Things about student life on campus I never knew

At the practice session on writing a reflective log ( My experience as an undergraduate so far), I discovered the following things:

1. Students' hostels charge different rates , and students have no choice of hostels. One hostel may cost a student about RM2 per day , and another can be as much as RM4. Apparently, when a student enquired about the different rates, she was asked by the clerk "boleh bayar tak?", and when she replied "boleh", she was told " bayar aje la!".
There is apparently no noticeable difference in the facilities provided by the different hostels, so what is the basis for differential rates?
2. Students say they are often treated badly by counter personnel. They are spoken to rudely, get scolded and the service is generally very inefficient. Liana shared her experience of asking for a simple letter to cetify that she wasn't on scholarship, so that she could show it to the Sarawak state authorities to ask for financial support. it took her a few trips over 3 weeks, and when the letter was finally prepared, there was an error and so she has to wait yet another week. Jason reported on an incident of asking the technician to attend to the non-functioning of the washing machine, and was told to file a report. he believes that all that was needed was for the technician to switch on the machine, but Jason couldnt do it himself because the main switch was in a locked enclosure.
3. Students have to pay RM50 per semster for internet access via Jaring. They're allowed 10GB, but Vincent reports that his 10GB has mysteriously been used up, and he has to pay to reload!
Now that I realise students are paying for access, I can't get students to log in for me when I use the internet in class anymore.
4. Students say they don't know who to turn to when they need help or support. They only know that they can log in a complaint but so far no one has done it.
5. Where academic work is concerned, students generally enjoy the new independence, even though they find it challenging having to work independently. They report that the teaching approach is very different from what they experienced in school, and they like it that their lecturers are informal and friendly.

In exchange, I shared with students one aspect of my experience on campus. All this talk about being treated badly and having no recourse to have their problems addressed prompted me to talk about the issue of student power. Generally they feel powerless. I told them briefly about the time when the students' union in Universiti malaya was active and strong, how it managed the students' transport on campus, awarded financial assistance to poor students, organised talks and forums, etc  I told them about Dr Khong , the Academic director of HELP Institute - how he was an active student leader,and now he's a highly responsible leader in the community of education.I want them to be aware that they too have power - it's just that they need to harness it and get organised.
We discussed why Fahmi Reza's "Student Power" lectures are not allowed in the public HEIs - the authorities are too afraid of students becoming aware of their power. But I told them student power has been used for good before - to address social injusice, to help the downtrodden in society, to make life better on campus, etc They seem very surprised to hear about what UMSU used to do.
I told them about the notion of "Speakers' Corner", soapbox oratory etc The importance of freedom of expression, dialogue. The reason why Interfaith Dialogues have not proceeded in Malaysia is that the authorities are fearful of people knowing more about one another!