Students want to end SiO monopoly
The debate around the SiO monopoly has raged for the last year. A new survey shows many Norwegian students want to put an end to the control SiO has over food and drink options on campus.
When you enter the main entrance to Norwegian Business School (BI), you don’t get hit by the smell of chicken fingers and fried fish. Instead, there’s a bright green Starbucks sign.
While the Foundation for Student Life in Oslo and Akershus (SiO) has full control over every food option at the University of Oslo (UiO) and OsloMet, it only has a monopoly on athletic training and health care facilities at BI. Many students would like to see a larger variety of options on campus.
Against SiO monopoly
Julie Pettersen (21) and Maria Berget (23) are studying PR and marketing communication at the private school BI, and are very pleased with what the canteens have to offer.
«We have several alternatives, but the selection could be expanded even further,» said Berget. «It gets expensive in the long run, but we have cheap alternatives as well.»
Would you consider SiO food here at BI?
«No,» the women answered simultaneously.
«It’s good to have your individual choices. Monopoly in general is crap,» said Petersen. Still, they agreed that some level of cooperation could be positive.
Majority against the monopoly
Exchange student Bailey Nimmrichter (20) agrees a cooperation could be a good idea, but is happy about the solution at BI.
«A partnership would be the best solution in my opinion. The longer SiO has monopoly, the more people will get frustrated,» he said.
A survey by Sentio for NSO and Universitas showed 28 percent of the Norwegian students are positive toward a free market on campus. Meanwhile, 20 percent answered negatively, and 52 percent were neutral.
At the University of Oslo and OsloMet, the opinion is even more obvious.
Ole Marius Gaasø, leader in the liberal conservative student group Blå Liste at UiO, says a free market is the best way to secure a wide selection, low prices, and high quality.
«We understand that SiO works from the business point of view, but right now it seems very politically controlled,» said Gaasø. He believes the market can say more about what the students want.
«We want it to be cheap and good quality, when it comes to both selections and prices. It’s too expensive today, and the selection is worse than BI, for example,» Gassø said.
Can lead to changes
The leader for the student parliament, Jens Legræid, finds these numbers interesting, and says changes can be made in Blindern during the upcoming three years. Lately, the Student Parliament has been in dialogue with UiO and will participate in the renegotiations of the contract between the university and SiO for the next three years.
«We know it’s important for UiO that the students are participating in the plans and projects on the campus,» Legræid said. «I can’t pinpoint what exactly they want, but we will do the best we can to give them the best selections possible.»
The unit for managerial support at UiO confirms the agreement will be renegotiated during 2019, and assessment of the different areas, including food, will be a part of the discussion. Alternative cooperation partners have not yet been discussed. They also confirm the Student Parliament’s opinions will have as much say as the other partners involved. McDonald’s or Villa Paradiso on campus could be a reality in the future.
Student welfare main concern
Rune Keisuke Kosaka, leader for the Student Parliament at OsloMet, says change is always possible in the current system, but the student welfare schemes are primarily provided by an organization, the state, or the students.
«The canteen should still be operated by SiO. SiO isn’t, in any way, perfect but it’s a concern we as students have an ownership of,» he said. Kosaka means this gives the students more influence than what would be possible within the private sector.
Vetle Bo Saga, Chairman of SiO, says SiO exists as a student-led and oriented service for student welfare, and this separates it from other actors. This situation means SiO has to be embraced by students in order to succeed.
«The most important thing is to secure the students welfare and give a satisfying food selection at campus. I welcome discussions about how we can improve,» Bo Saga said.
According to Tore Nilsen, a professor at the UiO Department of Economics, it’s a challenge to secure quality in any market. Having more actors does not always mean lower prices and higher quality. But he stresses that this balance is tougher when one single company has monopoly, like SiO.
Nilsen thinks commercialization is crucial in order for SiO to continuously have lower prices than their competitors.
«There are some parts of SiO’s business that run on a loss, and that means they have to run some things commercially to make that loss possible,» he said. In the end, that’s what makes the most positive impact for students.
