House parties still taking place in student housing

Reacting to the increased number of infections, student housing provider SSH sent an email to all its residents on October 8, reminding them to follow the corona regulations. Some student housing complexes also received a sharp-worded e-mail saying that the number of complaints about them had risen substantially, and that the police was done giving out warnings and will start fining people instead.

Spokespeople for the SSH and the police are unable to say how many complaints were made, but the complexes that received the sharp-worded email include the Tuindorp West Complex, and the Cambridgelaan and Johanna buildings in De Uithof. Residents of these buildings accused their neighbors of making too much noise, as well as not following the corona regulations regarding social distancing.

A 27-year-old woman who lives at the Cambridgelaan says she called the police in September to complain about the nuisance. “The sounds go really far. Regardless of the corona rules, there are people living here who have to work or study. When the weather was nicer, I heard parties in the fields behind the building all the time. I never called the police for that, but I did think those people were making very questionable choices.”

The number of complaints seems to have dropped following the e-mail sent by the SSH and the tighter rules announced by the Prime Minister on October 13. “The SSH, at least, has received far fewer direct complaints,” says spokesperson Madelon van Gameren, adding that the majority of students do follow the rules. “There are 2,300 students living at the Utrecht Science Park alone, and only a handful of them isn’t doing the right thing. We’re also seeing a lot of students being responsible, staying in their rooms, grocery shopping for each other, and being helpful.”