Greedy uni bosses rake in £15k in halls fines in a year

As if £6000 a year on accommodation wasn’t enough

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Jammy uni bigwigs have made a massive £15,935.00 from halls fines in just seven months.

The largest fine so far this year sits at £250 for smoking weed in halls, whereas it reached the dizzy heights of £437.50 in previous years for “antisocial behaviour”.

Mark Hibbert, the current warden of Owens Park, told The Tab: “The most common reasons behind the fines are smoking in rooms, covering up smoke detectors and smoking weed.”

Fines were also issued for non-smoking related incidents, such as excessive noise.

Over 170 individual fines were issued before March this academic year, more than double what the 2013/14 bunch achieved.

If we continue at this rate it’s likely the accommodation office will rake in over £20,000 from us this year.

Some freshers were grateful for the fines as it prevented them from being kicked out of halls: “At the end of the day, I’d rather have a fine than be kicked out.

“I still think £100 is ridiculous for the first offence though.” said Freya, a first year Owens Park resident who was fined for smoking in her room.

However, the majority feel it is ridiculous to be fined for simply living the student life. Sam, a first year living in Owens Park, said: “I was fined for laughing too loudly in my room and playing music at a normal volume.”

“Isn’t that kind of what you sign up for when you agree to live with 30 students? I wonder if I’ll get another fine for saying this. #jesuischarlie.”

Academic Year

Total No. Fines from Students

Total Amount of Fines

Largest Single Amount

Reason 

12/13

185

£                 12,239.70

 £                               400.00

Antisocial Behaviour

13/14

86

£                   5,919.19

 £                               437.50

Antisocial Behaviour – Broken Window

14/15 (to March)

173

£                 15,935.00

 £                               250.00

Smoking Drugs

Some students were able to do community service instead though to pay off their debt to society. This has included anything from cleaning common rooms to helping out in the canteen to prevent them forking out over £100 of their hard-earned student loan.

That’s at least three nights out

Who knows where this money is going – but it’s safe to say they aren’t spending it on fixing up our accommodation.

Helen Mcglashan, the head of all residences for UoM, was unfortunately unavailable to discuss where all of our money is going.