Campus housing history

As we talked, an older lady, who turned out to be Maria Ivanivna, the eldest governess of the campus, approached us. First she asked us who we were and what we wanted. Afterward she imparted some interesting information about the history of the campus.

Ms. Ivanivna explained that she had taken part in the planning of the complex and that the initial plan of the campus layout was superb because everything was to be close by.

It was planned that the office of the director of studies and the military department were to be located a few steps from the apartments. The preventive medicine clinic and the swimming pool were to be located nearby, and the polyclinic and kindergarten were to be at the heart of the campus. In the end, only the kindergarten was built, she noted.

The polyclinic was moved to another district far from the campus, which has caused major problems. Students have little chance of obtaining urgent medical assistance.

The lack of medical care in the area has been an issue that two other students, Halyna and Maria, spoke to us about.

"There is no first aid post on our campus. Ambulances answer student calls reluctantly. Doctors seem to think that we are only looking for doctor's certificates to excuse our absences from classes. If a girl calls for an ambulance, the on-duty doctor [who rides with the ambulance team] makes a standard diagnosis without a medical examination: 'You are pregnant.' Even if she has other symptoms, they simply reaffirm, 'It is a pregnancy with complication.' "

The two girls added, "The only alternative for students who need medical attention is a student hospital, but getting there takes an hour. The question is whether this is a realistic alternative when you are feeling terrible and have a high fever."

Crime a threat

Having heard an awful lot of things (or maybe a lot of awful things) about the problems of robbery and thievery, we asked the criminal statistics department of the Kyiv militia to provide information on crime. It turns out that the city district in which the student housing complex is located is the worst crime district in Kyiv.

We asked the housing administration whether it had considered hiring security guards who could be paid from the students' monthly rent.

An administration representative explained: "There were even more pressing problems four years ago. The most serious of which was not robbery, but the sale of drugs. The thing that attracted the drug suppliers and users was not the students, but the outsiders [who were living in the dorms]. Because of a lack of supervision, access to the territory was open. This guaranteed a rather secure and profitable business for the newcomers.

"When the criminal situation in the district and around the dorm became critical, the university administration started to take an active role in resolving the problem. We found the financial resources for a professional night guard for the campus territory and the dormitories. A checkpoint and permit system for entering the dorms also was established.

"We cannot yet say that the problem as a whole has been solved, but due to these and other measures, tensions were reduced about a year and a half ago. As you may well know, our inspections have become much more strict. Dormitory students who return home late without their identity cards are not allowed pass the checkpoints. Neither the student on duty [in the dormitory] nor friends can help. In fact, these controls brought safety."