.jpg)
Salient. Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 26, No. 4. Monday, April 8, 1963
Residence Halls Needed—Fast
Residence Halls Needed—Fast
"We need three new halls of residence to house about 900 students—and fast."
This is the plea of exec, member Bruce Middleton.
A Member of the accommodation committee, Middleton attacked the inadequacy of the council's recent decision to ask the grants committee to ask the Government to build a new hall of residence for about 300 students.
"One hall will be quite insufficient," he told Salient.
"For 26 years we have only had four hostels with places for 190.
"In eight years we can expect approximately 2800 students will be wanting accommodation in Wellington.
"This is 1200 more than the present number now living here away from home.
"Already the supply of private board and flats has reached saturation point," Middleton said.
"Of all New Zealand varsities, Vic has the fewest number of students in hostels—13 per cent of those living away from home.
"Knox College in Dunedin is having trouble filling its new wing.
"Costs of living for students can be expected to increase rapidly in the next few years." Middleton warned.
"This issue is clearly a greater threat to the students' rights to a free higher education than the rise in varsity fees.
Middleton said that overseas students were particularly susceptible to accommodation problems.
"If the Government awards these people scholarships, it should give them better treatment," he said.
Middleton was instrumental in getting executive to recently pass a motion pressing for a programme to publicise the great need for the building of halls of residence for Vic.
At the NZUSA halls of residence conference last August the urgency of this problem was stressed.
It was recommended that NZUSA "use every means at its disposal to publicise the present accommodation needs of Vic with special reference to halls of residence."
"So far practically nothing has been done, Middleton complained.