I Say the Dormitory Problem Is Solved, They Don't Believe Me! And They Curse at Me Too!

Recently, during the “12 de Pazar” program I hosted with my dear friend and former military colleague, Lieutenant Prof. Dr. Barış Doster, I stated that the state has solved the university dormitory problem.

12punto turned this statement of mine into a “short video” and sent it into the abyss of the internet. It was watched quite a bit.

Just as I was feeling happy upon seeing the view count, my eyes caught the comments below.

The viewers had quite a bit of fun at my expense.

I even saw people writing that I would soon become a rector thanks to this video.

Your words are sweet as honey.

But the colorful, mixed-bag FETÖists won't let us have those spots.

Still, let's say “hopefully.”

Even the dream of a rectorship raises the libido and increases the adrenaline of an ordinary academic like me.

Serotonin is the bonus that comes with it.

There are even harsher comments.

There are even those who write that I am being a sycophant.

To tell the truth, one might even stoop to sycophancy for a rectorship, but that was not my intention at all.

Let those who hear, hear it now.

After reading these comments, I became quite worried myself. Did I portray a problem that hasn't truly been solved as if it were?

Did I mislead people?

Then, last weekend, I went to the Black Sea festival organized by the Eskişehir Black Sea Association.

Even though the food and drinks were very, very expensive, it was a festival where mid-tier artists made the citizens jump with their kemençe music.

We had a beautiful evening where the Tatars, immigrants, muhacirs, Circassians, Abazins, Kabardians, Manavs, and Ubykhs of Eskişehir enjoyed themselves together with the Black Sea people.

I saw many fellow countrymen whom I hadn't seen for a long time because I've been in Istanbul, thanks to the festival. We chatted quite a bit.

I saw a friend from Trabzon who is a staunch supporter of the government and has never voted for anyone other than our esteemed President, and never will. We had missed each other dearly.

We hugged and greeted each other.

Since he is quite well-off, he treated me to the very, very expensive doner kebab.

When my friend from Trabzon was going to pay, I lost track of the scale, and the bill came out quite high.

He paid it without even grimacing.

While paying, he also snapped at the doner shop owner, saying, “What is this, brother? How can it cost this much? Did we eat a whole sheep?”

I felt the urge to ask, “Are things going badly, brother?” when our friend got worked up.

The “private girls' dormitory” he owns has remained empty.

It didn't even fill up halfway, he said.

The state didn't leave a single student in Eskişehir without a place to stay, he said.

It found a bed for all of them.

He said there are also 2 free meals a day included.

In Istanbul and Ankara, too, all students were placed in state dormitories.

Even though some are far from the center, the rooms are more crowded than they should be, and the food is not enough or of the desired quality for teenagers, in these days when “Şimşek Mak Kuin” (Lightning McQueen) is tightening our throats, the state's dormitory facilities allow families to breathe.

It enables the children of poor and even middle-class families to continue their education.

Let it be known to those who curse at me in the comments.

I hope your wish comes true and I become a Rector before I depart from this mortal world.

Stay well.