The Groningen Student Association (GSb) has called for the educational institutions in the city to make emergency accommodation free, with students presently having the option of staying at the hotel boat in the Eemskanaal, or in large, barrack-style tents.
Translated by Thomas Ansell
Neither of the two emergency accommodation options are cheap, with international students required to pay 87.50 euros per week to stay in one of the tents at the ACLO Sport Centre. These tents each house around 30 people, and have communal showers and toilets, but no kitchen.
The Groninger Internet Courant reports that aside from the hotel boat and tents, international students have also been presented with converted shipping containers at the former sugar factory, the Suikerfabriek.
The hotel boat provides a further option, though at a higher price. It is necessary to book for a minimum of 30 days at the boat, which the GSb has calculated to cost around 1,300 Euros per month. The student association has called on the educational institutions to lower the prices significantly, and has suggested that the tents be made free.
Prices for the tent and the hotel boat were published this week on athomeingroningen, which is also recommended as the best place for international students to find accommodation. Aside from official attempts to find more housing, student groups, such as the DAG university council party, have set up a couch-surfing initiative for those who arrive in Groningen without accommodation.
