Today there will be a meeting between the Tuscany RegionThe DSUi rectors Di Pietra and Montanari and the mayor Fabio, on the question of the second canteen in Siena.
As a university association that has been involved for years in the issue of the right to study, in particular with regards to catering, we express our opposition to the lack of involvement of the student community in today’s meeting in Florence.
Siena is a university city which, for the past three years, has been experiencing a critical situation regarding the right to study. From the closure of the Bandini canteen in 2021, the only canteen open in the historic center is Sant’Agata, absolutely inadequate to offer a service to the approximately 17 thousand students of Unisi and Unistrasi. We therefore once again denounce the lack of a second canteen in the center and the frightening increase in tariffs in force from 1 September 2023, which has caused attendance to drop by 15% in an academic year. We would therefore like to underline the pointlessness of having a second canteen if the prices of the catering service are not lowered.
University canteens, in addition to helping against the high cost of living, should be places of sociality and aggregation. This is why canteens must be a convenient and accessible place for the entire student community, and not just for those who benefit from the scholarship.
We can no longer wait for buck-passing and lack of accountability. Our requests are clear, we want an extra canteen and a lowering of prices. We therefore urge the Tuscany Region to withdraw the increase in catering rates and the Municipality of Siena to change the decision taken during the February city council to never reopen the Bandini canteen again. This represents a huge about-face in student services, inevitably reducing the attractiveness of the city and its universities.
In recent months, proposals have been emerging for a new university canteen, including the one in Viale Sardegna, which would be in a very inconvenient position for almost all students, or the option to view vacant properties within the walls. These alternatives would not benefit the student community in the short to medium term, while Bandini’s restructuring would resolve the issue in a much shorter time than any other alternative.
The municipal administration must take responsibility for starting the redevelopment works of the Bandini canteen and for once protecting the interests of the student community that lives and animates the city of Siena.
