Dorms Residents Dissatisfied by Facilities, Seek Maintenance

BY KAREEM EL KAHKY
@KAHKY19

In recent weeks, a number of AUC dorms residents have heavily criticized the services provided to them in the facility, claiming that the standard of living is deteriorating.

Nawal Tarek, management of information and communication technology sophomore, is the latest to voice her complaints, especially citing the poor hygiene.

“Up to recently, we have not had a functioning washing machine for a week, I have been walking around campus with unclean socks and that is insane,” said Tarek.

“Add to that the fact that a whole unit shares just one fridge, and by that I mean 27 people sharing a fridge, it’s too much and very disgusting.”

Tarek explained that one of the main problems with the dorms is the lack of enforcement of the rules; she elaborated by saying that when she filled a complaint about her difficulty to sleep, the points penalty system was not implemented and the problem continued unresolved for a long time.

“There is only one computer I trust that will take 20 minutes to log in instead of half an hour, and even then the printer may or may not be working,” said Tarek.

Some students even consider leaving the dorms due to the unsustainable system it currently fosters.

“Actually I have [considered moving out], there are apartments across from campus in which I could have friends come over, pay much less and have access to good internet while still being safe,” said Tarek when asked if she ever considered leaving.

Similarly, economics sophomore Mohab El Khouly told The Caravan that the washing machines were not working on a regular basis but also claimed to face other problems.

According to El Khouly, the fact that Seoudi closes at 11 PM and that the food court is not open on Fridays means that sometimes students are forced to go off campus to buy groceries or food which might be impractical for those who have trouble with transportation.

Dorms residents pay fees ranging from EGP 15,000 to EGP 19,000 per semester, whether they stay in a suite single, small single, double and premium double rooms.

Acting Director of Residential Life Maissa Fathy also spoke to The Caravan in lieu of the recent complaints.

“There has been no official complaint sent to us,” said Fathy. “We are the guardians of students living here, and therefore our jobs hold a high level of liability.”

Fathy then was surprised at the level of anger directed towards the dorms staff.

“Some people have requested that officials from outside AUC intervene to take care of problems inside the dorms, so I thought these problems would be massive, but is it really worth getting experts from outside the community to solve problems like implementing the point system and cleaning the fridges?” Fathy said.

When asked by The Caravan why she had not approached Res Life, Tarek said that she feared they wouldn’t take action.

Fathy also went on to say that the Board of Trustees will allocate a budget of $500,000 that will go towards the renovation and improvement of the facilities.

SU Districts Dorms Associate Officer Souhaida Salahedeen told The Caravan “We have designed a survey for the residents to answer so we can identify their problems.

However, it did not reach the residents as the [Office of Residential Life] keeps on asking for amendments in the survey, and therefore we are not totally exposed to the resident’s problems so that we can serve them,” she continued.

The SU Districts is a project in which they divide the AUC campus into sectors and assign SU members to each sector to study their potential needs and solve their problems; with the dorms sector being one of them.