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Road construction works at Çukurova University also bring related grievances.
At Çukurova University, which is one of the most popular universities with its green campus, fascinating nature, successful academic staff, and quality education, students have been suffering from road construction and improvement works that have been going on for many years, and as a result, due to transportation problems.
In addition to the renovation of aging buildings and the separation of faculties in the same building, these problems, which are experienced in new areas where faculty buildings have been moved, are waiting to be resolved in a relatively slow process despite dozens of applications, petitions, and interviews.
This problem is not limited to the campus but also in the dormitories; when the traffic congestion due to the roadwork in the city is added to this, and the problems increase accordingly.
Transportation problem also leads to harassment
Harassment, which cannot be prevented in recent years, especially in universities, due to the lack of adequate measures and restricting women in many ways, appears as an accompanying part of this problem.
Female students say that the new faculty building is far from the main campus, the road is rough and transportation is difficult. Buses are very infrequent or even almost non-existent in this area. Women report that the streets are secluded, that they are repeatedly harassed, and that they provide transportation to their homes, dormitories, and faculties in the company of their boyfriends or groups.
Despite the pandemic period, when there were fewer harassment incidents, distance education was carried out, the roads most suitable for urgent construction are behind, the roadworks have just started in front of the faculty, and the buses are insufficient. And it is seen that students have to reach the dormitory or home by walking or hitchhiking.
The fact that the roads are in this condition causes difficulties not only for the faculty staff whose buildings are moved but for all university students.
Harassment news and transportation problems draw attention at the research results about the faculty
Saadet Tok, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Law, while researching the law faculty the year she passed the university entrance exam, said that she saw the news of harassment and transportation problems experienced by female students on these roads rather than the education and success of the faculty. And that when she started the faculty, even though there was enough time passed for authorities to fix these problems, she had experienced the same issues.
Saadet said that she faced these problems not only around the faculty but also around the Fevzi Çakmak Girls’ Dormitory, where she had stayed before, due to the lack of an overpass and the high number of harassment incidents. She adds that although the Çukurova University Women’s Studies Society, established three years ago, has collected many signatures, no concrete progress has been made yet. Saadet states that due to the decreasing number of ring busses this year, she often had to return to her dorm on foot, so she was exhausted, her student life and quality of life were adversely affected, and they wanted the problems to be resolved as soon as possible.
Crowded rings are dangerous for health and safety
Ring buses pass through each faculty within the Çukurova University campus and provide free transportation to students. However, the ring buses, which used to be more frequent and were more in number in previous years, are reduced and serve less frequently this year, despite the increase in the number of students.
In this period, as we approach the winter months, danger bells continue to ring for Covid-19, which caused the country to experience crises in many areas, especially in the economy, health and education, while students are trying to provide transportation under a significant threat in the crowded ring buses.
Students, on the other hand, are forced to turn to ring buses because they cannot afford the increasing transportation costs due to the economic conditions that are getting worse and worse in every sense and hindering their development in many ways and because they provide faster transportation within the campus than the municipal buses. However, although the ring buses cause many dangerous events, such as getting stuck in the door due to the crowd, it is more difficult than easy due to Covid-19, which has not yet been overcome and requires keeping the precaution. This problem also brings many difficulties for students, such as being late for class and walking.
Road works around the dormitory are disturbing
Students also complain and suffer from the road works started in and around the dormitories, causing noise and environmental pollution and disrupting the traffic. The fact that these constructions around the dormitory are carried out during the semester when the density is high, instead of the summer break when students are not present, is a situation that is met with a reaction. Stating that both their education and quality of life are adversely affected by these problems, students expect their applications and petitions to be taken into account and the grievances they experience to be resolved immediately by the relevant institutions and organizations.
