Kindergarten Closure Possible
Kindergartens for the children of students may face closure if Councillor Jan Refseth gets his way. He has
proposed that subsidies for these
kindergartens be reduced by 76 per cent.
– With subsidies as low as these, it will be more expensive to have our children in these than other kindergartens. The closing of these facilities is a real possibility, says the
director of the Welfare Committee, Sveinung Fjose.
– In addition to a reduction in subsidies, the county wants to increase the flat rate from NOK 2,800 to NOK 3,050, says the director of student kindergartens at SiB, Rune Fitje.

Study Hall Partially Closed
At the end of November the seating in the study halls at the Faculty of Arts (HF) will be reduced by 60 per cent while building improvements, scheduled for completion next August, are carried out. No one was informed until three religious-studies students became involved. They started out by posting notices at Sydneshaugen for their fellow-students.
– The first thing we reacted to was the utter lack of information from
the faculty leadership. When we contacted our department, they were completely unaware of the situation, say the three students.
Faculty Director Asbjørn Bjørnset admits that both faculty and students should have been better informed, and a notice is being distributed to the various departments. He is pessimistic about the chances of finding a temporary solution.

Improvements Demanded
Faculty leaders at the Faculty of Social Science (SV), have earmarked an additional million kroner for improvements in the computer situation for students and faculty. Student-
representatives Jan Olav Haukås and Valentin Svelland demand improvements in the PC rooms at the Ulrike Phils building.
– If undergraduates don’t get better PC facilities soon, all credibility for the new computer-systems strategic plan, worked out by the university leadership, will be lost, says Haukås.
– I will do my utmost to get the committee to examine the computer situation for students, and to give improvements at U. Phils highest
priority. Those rooms are simply horrible and not acceptable for
students, says Svelland.
Though Professor Pål I. Davidsen understands the students’ situation, he states that it is important that the university choose a system for future needs before the committee can come up with concrete proposals.

Russell Shuler