It is an “unsustainable” situation that affects their day to day. Residents of the colleges of La Lagunalinked to the ULLhave been complaining “for months” about something as simple as having “a decent stay”, The residents of the San Fernando Residence Hall and the Santa María Residence Hall have sent a letter to DIARIO DE AVISOS to be heard.
The students are clear: “We find ourselves in unpleasant conditions and, apparently, the Accommodation service (in charge of managing the residences of the ULL) cares rather little. They have spent several years passing our complaints and requests, which have no other objective than to allow us some comfort when studying and improving our stay.
They assure that in the San Fernando Hall of Residence, they have two main problems that have to do with the center’s laundry and with the equipment of their rooms.
In the case of the laundry, alluding to a “poor organization regarding the works they are doing” in one of the La Laguna residence halls, specifically the Santa María Residence Hall, they have had to share the laundry room with the college students from that residence, seeing itself overwhelmed: “We have seven washers and seven dryers, which do not stop breaking down because more than 150 schoolchildren are using them (more or less 37 people per washer).”
The problem has come about because as they are domestic washers and dryers, not for industrial use, they break down: “Of these seven available dryers, five do not work and of the seven washers, most (if not all) smell bad or stain. This has meant that some schoolchildren have to go to laundries outside the campus to be able to clean their clothes, something that the vast majority of us cannot afford, since we are students with limited incomes”.
Regarding the equipment of the rooms, they indicate that not all the halls of residence have the same conditions, the Colegio Mayor San Fernando being the “only one” that does not have heaters in a place like La Laguna: “We have asked several times to be provided with a solution, even so, knowing that we live in a rather cold place,
Our proposal has been repeatedly rejected. The worst thing is that we don’t
allow you to have any type of appliance that is not provided by them, which
that prevents us from having our own heater or dehumidifier.”
The problems they denounce do not end there. The alleged study chairs “are made of plastic and, being so uncomfortable, make it impossible to do the long study/work sessions that we require.” They point out that they have asked for solutions, arriving, according to the residents themselves, to receiving responses “in a mocking tone.”
There are no fewer problems at the Colegio Mayor Santa María. The students complain about the situations generated by some works in their building: “We accepted through the credential the reform situation in which the Colegio Mayor Santa María was, despite the fact that in the 2022-23 academic year we were evicted with advance, specifically on 24
June 2022, to begin said works. Those who needed accommodation for the July exam session were transferred to other residences. At that time, we agreed to live together with the works, which had to be finished before the start of the course”.
Representatives of the residents met with the Office of the Vice President on November 9, 2022, obtaining the promise that, in January 2023, “the main works would be finished except for the forklift”, something that, they say, has not been fulfilled: ” Even in March, we continue with the same problem, without having obtained any explanation from the University of La Laguna. Because of these delays, we have had to live with numerous disagreements, without taking into account the effect they have had on our quality of life”. “.
They complain that they have lived in the residence “while they painted walls, varnished doors or cut off the water without prior notice” finding themselves in their rooms: “Dust has been one more among us, which, for people with respiratory problems, has It was a big risk. We have lived with endless noise in exam times. Every day, from 7.30 in the morning until approximately 17:00 without stopping. In addition to the repeated calls for attention to the workers for making improper use of the facilities. During their workday, they drank alcoholic beverages and smoked
inside the enclosure. Also, several schoolboys received inappropriate and obscene comments, something completely unacceptable.
The students acknowledge that they “understand” that it is common for problems to arise when works are carried out, but they say they are “tired” of “always being the losers”. “We have been paying for services that are not available for more than six months, such as the ground floor, with special emphasis on the laundry service. It is true that prior to entering the school, we were aware that we were not going to have this service on the ground floor until the end of November. Specifically, it was stipulated that said area would be completed within a month,” they say. Faced with this situation, they had to use the laundry at the Colegio Mayor San Fernando, generating the situation described above.
Paradoxically, today, at 6:30 p.m., the hall of residence will be inaugurated, and the residents of the hall indicate in their letter that “they are going to present the new reformed areas, preventing schoolchildren from using them after said act”, lamenting this Situation: “This should be our second home, but we feel cheated, out of place and we see that the Vice President has only given excuses and does not lead to good communication.”
They ask that it be taken into account that they are “university students” who live far from their homes and that “the vast majority” cannot afford to rent: “We need some commitment from the Accommodation service, we feel ignored and want a change. We hope that this will serve so that, once and for all, they take us into account as if we were people”.
