The back-to-school picture painted by the University of Bordeaux, which has 55,000 students including 9,000 high school graduates, is not encouraging. If these are not its main missions, the establishment understands that a student who is poorly housed or financially unable to feed himself properly will have increased difficulties in succeeding in his studies. Through support systems, the University of Bordeaux, autonomous since the end of 2010, is trying to remedy structural socio-economic problems, while it itself finds itself in budgetary difficulty.
Between January 2023 and September 2023, the distribution of food parcels in conjunction with local partners on the campuses of the University of Bordeaux was equivalent to all that had been distributed in the year 2022, i.e. 2,800 baskets. is also because these initiatives are better known,” puts Bernard Muller, vice-president in charge of student life, into perspective. Nevertheless, the Talence solidarity grocery store Le Comptoir d’Aliénor, which offers food products at prices 60% lower than market rates, is always full. In Crous restaurants, it is also possible for non-scholarship students who are in difficulty to apply for meals for one euro.
Every year, around twenty students sleep in their cars
“We know that only one scholarship student in four can claim accommodation in the Crous social housing stock, which makes a lot of effort with the help of the region,” points out Dean Lewis, the president of the Crous. University of Bordeaux. The number of accommodations available for students, in the Crous park and in the private sector, is largely insufficient. The shortage is such that “some students sleep in their cars even though they can afford an apartment,” assures Dean Lewis. Around twenty people use it per year in the Bordeaux area.
The social assistance commissions of the University of Bordeaux meet every two weeks and, over the year 2023, they have examined 500 files from scholarship holders and non-scholarship holders, for various issues. It allows you to unlock additional aid such as a computer loan, a 4G key or a food check. “We have peaks in requests during this back-to-school period and at the start of the second semester,” explains Bernard Muller.
I-Share is a major public health survey carried out by the University of Bordeaux which focuses in particular on mental health. Conducted among 20,000 students, it shows that between 2013 and 2022, 19% of the students surveyed take treatment for anxiety, distress or stress. And 22% of them had suicidal thoughts, including 4% on several occasions. The number of consultations motivated by mental health issues has increased sharply since 2020 and stands at 6,356 in 2022-2023, on Bordeaux campuses.
Construction of housing, emergency accommodation
The university is trying to deal with this growing student unhappiness on its scale by, for example, offering a “Campus Feel Good” event in November and the organization of health cafés to allow exchanges between nurses and students on health topics. mental health, stress management, addictions, etc. “We also want to train mental health first aiders to better identify students and destigmatize these problems,” points out the vice-president in charge of student life.
In terms of housing, the University of Bordeaux, one of ten in France to own its real estate assets, is preparing development operations which include a real estate component. In Pessac, two projects should be built: one provides 660 housing units in Paulin de Nole, for delivery in the fall of 2025, and the other provides 200 housing units in Doyen Brus, by 2030. “These operations are being carried out in addition to the action of the Crous, it is not a competition, the president of the University of Bordeaux wishes to emphasize. We need to collaborate. » For the short and medium term, the University also works with the Crous to install student victims of violence in emergency accommodation (around twenty places exist) and sometimes pays for hotel nights.
A column was signed by several university presidents, including the president of Bordeaux Montaigne University, to request a study allowance for all students. Dean Lewis did not do so, even though he found the situation “quite scandalous”, explaining that it was not “good timing”, in his opinion. He adds that reflection on this subject must be pursued, in particular in connection with the question of increasing student grants.
And to those like the President of the Republic, who would question the effectiveness of the University in training people who find their place in the job market, the president of the establishment responds that the integration rate of students is “above 90% at 18 months and above 95% at 36 months”.