Dormitory crisis at Mimar Sinan: 222 students left on the street

Hikmet Eren ÇELENK-12punto.com.tr / EXCLUSIVE

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ) announced the closure of the Ortaköy Girls' Dormitory in a statement released on August 21. Following the announcement, dormitory students claimed that this decision was made without any prior notification. After the announcement by the Rector's Office, students expressed their grievances on social media accounts and demanded that necessary steps be taken to find a solution.

Doğa Batır, a student at the Ortaköy Girls' Dormitory who was reached by 12punto, explained what happened throughout the process.

'THE RECTOR HAS CLOSED ALL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS'

Stating that they were unable to communicate with the Rector's Office in any way, Doğa Batır said the following regarding the process:

"I had been staying at the Ortaköy Girls' Dormitory for about two years. We learned that our dormitory was closed from the website one month before our school was set to open. With this announcement made on the school's website on August 21, it was declared that the Mimar Sinan Ortaköy Girls' Dormitory would be closed until the earthquake renovation process of the Balmumcu Campus is completed. We tried to contact the school administration regarding the situation, but we could not get any results. We send emails to the rector, but she does not respond to our emails. She has already closed all of her social media accounts. We cannot get a response from the school either. We are literally forcing our school to make a statement. No one, including the employees, knows anything."

'WE WERE INFORMED ONE DAY AFTER DORMITORY APPLICATIONS ENDED'

Stating that it was too late to apply to other dormitories, Doğa Batır said, "Our school and Rector Handan İnci announced it on the school's website in the most victimizing way possible, one month before the schools open and the day after the application deadline for IBB Dormitories ended. Normally, we can stay in the school dormitory during the summer months, but this year it was closed to use under the pretext of an earthquake. I can easily call this a pretext because our dormitory is a new building; there are certainly buildings more in need of priority for earthquake safety. They literally threw us out. It is obvious that this was planned. 222 students were left without housing," she said.

'WE ARE CONSIDERING FREEZING OUR REGISTRATION'

Stating that her friends will face housing problems due to the high cost of living and that they are considering freezing their registration, Doğa Batır continued her words as follows:

"No alternatives were offered regarding accommodation. People who have the means would not choose to stay in a dormitory anyway. House rents are very expensive, and most of our friends are thinking about freezing their enrollment. I am also thinking about freezing mine. Furthermore, we were not given any information about how long the renovations would take. Without considering factors such as the cost of living, the economic crisis, and the challenges of surviving as a female student in Istanbul, including safety, we are expected to find a house within a month. Considering that the dormitory building is not suitable for the education of cinema and television students, if this wrong decision is not reversed, both the cinema education will not be able to continue properly and the fundamental right to housing will be taken away from the students."

THE UNIVERSITY DID NOT RESPOND TO OUR QUESTIONS

The university administration, which we called regarding the students' claims, left our questions unanswered. The officials reached by 12punto stated that a statement had been made by the Rector's Office regarding the matter.