suggesting
other alternatives for those who can’t afford the expensive
rooms. According to one of SiB’s latest surveys, price was
an important issue to 68 percent of students when considering
where to live.
No decision against war
Behind closed doors it was determined that it isn’t the
university’s purpose to have an opinion about the war in Iraq.
Last Thursday UiB’s board discussed the issue no other Norwegian
university has wanted to take up. Rune Nilsen explains how
the board’s decision must not be misunderstood. - This doesn’t
mean that we are positive to this war. This is an important
issue, where the involvement of university employees is crucial,
he says. Headmistress Kirsti Koch Christensen said directly
after the meeting that the decision was made unanimously.
However, the two student representatives at the meeting let
themselves be heard as disagreeing.
Unknown arsonist at Fantoft
Last week somebody set fire to several notice boards at
Fantoft. The police are now investigating the incident. The
fire alarm went off at about 4 am. According to student Marja
Nickel, there was smoke in the hallway. - I was worried only
for a brief period of time, she says. Other students tell
Studvest how smoke alarms go off all the time, making each
one hard to take seriously.
ALEXANDER KEMP
09.04.03
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