Breaking Down Barriers – in Language and in Administration
The newly elected Student Parliament (StuPa) has met twice already and passed its first resolutions. Here is an overview:
Sign language courses at the Language Centre
English, German as a foreign language, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, Latin and Ancient Greek – all these languages can be found in the Language Centre’s module handbook. Following a motion from the Juso University Group, the StuPa is calling on the university to include a course in German Sign Language (DGS) in its programme.
Around 200,000 people in Germany are proficient in DGS, and the more people learn it, the easier it will be for the 80,000 of them who are d/Deaf to participate in society. Taking a DGS course would enable students to break down barriers in their everyday lives and later professional careers and help shape a more inclusive society.
Simplified processes for name and pronoun changes
Those who wish to change their name and pronouns or gender in the university’s online services and administrative systems should not be held back by bureaucratic or technical obstacles. In order to support trans*, inter* and non-binary students, the StuPa advocates that existing problems be identified and solutions proposed – specifically by the Equal Opportunity Advisory Board. For example, it should be possible to add pronouns to one’s profile in the VC, which would then be displayed directly next to the name.
A more user-friendly campus map
Is there anyone who finds the map of locations available on the university website to be user-friendly? Has anyone even visited this page before? Why can I find out how far the ERBA is from the Feki in nautical miles, but I can’t filter the results to show only library locations or administrative buildings? The map at Feki.de works better.
A motion by the Bamberg Green-Left Students’ Initiative (BAGLS) lists important criteria that a user-friendly map of university locations should meet – for example, filter mechanisms, a smartphone-friendly design and accessibility. In addition, by passing this motion, the StuPa points out that no matter how good a map may be, it is only useful if people know that it exists.
Implementation of the sustainability strategy
The University of Bamberg has drawn up a sustainability strategy. Now it needs to be implemented – and students can play their part too. The student parliament is therefore asking the University Politics Working Group to work towards implementing the part of the sustainability strategy that deals with student initiatives.
“Budget for all” in the city of Bamberg
The StuPa has decided that the Student Representation will sign an open letter addressed to local political decision-makers in Bamberg calling for the introduction of a “budget for all”. This initiative aims to make decisions about the town’s budget more transparent and give citizens opportunities to participate.
