Day: December 8, 2023

On 8 November, a meeting of all students (VaS) was called for the first time in a long time. To give everyone who was unable to attend an impression of what was discussed, we will summarise it here. Of course, we will also give you a small impression of what we have already been able to achieve.

The main topic of the VaS was “Student housing”. After some opening words by Joachim Hornegger, the President of the FAU, we invited speakers from 3 different fields who deal with the topic of student housing. Prof Hundhausen as a member of the city council and the building committee, gave us an insight into what has happened recently on the subject of housing in the area and what could be improved in the future. Peter Forna and Constanze Thuma from the Internationals Department then gave us an overview of how many international students we have at the university and what their housing situation is like. David Vadasz, spokesperson for the student representatives’ working group for housing in Munich, concluded the main topic. He showed us what is already happening in Munich and inspired us to take a proactive approach to the issue.

After the main topic, we moved on to the motions. We received 16 motions before the VaS, all of which we discussed and voted on. These included motions on the topics of discrimination, student housing, teaching at FAU, the canteen and much more. You can also view the resolutions and the minutes on the Stuve website.

We have already been able to address some of the topics in discussions with the university management. Covered bicycle racks have already been built in Nuremberg at the ReWi and at the South Campus in recent weeks. We have also campaigned for covered bike racks in the city centre, e.g. on Bismarckstraße. We have also started working on the issue of discrimination. In our next meeting in December with VP Hirsch and the Office for Gender and Diversity, we will talk about this again and hope to achieve something there. We have also already addressed the topic of oral examinations and will continue to take it up in meetings with VP Kopp and other discussions on the topic of teaching.

If you would like to contribute to one of the topics in a working group or on the subject of student housing, please contact stuve-sprat@fau.de or Stuve-vas@fau.de. We are always happy to receive support so that we can achieve as much as possible at our FAU.

It was 50 years ago. On 21 December 1973, the dissolution of the “Verfasste Studierendenschaft” (constituted student body, VS) was decided in Bavaria. The aim at the time was to “drain the left-wing swamp at the universities”. What was achieved was a cut in the rights and possibilities of student representation.

But let’s go back to the beginning: what is a VS?
A VS is first and foremost a body under public law, of which all students at a university are a part. It decides independently on its own statutes and also on its own finances.
To what extent have the students been disenfranchised?
Without a body under public law, the student body cannot conclude its own contracts. For something like the semester ticket, you are always dependent on the goodwill of others, for example the university or the student union.
Even the student body’s own statutes and organisation are now dictated by the legislator, conveniently without teeth.
The few funds are also managed according to a similar principle, again by someone else. Every expenditure must now be approved by the university in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the legislator.

In short, the VS stands for the ability of the student body to act and decide independently. An ability that is granted to students at all universities in Germany. All except Bavaria.

The winter semester is in full swing and the Stuve has also arrived in the middle of the Christmas period.
Many resolutions were discussed and passed at the Convention meeting in November. For example, we adopted a position on the constituted student body, which was abolished in Bavaria in 1973, or that the login on the Stuve website should be made even more secure in future. We also dealt with motions that were actually intended for the VaS but were submitted too late. The motions that have now been passed range from the allocation of places in halls of residence to the demand for a stable €29 ticket price – you can find out more in the corresponding report. The VaS itself was a great success: we discussed the housing shortage with university representatives and politicians and passed many resolutions. You can also find out more here in the VaS report.

Dear students,

In March 2023, the university management decided to carry out a web relaunch. We are currently in the preparation phase for the tender and would therefore like to ask as many target groups as possible about their needs, expectations and wishes. Students are one of the main user groups of the website, which is why they play a particularly important role. We have therefore prepared a survey where you can share your thoughts with the project management team. Simply grab a notepad (or several) and describe your input on the Miro board in bullet points (orientation questions can be used to help you think). It would be great if you could do this from two perspectives:

1. perspective of prospective students (“what was it like when I was looking for a suitable degree programme myself?”)
2. perspective of the students (“status quo”)

Link: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVNIgIiFQ=/?share_link_id=13960148254

Thank you very much for your efforts and help!

Best regards
Your web relaunch team

All FAU students can once again apply for the one-week seasonal schools at our EELISA partner university Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa! Travel and accommodation costs can be covered for three FAU students at a time. An overview of the seasonal schools from February to July 2024 can be found here. Bewerbt euch jetzt!