Foto Herman van Ommen At least, that is what Wageningen students say in a survey that was organized by a working group that wants better insights into the accommodation wishes of students.
The working group includes representatives of the Wageningen Federation of Student Associations, Student Council party VeSte, municipal council party Connect Wageningen and the housing committees of KSV Franciscus, WSV Ceres, SSR-W, WSR Argo and Nji-Sri. A total of 815 students completed the survey — probably all Dutch given that the questionnaire was in Dutch.
The working group says it is almost impossible to set up new student houses and there is also a lack of clarity about the five per cent rule (in Wageningen, a maximum of five per cent of the houses in a street can be student houses). 23 per cent of the respondents are dissatisfied with their current accommodation; 70 per cent of them would rather live in a house with the right to interview candidates. 81 per cent of the respondents think the interview right has a positive effect on the accommodation situation. 70 per cent also think Wageningen doesn’t have enough accommodation for students. The working group wants to discuss the survey findings with the municipality and Idealis.
Beauty contest
Idealis director Bart van As wonders whether the survey gives a complete picture: ‘Was it mainly filled in by student society members or also by international students? We have nearly 6,000 rooms and apartments, including 3,162 rooms with shared facilities. 52 per cent of the rooms with shared facilities are allocated using the interview system and 48 per cent based on time since registration. In our own monitor, we also see the interview system scores highest for customer satisfaction: people like being able to choose their flatmates. On the other hand, the interview system is a kind of beauty contest. Idealis wants to be there for everyone.’
