For Autonomy and Inclusion!
The sixth meeting of the Student Parliament 2023/24 took place on 2 May. The following motions and topics were discussed:
Against the obligation to cooperate with the Bundeswehr
In the new law to promote the Bundeswehr in Bavaria, universities and colleges are to be obliged to cooperate with the Bundeswehr if this is necessary in the interests of national security. In addition, research results may then also be used for military purposes of the Federal Republic or NATO allies. Such an obligation restricts the academic freedom and autonomy of universities. In a motion, the Student Parliament therefore calls on the university management to publicly oppose the draft law to the responsible Ministry of Science.
Show your colors
In June, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community celebrates Pride Month. A new resolution demands the University of Bamberg to show its colours and raise the Pride Flag at all university locations in June. The Pride Flag stands for inclusion of all people, liberation and freedom. This sends a clear signal against stigmatisation or exclusion and for diversity and equality – values that the University of Bamberg also claims for itself.
University websites in English
The Student Parliament demands that the websites for daily use also be offered in English. This refers in particular to pages for international students such as the student counselling service and pages about offers for international students. However, this also affects pages for degree programmes such as the M.Sc. European Economic Studies, which is offered entirely in English and whose website can only be accessed in German. To make it easier for the almost 1200 international students at the University of Bamberg to find their way around, it is essential that the relevant websites are available in English.
As early as last November, the Student Parliament campaigned for IT systems such as the IAM portal, the Virtual Campus and UnivIS to also be offered in English.
Update: First-come, first-served for university sports
In November, the Student Parliament approached the sports centre with a request to introduce a lottery procedure for registering for university sports courses instead of the first-come, first-served procedure. In a recent meeting, the people responsible denied the possibility of implementing the request due to the significant additional work and lack of capacity this would entail. However, a postponement of the registration time from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. was agreed.
We would also like to take this opportunity to point out that anyone who would like to offer courses in the area of university sports is welcome to contact the sports centre!
