Students from the University of Aix-Marseille await a distribution of food packages.
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Adrien Max / 20 Minutes
A distribution of food packages was organized on the Saint-Jérôme campus of the Aix-Marseille faculty.
Precariousness affects more and more students with this new confinement.
These students are torn between "shame and telling yourself that there is worse than us".
A long silent line facing a multitude of galleys.
Manon is 23 years old.
She is a first year master student to become a school teacher.
She is also a young mother.
With Camille 24 years old, they come to take the plunge and collect a food package to improve their daily lives a little.
They are distributed by UNEF, a student union, on the campus of Saint-Jérôme University in Marseille.
“I did not have an Internet connection at home, I had to take an Internet box to follow the courses remotely.
I have an old computer that doesn't work very well, it's five years old, the camera doesn't work.
In fact it's a bit of an accumulation of everything.
We cannot leave our home, we have a hard time following the courses, we are worried about our competitions and the situation involves additional expenses.
Basically, there is nothing right.
But we hesitated to come and get this package, we didn't dare too much, it's a bit of a mix between shame and the fact of telling ourselves that there are worse than us, that there are people who need more than us, ”confided the two young women.
"Personal questioning"
Among the students who came to collect these food parcels distributed by the student union Unef, many foreign students.
Like Jinate, 25, Moroccan student in master's degree in environmental management.
“Usually I did odd jobs to earn a little money, especially a waitress in restaurants.
It helped me a bit, but everything stopped with the confinement, ”regrets the young woman.
His parents help him a little, but it is not enough in the face of the situation.
And Jinate shares the same feeling as Manon and Camille: "The most complicated thing is to take the plunge, I keep telling myself that the situation is not serious enough for me, that there are people in more serious conditions.
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Margot, in fourth year of Fine Arts, on the Luminy campus at the other end of Marseille, had put money aside after working this summer.
But the situation caught up with her.
“The Crous took a long time to transfer my file from Toulouse, where I had been studying until then.
I told myself that what I had put aside would be enough.
But with confinement, it was a return to reality with all the costs to be expected: Internet, computer, managing groceries, rent, electricity.
My specialty also requires the purchase of expensive equipment, and I must continue to practice, ”she describes.
This situation, coupled with the uncertainties associated with exams and the future job market, plunges her into many questions.
"When we see what is happening with culture, it's pretty scary, we are supposed to become artists, create, make people dream, while we are in the midst of personal questioning", worries Margot.
Social workers and psychologists overwhelmed
A situation of which Fanchon Deflaux, the Director of Fine Arts studies, is fully aware.
“Student insecurity is a daily concern, but this situation makes cases appear less visible than usual.
For example, we have had three to four times as many requests for tuition waivers.
Social workers and psychologists made available by the university are completely overwhelmed, ”she says.
To the point that she is considering calling on a private psychologist to receive Fine Arts students.
I am also appalled by the situation of some of my students from @univ_spn during this health crisis.
The material precariousness which is added to the inequality in the access to studies in distance is a real scandal https://t.co/SNVpDCQtx0
- Cécile Coudriou (@CecileCoudriou) November 14, 2020
In the meantime, it compiles all the actions in support of students organized by the university or the student unions.
The town hall of Marseille offers its support for its actions, as for this distribution of food packages, and masks, in Saint-Jérôme.
“We are working with all the institutions to fight against this precariousness.
These actions were coordinated during a round table with different actors, and we support them.
A deliberation of a little less than 60,000 euros must be voted at the next municipal council in favor of the CROUS to help them in this aid given to the students ”, announced Aurélie Biancarelli-Lopes, assistant in charge of higher education and student life.
A necessary first step, but certainly not enough for Aix-Marseille University, the largest French-speaking university in the world with nearly 80,000 students.
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