A newly appointed UP Dormitory Board (MKR) has new composition and fresh energy to help solve problems and make living in the dormitories of Palacký University (UP). The Rector's advisory body is currently composed of seven students, each representing one university dormitory. Board's members are ready to help anyone who may not know where to turn in relation to accommodation.
WHY AN EXTRAORDINARY DORMITORY BOARD?
The temporary extraordinary UP Dormitory Board was appointed by Rector Martin Procházka in early March after agreement with student senators who recommended candidates from among the students staying in the dormitories. The extraordinary body will function until the members of the regular UP Dormitory Board are elected in the elections that are being prepared for the beginning of the winter semester.
The inaugural meeting of the Extraordinary UP Dormitory Board was convened on March, 1 by Michal Nguyen, the second Vice-Chairparson of the UP Academic Senate, who also chaired the meeting. Martin Jenčo was elected chair and Katarína Szemanová was elected vice-chair, both unanimously.
"We would like to convey to the management of the Accommodation and Dining Services the suggestions and observations of the students who are staying there," said Martin Jenčo, chair of the Dormitory Council.
ACTIVITIES OF THE UP DORMITORY BOARD
The UP Dormitory Board is an advisory body to the Rector. Each dormitory is represented by one representative elected by the students accommodated in the dormitories from among themselves. The Council represents the residents in negotiations with the management of the UP Accommodation and Dining Services (SKM) or with the university management and carries out other activities related to dormitory accommodation. It oversees the observance of the rights and obligations of students arising from the UP Student Accommodation Rules, the Student Accommodation House Rules and accommodation contracts. In addition to these documents, the Board also discusses proposals and makes recommendations on the price list for student dormitory accommodation fees and other internal standards related to student accommodation in the dormitories.
"We consider the functioning of the Dormitory Board to be beneficial, for example, for more expeditious mediation of suggestions from accommodated students that do not reach us through other functional channels, which was also one of the topics we discussed at our first meeting on Monday, March 27. I believe that our joint communication will be conducted in a pleasant and constructive spirit," added Libor Kolář, the Head of SKM.
DORMITORY BOARD MEETING
It is the duty of the UP Dormitory Board to inform the accommodated students about the dates and places of its meetings, which are public and are usually held once a month. The last meeting of the UP Dormitory Board was held on Monday, March 27, 2023.
"We discussed several suggestions across the dormitories. Some of the most pressing ones were the WiFi connectivity issue, which is currently being addressed, and the expansion of recycling options in the dormitories. We would like to encourage accommodated students to feel free to contact us via email at kolejnirada@upol.cz or via the form on our our web," urged the Chair Jencho.
AUTUMN ELECTIONS
The electronic election of the regular UP Dormitory Board will be organized by the MKR in the fall of this year. It will be a single-round election, and the candidate who receives the highest number of votes in the election in a given dormitory will become the representative of each dormitory. The Extraordinary Election Committee of at least 3 members will be appointed from among the students of the University by the Chair of the Academic Senate of UP (AS UP) after consultation with the AS UP Senators from among the students. The mandate of the members of the previous UP Dormitory Council ceased to exist, according to the relevant standard, when no minutes of the meeting of the UP Dormitory Council were published in a manner allowing remote access for at least 3 months. With the election of the new UP Dormitory Board in autumn, the mandate of the extraordinary one will also cease to exist. The term of office of the members of the UP Dormitory Board is two years.
Composition of the extraordinary UP Dormitory Council:
Anežka Staňková (Šmeralova Dormitory)
Kristýna Kenížová (J. L. Fischera Dormitory)
Štěpán Filipčík (17. listopadu Dormitory)
Martin Jenčo – předseda (Neředín Dormitory)
Bc. Pavlína Břoušková (Gen. Svobody Dormitory)
Katarína Szemanová – místopředsedkyně (Evžena Rošického Dormitory)
Ada Vlach (Chválkovice Dormitory)
Contakt: kolejnirada@upol.cz
Web: skm.upol.cz/kr