Elite-Uni stingy with spirit.

In the Excellence Initiative, the University of Heidelberg crowned with laurel. Now it ferments starved in the humanities, especially in the Romance languages. Students see first-class teaching of no trace, just a mass operation on emergency power.

 

Heidelberg University, Tuesday Noon: The sky above the Old Town is repellent gray. In the ground floor and staircase of the Roman seminary urges the young academic. University Rector Bernhard Eitel is to negotiate and has dealt with some faculty and students in a room withdrawn. Now we wait.

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Many students from other disciplines to show solidarity with the "romanistas" - "because there are institutions in which the situation was similar bad or worse," says Nils Best, a student of political science. "The professors build primarily on their research, because you are so profiled, and the doctrine it handles the dirt."

Best defines precisely the Magister exams. "I had in the last few months, no way, with my faculty contact," his e-mails are simply not yet been answered. The prospective German Ziad Emanuel Farag reports from his department over the past seminars and an online registration system that is consistently short time before the end of collapse.

A touch of'68

For the image of an elite university will not fit - Heidelberg harvested
Laurel in the Excellence Initiative, but has big problems in the humanities. With colorful banners, info booths, plenary sessions and excluded Romance professors had students last week a touch of'68 through the Institute can blow. In protest against poor conditions study occupied it for three days the seminary building.

"The reason is the systematic under-funding of the Roman seminary," says her spokeswoman Veronika Zill, a petite young woman with a quiet voice. Zill deplores especially the lack of instructors and courses. In some courses are pressing for more than 50 instead of the planned 20 participants. In the new bachelor's degree offers a cultural studies compulsory course not, and cash flows from tuition fees not included in the improvement of education, but serves only to maintain the "core doctrine". Because we deal with the Romance languages professors but now agree, says Zill, the occupation was being adjourned.

Also from other liberal arts institutions are always discontented tones - although Heidelberger Ruperto-Carola herself as "classical full" describes. The Excellence million, almost exclusively for the research to the advantage of simple students go empty-handed. That there are many unjust. Student says John Michael Wagner for the Student Conference: Excellence times now need resources, "which comes from the doctrine." "There are shifts instead of" raises the Wagner administration.

Rector wants to smooth the waves

The voices of professors are divided. "The students have no reason to complain," says German Wilhelm Kühlmann. The Anglist Beat Glauser sees the situation somewhat differently: "One has the impression that the visibility is more important than a sound doctrine." "The resources must be fairly and appropriately distributed," said Diamantis Panagiotopoulos, Director of the Institute of Classical Archeology. His house but by the excellence initiative, with ten additional PhD positions. Romance Gerhard Poppe Berg points out that teachers of the university "in the next 30 years the fate of our children say." Germany could be a lack of teaching simply can not afford.

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Tuesday afternoon: The crowd of students gathered long waits, after an hour and a half to open the door of the meeting room again. The Rector is progressing down the stairs and down a piece of the Word is directed to young people: "The problems here are not new." Applause and laughter. Now we must seek solutions together, then Bernhard Eitel continued, and announces new budget negotiations for 19 May. "Everything comes on the table, all will be heard in the same way, everyone can openly say his word."

The Rector will appear to flatten the waves. "For you, it is important that you continue your studies completely regulated can bring to an end. Then you are entitled." But concrete Eitel makes no promises and asked to look at the financial situation of the University for the inconvenience. "I must constantly with a lifelong lack of management." Finally, a curious admission: "We have problems, but do not know, so they are causing."

White of the head of a "university of excellence" such as not, what difficulties some institutions of his college fight? In an interview with blogs Eitel ONLINE draws on many unexpected changer tray of Italian in Spanish the way, also produced the new bachelor's degree apparently "friction losses". There were "uncertainties", and perhaps were "problems with the self-control of the Institute" to blame for the misery. "Financial constraints are everywhere at the university," says Eitel continued - "normal operations", due to the "political climate".

What now - maybe the times rectorate occupy?

So sit the players in the state capital Stuttgart? Carefully Eitel speaks only of a certain "conflict" between the tasks and financial resources other. In matters Romanistk he was confident: "We get the boat afloat again."

Among the students is rife after Eitel visit a perplexity. When was talk of a potential "streamlining" of the courses, as a participant. So could a deletion of teaching made, for new posts, however, there was "no sign of readiness."

"We need to show that we can not muck around," a student calls and calls for new actions. "Eitel money can not take from the air," says another. The seminar will continue to fill the teaching would further harm, says a third party and reaps applause. A student suggests: Could we do not occupy the rectorate? "What we can with the Rector verscherzen? He has offered us nothing!" At the end, but decided the only dissatisfied with a brief demonstration on the University Square. And it's raining again.

Half nine, twilight moves to the corridors of the Roman Seminary are to leave. In Room 018 light still burns. Veronika Zill is written into the face of fatigue. Right now, it has a handful of fellow with a new press statement: "The students of the Roman seminary, require that we comply with their demands. Otherwise, the consequences are not coming."

Nevertheless, the occupation is lifted, "at least until the budgeting briefing on 11 May," says Zill. So you want to wait, do not give up. "The community between faculty and students is undiminished," has Romanistics Professor Gerhard Poppe Berg stressed. Anyway.