Liberation from increased impertinence

Who we are

Bündnis für Aufklärung und Emanzipation! (BAE!)
(Alliance for Enlightenment and Emancipation!)

The "Alliance for Enlightenment and Emancipation! (BAE!)" is a cooperation of the following student groups: "Liste LINKS", "harte zeiten - junge sozialisten" and "SDS*" as well as many other active individuals. The use of equality, freedom and solidarity as a motor for critical reason, socially meshing cooperation and cheerful engagement is our common ambition. We firmly oppose the neoliberal and conservative policy of destroying social achievements and the spiritual-cultural heritage of humanism: peace, meaningful work, social security, cultural qualification, participation and development, education for all, productive cooperation and democratic participation are matters of humanity that concern everyone. They can be achieved together.

This is what we work to achieve in the Academic Senate (AS) at the University of Hamburg.

Program

"The severity and scale of the challenges before us require far-reaching and unprecedented changes. First and foremost, we must end armed conflicts and take the path of diplomacy and peace. (...) Second, we must pursue low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development pathways (...). Third, to realise these goals and avoid a "two-tier recovery" that leaves developing countries behind, we must fundamentally redesign the international financial and debt architecture. (....) If humanity is to survive, we must ensure this survival for all and leave no one behind."

Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, in: United Nations Sustainability Report 2022.

The University of Hamburg is a place where over 40,000 students and numerous staff members can and should face these tasks together.
Faintheartedness and repression help no one.
Confidence comes from gaining knowledge in solidarity and consistent commitment.

The university has actually long since adopted the United Nations’ sustainability goals as the guiding principle for its activities in research, teaching and education. The aim is to contribute to the eradication of poverty, a just economy, good health, sustainable food and ecological energy security, international cooperation, disarmament and peace, and the comprehensive realisation of human rights.

These should be the positive movers for research, study and everyday life.
But they currently fall much too short.
The politically created facts are not conducive to this: around 40 percent of students on the breadline, permanent underfunding of universities, competition and senseless pressure to perform in studies, insecure working conditions - at the same time billions spent on the military, exploding corporate profits and ever more inadequate answers by governments to social and ecological challenges.

This tension between wealth and scarcity, cooperation and competition, between possibilities and reality should challenge us all to intervene together.

A better world emerges from the enlightened engagement of the many.
Us as students - connected to social movements, academically qualified and collectively active - can bring about good changes beyond the everyday circumstances.

Solidarity arises from this ambition; with it, everyone can improve everyday university life. Seriousness makes cheerful.

To succeed, we need to change a lot in the university. We advocate:

• more disputatious discourse on the - interdisciplinary - social responsibility of the sciences,

• far-reaching reform of studies (dismantling of restrictions and pressure to take exams, education instead of kick-out-examinations, deepening of content, smaller learning groups and cooperative forms of learning, Master’s degree as the standard qualification),

• needs-based state funding for higher education (against the state government’s plans to cut funding!),

• social security for employees and students (decent pay scales, permanent contracts and BAföG for all!)

• activated democracy in the student body and in the academic self-administration,

• an increased self-awareness of the political-cultural relevance of the sciences.

We invite everyone to participate in this!

Election to the Academic Senate (AS)

The Academic Senate (AS) is the highest body of the University. It participates in the election of the University Presidium, discusses all fundamental issues of university development and has decision-making rights (e.g. with regard to examination regulations, allocation of funds, mission statements, development of the university, etc.). The AS is composed of 10 professors, 3 students, 3 members of the academic staff and 3 of the technical, administrative and library staff. The student representatives are elected annually, all others every second year.
The election is a postal vote. The election documents will be sent to you by the University, including a postage paid envelope to send your vote. If you have not received any documents or have received incorrect documents by January 6th, you can get them handed out at the University Election Office until January 23rd, 2023, 1.30 pm.
The completed election documents must be received by the Election Office by 23.1.2023, 2.00 pm at the latest. The Election Office is located at Mittelweg 177, Room S 4058, 20148 Hamburg.