A topic that partially dominated the discussion on the election of the new rector of the Jagiellonian University was the issue of dormitories - both existing ones and those that students can only dream about. What does the Kamionka dormitory case tell us about the situation of students?
Studying only for the rich?
The housing crisis has many faces. The one we are much less familiar with is the situation of students coming to the metropolis. The cost of renting a room reaches amounts out of reach for the average student, especially from the poorer part of society. At the same time, in most cities, as in Krakow, the supply of dormitories has been stagnant for more than a dozen years.
As a result, with the radical increase in housing rental prices, the queues of students eager to live in dormitories reached about 800 last year on the reserve list for the AGH student dormitories (the largest base of dormitories in Cracow), and at Jagiellonian University this number was about 500.
What is the result of this? The number of student dormitories in Cracow is far too small in relation to the needs, as was mentioned, among others, by the former deputy mayor of Cracow, Jerzy Muzyk, during the Municipal Roundtable. That's why the Student Housing Initiative, together with the Cracow Youth Circle of the Workers' Initiative, has launched a protest against the sale of the defunct dormitory building. What is the result of the whole situation?
gave the example of Jowita, how do we win?
The protest against the sale of the Kamionka student dormitory can be seen as a continuation on the national arena of opposition to the sale by Adam Mickiewicz University of the Jowita student dormitory building, Kuba Glaz reported for A&B. In Poznan, the sale of the property, located in a part of the city that is attractive from the perspective of developers, has been stopped. Although the fate of Jowita is still uncertain, the fight for the dormitory has become an inspiration for many other cities and universities.
In Krakow, however, the situation is different.
The decision to sell the Kamionka student house was made in 2018, and the funds were to be used to build a new dormitory on the UJ campus. For several years it was not possible to sell the building or start construction of a new one. That's why the Student Housing Initiative, together with the Cracow Youth Circle of the Workers' Initiative, began publicizing the issue of the sale of Kamionka. In addition, the protesters inquired with the Jagiellonian University about the condition of the building - the documents that were made available indicated that the dormitory could be used "as intended."
As the university indicates in the official communiqué, the decision to sell was to be made on the basis of an analysis conducted with students previously living in the dormitory located in Czyżyny. At the same time, the communiqué announced "an analysis of the potential possibility of modernization," and denied the possible sale of the Bursa Jagiellońska student house.
At the same time, in the pages of Gazeta Wyborcza, the rector-elect of the Jagiellonian University, Professor Piotr Jedynak, announced the commissioning of a valuation for the renovation of the Kamionka student house. The protesters, however, are directly demanding the fulfillment of three demands. The restoration of Kamionka from next year (with the cancellation of the university senate's resolution), the start of construction of new student houses and the protection of the dormitory from sale. The question of the further direction of the talks and their results is open.
What does Kamionka really show?
The situation with the student dormitory in Czyżyny and the conflict shows the biggest problem of recent years - the lack of systemic support for the development of student dormitories and only partial interest in building new ones and modernizing old ones on the part of universities.
Expansion of the dormitory base should be a priority not only because of the lack of places for students, but also because of the structural approach to access to higher education. Lack of adequate infrastructural facilities is not just a number in Excel, but a concrete group of people who will not be able to take up their dream studies, struggling to improve their own status. The case of Jowita and Kamionka are not isolated examples, but a starting point for a full-scale approach to the subject for central, local and university authorities. This challenge for the beginning of the term can define the development of not only the university in the long term, but also influence the economic direction of the city.
