By Rumana Shaikh
Issues like Internet connectivity and lack of parking spaces faced by students in the Qatar Foundation Residence Halls were addressed in a town hall meeting held on the 26th of October. The Qatar Foundation Residence Halls house approximately 32 percent of students from the six universities across Education City (EC).
The meeting was attended by around 30 residents, as well as representatives from Qatar Foundation Housing and Residence Life (HRL), and from Meeza, a Qatar Foundation joint venture which was established to provide essential IT support to Qatar’s development process. The Town Hall meeting was arranged as a forum for residents to raise their concerns and find solutions to problems that many have complained about.
One of the major concerns raised in the meeting was related to Internet services in the residence halls, particularly its slow speed and connectivity.
Antoine Aramouni, director of service transition at Meeza said that engineers are on site testing the network for several hours a day, monitoring the peak traffic hours.
However, he cautioned that the problem cannot be solved in a matter of hours and said that upgrading the infrastructure may be an option, but there are no definite plans to replace the network.
The second major issue highlighted in the meeting was that of parking and transport. Both Majlis Al Shamali (the female residence complex) and Majlis Al Janoubi (the male residence complex) have parking spaces near their entrances that have now been barricaded for staff use only.
Students protested this closure and argued that the parking spaces were extremely convenient for residents with cars, and that the spaces are almost always empty now, especially since employees leave the two complexes earlier in the evening.
HRL representatives said that the primary reason for closing the parking spaces to students was the fact that many residents leave their cars parked in those spaces for days, preventing anyone else from using them. Furthermore, cars were being parked in spaces for the disabled and in places that were proving to be safety hazards.
“What we saw last year was that people weren’t doing the right thing. They were parking wherever they found space,” said Matt Nelson, housing and residence life coordinator.
Students are now expected to park in spaces around both complexes. “The villas opposite the female residence halls have parking spaces near them and the alternative parking space near Janoubi can be utilized too,” said Hamad Al-Mulla, acting assistant director of housing.
The efficiency of shuttle services inside EC was another issue addressed in the meeting, although there were no representatives attending from QF Transport. Several students complained that bus routes were often inconvenient, taking more time than necessary, and that many buses were not following schedules.
One way that was suggested to solve the problem was to track down drivers not following the routes or schedules.
The issue of segregation in the Residence Community Centers (RCC) was addressed last. The recent incidences of males and females being asked to leave Majlis Al Shamali and Majlis Al Janoubi, respectively, had created a lot of confusion among students.
“There is no change in the policy. RCC is a common place for everyone. Our students are mature individuals who can practice cultural appropriateness,” said Jamil Karam, director of housing and residence life.
