A terrible thing happened a year and a half ago in the student town, the Stusta. A resident died as a result of a fire, and investigations into the cause and responsibility are still ongoing. At the same time, a question comes to mind: Is it just luck that nothing else happened? Internal documents from the Studentenwerk, in which experts describe some serious deficiencies in fire protection in several dormitories, give rise to these thoughts.
In the meantime, this danger has been averted in the two largest Stusta houses. Quite simply because the student union has emptied them in order to thoroughly clean them up. When the student union emphasizes that safety is always the top priority, that fire protection is constantly being examined and that there has never been a “considerable danger”, then that should calm people down. But the fact that the deficiencies have become so great should be reason to question the actions of those responsible.
In the Stusta, the lack of fire protection is probably due to the renovation backlog in the 50-year-old houses. In Weihenstephan, however, a dormitory is only half as old, built in 1995, and still so dilapidated that the top floor had to be closed for security reasons. All of this points to fundamental problems in the Studentenwerk. On the one hand, there is a lack of money, a lot of money, and on the other hand, internal structures may also need to be improved.
What next? First of all, the Studentenwerk should communicate more transparently, also towards the students. After the fire in 2021, they are wondering how dilapidated their dormitories really are. In order to build trust, the landlord should disclose what he knows about the condition of the houses.
More than 1,200 apartments in the Stusta have been empty for years, nobody knows when they will be renovated. In addition to the student union, the Bavarian state government, which is so proud of its excellence university location in Munich, is responsible for this disaster. Specifically, two ministries are responsible, one for science and one for construction, both run by the CSU. Will this trio of authorities learn from the mismanagement of the past few years and now quickly invest money in the right places? doubts are warranted. Therefore, the state parliament should become more active, clarify the causes of the misery and get the actors moving.
And the city of Munich? So far, she has declared herself not responsible. That may be formally correct, but the city should also become active, increase the political pressure and, yes, also spend money. The students who are currently waiting longer than usual for an affordable room are citizens of this city.