Living in a box

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The new space-box housing on the Leeghwaterstraat is clean, functional, an exciting and revolutionary new housing concept, conveniently located.. .So how come some foreign students are complaining about having to live in it? ,,We weren’t told we’d be living in a box before we came here,” said Kenny Zheng, a Chinese MSc student. ,,And then once here, we were forced to sign a contract forbidding us to move out of our box for one year. We didn’t had a real choice. We were under the impression that if we didn’t sign, we’d be homeless.”

Many foreign students were put in temporary housing when they arrived here, on the understanding that they’d eventually move into a space-box or container room. However, when these new rooms were finally ready to be moved into, some students decided they didn’t want to live in a box or were happy and wanted to stay in their temporary accommodations. A problematic state of affairs summed up by mathematics student Chunfang Meng: ,,These poor boxes are very expensive, 330 euros per month. They cost more and are smaller than my current room.”

For Zheng, Meng and other foreign students, the feeling is that perhaps the TU’s interest in making money from foreign students is given a higher priority than ensuring that the foreign students themselves get value and quality for their money. ,,This year, the TU attracted so many international students that it can’t cope with housing,” Zheng says. ,,But the TU should’ve solved its housing problems before we arrived here.”

True, Delft’s chronic housing shortage leaves less room for manoeuvre and choice. But these foreign students especially object to the space box’s high rental price, an overall lack of freedom of choice and what they perceived to be Duwo’s hard-line ‘move into the box or else’ policy. Some students say they were intimidated by Duwo, being told that if they didn’t move into a box room and sign the one-year contract, Duwo would change the locks on their current (Duwo-owned) rooms, effectively locking them out with nowhere to live.

The foreign students, new to Holland and unfamiliar with its ways, felt helpless. They were unaware of their rights and of what organizations to turn to for help. Zheng: ,,Ultimately, some students tried contacting the TU’s student union and others decided to ask a lawyer for help.”

Optimistic

In response to the growing controversy, on November 19th Duwo and TU Delft held a joint meeting with student representatives to discuss this housing issue. As a result of this constructive meeting, students were given the freedom to choose where to live, and Duwo apologized to those students who had refused to sign the contract because of what they felt was Duwo%s unfriendly way of treating them. Other concessions made to the students include removing the mandatory one-year clause from the housing contract (students are now allowed to move out their space-box with one-month%s notice), and students who currently live in another DUWO room and refuse to move into a space-box room can stay in their current room for one month while they look for another place to live, provided they gave Duwo written notice before Monday 24 November.

Most students are pleased with this new agreement. Zheng found a cheaper and larger room elsewhere in Delft, where he’ll live now that he’s free to choose. Bowen Yu, a mechanical engineering student, gave his one-month notice and will try to find a room himself. He%s optimistic that he’ll find a room within a month. But if not, he says, %%homelessness is better than living in a box. I’d even choose a hotel or camping over the box.”

Some students living in their box rooms are still unhappy, however, especially with the high rents. Zheng: ,,A lawyer told us we have the right to ask DUWO to provide us with a list of costs, like gas, electricity, water, etc. If the current rent of 330 euros per month is higher than the listed costs, we only must pay 53% of the rent.”

Although still not wholly satisfied with their housing situation, some MSc students say they simply cannot afford to spend anymore time and money fighting for a better deal from DUWO and TU Delft. They must focus on their studies. This is especially true for the students from developing countries, whose families spend their life savings to put their sons and daughters through the TU’s 8,000 euro per year MSc program.

Chung-heon Han, from Korea, is angry that box residents must pay for laundry facilities: ,,Students living in Roland Holstlaan don’t pay laundry costs, so why should we? People shouldn’t be treated differently.” Li Yao, a box resident studying biochemical engineering, wondered why students are now allowed to terminate their contracts, but weren’t allowed to prior to the November 19th meeting with DUWO: ,,Did they mistreat us before?” And an Iranian student complained that he can’t study in his room because his box’s sound insulation is so poor that he’s constantly disturbed by his neighbour’s voice next door. Other complaints about box living include nofacility for bikes, poor ventilation and no cable TV.

Has the TU’s international reputation been damaged by this box housing controversy? Some foreign students say it has. DUWO and the TU have made helpful concessions, yet some foreign students still talk of marching in protest down the Mekelweg with banners and signs to the Office of the President. Should that happen, the flame on the TU logo could burn for real.

Controversy on campus as some foreign students object to living in new space-box or container housing. And among these disgruntled students turned housing activists, there’s even talk of a protest march down the Mekelweg.

The new space-box housing on the Leeghwaterstraat is clean, functional, an exciting and revolutionary new housing concept, conveniently located.. .So how come some foreign students are complaining about having to live in it? ,,We weren’t told we’d be living in a box before we came here,” said Kenny Zheng, a Chinese MSc student. ,,And then once here, we were forced to sign a contract forbidding us to move out of our box for one year. We didn’t had a real choice. We were under the impression that if we didn’t sign, we’d be homeless.”

Many foreign students were put in temporary housing when they arrived here, on the understanding that they’d eventually move into a space-box or container room. However, when these new rooms were finally ready to be moved into, some students decided they didn’t want to live in a box or were happy and wanted to stay in their temporary accommodations. A problematic state of affairs summed up by mathematics student Chunfang Meng: ,,These poor boxes are very expensive, 330 euros per month. They cost more and are smaller than my current room.”

For Zheng, Meng and other foreign students, the feeling is that perhaps the TU’s interest in making money from foreign students is given a higher priority than ensuring that the foreign students themselves get value and quality for their money. ,,This year, the TU attracted so many international students that it can’t cope with housing,” Zheng says. ,,But the TU should’ve solved its housing problems before we arrived here.”

True, Delft’s chronic housing shortage leaves less room for manoeuvre and choice. But these foreign students especially object to the space box’s high rental price, an overall lack of freedom of choice and what they perceived to be Duwo’s hard-line ‘move into the box or else’ policy. Some students say they were intimidated by Duwo, being told that if they didn’t move into a box room and sign the one-year contract, Duwo would change the locks on their current (Duwo-owned) rooms, effectively locking them out with nowhere to live.

The foreign students, new to Holland and unfamiliar with its ways, felt helpless. They were unaware of their rights and of what organizations to turn to for help. Zheng: ,,Ultimately, some students tried contacting the TU’s student union and others decided to ask a lawyer for help.”

Optimistic

In response to the growing controversy, on November 19th Duwo and TU Delft held a joint meeting with student representatives to discuss this housing issue. As a result of this constructive meeting, students were given the freedom to choose where to live, and Duwo apologized to those students who had refused to sign the contract because of what they felt was Duwo%s unfriendly way of treating them. Other concessions made to the students include removing the mandatory one-year clause from the housing contract (students are now allowed to move out their space-box with one-month%s notice), and students who currently live in another DUWO room and refuse to move into a space-box room can stay in their current room for one month while they look for another place to live, provided they gave Duwo written notice before Monday 24 November.

Most students are pleased with this new agreement. Zheng found a cheaper and larger room elsewhere in Delft, where he’ll live now that he’s free to choose. Bowen Yu, a mechanical engineering student, gave his one-month notice and will try to find a room himself. He%s optimistic that he’ll find a room within a month. But if not, he says, %%homelessness is better than living in a box. I’d even choose a hotel or camping over the box.”

Some students living in their box rooms are still unhappy, however, especially with the high rents. Zheng: ,,A lawyer told us we have the right to ask DUWO to provide us with a list of costs, like gas, electricity, water, etc. If the current rent of 330 euros per month is higher than the listed costs, we only must pay 53% of the rent.”

Although still not wholly satisfied with their housing situation, some MSc students say they simply cannot afford to spend anymore time and money fighting for a better deal from DUWO and TU Delft. They must focus on their studies. This is especially true for the students from developing countries, whose families spend their life savings to put their sons and daughters through the TU’s 8,000 euro per year MSc program.

Chung-heon Han, from Korea, is angry that box residents must pay for laundry facilities: ,,Students living in Roland Holstlaan don’t pay laundry costs, so why should we? People shouldn’t be treated differently.” Li Yao, a box resident studying biochemical engineering, wondered why students are now allowed to terminate their contracts, but weren’t allowed to prior to the November 19th meeting with DUWO: ,,Did they mistreat us before?” And an Iranian student complained that he can’t study in his room because his box’s sound insulation is so poor that he’s constantly disturbed by his neighbour’s voice next door. Other complaints about box living include nofacility for bikes, poor ventilation and no cable TV.

Has the TU’s international reputation been damaged by this box housing controversy? Some foreign students say it has. DUWO and the TU have made helpful concessions, yet some foreign students still talk of marching in protest down the Mekelweg with banners and signs to the Office of the President. Should that happen, the flame on the TU logo could burn for real.