It’s about the climate crisis, diversity and self-governing spaces: Pupils from the Melanchthon-Gymnasium in Hellersdorf occupied the auditorium of their school on Tuesday morning. They are thus calling the alliance #MayWeOccupy followed, which includes the groups “End Fossil” and “Enough is Enough”.
“We demand social and climate justice,” says Emily Dittmann from the End Fossil Berlin student group in the Tagesspiegel. Dittmann is a student at the Melanchthon-Gymnasium and is involved in the cast. Among the squatters are members of Fridays for Future. The group wants to raise awareness of the climate crisis and its consequences at school.
The lesson should not be disturbed
After Negotiations with the principal it was initially agreed that the students could stay in the auditorium until 3 p.m., says Dittmann. During this time they want to offer workshops for anyone who is interested. Classes at school should not be disturbed. The group is demanding further negotiations with the school over their demands. The principal himself could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
That’s how high school should be Compulsory workshops on climate justice in the Global South and on globalization and its environmental consequences and social injustice in general. As part of project weeks or a “eco compartment” Pupils could “learn how they can live more sustainably and how they can actively participate in combating climate change”, according to the list of demands.
Further demands: Schools should play a pioneering role in climate protection and therefore use green electricity, possibly install solar cells on the roof and be better insulated. It should be in the canteen vegan or vegetarian food give that is less harmful to the climate. The cost of school meals should also drop, as not everyone can afford it. The introduction of waste separation is also required. “We cannot stop the climate crisis here, but we can take small steps that are easy to implement,” says Dittmann on the phone.
We know that not all demands from the school can be fulfilled.
Emily Dittmann, one of the squatters at the Melanchthon-Gymnasium
Other demands are Unisex toilets and more action against discrimination in schools. The squatters also want spaces for political educational work and information as well as for self-organization with the aim of promoting independent, political opinion-forming. For this purpose, students should also do this right to strike be granted. “We know that not all demands can be met by the school,” says Dittmann. That is why she and her comrades-in-arms address some of their demands directly to the Senate.
The alliance #MayWeOccupy called school and university strikes worldwide on. As far as can be understood, this was followed by students from the University of Bremen and a school in Lisbon (Portugal). The report by the Ende Gelände group on Twitter that the universities in Münster, Regensburg and Erlangen were also occupied could not initially be checked.
