Student staying at KYK dormitory rebels! Allegation that dormitory security told a female student who was harassed, 'It's normal if you come back at this hour'

The death of Zeren Ertaş in an elevator accident at the Aydın Güzelhisar KYK Dormitory caused public outrage in the country.

Most recently, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak made statements regarding the elevator accident in Aydın where university student Zeren Ertaş died, during the TBMM Plan and Budget Committee, stating, "The annual elevator maintenance of our Aydın Güzelhisar Girls' Dormitory was performed on July 13, 2023. As in all our other facilities, periodic maintenance has continued to be carried out in Aydın specifically. The last maintenance date of the elevator is October 16, 2023."

"IT'S NORMAL IF YOU COME BACK AT THIS HOUR"

According to the report by Buse Özbey from T24, a student named Dilara, who described her experiences in KYK dormitories, said, "Hair, fur, and worms come out of the food at the İzmir TOKİ Bayraklı KYK Girls' Dormitory, and we take showers with cold water because there is no hot water. There are constant power outages."

While stating that it takes her 3 hours to get to school because the dormitory is far from the center, Dilara said, "When a friend of ours who was harassed reported the situation to the dormitory security, she received the response, 'It's normal for you to be harassed if you come back at this hour.'"

Saying "Please make our voices heard," Dilara stated that dormitory security is at the top of their problems. Explaining that after their friends who were harassed told the dormitory security about what they experienced, the security said, 'It's normal for you to be harassed if you come back at this hour,' Dilara said, "We spoke with the official after the incident. But there was no change in the security's behavior."

"THEY COME IN 2 HOURS, KEEP WATCH FOR HALF AN HOUR AND LEAVE"

Stating that vehicles passing in front of the dormitory at night verbally harass women entering the dormitory, Dilara noted that the students staying at the dormitory are uncomfortable with this situation, but when they call the police, they arrive in 2 hours and leave after keeping watch for about half an hour.

NON-STUDENTS ENTER THE DORMITORY

Saying that the fingerprint system is not used for entries and exits at the dormitory where she stays, and that students are given a yellow 'piece of paper' after registering, which they use for entries and exits, Dilara said, "They didn't take our fingerprints when we registered; we don't have such a system. We only gave our ID when registering, and then they gave us a yellow piece of paper to use for entries and exits. They don't even look at it properly anyway. Someone who is not a student of the dormitory can easily enter the dormitory."

TOKİ HOUSES CONVERTED INTO DORMITORIES

Saying that there is no hot water in the dormitory and they take showers with cold water, and that they frequently experience power outages, Dilara stated that the dormitory has a capacity of 4 thousand people and that TOKİ houses were converted into a dormitory, adding, "One apartment has 2-3 rooms, we have 2 bathrooms. 16 or 18 people stay in one apartment. There is still a lack of closets. We don't have an environment to study; tables and chairs are also missing."

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM

Stating that the dormitory is very far from the center and that although there is an ESHOT bus stop near the dormitory, the bus arrives very full, Dilara noted that they constantly wait for the next bus because of this and that it takes them about 2.5-3 hours to get to school. Dilara noted that the students staying at the dormitory have filed complaints about this issue to the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER) and the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, but there has been no development on the matter yet.

"CLEANING IS NOT DONE, WE GO HUNGRY"

Stating that students also complain about the food and that the food runs out at 21.00, Dilara said, "Hair, worms, and insects come out of the food. Beyond that, the food runs out very early, we go hungry. The employees in the cafeteria fill the food into containers and put them in the refrigerator to take home."

Dilara stated that the hygiene conditions in the dormitory are very bad and the rooms are not cleaned properly, saying, "In some blocks, cleaning is done once a week, in some it hasn't been done for a long time, and the cleaning that is done is unfortunately not sufficient, it is done superficially. The cleaning staff looking after each block is different; in some blocks, cleaning is done more properly. We don't know much, but we heard that 2 people look after each building. In the block where a friend of ours is, they have only come 2 times in 1 month."

"I AM STAYING OUT OF NECESSITY"

Dilara said that she applied for a transfer to another KYK dormitory, but if her transfer request is not approved, she will have to stay in the same dormitory. She stated that due to the problems she experienced in the dormitory, she would transfer to the city where her family lives, and if she cannot transfer, she will freeze her enrollment.