Will rents rise?
The board of the Student Welfare Organization (SiB) wants
to increase the rent in order to fund the refurbishment of
their student housing. The board and management of SiB are
divided on the matter. Egil T. Pedersen, who is General Manager
of SiB, says that increasing the rent by ten percent isn’t
dramatic and thus supports the proposal that is now being
considered. The most vulnerable sites in this respect are
Hatleberg, Fantoft and Natland. Professor Rolf Jens Brunstad
at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration
(NHH) says that raising rent to pay for maintenance is common
practice. – However, increased rates may lead to vacancies
at SiB’s facilities as well as increased market prices, he
says. – The entire purpose of SiB is to offer services at
a lower price than you’d find on the private market, says
student Eivind Kildal.
Famous recipe, result as intended?
This year’s election campaigns use methods that have been
known to fail earlier. The election process has been simplified
this year. For instance, the entire university equals one
constituency. Not everyone has been prominent during the election
campaign. Those who have made their mark have applied well-used
methods; like photocopied posters, flyers and stands. Kristoffer
Jul-Larsen, who represents last year’s winners Boligaksjonen,
feels that the lack of involvement is a result of the fact
that each wing has been initiated by only a few people.
More NHH-students go abroad
At NHH, about 50 percent of all students stay one or more
terms abroad as part of their education. Popular destinations
are Europe, as well as Australia, Canada and the USA. Last
year, the University of Bergen (UiB) sent 496 students abroad.
These stay abroad for up to two year as part of their Norwegian
degree. According to last year’s figures, 20.466 Norwegians
studied abroad in 2002. At NHH, this equates to the eleven
percent of the student population who spent time abroad last
year. One reason for NHH’s leadership in this respect is a
homogenous student population, making it easier to arrange
student exchanges. In general, fewer Norwegian students go
to the USA. The new attractions are Asia, Africa and Latin
America.
ALEXANDER KEMP
22.10.03
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