Humanitarians: the life of our hostel

 Quarantine countdown has slightly adjusted the usual course of events. And after the quarantine announcement, the dormitories have been empty. However, they are "living" and preparing for the end of this and the beginning of the next academic year.

Of course, most of the students responded to the request and managed to leave for home before the shutdown among cities and towns was closed. Of the 523 students of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics, only 21 students remain in the dormitories of the University, of which 17 are foreigners

The heads of departments and mentors of academic groups, on the instructions of the dean of the faculty Vasyl Shynkaruk, constantly communicate with the students of academic groups who remained in the hostel. How they feel about what is going on, what help is needed – habitual questions for those who live in the hostel quarantine. The dean of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics informed the students about the security measures in connection with the COVID-19 distribution through electronic channels. The university rectorate provided dormitories, antiseptics and disinfectants, and purchased masks. There is also an increase in the number of damp clean-ups on premises, and places for isolation of education seekers are provided if they show signs of disease. Permanent supervision of medical workers has been introduced. These questions were the first and most important for the dormitory community.

All are optimistic and are waiting for the quarantine to be completed to return to habitual communication and active student life. And in the hostel, too. In the meantime, the hostel is preparing for the completion of this and the beginning of the next academic year, since living conditions and a positive microclimate for students have a significant impact on the quality of the educational process as a whole.

Students of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics, who live in the dormitories of the university, adhere to the rules of internal order of NULES of Ukraine. The dean of the faculty, the head of the hostel, and the student council of the hostel make a special emphasis on the cleanliness of their rooms and the hostel. It should be noted that the vast majority of students, leaving for their homes for quarantine, left the rooms in a proper state, what could be verified by the commission consisting of the deputy dean of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics Svitlana Kharchenko, deputy head of the hostel No. 6 Yuriy Masalovych, the head of the hostel No. 6 Tetyana Feshchenko, the head of the hostel No. 7 Olha Palamarchuk, the head of the hostel No. 8 Oleksandr Radchenko, the deputy head of the hostel No. 8 Yuriy Ivashko, the head of the hostel No. 9г Zynoviy Kulayts and tutors of the hostel Oleksandr Polishchuk and Pavlo Smolyak.

The main hostel, which is assigned to the faculty for humanities and pedagogics, is the hostel No. 6. Therefore, the faculty has focused its attention on repair work in this hostel in the previous years as well. However, students of the faculty live in other hostels: in the hostel No. 8 – 94 persons, in the hostel No. 9г – 37 students, in the hostel No. 7 – 14 students.

The faculty for humanities and pedagogy annually repairs rooms for sponsorship and funds from the special fund of the faculty. So, for the last three years, in the dormitory No. 6, all rooms assigned to the faculty for humanities and pedagogics (89 rooms) were renovated, nine rooms in the dormitory No. 9г, 3 rooms in the dormitory No. 7 and 11 rooms in the dormitory No. 8, and 112 rooms in total. Already, renovation work is underway in the rooms where the masters’ graduates lived. Since 2015, the faculty has been operating a student construction unit, which itself performs not difficult repair work, and helps university builders repair the dormitories. Of course, under quarantine, it suspended its work. But repairs are ongoing: new plumbing in the washrooms and refurbished kitchens will soon delight students. At the same time, the preparation for student settlement for 2020/2021 is actively underway. In particular, the repairs of rooms for the accommodation of children from needy families and orphans were repaired (these are rooms 416, 519, 527, 548 in hostel No. 6). On the way are the rooms 412, 416, 430, 513 in the hostel No 8, rooms 410, 511, 526, 533, 534 in the hostel No. 6.

To maintain cleanliness in the hostel and in the surrounding area, the hostel administration, together with the tutors and the student council, organizes weekly “Saturdays”. Although students were not able to actively participate in the traditional cultivation and landscaping of the dormitory, the dormitories would meet their residents after quarantine with flowers and new trees.

It should be noted that the faculty has started the practice of signing eviction orders, which are issued by students, renting rooms before leaving for the summer vacation. This is another form of increasing students' responsibility for themselves and their fellow citizens.

The eviction order (bypass) is signed by one person and applies to all residents of the room. It is signed by the student who last leaves the room. In the absence of an eviction order, we will not move the room to the hostel next academic year. This practice will continue this year, but after the quarantine is over.

A comprehensive approach to ensuring comfortable living conditions for students in the dormitory is under the control of the dean of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics, the administration of hostels and tutors, which contributes to the efficiency of the dormitory functioning and the improvement of student learning.

Svitlana Kharchenko,
deputy dean of the faculty for humanities and pedagogics