Due to the renewed efforts by Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ) trustee rector Handan Inci to close the Ortaköy Women's Dormitory under the pretext of a "space shortage," 200 female students are facing the threat of being left homeless.

Last summer, this closure attempt was postponed for one year after intense protests by students. Zilan Ekin Turan, a first-year Cinema and Television student at MSGSÜ, spoke to ANF about the issue.

‘The decision was postponed for a year due to intense reactions’
Turan said this is not the first time the university has attempted to shut down the dormitory. When she tried to apply last year, she encountered the same closure announcement. The university’s website cited a lack of educational space and said the dormitory would be temporarily converted into classrooms. “At the time, KYK (Credit and Dormitories Institution) applications had already closed, and many people were left without housing. This led to protests on campus, and despite it being summer break, the news reached several media outlets. The backlash forced the administration to postpone the decision for a year. But now, in the spring semester, the dormitory closure is back on the agenda,” she said.

‘Staff will also suffer if the dorm is closed’

Turan emphasized that the decision came directly from the trustee rector, Handan İnci. She spoke with the dorm director, who confirmed that the closure decision came entirely from the rectorate. She said: “The staff working at the dormitory – from receptionists to cleaners, cooks, and security personnel – will also face unemployment. Since there’s no clear statement about when the dorm will close, they are just as worried as we are.” 

‘We have no one to talk to!’

She pointed out that students haven't seen the rector all year, and that she even closed her social media accounts to avoid contact. “It’s ironic and shameful that MSGSÜ’s first female rector is trying to shut down the women's dorm and refuses to communicate with us,” she added.

‘AKP MP Şengül Karslı visited the dorm on Monday’

Turan said that instead of the rector, AKP MP Şengül Karslı visited the dorm on Monday under the guise of “solidarity.” She added: “I was furious. As a representative of the AKP government, she is responsible for what we are going through. With women being murdered and students being arrested for protesting, how can anyone claim otherwise?” 

‘If those responsible for our suffering pretend to be allies...’

Turan recalled being detained for four days due to her social media posts before May 1st and then released under judicial control. “Many of my friends are still detained or under house arrest. For Karslı to claim she wants to help prevent our suffering is not sincere. I told her directly: Your party is the one causing this. When she said, ‘Nice to meet you’ as she left, I couldn’t stay silent. I told her she wasn’t our ally and that they were the ones responsible,” she said.

‘Balmumcu campus left to decay for six years’

Turan rejected the “space shortage” excuse, noting that the Balmumcu campus, closed in 2019 due to alleged earthquake risk, has been left to rot. She said: “That building housed the Cinema and Television Institute since the 1970s. It included Turkey’s first film archive and was a cultural hub. It’s now been abandoned since our trustee rector took office. If they really needed space, why not restore or rebuild that campus instead of opening unqualified new faculties?”

‘The cameras we couldn’t get for education were bought for surveillance!’

Turan continued: “We’re treated like stepchildren at the Fındıklı Campus, moving between two or three classrooms. We lack basic equipment. Our professors bring their own tools. The rector cites budget cuts for these issues, yet new security cameras were installed after the March 19 protests. Cameras we need for film training were instead bought for surveillance.” 

‘Our dorm is a well-equipped building’

Turan said the Ortaköy Women's Dorm is a 220-capacity, well-equipped building that is far better than KYK dorms. She added: “We pay 6,000 TL per month, more than KYK but much cheaper than private dorms, which cost up to 30,000 TL. The dorm supports art students with study areas and facilities necessary for their work. In KYK dorms, art students can’t complete their projects.” 

‘They want to take away both our education and housing rights’

Turan emphasized that students are being forced to choose between housing and education, and added: “They want the dorm emptied by June 30. We know the building won’t reopen in two months after ‘renovations.’ We’re being thrown out of housing and denied education space. Our dorm is earthquake-resistant and solid. We don’t want to give it up. We will not give up our right to education and housing.”