Tuesday Talk: Q&A with SiÅs!

Have you ever wondered how much it cost to build Skogveien? Or are you sceptical about the selection in the cafeterias? How has SiÅs handled the high electricity bills? All this, and more, was answered at an informal Tuesday Talk where SiÅs showed up to answer questions, and receive both praise and criticism.

Journalist: Ingvild Lauvstad

Illustrator: Anne Trætteberg Reitan

Translator: Sofie Palmstrøm

Photographer: Jonas Bergh Hagemoen

Facts about SiÅs:

Established in 1955
It is the welfare organisation for students at NMBU

Motto: “Students at centre”
Manages 2150 rental units and gives housing to about 2300 students
The budget for 2022 is 205 million kroner
Predecessor: The Student Committee at NLH managed a list of welfare measures before SiÅs was established.

What Is a Student Welfare Organisation?

Selma Sollihagen, board leader and student representative in SiÅs, opens by asking if the audience knew what a student welfare organisation is. It becomes clear that this is not common knowledge, but some know that student welfare organisations are regulated by the welfare organisation law. “A student welfare organisation is thus a statutory corporation”, Selma answers. “SiÅs is there to answer to the students’ welfare needs at the location of education. In Ås this means, among other things, the need for housing, exercise, and mental health services”, she explains. In addition to renting out housing, SiÅs also runs the Eika gym and the campus’ cafeterias. The welfare organisation also cooperates with the university and the municipality about the Health Center for youth and students.

“Welfare organisations are non-profit-organisations, which means that employees in the corporation can not personally earn the money that SiÅs brings in”, Selma continues. “It is the students who contribute, and SiÅs returns this in the form of the welfare services we offer”. When asked how the students contribute, she lists the semester fee, monthly membership fee at Eika, and of course – the rent. “The semester fee is negotiated together with the Student Parliament, and also covers the Student Parliament’s welfare funds. Kim André Nielsen, vice-leader in the board and student representative in SiÅs, has also joined in on tonight’s conversation and sits in the committee for welfare funds. “The Student Parliament is an independently advisory organ for SiÅs. We listen to their opinions, for example about the semester fee”, Selma adds.

The Welfare Organisations and the State

In addition to Selma and Kim, CEO of SiÅs, Einride Berg, is also present. “The welfare organisations are all a part of the Welfare Organisation Council, and together we lobby towards the Ministry of Education. Thus, we are very dependent on having a good cooperation with that minister”, he responds when asked whether SiÅs is doing lobbying towards the state. “The Welfare Organisation Council is to the welfare organisations what NSO is to the students”, Selma adds.

In the panel, we also find the assisting director, and director for housing, Pål Magnus Løken. “The Welfare Organisation Council is very important to the welfare organisations. Through this cooperation we become a stronger contributor, and a force to be reckoned with”, Pål thinks.

Then, the conversation quickly shifted towards finance. Where does SiÅs really spend their money?

SiÅs and the Money

It is clear that the electricity prices have been on SiÅs’ mind a lot lately, as for most people. “Despite being a part of the Welfare Organisation Council, a lack of political breakthroughs has led to the welfare organisations not being included in the governmental electricity compensation arrangement”, Pål concedes. A third of the electricity in SiÅs’ buildings is price-fixed through long term energy agreements, but for the remaining two thirds, the organisation has been struck with great expenses.

Something SiÅs also spends money on is student housing. SiÅs, like all the welfare organisations in the country, receives state funding to build student housing, and they have established a goal about the coverage of student housing. “Eika was funded by the semester fee. We did not receive any state funding for that project”, Einride informs. But how much did the newest project, Skogveien, really cost – even with state funding?

Einride and Selma explains: “Skogveien cost about 700 million kr to build. The state sets a price range that we must stay within to receive support. For Skogveien we received about 230 million in financial support. The rest was financed through a favourable loan from Husbanken. This is what is being paid back though the rent that the students pay”, Selma says. “The price range sets the bar for the quality. Originally, we wanted the rooms in Skogveien to be 1 sqm bigger, but we had to prioritize in order to get the support”, Einride adds.

The SiÅs-council is in agreement when they emphasize that they do not increase rent in the other housings to finance new buildings like Skogveien. So where does our rent really go, and why is it increasing?

Rent – The Eternal Bad Guy?

Many people in the audience agree that the rent still increases by a lot. Einride explains that it is still cheap to live in Ås, compared to Oslo. He receives critique from the audience on this statement, and most find it stupid to bring up Oslo, as after all, that is not where we live. “This is an important example of how the welfare organisations are only partly responsible for the students’ welfare, and that politics on a national level and an increased education grant, is the solution”, Selma says more generally about the case. Pål also emphasizes the importance of an effectively run welfare organisation.

Further, he explains what the rent is used on: “The rent contributes to covering current expenses, including interest and payments on loans. In addition, the rent covers a proportional share for future maintenance. Wear and tear on rooms and buildings is divided across all student generations that live in the buildings, even though the maintenance may not necessarily happen while you live here. This is quite simply solidarity”, he thinks. “The time for maintenance comes quicker now than before though. This is because SiÅs builds more technically advanced buildings – for example, a lift is a new technical demand in the requirements for buildings, and the buildings are now exposed to more intense use”. This is one of the reasons why the rent is increasing. A question for the next Q&A is probably when this is going to stop…

Pentagon – A Lost Age or Just a Rehabilitation Away from a New Prime?

When the conversation revolves around technically advanced buildings, Pentagon comes to mind; and what will happen to the 60’s-buildings in the future. Will they be demolished and replaced, or is rehabilitation the best solution?

In their strategy, SiÅs has concluded that Pentagon will be upgraded, and these plans are currently being implemented. Pål tells us that many political initiatives have been taken in order to get a support agreement for the rehabilitation of older student housing. But so far, the government has only wanted the grants to be spent on new buildings, and not for upgrading older buildings. “This change in financial support arrangements from the state is what we wait and hope for, and there is a political pressure in order to get it”, he concludes.

The Cafeterias – The Eternal Mystery on Why They Have Been Closed

Einride has heard many theories on why the cafeterias at campus has been closed. “It is because of the pandemic. The cafeterias were partly closed this fall due to a lack of employees. Over time we managed to hire more people but were struck by a new lockdown this January”, is the explanation for tonight’s final question. Then, the audience could leave Festsalen – a little wiser this time.