Young people in a state of emergency | Frankfurt
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fromThomas J Schmidt
shut down
The Corona dynamic endangers presence seminars, meetings and, for some, causes club gatherings.
Frankfurt – For two years, the students in Frankfurt have been working in a state of emergency. Distance learning is to them what home office is to working life. With the consequences: no student life, no getting to know each other, club collection. Kyra Beninga (Jusos) from the Asta at Goethe University complains: parties, pubs – all opportunities, others experience, are on hold again because of the high incidence. “It’s difficult, especially for the first semester students, who are away from home for the first time. Many have moved back to their parents because it’s not worth living in Frankfurt if you can only rarely be at the university anyway. “
Face-to-face events are also on the brink again. “Seminars in which a lot has to be discussed, such as in political science, are rather difficult to hold digitally,” reports student representative Beninga. Face-to-face teaching remains essential even during the pandemic, especially in subjects such as medicine, sports science and in natural sciences and arts, says Dr. Olaf Kaltenborn, spokesman for the Goethe University. With 46,000 students, it is the largest university in the country.
One of the smaller ones is also based in Frankfurt: the University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK). Digital studies are unthinkable here: “The musicians have to practice every day. This is only possible to a limited extent in a student digs,” says Prof. Elmar Fulda, President of the HfMDK. “We were therefore also open during the first lockdown.”
The HfMDK has also introduced an online registration system so that students can book rooms. Overall and in relation to the current situation, Fulda says that the university has been used to permanently adapting the study conditions since March 2020. “For the last two years, we’ve had phases with more or less face-to-face teaching,” says Fulda. Theoretical lessons can also be organized via video stream at the University of Music, Theater and Dance. In the university itself, on the other hand, there are strong guidelines depending on the situation, such as limiting the number of people in a room and compulsory masks. “We have our own small test center where you can be tested daily if necessary,” says Fulda.
Overall, the university and society have learned to deal with the restrictions. “We now know that the aerosols are not so critical for wind instruments – except for the flutes; and that also applies to the actors and the singers,” says Fulda. Of course we were prepared for that. Air conditioning and ventilation systems are turned up, singing is done with masks and ensembles are reduced. So the university choir and the orchestra. Performances have been cancelled. “Not only is the degree more difficult, but the subsequent career prospects are bleak, since art and culture are not considered systemically relevant,” regrets the university director, who is an opera director. He is happy that the HfMDK was able to support around 300 of its students with scholarships thanks to the civic spirit of Frankfurt and the commitment of foundations – since many student jobs have also been eliminated for two years.
Science needs exchange
The Goethe University Olaf Kaltenborn tries to accept everything in order to maintain the face-to-face part of the teaching despite the omicron. “Most of the students very much welcomed life on campus,” he says, even though fears have recently been expressed of getting infected on the way to the university, for example on the trains. At the Goethe University, everyone is aware: “Dialogue and exchange are also central to academic studies. These cannot be replaced by virtual events, especially in terms of the importance of contact between students.”
At the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, too, attempts are being made to continue university operations as they ended before Christmas, despite the increasing incidence. “Teaching is only carried out at a distance, with a medical or FFP2 mask and 3G requirements,” says spokeswoman Dr. Nicola Veith. This means that courses can take place on a smaller scale, such as laboratory exercises and seminars, provided that the distances are observed. Should the learning areas not be sufficient, the second floor of the BCN high-rise would also be opened up as a learning area (controlled by the security service). thomas j Schmidt