Every year hundreds of parents breathe a sigh of relief as their 18 year olds embark on the beginning of their future in the supposed safety of University Accommodation. Victoria University’s student accommodation has been renowned for dodgy foundations, mould, mushrooms, religious fanatics and several outbreaks of scabies. Recently Unicomm’s Cumberland and McKenzies, owned by ING (the ninth biggest corporation in the world) have received national media attention for their management’s general incompetence. Salient Feature Writer Jenna Powell investigates Victoria University’s grizzly Hall history and the latest Unicomm residents’ complaints.
Horrible Hall Histories
Research commissioned and carried out by Victoria University “has shown that there are significant number of Wellington school leavers who want to study in Wellington and live in a hostel.” On hearing this information one would be forgiven for wondering whether these students actually knew anything about the hostels themselves.
Unicomm has been more plagued with foundational problems over the last four years than any other Victoria University affiliated hostel. In 2003, Salient reported on an outbreak of bedbugs and scabies at Unicomm. Scabies usually develop when foundations are dirty and unsavoury. In 2005 mushrooms were discovered growing in Cumberland and 7 of the 10 rooms on the top floor had been flooded from ceiling leaks. In 2006 Unicomm residents continued to deal with questionable living conditions whilst previous residents were still waiting to receive their bond back after their 2005 residency. Even after years of questionable management practices and poor living conditions Victoria University appears to have taken no action on behalf of its students.
Unicomm’s hostels Cumberland and McKenzies are not the only Victoria University affiliated Halls that have a tattered past. The isolated Karori Hostel Helen Lowry has been accused of having questionable management practices, unfair renovations, religious discrimination, privacy invasions and foundational problems including but not limited to mushrooms and extreme mould.
In 2004 and 2005 the then EdPac-owned hostels Vic Central and Southern Cross delayed completion, causing students to live in backpackers for up to six weeks. Vic Central’s St George let students arrive to no self catering facilities apart from a kettle and a medium sized fridge shared with 12 people despite the previous promises. There were also extreme delays in phone lines being installed in the building. In 2005 St George common room ceiling collapsed after a storm.
Throughout the beginning of the first semester in 2005 EdPac Hostel Southern Cross was missing two floors.
Unicomm Today – Evil Cowards?
Resistance organisers and Unicomm residents Sam Oldman and Josh McArthur filled Salient in on the current complaints against Unicomm and their sub-standard living arrangements. Earlier this year a sewerage pipe burst in Cumberland, resulting in flooding, loud repairs and a most distasteful stench of shit throughout the building. The renovations of both McKenzies and Cumberland hostels have disturbed sleep, study and privacy. Several students have had no warning of tradespeople entering their rooms to make alterations to their ceilings. One such McKenzies7 resident had to live with a huge hole in her ceiling for a prolonged period time. Sam Oldman also said that “a few girls have found extensive mould and mushrooms in their rooms,” and insists it is “a foundational problem with the building” Student accommodation services have failed to improve the situation at Unicomm hostels despite student complaints spanning back over four years. This comes as no surprise to resident McArthur who claims the hostels have had “problems throughout the entire year.”
Ninth floor Cumberland resident Danica Robinson described the rooms on the eighth and ninth floors as “construction sites.” It is no wonder with over half of the rooms being sectioned off for the use of builders and tradespeople and ceilings with gapping holes. “This was all while we were still living there” Danica explained. Renovations and construction in the residents’ rooms were only covered with tarpaulin. Tradespeople worked in the residents’ rooms between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm. This extreme renovation was announced with only two working days notice and construction is still continuing today. Girls in the hostel also had “privacy and safety concerns” about strangers being allowed into their rooms. Unicomm initially offered a compensation package of $100 and a night in a motel only if construction blocked access to your room. Danica called this compensation idea “completely unfair.” Despite Unicomm management saying they will put a hold to all noisy construction this has largely “been a lie” as far as most residents are concerned. Unicomm residents are not protected by the Residential Tenacy Act 1986 and the only contract residents have with Unicomm is largely one-sided, focusing solely on the student promising to be a good tenant. This has made legal action slightly difficult for Unicomm advocates but Unicomm does have a legally binding contract with Victoria Univeristy to provide a satisfactory study enviroment for students. McArthur believes that this contract is “obviously being violated.”
Sam Oldham and Josh McArthur began to hold meetings earlier this year in an attempt to “unite the residents in their common issues” as well as seek compensation for their dodgy year in a sub-par facility. “Leaky rooms and noise did not provide a workable living or study arrangement and it affected people’s exam results,” McArthur said. After meetings with Unicomm, management came back and apologised for the noise, leaks and dodgy foundations. “We definitely got the impression they were stalling,” McArthur claimed. Unicomm management did not however have the courtesy to let the residents know that they would not be getting any compensation for the unfair year they have had. “We found out through Radio Live and 3 News,” McArthur said.
It was not until national media attention that Unicomm management fronted up to students. Despite this they shut down Open Day tours of McKenzies and Cumberland to avoid prospective students seeing the planned protests outside of the two hostels. McArthur believes the cancellation of the tours was convenient for Unicomm management as students “got to see the hostel but not find out what it is really like.”Unicomm management also hired security to keep media outside of the buildings during the protest. Salient understands Victoria University banned Unicomm from having an information stall on campus during open day in an effort to avoid protests. Unicomm management and Student Accommodation Service have both been advised not to answer media questions and refer all media inquiries to the Victoria University Public Relations department. Victoria University failed to answer any hard questions put to them by Salient.
McArthur believes that Unicomm management and Student Accommodation Services are both responsible for the current unsatisfactory living conditions at Mackenzie and Cumberland. Danica believes that “bad management and communication” across the board are responsible for the predicament Unicomm and Victoria University have found themselves in. After several meetings between Unicomm management and residents no resolution has been made.
False Advertising – Broken Promises
Last year future Unicomm residents looking at the student accommodation services handbook and website would have read about Cumberland having a gym, study room, music room as well as its own laundry. Despite this information being available in two mediums the services promised are just not there. These promises have only just recently been removed from the website and Salient understands it is still promised in the student accommodation handbook. Sam Oldham believes that “this must be against the law … you can’t possibly promise services that simply are not there.” Victoria University would not tell us why the gym and music room continue to be falsely advertised.
Student Halls of Residence – A Commercial Enterprise.
The liquidation of EdPac-owned hostels puts no doubt in the notion that student accommodation is a commercial enterprise before a service to students. Victoria University’s Weir House, however, contradicts the notion that University-owned hostels run primarily as a service cannot be profitable. Weir House is owned by Victoria University and the surplus made is reinvested into student services such as Student Health and the counselling service. Weir House have planned their summer renovations to happen over summer so as not to disturb students.
VUWSA President Joel Cosgrove believes that “if you hang out with big business sharks they will choose making profits over student interests every time.” Cosgrove added that he sympathises with the University as it is not entirely their fault but makes it clear “by outsourcing your responsibilities to students to big business” you deserve public ridicule.