Students are up in arms over the new parking rates at the Campus Hub at the entrance of the University of Malta. Student organisations Pulse and SDM have complained, stating that “the financial burden to run a commercial entity should not be placed on students”.
Their anger is as understandable as it is misplaced. Campus Hub is simply trying to generate a profit, something every business venture seeks.
In a business model, there is no distinction between ‘student’ and ‘customer’; the student is merely the customer’s profile. Moreover, Campus Hub reflects the economic model pushed by the two respective political parties they loosely represent.
Dominating the skyline between the campus and the hospital, this disproportionally huge concrete carbuncle has been painted in bright colours.
This new construction has multiple aims. It serves as a residence for visiting students. It has several offices and lecture rooms. However, it is primarily a business venture aimed at attracting students. It hosts trendy eateries, coffee shops, retail outlets and other leisure facilities.
On its website it says it is designed with the student in mind: “finding ways to relax when on campus plays a big part in any student’s life, so whether it’s a hot cup of coffee, a whopping burger or some well needed retail therapy that chills you out, Campus Hub has it all.”
More tellingly, this new facility lacks a bookshop, possibly the one facility which every university student should need. Yet, if there is no market for it, it is understandable that no business would rent floorspace at Campus Hub to offer this service.
In other words, Campus Hub caters to the student-customer market.
Wouldn’t it be better if students led the charge against all that is wrong in the country?
Though still unfinished, it is not the first time that this building has been in the news.
During Freshers Week, a giant green balloon filled with €1,000 worth of €5 notes was hung over the central open space at Campus Hub. The balloon popped and hundreds of students rushed and pushed to grab as much free cash as possible.
The university and the students’ council distanced themselves from the event because of “manifest safety issues” and because the stunt “does not align” with their values.
Even so, both the stunt and what is on offer at Campus Hub is sadly aligned with the values and priorities of many university students. Otherwise, no sane business organisation would have dared enter into the capital costs of constructing, running and maintaining such a venture.
And it turns out that their business instincts were correct. Many students interviewed after the stunt saw nothing wrong in it. There are potentially more complaints about the rise in parking fees than any other problems the country faces, not least overdevelopment and the uglification of the country as well as the relentless corruption, tribalism and nepotism.
While, of course, there are some students who do speak out on national issues, wouldn’t it be better if they led the charge against all that is wrong in the country?
The university uses weak sophistry to distance itself from whatever happens at Campus Hub by claiming that it is not taking place on its grounds. It conveniently forgets that it entered into the agreement with the developer with full knowledge of what the project would entail, how it would be run and what the consequences may be.
More tellingly is the name itself. This self-styled “campus hub” is a commercial entity rather than a place of learning – no library, no research facilities.
If this is what the future looks like, then students’ anger and the university’s unease will be more effective if channelled at the root cause of the problem rather than one of its symptoms.