Stockholm University's International Party (TIP) on Student Housing in the City

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TIP, the second most mandated party in Stockholm University's Studentkår Council, has taken on the issue of student housing city since its inception.  But, despite the party's efforts, being in the minority coalition has prevented any real progress from being made.  The student housing problem in Stockholm continues to regress--for both native and international students--and progress simply is not being made.   

Finding housing in Stockholm is difficult even for the employed native.  It is even more difficult for the native student, and it is slowly becoming near-impossible for the international student.  The percentage of accepted exchange and ERASMUS students that are being offered housing is shrinking, to the point where many are having to rent rooms in youth hostels until they find a decent accommodation. 

Stiftelsen Stockholms Studentbostäder (SSSB) has a system that works for many but excludes many others.  SSSB runs a fairly standard queue system by which any Stockholm student whom is a member of their school's respective student union can accumulate credit days and eventually bid on a student room.  But SSSB's system has not always been this way: as early as last year, one could queue without being a member of a student union and without being enrolled in classes.  

The result?  Many queuers began accumulating days even before their international classmates ever considered studying in Sweden.  It is totally conceivable that a student who begins queueing while in gymnasiet and took some time off before university can have three, four or five times as many days as the international student who begins queueing upon earning acceptance to their Stockholm institution, i.e. usually 6-8 months before the term begins.  

To bring attention to this situation, we, The International Party at Stockholm University, are taking a stand.  In August 2010 we pitched tents at our university and slept in them for nearly two weeks.  We did this to provide temporary shelter for the countless international students who were without housing and to draw attention to their plight.  Things haven't changed much, so we're doing it again for its symbolic meaning.

16 January 2012    

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TIP's Been at It for a While

TIP members are among the most active at Stockholm University, leading and taking part in campus initiatives. Earth Week, Cinema Politica, UF, Symbios, Central International Student Council, and the English Tutoring Programme, are among the many things that our representatives are active in.

TIP has been concerned with the student housing situation in Stockholm for a while. In fact, TIP’s been concerned since…well…before it was even TIP. Here are some media clippings from last summer about some international students who decided to draw attention to the problem, and about the problem in general. Among the students were Heléne Hedberg and Kyle Verboomen, two of TIP’s founding members.

What was accomplished? Twenty accommodation-less international students were provided temporary housing at the campsite. The camp organizers assisted in finding permanent housing for all twenty. This also led to our outpouring of thousands of phone calls from concerned Stockholm residents offering their homes temporarily or long-term to the students of Stockholm. The leading student unions in Stockholm gathered together to form a hotline and database for all of these generous offers of accommodation, it was a real team effort. There was also another, lasting accomplishment: the local and national media took to the event, giving Stockholm’s student housing situation the attention it needs. An initiative like this has not been seen for some time at Stockholm University.

Hats off to you, campers.

Here is a sample of the news coverage this important campaign received:

The Local

Aftonbladet  

And there’s even a video!

- Andreas Kidane, TIP Representative