“We have great news for you: we will occupy the Audimax now.” Big applause. After a plenary meeting of the students of the Alice Salomon University in Berlin-Hellersdorf a group of students announces on Monday afternoon that they don’t want to leave the university’s largest lecture hall that day. Why? They demand more co-determination, more space for student self-administration and more accessibility in all areas of the university.
The new semester started two weeks ago. The “Critical Orientation Days” of the General Student Committee (AStA) are currently underway. The general assembly was initially about the presentation of the various committees, the around 100 listeners were informed about the upcoming ballot on the semester ticket and were able to ask questions about political commitment. Then came the surprise at the end: three students asked for the cast.
It’s a constant struggle.
Student of the ash Berlin
“We’re here today because there are quite a few things about the university that we’re fucked up about,” says one of the students into the microphone. “We don’t want to accept that anymore – we want to change things!” The full Audimax confirms that students want to get involved in university politics and help shape the university, he continues. But: “It’s a constant struggle.” Rights to have a say would always be fought for. “But as soon as the pressure from the students subsides, everything will be reversed by the university management.”
Accessible rooms, free menstrual items
The students then put forward a number of demands: It’s about barrier-free rooms, translations for international students and cheap canteen food for refugee students. There should always be free menstrual items in the toilets, closed creative rooms such as a photo workshop should be reopened. Finally, they criticize that the new building, which is due to open this week, was not built barrier-free.
The students also show solidarity with employees of the university: The canteen employees: inside and the cleaning staff should get more salary, overall precarious working conditions should be abolished. “Many administrative positions are overworked and understaffed. That is why they cannot meet the requirements of teaching, such as the examination office,” says the list of demands. Therefore: “Administrative posts must be increased and paid better.”
Applause from the audience, the official part is over. The demands are posted on partition walls. Chairs are cleared away, sofas are carried into the room, chips and gummy bears are distributed. Clay, stones, shards sing “This is our house!”
About an hour later, Rector Bettina Völter and Vice Rector Anja Voss appear. “We are pleased that you are committed,” says Völter. With some of the demands, the students would “break down open doors”. Management is skeptical as to whether the students can stay at the university overnight. There are insurance issues. Völter and Voss withdraw to the consultation. Later they want to approach the students again.
Kim Hansa, member of the AStA and the organizational group of the occupation, calls the reaction of the university administration to the daily mirror “expectable”. “They think what we’re doing is great, but they basically want to eat our breakfast away quickly.” But the students don’t want that. It is about long-term, structural problems that cannot be solved ad hoc. After all, the management immediately sent the police away, who had arrived in the meantime. There is a party atmosphere in the Audimax. The cast has only just begun.
