Illustration Shutterstock Should rooms be allocated in order of application, or through hospiteren – a Dutch system in which student-house residents interview would-be housemates over dinner? Or a combination of the two? Or by some other means, like a room lottery? How would students allocate rooms if they were student housing association Idealis?
DROEF CULTURE
Somya Chowdhury (28), a Master’s student of Resilient Farming and Food Systems
‘It is good that there are rooms allocated without hospiteren, because all students need a roof over their heads. This way, I was able to find my first room in Wageningen from abroad. At the same time, people like to be able to choose who they live with, so they feel more at home with the people they share their house with.’
‘After living in Wageningen for a while, I made friends and found my community. Currently, I’m subrenting a room in Droevendaal. Droef’s people practise a sustainable lifestyle. Some houses have chickens, others like to get their groceries directly from farms or grow their own food in the gardens. The sense of community here is strong. If Droef’s rooms were allocated based on rankings, it would not be the place it is today.
‘A friend who was subrenting a room on Costerweg had a great relationship with her housemates. When a permanent room became available, they wanted to offer it to her, but this was not possible because of the room allocation system there: she hadn’t been registered for long enough. In cases like this, I think there should be more flexibility and autonomy for students to choose who they live with.’
GOT LUCKY
Aravind Menon Krishnakumar (24), Master’s student of Plant Biotechnology
‘I had to find a room in Wageningen from India. Thanks to the priority for international students, I found a place in Dijkgraaf. All rooms here are allocated based on ROOM.nl rankings, so you don’t get to decide who you live with.
‘My corridor is quite international: we have students from Spain, Ghana, Colombia, Rumania and more. Initially, we did not talk much with each other, but after some time we started talking and hanging out more. Now, we see each other every day and we often have shared meals. I’m happy with my place.
‘Not everybody is as lucky as I am: there are corridors where housemates don’t click. In such cases it might be good to combine ranking with hospiteren.’
ASSOCATION HOUSES
Christel Konings (23), chair of the Wageningen Federation of Student Societies
‘Many Idealis houses have long corridors with a lot of people, where rooms are allocated without hospiteren. As a result, resident don’t bond with each other as strongly. If you allocate rooms through hospiteren, the chances of housemates getting on well are bigger. Then people live less individualistically, and you realize sooner if somebody is having a hard time. From the welfare point of view, that makes hospiteren a good way of allocating rooms. And hospiteren is important to student societies : student society houses are an important part of Wageningen student culture.
‘At the same time, it’s still important to allocate rooms through the ROOM.nl ranking. Otherwise only chatty people get rooms. The pilot at Costerweg, in which the first 10 people on the ROOM.nl list were invited to hospiteren, is quite an interesting hybrid approach.
‘In terms of balance, I’d say it would be enough to allocate a quarter to a third of the Idealis rooms through open hospiteren. Because that is already the norm for a lot of houses on the private market.’
Commuting time
Isa Tiebosch (21), Bachelor’s student of Environmental Sciences
‘I was given priority in my first year because of the long travel time from my home, which meant I found a room faster. I’ve been living in the old Marijkeweg complex ever since. It’s got to stay possible for international students to find a room without having to go through hospiteren You just can’t do that from abroad.
‘I also think waiting time is important. If you are a third-year student, you want something nice and if there are lots of people with priority, the waiting time might be the deciding factor.
‘For shared houses it is still nice for residents to be able to choose their new housemate, or to propose someone themselves. The main thing is to keep it in balance.’If you allocate rooms through hospiteren the chances of good relations with housemates are bigger
NO HOSPITEREN HORROR
Sarah Noyon (25), a Master’s student of International Development Studies
‘As a Bachelor’s student in Amsterdam, I found rooms through hospiteren or via friends. That is pretty much the only way to find anything there – I don’t know many people who found a place via a student housing association’s waiting list, or only as a Master’s student.
‘I started my Master’s in Wageningen last September. I succeeded on my third attempt at hospiteren, and I’ve been living in Rijnveste since 9 September. No horror stories about hospiteren from me, because thanks to hospiteren I’m living with people who became my best friends. If you are placed at random, that doesn’t happen. I wouldn’t fancy an anonymous corridor in a high-rise block of flats at all.’
