For a better quality of life and an affordable education!

29 May 2024

Photo: AStA UHH

Demo 10/07/2024 at 12 noon before the VMP 9

For a restructuring of the Bafög, for a fair study

The BAföG has been subject to constant political attacks for years. Today there is not much left of the grant, which did not have to be repaid and was available to almost half of the students. Whereas in 1972 45% of all students received BAföG, today it is only less than 13% of students. The suspicion is that the BAfög is becoming a means of pressuring particularly economically disadvantaged students to enter the labour market as quickly as possible, instead of being able to take time off to study. 76% of students who no longer live with their parents are considered to be at risk of poverty. This supposedly politically motivated precarization of students must end! In addition, only a third of all students complete their studies in standard study time, over a quarter of all students even take more than two semesters longer to complete their studies. This is relevant because the BAföG is tied to the fulfilment of certain achievements. So those who do not study at above-average speed often lose the only chance to study. Those who, like 75% of all Hamburg students, work alongside their studies, have another burden to cope with. This double burden also leads to mental problems. For example, two-thirds of students feel (very) stressed, almost half of students feel (very often) overloaded, which is a consequence of permanent stress. For us, it is clear that studying should not be a financial or mental risk. We want the BAföG to be transformed into a parent-independent, poverty-free full grant. For us, the BAföG is not just a social benefit like any other, but also a payment for the academic contribution that students make every day at universities and colleges. A fair study is only possible with fair funding!

Unaffordable rents and too few dormitories

For many students, the rapid rise in rents is a major problem, often making even a sparse shared room unaffordable. In no other northern German city are rents for a typical studio room, at an average of 598 euros, as high as in Hamburg, and even nationwide only Munich surpasses the prices of the Hamburg housing market. On top of that, the demand for student housing is steadily rising. While about 110,000 people studied in Hamburg in the winter semester of 2019/20, four years later there were nearly 10,000 more students.

As a result, for many students who still want to move away from home and study in Hamburg, student halls are the only way to get affordable housing. The Studierendenwerk Hamburg is by far the largest provider of student halls of residence, offering space for 4,400 people. It is clear that this offer is not enough in the face of around 120,000 students and high inflation. The Studentenwerk notes that last winter semester 2,850 students applied unsuccessfully for a dormitory place.

In addition, a place in the Studierendenwerk does not guarantee affordable rents. Rooms in the Studirendenwerk currently cost up to 450 euros, exceeding the housing allowance provided by the BAföG by up to 90 euros. The high rents at the Studienenwerk are mainly due to the fact that the Studiedenwerk is under severe financial pressure. The Hamburg Studierenwerk has been running deficits for years, which are currently being compensated for by a coronavirus grant from the city. However, this grant expires this year, prompting the Studiendenwerk to increase its rent and meal prices, as well as to raise semester fees. To avoid these increases, the student union says it needs an annual grant of at least 7 million euros, plus an annual adjustment for inflation, but no one in the city government seems to mind.

It is clear that the job of a Studentenwerk should not be to make ends meet. Those who can't afford a roof over their heads need a Studentenwerb that cushions the financial worries that still accompany studying for many. If Studentenwerk's can't meet this mandate, the university will become even more of a place for the financial elite.

Everyone should be able to afford food!

 Since the Senate refuses to defund the Studentenwerk, the student body is facing huge price increases. For example, the semester fee is increasing by 16 euros per year and the canteen prices are also going up by about 6%. Although our student representatives have insisted that cheap dishes such as the pottkieker remain price stable at 2.20 euros, no one wants to feed themselves on stew for a whole week, especially in the summer. Especially since on average 50% of all students (very) regularly use the canteen (especially younger students), the consequences of the senate's refusal affect a huge proportion of the student body. At the same time, the student body refuses to even try to offer tasty, sustainable and healthy food on the cheap. Instead, it relies on unnecessarily expensive dishes such as saffron noodles and a „live-kitchen“ in the new canteen („Philturm-Mensa“). We demand both that the political leaders act as soon as possible, and that the Studentenwerk return to its target group. The job of the Studentenwirtschaft is not to make a profit, but to take the financial burden off students. Solidarity instead of saffron noodles, defund now!