Stupa-Election on 20th-24th Jan’25

Currently, more and more people with a migration background are leaving the university, thus losing their chance for educational justice. The newly established anti-racism team is not sufficient for us. Instead, we demand a more independent autonomous anti-racist department that is not reliant on the AStA (General Student Committee) and therefore better secured. This is to ensure that no colonial structures are reproduced. The future anti-racism department named WeCAR+E should serve as a space for exchange, self-empowerment, and retreat for those affected. Additionally, intercultural and interreligious communication should be promoted. WeCAR+E stands for Community Against Racism and for Education.

We demand the expansion of anti-discrimination offices to take preventive and immediate action against violations caused by racist, queerphobic, ableist, and sexist behavior.

Our unisex toilets and changing rooms are still divided into “women” and “men,” forcing people to categorize themselves within the binary gender system.

This discriminates against and harms individuals with queer gender identities. We demand that the “men’s toilets and changing rooms” be transformed into all-gender toilets and changing rooms, accessible to people of any or no gender.

To simultaneously create a safe space for FLINTA (which includes women, intersex, non-binary individuals, as well as trans and agender persons), the “women’s toilets and changing rooms” should be converted into FLINTA toilets and changing rooms.

Have you ever stood in a public restroom and tried to get a tampon or pad while it could be too late for that down below? Or paid around 5 euros for a pack and thought, “Well, that costs almost as much as a pack of cigarettes again…”? Dragging yourself to a lecture with PMS or stomach cramps, but unfortunately not with OB Super?

We’ve had enough of this. We believe that a university that cares about FLINTA* individuals should provide all hygiene products for everyone. Just like the University of Copenhagen has already implemented. Or has anyone ever complained that toilet paper is free?

On Stud.IP, there should be options to change one’s first name without the need for an application. As long as this is not the case, individuals are constantly addressed by their deadname (the old name that does not fit them and is associated with negative memories) and have to work in Etherpads and send emails under this name. This is very hurtful for TIN people (TIN = transgender, intersex, non-binary, among others) and can be triggering. Furthermore, we demand a separate field for pronouns that can be changed at any time. Only in this way can misgendering be prevented and greater recognition for queer gender identities be achieved.

“Of course, it was okay with the choking; otherwise, she would have said something.”

“He is my partner and should find me attractive – I can certainly expect to have sex on Valentine’s Day? It’s not like he couldn’t get an erection.”

“I’m not saying that rape isn’t a problem here, but I’ve known him for two years, and he’s not that kind of person. The person probably just wants to take revenge on him.”

Our generations are not as advanced as one might think, and the university should try to protect its students and take on a responsible role. This includes, for example, free and accessible events on sexualized violence, revenge porn, and safer sex.

Instructors and tutors should attend mandatory sensitization courses on anti-racist and queer feminist topics. This is intended to act preventively against discriminatory and harmful behavior. Additionally, it aims to raise awareness for introduction rounds with pronouns. (This refers to individual introductions, not a significant additional effort.)

In order for students with disabilities to have better access to learning materials, all lectures should in the future be made available as audio files along with presentations. We hold the position that this will not harm in-person instruction, as we are convinced that many students will still have the desire to attend well-designed lectures and seminars in person.

Gender studies make an important contribution to research on equality, feminism, and diversity. However, a lack of resources and structural problems hinder the potential for expansion at our university. We demand more financial resources, a dedicated professorship**, and better networking with other disciplines to create an attractive and future-oriented study program.
New right-wing movements, anti-feminism, transphobia, and patriarchal power structures are just some of the issues facing our society that gender studies research seeks to address. We want to contribute to ensuring that these issues are better illuminated and critically examined. For this purpose, our degree program needs more resources and a stabilization of workforce and financial means.

**We have reached the quorum, meaning the required votes, for the petition for a professorship in Gender Studies at our university. A heartfelt thank you to all supporters! In the upcoming legislative period, we will seek discussions with Faculty III and the presidency.

Animal testing often involves great suffering for the animals (and always includes cages or other inappropriate living conditions). At the same time, there are more and more opportunities to conduct research without using animals – this is what we want to advocate for.

Oldenburg is going through a housing crisis and all the student accomodations are full. Wait a minute though: What about the big building with the huge fence and the ad about luxury student living, on the other end of Ulhornsweg? That’s the Hermann Ehlers House, which used to house 164 people – not too bad! But the owner, Prime Student Living, has been promising a to reopen it for years. The first date for their „reopening“ was in 2022. And that’s not all: By now, the city even got the news that Prime Living has not ultimately decided on what exactly they want to one day reopen there.        We demand: With the city’s support, our University should buy the building back from the company, so that it no longer has to rot empty. T h a t is something the city actually can’t afford. A large voluntary project lead by students who want to create and inhabit a space there and also parttake in managing it, like the successful example in Heidelberg, is also an option to us. One thing’s for sure: The HEH must belong to our community again! 

We are calling for the Niedersachsen menu to be retained or, alternatively, for a continued low-cost meal to ensure greater social participation. 

The university cafeterias are left with numerous unsold dishes daily, while some students spend their afternoons or even evenings at the university wishing they could obtain a healthy meal. We want to install vending machines that offer a few main dishes at different times. These could easily be operated with the already introduced meal boxes and integrated into the daily routine at the university.

We want to conduct an examination of bus occupancy during the times when the university lines are particularly crowded, so that additional buses can potentially make the journey to the university more convenient and pleasant for the students.

The university should be as flexible as its students need it to be – single parents, part-time students, and many other groups may require different times to receive counseling/support.

Have you ever walked around on campus and thought to yourself „way too many plants (ew),I don’t like that tree, what would we need insects for. Also can someone please pave more ground here“? Neither have we! And we have a few plans on how to help both Wechloy and Harentor be supportive of a healthy environment and inviting for us as places that help us take a moment to unwind. 

Our plans include putting up more insect hotels to help fight the extinction crisis. Also, we want to instal bird houses because studies suggest that regularly listening to birds singing has a positive effect on the human psyche! And we want to dedicate more space to flowerfields instead of huge monotone shortgrass areas, so that bumblebee & co don’t have to overcome our university as an obstacle when looking for polen but can actually take a sip here.

Generally, we want our campus to not feel like a daily rush between A1 and A11, but like taking a breather in a nice small park (More trees? We’re already on it!). And spending the university day indoors not to feel like being grounded in a fully plastered stack of bricks but instead for it to be a relaxed workspace with green walls that can cool the area on heatdays and plants in the corridors. 

We also want to support projects like our campusgarden where students with no garden of their own have the opportunity to grow vegetables, as much as we can. 

To save even more drinking bottles, we are calling for water dispensers in the Haarentor and Wechloy canteens. 

In order for everyone to be able to eat lunch we demand daily at least one vegan dish in the Wechloy canteen, as vegan students are currently regularly denied a choice of lunch.

In terms of being a climate friendly university, we demand that vegan dishes are cheaper or no more expensive than vegetarian/omnivore dishes. The price of vegan meals is currently related to the fact that they are sold at a higher price to keep some other dishes more affordable, making vegan nutrition seem less cost-effective than it actually is.