State­ment by the Chairs of the Boards of Directors of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-Westphalia

In light of the recent report in *Der Spiegel* regarding the collab­or­a­tion between ARGE NRW and the polit­ical factions in the state parlia­ment, as well as the ensuing public discus­sion, the chairs of the boards of directors of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-West­phalia have issued a joint state­ment. It reads as follows:

Studying well and safely

As chairs of the boards of directors of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-West­phalia, we are committed to fostering a social envir­on­ment in which young people can study well and safely. The needs of students are at the heart of our work.

We are firmly committed to a culture of welcome for students of all back­grounds and with diverse life plans. We expressly support the inter­na­tion­al­iz­a­tion of univer­sities. Learning with and from one another is an important found­a­tion for respectful and peaceful coex­ist­ence in our glob­al­ized world. Academic freedom at univer­sities is a precious asset in this regard, protected by our Consti­tu­tion. Open discourse within univer­sities is a prerequisite for devel­oping social respons­ib­ility and simul­tan­eously forms the found­a­tion for an open, diverse society.

We take a clear stand against ideo­lo­gies and polit­ical move­ments that disregard funda­mental liberal-demo­cratic values and under­mine diverse and tolerant coex­ist­ence. They under­mine the very found­a­tions that make respectful discourse possible in the first place. For this reason, we reject any form of cooper­a­tion with polit­ical and social actors and parties that violate the prin­ciples of the rule of law and the dignity of every human being, thereby preventing any sustain­able cooper­a­tion within a demo­cratic framework.

We call on the exec­utive boards of all Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-West­phalia to endorse this position.

In addi­tion to the exec­utive boards, the admin­is­trative boards are the second governing body of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-West­phalia. They are not repres­ented by the Arbeits­ge­meinschaft Stud­i­er­enden­werke NRW (ARGE), the asso­ci­ation of exec­utive boards.

On behalf of the chairs of the admin­is­trative boards of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-Westphalia:

Dr. Swantje Eibach-Danze­g­locke, Aachen
Chris­tian Osinga, Bielefeld
Ron Agethen, Bochum
Paul Ludwig, Bonn
Simon Waimann, Dortmund
Andreas Meske, Düsseldorf
Pascal Winter, Essen-Duisburg
Hannah Schulze Zurmussen, Köln
Sebastian Schick, Münster
Simone Probst, Paderborn
Marius Wötzel, Siegen
Dietmar Bell, Wuppertal

*****

As Exec­utive Director of the Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen, I whole­heartedly endorse the posi­tion state­ment issued by the chairs of the boards of directors of the Stud­i­er­enden­werke in North Rhine-Westphalia.

It under­scores the import­ance of a safe and open academic envir­on­ment where all students can feel welcome. A successful academic exper­i­ence depends not only on good condi­tions, but above all on respect, diversity, and mutual appre­ci­ation. These values also shape our actions at the Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen and guide us in providing reli­able support tailored to students’ needs: so that their studies succeed!

This is precisely why it is important to actively protect our funda­mental liberal-demo­cratic values in everyday univer­sity life and to live them out visibly.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the chairs of the admin­is­trative boards for their commit­ment and for sending this clear signal, and in partic­ular to our chair of the admin­is­trative board, Mr. Marius Wötzel.

Dr. Insa Deeken
Exec­utive Director of the Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen