Unicamp Student Housing, opened in 1992, has 280 residential units (253 houses and 27 studios), in which around a thousand students live. The buildings are maintained by the Campus City Hall team. A company was hired, in 2020, to issue a structural report on the buildings, in order to guide decision-making on the problems identified. Also in 2020, bidding was authorized to hire conservation services, with a team of employees exclusive to the House.
With the employees working specifically in the Housing and having the structural report, which should happen soon, both the executive coordinator of Student Housing at Unicamp, Eliete Maria Silva, and the dean of Undergraduate Studies at Unicamp, Eliana Martorano Amaral, predict that demands must be resolved more quickly and more definitively. “With this, there will be more agility. But until the contract is signed, conservation remains the responsibility of Unicamp City Hall, which is mobilized based on information from student residents at the Housing Administration headquarters”, says the dean.
Emergency repairs, therefore, continue to be carried out. Superior Management charged the company at the beginning of the week, as the structural report should have been delivered in December. “We are about to receive the structural report for the entire house that was requested. He must guide us as to what can be restored or what requires reconstruction. The due date was December 21st, and the rectory has already contacted the company to collect,” he says.
Regarding problems recently reported by students, such as the power outage in some houses, Eliete points out that it has been resolved, but also demands a possible review of the electrical part. “The power went out on January 15th and we contacted CPFL, the problem was resolved on January 18th. We needed to request a power outage so we could make the repair. Now what needs to be done is preventive maintenance.” Regarding the pruning of the grass and vegetation in the Student Housing, carried out periodically, a maintenance team started working on January 12th and completed the work on January 20th, due to frequent rains.
Regarding problems highlighted on the stairs of one of the units, on the first day of business after the break, the problem was formalized and On the same day, agents from the Maintenance Division carried out the temporary shoring that guarantees support. Eliete notes that the staircase will be restored, as well as the roofs that require repairs and replacement of tiles in some units, as tiles that fit the current ones are not available on the market.
Housing Council: dialogue channel
The executive coordinator of Student Housing and the dean of Undergraduate Studies reinforce the importance of the Housing Deliberative Council, made up of students, teachers and staff. The Council, currently chaired by professor Ana Elisa Assis, from the Faculty of Education, meets monthly to discuss demands, which can also be forwarded via Service Order at any time, and develop possible solutions. The next Council meeting will be on January 28th.
“We have a joint Deliberative Council, with monthly and emergency meetings and several working groups. There is this Council, as a channel through which demands can be presented, in addition to the usual requests through Service Orders that students can and must register with the Administration. All sectors of Unicamp that are related to the maintenance and day-to-day running of the Housing are represented on the Council”, says Eliete.
Student house
The first Student Housing houses were delivered in 1989 and 1990, as a result of a student demand process. In 1992, the House was officially inaugurated. It currently serves around a thousand students, selected based on social criteria. Housing is one of the pillars of the Student Housing Program, which also has financial assistance to support rent payments.
“We know, given the country’s economic situation and due to the profile of our students, that housing is a necessity. We are concerned about selection and have tried to give students more options for scholarships or vacancies. Until this year, no student who met the criteria for housing was left without housing”, highlights the dean of Undergraduate Studies.
