Asking the Students

TIP is a practical party and we are interested in the opinions of students of Stockholm University. We care about their problems and difficulties. So we actually went out this week to talk to them in order to ask what they know about the current state of affairs on campus, what they think is lacking and what they experienced that needs to be improved. It was very exciting to get the chance to talk to all these different students. All of them were not just willing to talk and share their ideas, but also there was a will to contribute to the development of a better student society at SU! When you are still thinking that students at Stockholm University do not want to participate in student politics, read their statements below! Most of them just didn't know that student politics exist here or what the Student Council is actually doing.
		Name:   Gabriella Rondahl
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Law
		“The best way would be to integrate all the international students with Swedish students. So, perhaps, send out a news letter that is posted in both English and Swedish, so that all the international students and Swedish students are brought together.”
		Name:   Abouzar Jalalian
		Origin:   Iran
		Field of Studies:   Marketing
		“I was a student of an International program and, I would say, 90 percent of the information that we received, and these were necessary for managing our studies, were in Swedish.”
		Name:   Mawindu Dhillon
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   English Literature
		“I have been to English literature classes and there are a lot of foreign students there, but it’s not like the university is doing anything to connect them [with the Swedish students]. So you don’t have these events, like you have in other universities, that (…) really make them come together.”
		Name:   Fredrika Olausson
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   French
		About the existence of student politics at SU and the upcoming elections: “The fact is I didn’t know that there were any student politics. It’s not very visual. If we haven’t seen it, then it means that they are not out talking to students. Well, it’s not anything that you get to know about when you inscribe yourself at the university.”
		Name:   Julia Hackman
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   French
		About the Student Council: “We need a common place for all the students to sort of gather. There are so many different, separate organizations that exist in their own little sphere and there is no communication outside of that. Or it’s very difficult to have communication outside of that because you don’t know where to go. So you should have some place for all the student organizations to meet. And then you could be more open.”
		Name:   Metuge Ekane
		Origin:   Cameroun
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		About the student life on campus: “There is no fun. You don’t feel like you actually studying at the university. You just come here and just go home. You don’t know your classmates.”
		Name:   Kerstin Olasog
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		“It’s just like you study and go home. It’s not like, kind of “student life” that you hear about before you start to go to the university.”
		Name:   Eugene Lim
		Origin:   Singapore
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		About problems upon arrival: “There is no English paper. News papers. It’s all in Swedish!”
		Name:   Linda Hedenberg
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Criminology
		About what needs to be changed: “Maybe it could be more organized; in the university matters.”
		Name:   Ruchika Sidhwani
		Origin:   India
		Field of Studies:   Law
		About upcoming elections: “I saw some brochures about that near Tunnelbana. It is all in Swedish, so I guess I just passed it by.”
These students were interviewed by TIP members: Raphaëlle Jamet, Kseniia Beznos, Christine Schwarz and Sadiq Malik