Student protest: housing crisis in Groningen

DWARS Groningen supports the protest of Democratic Academy Groningen (DAG) against the housing shortage among students. It is time to show the university that action is needed. All students deserve a warm welcome in Groningen and shouldn’t be treated as walking money bags. That’s why DWARS will be present at the protest on the Ossenmarkt on Thursday 6th at 14:30. Do you want to join us at the Ossenmarkt? You can recognize us by our green DWARS  t-shirts.

Background information about the housing crisis provided by DAG:

The academic year has begun, but a lot of international students are still sleeping in tents, expensive hotel boats or hostels, or on someone’s couch. What should have been a pleasant start of the academic year for all – in a new place and a decent room –resulted for a lot of students in a stressful situation. They find themselves constantly roaming the city for a place to stay, only to find disappointment.

The university never made any apologies and constantly refers to the nonsense that they did not foresee this. In the meantime they don’t want to speak out against the way they are financed by the government, based on the amount of students they attract. It gives them the incentive to grow as quickly as possible, without taking responsibility for their growth. Lecture halls are overcrowded, the number of staff per student is the worst in the Netherlands and the city simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to accommodate all (international) students.