The first Student Council voting took place on the 11th of December in the year 1920. The Council was and is a interests and social council for students. In that time The University of Iceland was in the basement of the Congress building.
The Student Council opens up a cafeteria for students, Mensa academica, in November of 1921. It was located at Lækjargata 2 and operated for two years. The aim was to offer students affordable food. the cafeteria worked great at first but sadly closed eight years later do to bad business.
The first University Women's Association was funded with six women from Reykjavík coming together. A student sports club and student theatre association was also established.
Partial and secret ballots for the Student Council are introduced with a change in the law. The first organization, the Association of Radical University Students, was founded in 1933. Within them students who were part of the Communist Party in national affairs but also supported them progressives.
The first students will move into the student housing in the autumn. In the summer of 1933, work had begun on the construction of the student housing just south of Hringbraut, at the same time as construction work that had already begun on such a building at Skólavörðuholt was stopped. The student housing was built according to a drawings by Sigurður Guðmundsson, the state carpenter, and construction took a short time. The house had accommodation for 37 students, a room for garden examiners, a reading room, a book room and a sports hall in the basement.
Vaka, an association of democratic students, founded. The association is still active today and now operates under the name Vaka, a student interest association.
The British occupation turn the student housing it into a military hospital. Students protested loudly and marched on the British embassy. The house was not returned until the end of the war. Many students had housing problems at that time. The prelude to this was that in the spring of this year, Iceland was occupied by the British and the occupation team took various public buildings for their use, for a longer or shorter period of time. Following this, the construction of Nýja-Garður was started.
The first students moved to Nýja-Garður in 1943. The house was completed in September 1943, almost two and a half years after construction began. In Nýji-Garður there were 63 rooms and the first winter 90 students got in there, with two living in many detached rooms due to student housing problems. The architects Sigurður Guðmundsson and Eiríkur Einarsson designed Nýji-Garður.
A Student meeting was held on the issue of the military bases, The Student Council is responsible for the publication of the magazine "We all protest" together with all political associations within the university and the Student Association of Reykjavík.
The Student Council of the University of Iceland establishes employment services for university students. The council elected three people to a committee to provide university students with work during the summer. The committee had application forms printed at the beginning of the year and received 30 job applications. The committee subsequently wrote to almost 20 commercial companies, but it also collaborated with ASÍ and the Icelandic Confederation of Employers. The turnout was sluggish, as this was the council's first attempt to provide students with work and there was a lot of unemployment at that time.
A total of 45 meetings were held in the Student Council of the University in the year 1953-1954 under the chairmanship of its chairman, Björn Hermannsson. This number of meetings will be absolutely unique. Meetings were mostly held each week and extra meetings as needed, especially in connection with the preparation of the students' holiday, December 1, and the publication of newspapers before June 17.
At its meeting in March that year, the Student Council approves a proposal to elect a three-member travel committee which is intended to offer students economical trips abroad. Later was the Student Travel Agency established. The Student Council also approves a proposal for preparations for the construction of student housing for couples.
By law passed this year, students were given one member on the University Council. From 1978, the number of student representatives increased to four, and in addition to them, the council had a university rector, dean and two representatives of the Association of University Teachers. With the law on the University of Iceland from 1999, the number of councillors decreased again and students got two representatives who were elected directly by students.
Funding was given out to hire a permanent employee of the Student Council of the University of Iceland. The job was advertised and two students applied. The council unanimously agreed to give the job to Hörður Sigurgestsson.
Gamli-Garður (Stúdentagarðurinn við Hringbraut) was also called Hótel Garður, because the house was run as a hotel in the summer of 1960.
New law on student loans and scholarships announced. The student loan system was undoubtedly an important prerequisite for the increase in the number of students at university level to such an extent as was actually witnessed.
Félagsstofnun stúdenta was established and it takes over the operation of Gamli-Garður, Nýja-Garður, Students Coffee Shop in the main buolding, The Student Book Shop and Student Travel Services. The Student Association was established by the Student Council and the University Council. The construction and rental of student parks has been one of the most important projects of the Association. The University Council provided Félagsstofnun with plots for student parks and kindergartens on the university site, but the University Council approved the construction work.
In 1969, for the first time, students were given the right to participate in the election of the rector. In their election, Jóhann Axelsson, a physiologist and professor in the medical school, received the most votes, but that was not enough for him to get the position of rector. In the second round, a choice was made between Magnús Már Lárusson and Magnús Magnússon, and Magnús Már won with the help of students.
The student dormitory owned by the Student Association completely changed all student social facilities.
With the emergence of the '68 generation 'in society, many new ideas about the role of students emerged. Students were no longer primarily male and from the upper classes of society, but were now of both sexes, originating from most classes and entering universities with different ideological and social backgrounds than their predecessors. The unconventional and political struggle of students, rooted in grassroots activity, became one of the hallmarks of the 68 movement within the universities. She wanted to shape the University of Iceland considerably and make a strong impression on university life.
On May 3rd that year, students protested against the visit of William Rogers, the US Secretary of State, to Árnagarður, where the Manuscript Institute is located. Protesters managed to prevent the visit, but here they are seen with protest banners at its entrance. The picture was published in Tíminn on May 4th, in 1972 with the following caption: “The reception committee at Árnagarður. Above the door is the flag of the National Liberation Party of Vietnam. Dashboards faced and case transferred to speaker. There was a group of people in the lobby who were determined not to let the minister and their entourage in ".
The sovereignty celebration of students was held at Háskólabíó on December 1st, 1972 was the theme "Against military power - Against wealth". Tíminn's report states that the President of Iceland, Kristján Eldjárn, attended the meeting, as did the appointed university rector, Jónatan Þórmundsson. Álfheiður Ingadóttir stud. scient. set the meeting. Guðrún Hallgrímsdóttir, a food scientist, Ragnar Árnason, a sociology student, and Þorsteinn Vilhjálmsson, a physicist, gave speeches.
In March 1974, Arnlín Óladóttir, a medical student, was elected chairman of the Student Council for the first time. For the first time, women's rights became an issue for students.
In October 1975, students in many faculties of the University went on a two-day strike to protest the reduction of student loans. Here, the students unanimously agree at a meeting in Árnagarður to continue the strike. The student basement starts work on behalf of the Student Association. The student basement was a very popular meeting place for students for a long time.
On November 15 this year, students will protest against the new arrangements and rules for student loans by gathering at the Ministry of Education. Össur Skarphéðinsson, later a member of the Althingi and a minister, is at the forefront of the picture.
The student travel agency has operations. It was later sold to Samvinnuferðir - Landsýn in 1999.
Various things have happened on the campus over the years, but here in the picture you can see police officers handcuffed horse at Gamla-Garður by Hringbraut. Five police officers have been arrested the horse in the picture.
This year, for the first time, women outnumbered men among students and have since been in the majority. Women were in a large minority among students at the University of Iceland in the first years, but on the university's 20th anniversary, only 8 women were registered for studies, or about 5% of students. The number of female students increased slowly, but around 1970 they increased faster and went from 25 to 39% of the total number of students. During this time, there was a growing public debate on equality issues, the United Nations Women's Day and the Decade of Women.
Röskva was founded in February this year when two movements, the left party and the reformers, decided to bring their horses together in a joint candidacy against Vaka, an association of democratic students.
Student Innovation Fund established. Rannís took over the administration of the fund on July 8, 2008.
The Student Council launches a national campaign to raise money to buy publications at the National Library. The President of Iceland st the time, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, was the patron of the campaign, which generated ISK 22.5 million.
Félagsstofnun stúdenta moves all its activities to Háskólatorg and opens the Student Bookstore and a new restaurant, Háma
The University of Iceland is the largest teaching, research and scientific institution in Iceland. The school has five fields of study, each of which is divided into several faculties. The disciplines are the School of Social Sciences, the School of Health Sciences, the School of Humanities, the School of Education and the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences. In addition, the school operates a number of research and service institutes.
The Student Caller reopens in the basement of Háskólatorg, and will once again be one of the main meeting places for students at the university.
In February, the Student Council, together with the National Association of Students and the Association of Icelandic Upper Secondary Schools, began climate strikes every Friday. The strikes are demanding that the government declare a state of emergency due to climate change and that they and companies take action to curb climate change. The strikes were inspired by Greta Thunberg's strikes, Fridays for future. The climate strikes are recognized by the City of Reykjavík and are chosen man of the year by Stöðvar 2's newsroom.
The Student Council celebrates its centenary, more powerful than ever before. Among the issues on the council's table were a new bill on the Student Education Fund and the ongoing struggle for action on climate change. During the year, various victories were achieved. The construction of student parks at Gamla Garður began after a long struggle, the international student representative started working for the first time and the dental examination of refugee children was stopped.
