Student accommodation

BY H. KUBO, M. MIYAMURA, J. TREILLAUD

On campus

If you want to live on campus, DCU Campus Residences Ltd. offers three choices for incoming students. You can choose among Larkfield Apartments, Hampstead Apartments and College Park Apartments. Each accommodation has sets of 5 rooms and 1 dining room with a kitchen, so a maximum of 5 students can share one flat. In addition, each room has a study space and access to the Internet. If you drink a lot and oversleep the next day, don’t worry! Each apartment is located on Campus, so you can go to every classroom from your room within 5 minutes. 

In fact, Larkfield Apartments are only open to first year students and the other students (including Erasmus students) can choose their room between Hampstead and College Park Apartments. Perhaps it is very lucky that Erasmus students can’t live in Larkfield Apartments, because some unfortunate students who live in Larkfield Apartments say it is like a prison! Such complaints seem to come from its narrow size. As for Hampstead and College Park Apartments, I conducted research and the comparison is as indicated below.

College Park Accommodation by H. Kubo

The size: In general, the rooms of College Park Apartments are larger than those of Hampstead. However, you can select the rank of the room. In Hamstead, you can live in a single ensuite room or a superior ensuite room. In College Park, you can choose not only these two types but also a deluxe bedroom. The deluxe accommodation has a TV. However, it might be a bit difficult to get a deluxe room because it is determined by the result of a draw.

The price: Bear in mind that the price of the room depends on its rank. In general, Hampstead is cheaper than College Park; the former would be €4,234 and the latter €4,568 for the annual rent. At any rate, you might think it’s a bit expensive to live on Campus. However, the price already includes the deposit and energy bills. 

Tips: The dryers in College Park are €1 cheaper!

The nationality: It is said that there are more Irish students in Hampstead than in College Park and more International students in College Park.

In my personal opinion, some students who live with Irish students seem to have difficulty in their lives. Irish students often have parties in their flat and sometimes it might be too noisy in the middle of night. However, how about just thinking of such parties as good opportunities to make friends? They would be perfect opportunities to make friends with native speakers of English, and also you can hardly ask for more to experience REAL IRISH CAMPUS LIFE!

 Off-campus

Though the life on campus has many advantages, it is not the only accommodation available when you study at DCU. Some of them are situated just near the university while others are farther away. The two main student residences are Shanowen Hall and Shanowen Square. Both are situated on Shanowen Road, it takes 5 minutes to go to the university from there. You can book them on the DCU website once you have registered. So they are full of international students and can be really nice, depending on your relationships with your roommates. But there is still a majority of Irish students there and you will be immersed in an Irish student life. 

Accomodation on Shanowen road by H. Kubo

There is a system of a single room with bathroom for each person, with a kitchen shared between 4 or 5 persons. The rents are similar, with electricity fees (as long as you don’t exceed a certain amount) and Wi-Fi internet included in Shanowen Hall (working more or less well) and available for €80/semester in Square. You have to be aware that the rent for the whole semester has to be paid in one go (around €2200 according to the semester, plus a deposit when you book your room) and that it may not be the best choice if you are waiting for your scholarships or planning to get a work to afford the price of an accommodation. Otherwise legend has it that Shanowen Square throws the best parties, however Shanowen Hall is far from being quiet, especially on “Toxic” Tuesday nights.

These residences try to make you rush by telling you that accommodations are booked quite early and that it may be hard to get something else. However there are possibilities to find other flats. The Gateway Student Village (15 minute walk from DCU) offers rooms from €99 a week and seems to be appreciated by the students living there. Hazelwood (30 minute walk  from DCU) has a similar rent (€110/month with electricity and internet included) but pray for having an apartment full of nice flatmates as the system of electricity needs good relationships as you will need to share electricity cards (problems seem to occur very rarely though). Don’t be afraid to go and ask in some houses to let: a student got a house shared with 3 other people for €430 to €520 a month depending on the season and the need of heating. The house is much more comfortable than the usual student flats, though it is much farther from the university (near the Phoenix Park).

If you feel like you can handle arriving in Dublin without a place to stay for the whole semester/year, you can find one once you are there. Nonetheless, make sure to have a place for the week or at least a few days when you arrive, such as a B&B or a cheap hostel, as it is safer and cheaper, but do not stay too long either as it is still more expensive than the flat you will get and less appropriate for study.

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The Inter Faith Centre: A home away from home

BY B. SIEJA, F. BENDER, A. INHARJANTO 

DCU does its best to help and support new international students. DCU wants you to feel welcome, safe and happy therefore it offers many facilities across campus to reduce your stress and make you feel more at home. One of those places is located at the heart of the campus, the Inter Faith Centre. It’s cosy, it’s quiet and everybody is welcome.

Joe and Susan welcome everyone
by B. Sieja, F. Bender and A. Inharjanto

Joe and Susan Jones, the Chaplains in the Inter Faith Centre are looking after students' spiritual and religious needs. We asked Joe why he thinks students come to the Centre and this is what he told us: “Often it is to meet their friends over a cup of tea and some small groups use the meeting room for project work or even use the piano. We like to think that the Centre is a place of welcome for people of all faiths and none. Our logo for the Chaplaincy leaves one empty space for this particular reason to highlight to all that you don’t have to have a faith to come in and use the space.” We asked Susan if she thinks that the Centre is favoured by international students and she said: “Most of the students who come in for tea and to use the Muslim prayer rooms are international students’.

We go to the Centre quite often; on a bad rainy day, when we’re down, when we’re a bit lonely, when we want to pray or gather our thoughts, sometimes just to read a book or newspaper, often to chat with our friends. Joe and Susan “endeavour to create a homely atmosphere in the Inter Faith Centre” and that homely atmosphere gives us comfort, a sense of familiarity and belonging. We noticed how often in the Centre, over a cup of tea, students start talking to each other despite the fact that they come from different religious backgrounds, are studying different things and have never met before. This communication is what the Centre is all about.

We asked Joe about it and he told us: “Everything we do is helping us to make DCU one community/family, enabling us to move forward in mutual respect and harmony with dignity afforded to everyone who enters.” We also asked Susan about it and she told us: ”If you take the number of people who visit the Centre and see how people of different faith or no faith traditions chat and have a laugh with each other, and yet respect that people will slip into the prayer rooms to pray, and see how people offer each other support in relation to many issues, yes one gets a sense of the family of DCU.”

The Inter Faith Centre by B. Vysoky

The Centre is a welcoming place for students who have problems of any kind. The Chaplains are approachable for everybody who feels the need to talk to someone. Joe explained to us: “They come with many different needs and many questions at different levels; these can be personal or related to their studies or their own spiritual development.” Students, who are far away from home, might turn to the Centre when experiencing difficult times. For instance, when we have to cope with the loss of a family member, we can seek support in the Centre where the Chaplains would guide and accompany us during our time of grief. Apart from offering a helping hand in hard times, the members of the Centre are also there just to listen to us. Susan told us: “Many students are not aware that pastoral care is a very important aspect of Chaplaincy, that non-judgemental listening and support is part of our role.” Students are always welcome to just drop in and talk about whatever is on their mind. The Centre aims to be a place of open doors and open ears.

Apart from offering support in difficult times, the Inter Faith Centre is also very much involved in various events that take place on and off campus. When we asked Joe about the relationship between the Centre and the International Office he replied: ”Until recently the International Office was under the Student Support & Development so we all worked together very well. We have organised events like the Host Family Project when local families hosted students from foreign lands to give them a taste of Irish family life and culture.” The Centre also started the DCU Failte Programme. This programme offers trips to different places of interest in Ireland in order for us to learn more about Irish culture and heritage.

Logo used in the Centre by F. Bender

Besides the Christian or inter-faith services held by the Centre, there are also informative talks that explain spiritual topics. Susan told us: “At the moment we have the Talking Heads Programme which is done in conjunction with the Students Union and the School of Communication. This is where the leaders of the main religions in Dublin are interviewed by students.” There is also the Alpha course which is for anyone who would like to learn more about Christianity in particular. The Inter Faith Centre is therefore not only a place where we can go to worship but also a starting point for everybody who is interested in learning more about various religions. It is, however, not only the spiritual journey that could have its roots in the Centre, but also the exploration of Ireland, its culture and especially its people.

Irish hospitality and friendliness are well known around the world. Joe and Susan exercise those traits everyday through their creative projects for students carried out inside and outside the Centre. It is good to know we have so much support from people so deeply dedicated to their work. Our respect and gratitude for this place and the fond memories of events and moments spent in the Inter Faith Centre are a huge part of our college experience.

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