BRUR Correspondent: Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir’s Begum Rokeya University unit submitted a memorandum to the university administration on Tuesday, pressing for five demands, including merit-based seat allocation in residential halls, subsidies on dining hall meals, one student per seat and a healthy and hygienic residential environment. The Shibir leaders and activists submitted the memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and hall provosts of Begum Rokeya University (BRUR) around 12pm on Tuesday (August 18). In the memorandum, they said the residential environment has a direct impact on students’ daily lives and academic activities. However, students are facing various problems related to seat allocation, the price and quality of dining hall meals, cleanliness and facilities conducive to study. The Shibir activists said there is a shortage of seats in the university’s residential halls, forcing many students to share a single seat. As a result, their normal environment for studying and resting is being disrupted, they said. They demanded that seats be allocated on the basis of merit and that accommodation for one student per seat be ensured. The memorandum also said rising prices of essential commodities have placed an additional financial burden on students for dining hall meals. It called for subsidies on dining hall meals to ensure affordable and quality food for residential students. The students also raised concerns over cleanliness in the residential halls, particularly in washrooms and other areas. They demanded a healthy and hygienic environment in the halls and called for reading rooms to be established to provide students with a quiet place to study. They also expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of food served at the university cafeteria and demanded improvements to ensure healthy and quality meals for students. The five demands are: merit-based seat allocation in residential halls; subsidies on dining hall meals; accommodation for one student per seat; ensuring a healthy and clean environment in the halls, including washrooms; and improving the quality of food at the university cafeteria. Mehedi Hasan, a student of the Department of Economics, said the implementation of the demands would significantly reduce the sufferings of residential students and create a better environment for academic activities. He urged the university administration to consider the interests of students and take prompt steps to implement the demands. No immediate comment was available from the university administration regarding the demands.