Campaign 2024/25E-mail action to the Studierendenwerk

Dear Mr Sven Lorenz, dear Ms Olga Braun, dear Mr Mario Drews, dear Mr Reto Kanngießer, dear Ms Tina Scheliga,

We call on STWHH, the management and all other departments involved in finance, halls of residence and canteens to make their corporate strategies and income and expenditure transparent. This is because the current price increases in the canteens and halls of residence raise a number of questions.

From the summer semester 2025, the semester fees are set to rise by €8, and a further increase is also planned for the winter semester. In addition, the rents in the halls of residence will be increased by an average of €36 per month. This basically introduces a 13th monthly rent and fails to fulfil the aim of relieving the pressure on students in Hamburg's tight housing market. Canteen prices will also rise by a further 6% on average in the coming semester. The fact is that these developments are due to the chronic underfunding of the STWHH and we are also taking a stand against the Hamburg Senate as part of this protest action in order to fight for fair funding of the STWHH. However, the operation of the canteens in particular raises a number of questions.

At the moment, it seems that offering affordable and sustainable food is not the core objective of STWHH. The canteens at the UHH offer a wide range of options, from simple dishes that are relatively cheap to bowls that cost up to 6.90. Overall, however, it is rarely possible to pay for a meal. Overall, however, it is rare to pay less than €3 for a meal that will fill you up. We welcome a diverse range of dishes, but the aspects of cost savings and sustainability must not be neglected. Concepts such as the introduction of a ‘Live Kitchen’ give the impression that the STWHH is making financial decisions that make the canteens more expensive and fancier instead of cheaper. Many students are therefore wondering whether their semester fees are really being used wisely. We therefore demand crystal-clear transparency about STWHH's income and expenditure, as this is the only way that fair discussions can take place at eye level about STWHH's strategic economic orientation. In this sense, transparency means democratic and fair university policy.

In order to concretise our concerns, we have formulated a number of questions to which we would like answers:   

1. how much decision-making autonomy in terms of menus and pricing do the individual canteens have?

2. what financial resources are available to the canteens and how was this amount used in 2024? How much money will be available in 2025 and how will it be used? What goals have been set with regard to a long-term reduction in canteen prices?

3. how is it determined how high the prices are for which dishes?

4. to what extent is offering the cheapest possible meals a priority in the management of the canteens?

5. what financial resources will be available to the management of the halls of residence in 2025 and why will there be rent increases? Are further rent increases foreseeable or what action will be taken against them?

6. what are the sales figures for vegetarian/vegan dishes?

7. how does the surcharge for meat and dairy alternatives come about?

8. what does the STWHH's sustainability strategy look like in concrete terms? What are the goals that have been set and how are they to be achieved?

9. to what extent does the STWHH exert pressure on the Senate to ensure that the STWHH is fully financed?

10. how does inflation affect the STWHH? To what extent is inflation passed on to students?

11. how will the renovation of canteens, the introduction of automatic tills and expensive services such as the live kitchen be financed?

12. do you think that the management of STWHH could do more to facilitate exchange with students and their co-determination?

13. why were financial resources spent on commissioning an independent agency to assess the sustainability of dishes when this money could also be invested in the sustainability of the products themselves? Why do you think this makes sense?

14. is it possible to introduce another fixed dish for under €3 (in addition to the Pottkieker) at Blattwerk and Philomensa? And if not, what are the obstacles to this project?

As an institution under public law, you are responsible for answering our questions and publishing the relevant data.

Yours sincerely

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