Did you also finally find housing? No, I’m still looking so if you hear anything, could you let me know? This is a conversation most of us have participated in – either as the one who has finally found housing or the one who is still on the lookout. In my first semester, I got university housing in a lovely, old prison. While some people were shocked about the living conditions (signing waivers that stated we could not sue in case we got ill from asbestos), it appears I was still quite privileged as the housing crisis has only gone downhill since then.
Imagine moving to a new city – and for many even a new country – and not having a roof over your head. Shelter is something we widely consider a basic need, next to food, water, clothing, and sleep. However, this basic need is not met for quite a few of us. I remember seeing a video of first-year students on Instagram, sleeping in a PE hall during Intreeweek because they had not been successful with their housing hunt. And that is not because they were lazy, it is because getting housing via the UvA has become a rarity which means they have to resort to the private housing market on which Dutchies looking for roommates don’t even invite non-Dutchies anymore, people are bidding during viewings, and finding a room below 600€ is nearly impossible.
Yet, despite all these difficulties students face, they are still expected to excel in their studies while also having to attend their tutorials and ideally lectures. I am not asking for the UvA to fix the housing crisis, this is an issue too big to be solved by one institution. However, I’m asking the UvA to be more understanding of the pressure their students are under. It would be nice if professors and tutorial teachers addressed the housing crisis in the first weeks and emphasised that finding a room is more important than slaving away to get into the honours programme or keep up your GPA for a cum laude annotation. When I was looking for housing, I had a million tabs open from Kamernet, Pararius, and Facebook, to Instagram and WhatsApp groups for homeless students. Not having housing puts students in a precarious situation and for some, this pressure might be enough to quit academia.
However, did the UvA not make diversity one of its core values? How do you expect to achieve a diverse student body if you do not account for the struggles this diverse student body might face? Not all UvA students are from financially secure backgrounds or have families that help them find housing. For first-generation students, students who need to support themselves financially, or students who experience discrimination when looking for a room, the added academic pressure and lack of support when it comes to housing might be the last straw. And dear UvA, writing the following on your website is not enough: ‘Attention: Due to the ongoing housing crisis in the Netherlands, the UvA urges you not to come to Amsterdam for your studies unless you have secured proper housing’. Oftentimes, to find housing, students need to come to the Netherlands. Attending viewings and getting to know others who are also looking for housing is a necessary step. And even if students found housing before they moved, who is guaranteeing us that our landlords will not kick us out at one point?
So, dear professors, tutorial teachers, and student services, could you talk about the difficulties, offer students a way to get connected amongst each other, and provide us with the knowledge needed to avoid scams or illegal evictions by our landlords? It’s difficult enough to start university if you found housing or have a support network that helps you with finding housing – just imagine what it’s like for a lot of us who do not have that privilege.
Did you also finally find housing? No, I’m still looking so if you hear anything, could you let me know? This is a conversation most of us have participated in – either as the one who has finally found housing or the one who is still on the lookout. In my first semester, I got university housing in a lovely, old prison. While some people were shocked about the living conditions (signing waivers that stated we could not sue in case we got ill from asbestos), it appears I was still quite privileged as the housing crisis has only gone downhill since then.
Imagine moving to a new city – and for many even a new country – and not having a roof over your head. Shelter is something we widely consider a basic need, next to food, water, clothing, and sleep. However, this basic need is not met for quite a few of us. I remember seeing a video of first-year students on Instagram, sleeping in a PE hall during Intreeweek because they had not been successful with their housing hunt. And that is not because they were lazy, it is because getting housing via the UvA has become a rarity which means they have to resort to the private housing market on which Dutchies looking for roommates don’t even invite non-Dutchies anymore, people are bidding during viewings, and finding a room below 600€ is nearly impossible.
Yet, despite all these difficulties students face, they are still expected to excel in their studies while also having to attend their tutorials and ideally lectures. I am not asking for the UvA to fix the housing crisis, this is an issue too big to be solved by one institution. However, I’m asking the UvA to be more understanding of the pressure their students are under. It would be nice if professors and tutorial teachers addressed the housing crisis in the first weeks and emphasised that finding a room is more important than slaving away to get into the honours programme or keep up your GPA for a cum laude annotation. When I was looking for housing, I had a million tabs open from Kamernet, Pararius, and Facebook, to Instagram and WhatsApp groups for homeless students. Not having housing puts students in a precarious situation and for some, this pressure might be enough to quit academia.
However, did the UvA not make diversity one of its core values? How do you expect to achieve a diverse student body if you do not account for the struggles this diverse student body might face? Not all UvA students are from financially secure backgrounds or have families that help them find housing. For first-generation students, students who need to support themselves financially, or students who experience discrimination when looking for a room, the added academic pressure and lack of support when it comes to housing might be the last straw. And dear UvA, writing the following on your website is not enough: ‘Attention: Due to the ongoing housing crisis in the Netherlands, the UvA urges you not to come to Amsterdam for your studies unless you have secured proper housing’. Oftentimes, to find housing, students need to come to the Netherlands. Attending viewings and getting to know others who are also looking for housing is a necessary step. And even if students found housing before they moved, who is guaranteeing us that our landlords will not kick us out at one point?
So, dear professors, tutorial teachers, and student services, could you talk about the difficulties, offer students a way to get connected amongst each other, and provide us with the knowledge needed to avoid scams or illegal evictions by our landlords? It’s difficult enough to start university if you found housing or have a support network that helps you with finding housing – just imagine what it’s like for a lot of us who do not have that privilege.
