Students are fighting to scrap the leaving fee given to them when they had to leave accommodation during the coronavirus pandemic.
The twitter page, Students Against Stirling Uni Fee, was set up after the university charged tenants an exit fee when they were told to move out during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
According to the twitter page tenants were charged different amounts, with no explanation, and when payments weren’t made, money was taken from government bursaries provided to students.
The page has now began to post stories accusing the accommodation services team of mistreating them, particularly when it came to support needed for mental health issues.
There have also been claims of inadequate living spaces from broken windows and stoves to dampness that were not resolved despite numerous complaints.
Housing Officer Cian Ireland said: “It says a lot about the actions and attitudes of the university towards tenants that we are now seeing groups of students fed up with the way they’re being treated and having to publicly share their story to try and be heard.
“They have my full support in these endeavours, and it’s clear that the University accommodation service must address these concerns… we must see action on this”
Merryn Green is working alongside Cian and a group of students who got together over being angry with the leaving fee.
Merryn and Cian had already set up a campaign against the leaving fee.
Merry said: “A few students were complaining about having the money taken out of their account despite not wanting to pay it.
This sparked a lot of anger and a lot of stories to came out … of students being mistreated by accommodation services.”
Merryn also said: “The Goal of this is essentially to air out how poorly accommodations services treat students despite them paying extortionate amounts of money to live in.
“I think it’s disgusting so many people have been treated poorly by accommodation services to the point of dropping out and having mental breakdowns so it needs to be talked about.”
The University is yet to comment.
Feature Image Credit: – INTO Study Youtube
Journalism and Politics student// Editor-in-Chief 2021/22
