“Good idea, slow process"
For students at the University of Bremen, climate protection has long been a major concern. Students are involved in environmental policy groups such as Students for Future and the AStA (student representation) also has its own department for sustainability. There, we asked what students think about the university's new mission statement.
"In general, I think the mission statement goes in a good direction. It's based on green capitalism, so it doesn't address the fundamental problems, but there are a lot of good ideas in it. I’m much happier with the draft that’s now been discussed and the preamble that’s already been adopted than with the previous 23-year-old mission statement," says sociology student Florian Walter. He has been politically active with Students for Future Bremen for nearly three years, and in August last year he took over as sustainability officer at the University of Bremen AStA.
From his point of view, the good ideas come with a big BUT concerning the development of the new guiding principles: the very long and drawn-out process. More than a year has passed since the decision was made to fundamentally revise the old statement, and he finds fault above all with the sluggish pace and little prospect of action: "So in words we’ve become more climate-friendly. That's the framework, but that's not yet action, and that's taken a year now."
At the same time, according to Florian, there is an effort among professors to renegotiate the mission statement. This annoys and frustrates the students who volunteer their time to work on it and who have already agreed on compromises. Different groups, he observes, feel different pressures to act and often do not see their own responsibility. In addition, students are dissatisfied with the power structures in the existing decision-making process. With a share of just under 1.4% of the university population, professors, as the smallest of the four status groups, have a majority in every committee, which makes it difficult to find a solution that is acceptable to all. Florian hopes for more initiative from this group in particular, because "it can’t only be motivated, committed students who push these issues".
Overall, he sees a genuine interest in the rectorate's plan and knows that state politics are the main drag. He calls for a binding strategy so that climate-neutral action can be put into practice now. And over the long term, global problems must also be taken into view, because climate justice doesn’t come from regional thinking and action alone.