Decline in AUC Dorm Residents

BY JEHAD MOHAMED

The occupancy rate at the American University in Cairo (AUC) dorms has decreased since Fall 2012, residence statistics provided by the Office of Residential Life have revealed.

“The decrement in the number of residents in the dorms is because of the lack of international students; we only have nine this semester,” said Fatma Abou Youssef, the Associate Dean and Director for Residential Life.

Abou Youssef added that the number of Egyptian students increased in the past two years, in contrast to the number of international students, which is steadily declining.

She said that while some students have complained about the dorm facilities, including the laundry and the air conditioning systems, students themselves are part of the problem.

She explained that some students may not have had prior experience with such equipment.

This results in the machines breaking down frequently; constantly fixing them takes time.

“This semester we are trying a new system hoping it will solve the problem,” said Abou Youssef.

She says that the office is looking into placing a washing machine and dryer in each unit, comprising multiple rooms, instead of having one laundry room for all residents.

Abou Youssef said that this is to increase the residents’ sense of ownership, which she hopes will motivate them to use the machines with more care.

In addition to the maintenance of facilities, the decrease in non-Egyptian students has contributed to the occupancy rate in the residential dorms.

The Office of Residential Life’s statistics indicate that the total number of non-Egyptian students in the dorms decreased by 56 percent from Fall 2012 to Fall 2013, whereas the number of Egyptian students increased by 2.7 percent in the same time period.

In Spring 2014, the number of non- Egyptian students further decreased by 45 percent, while the number of Egyptian students decreased by three percent compared to Spring 2013.

Mina Rafat Ramsees, a business administration junior, lived in the dorms for four years.

The student moved out during Fall 2014 and now lives in a rented apartment after being dissatisfied with the services provided in return for the dorm fee he paid, which was of EGP 16,000 per semester.

“We are paying too much money for nothing,” Ramsees said, adding, “The laundry service is too bad and the office takes almost no reaction about our complaints.”

Ramsees also said that the Office of Residential Life does not care about students’ needs.

However, Abou Youssef said that the Residential Advisor (RA) staff is trained to manage the students’ differences and to accept the students so they can successfully solve their problems.

Furthermore, the RAs and the Resident Directors (RDs) are trained to communicate well and solve residents’ problems as much as possible.

“We train them well and we supervise them and provide any needed help and guidance throughout their work,” said Abou Youssef.

RA Tamima El-Bashbishy, a Construction Engineering senior, said that the office has always accepted criticism and feedback through their Facebook page, but some residents misused it by insulting each other on the page.

“Complaints are fine by us but being rude to another resident is not acceptable. So, we closed the page temporarily till we find a social policy for people who are rude to each other,” said El-Bashbishy.

Abou Youssef said that student feedback is appreciated, because it helps improving dorm services, but asked students to be more specifics.