Our Demands

We demand that universities actively oppose the rising right-wing extremism. We see universities as responsible for protecting students and staff from right-wing violence, discrimination, and unequal treatment. The following demands must be implemented immediately to achieve this.

  1. Promoting an open dialogue: Universities should encourage open and respectful discussions about experiences with right-wing extremism, while clearly distancing themselves from right-wing extremist ideologies.
  1. Supporting anti-right-wing extremism engagement: Universities should actively support the efforts of students and staff in combating right-wing extremism, as well as external initiatives involved with the university. Expulsion of students due to activist engagement should be ruled out by the universities.
  1. Encouraging research on right-wing extremism: Universities should specifically promote research projects focused on the causes, structures, phenomena, and effects of right-wing extremism.
  1. Political education and public knowledge dissemination: Universities should commit to providing political education and making the acquired knowledge on right-wing extremism accessible to the broader public.
  1. Establishing victim-centered reporting centers for right-wing discrimination: Universities should create internal reporting centers where students and staff can report experiences of right-wing extremism.
  1. Explicit disassociation from Studierendenverbindungen (student fraternities):
    Universities should explicitly distance themselves from student fraternities that exhibit Right-wing tendencies. This includes excluding any form of cooperation or support.*
  1. Exclusion of the AfD and other right-wing extremist actors:
    Universities should rule out any form of collaboration with members of the AfD or other right-wing extremist groups.*

*Regarding points 6 and 7: The annex contains an overview from Studis gegen Rechts Freiburg listing Right-wing groups and actors active in Freiburg and the surrounding area, from which we demand clear disassociation. This incompatibility list does not claim to be exhaustive.

Explanations

  1. Our vision is for universities to be open and diverse spaces, free of Right-wing1 ideologies and expressions. Many members of universities experience Right-wing ideologies, which particularly threaten and burden marginalized groups, such as international students, queer people, FLINTA* persons, and those facing racist or antisemitic discrimination. They should also feel comfortable and safe, and their experiences must be integrated into an open dialogue. Universities need to create platforms that facilitate such exchanges on an equal footing, where various perspectives, experiences, and opinions come together in dialogue based on shared values. These values include freedom from discrimination, the preservation of human rights, a democratic public sphere, and respect for diversity. Expressions and opinions that violate these values should not be given space. This exchange should be made as accessible as possible, widely advertised, and free of barriers2. Examples of possible formats include lecture series, working groups (like those on AI), or low-threshold discussion groups.
  2. Countering Right-wing ideologies requires collective effort. Civic engagement defends the open discourse that must take place in universities from attacks from the right. Therefore, we see universities as responsible for supporting student, staff, or external group initiatives against right-wing extremism. This could include providing venues for events or allowing advertising on campus. Additionally, universities should publicly support such initiatives and show clear solidarity in case of hostility towards them. This includes ensuring that universities do not expel students for activist engagement, as long as this engagement adheres to the above-mentioned common values for dialogue.
  3. According to § 2 Absatz 1 Satz 1 LHG BW (Baden-Württemberg State Higher Education Act) universities are tasked with promoting research and science within a free, democratic, and social constitutional state. A scientific basis is essential in the discourse on Right-wing ideologies to effectively counter conspiracy theories or Right-wing propaganda. We therefore call on universities, in line with their legal obligations, to support research on the causes, structures, phenomena, and effects of Right-wing ideologies and related topics. To solidify this, universities should advocate at the state level to integrate education on Right-wing ideologies into examination regulations. Furthermore, universities must actively seek funding for research on right-wing movements. Financial support from Right-wing foundations or parties should not be accepted.
  4. Many people lack direct access to academic spaces, but they are also affected by right-wing extremism and need access to reliable scientific information about Right-wing structures, phenomena, ideologies, and their causes and effects. Keeping knowledge or results produced through university research (see point 3) confined to academic circles would be undemocratic and contrary to the universities’ obligation to disseminate knowledge according to the Landeshochschulgesetzes Baden-Württemberg. Therefore, such findings should be made publicly accessible beyond the immediate academic community and without barriers. Furthermore, issues related to right-wing extremism should be addressed even outside of original research. This can be done through lectures and publications, but must also include public discussions and educational programs that are effective beyond academic boundaries. These offerings should be barrier-free and accessible.
  5. Experiences with Right-wing discrimination must be handled sensitively at universities. Non-instructional reporting centers must be established that offer anonymous and confidential counseling. The counseling should follow a victim-centered approach that provides concrete assistance in cases of discrimination. The reporting centers should be highly visible and accessible to students and staff. Existing reporting centers can be enhanced with expertise on Right-wing discrimination. Further training for all staff at these centers is essential. The centers should provide at least one report or anonymized overview each semester on incidents related to Right-wing ideologies.
  6. Studierendenverbindungen (Student fraternities) have historically and continue to be significant platforms for conservative to right-wing extremist ideologies. In particular, Burschenschaften (right-wing fraternities, such as Saxo-Silesia) play an important role as an academic base for the “New Right” and Right-wing parties. While young students are drawn into a Right-wing network with the promise of affordable housing, so-called “Alte Herren” (Old Men) are active in connecting right-wing groups with influential societal figures. Universities must resist this Right-wing infiltration of academic circles. Therefore, universities should publicly distance themselves from Right-wing fraternities and their members. In Freiburg, the Saxo-Silesia fraternity, which is part of the right-extremist Kooperationsverband Deutsche Burschenschaft (German Fraternity Association), is particularly notable. Members of Right-wing student fraternities should not be allowed to speak or represent at university events. Furthermore, they should not be provided with university spaces or financial resources.
  7. Universities should clearly and publicly distance themselves from Right-wing actors and identify them as such. In particular, AfD council members in the Freiburg municipal council should be highlighted. The AfD and other Right-wing actors benefit from public visibility and rely on normalizing their discriminatory and inhumane positions. To effectively protect democratic society from them, they must not be granted access to public platforms or networking opportunities. In addition to public disassociation, universities should exclude any form of collaboration with Right-wing actors. This means, for example, that members of the AfD or other Right-wing groups should not be invited to events, granted access to university platforms (e.g., event venues, social media, etc.), or otherwise given a stage.
  1.  The terms Right-wing and right-wing extremism are used in the text. As Studis gegen Rechts (Freiburg), we see ourselves as a movement that defends democratic society against right-wing discrimination and ideology. We understand “Right” as any ideology based on the belief in inequality and inferiority of certain groups of people. This includes forms of discrimination such as racism, anti-Muslim racism, antisemitism, ableism, queerphobia, and antifeminism. Since we are using the term Right with our own specific definition, it is capitalized in the text. In contrast, the term right-wing extremism is defined based on evaluations from professional bodies such as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution or the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Since it is a scientifically established term, the adjective right-wing extremist is written in lowercase.
    ↩︎
  2. The term barrier-free for us encompasses the utmost reduction of any obstacles that prevent or hinder specific groups from participating in an event or dialogue. This includes, for example, ensuring easy access for people with various disabilities (e.g., individuals with mobility impairments, reduced hearing, sensory sensitivity, allergies, heightened need for infection protection, etc.). Care must also be taken to ensure that events are easily accessible in both format and language for those outside an academic setting. Additionally, people without German language skills, such as international students, should have access to English-language options. Content notes and general sensitivity to discrimination, ensuring the protection of marginalized groups, are essential. Wherever possible and through continuous refinement, barriers are avoided or circumvented. People affected by discrimination are thoughtfully included from the outset.
    ↩︎

Incompatibility List

The following list serves as a collection of right-wing groups and actors in Freiburg and the surrounding area from which the universities should distance themselves (see demands under points 6. and 7.). It does not claim to be complete and must be constantly updated and expanded. We are working on this, but we also see it as the task of the universities to provide themselves with a constantly updated overview of right-wing groups and actors beyond this list. 

Political Parties:

  • AfD (especially members of the Freiburg city council for AfD)
  • Junge Alternative 
  • Die Heimat (formerly known as NPD)
  • Junge Nationalisten (youth organization of Die Heimat)
  • Der Dritte Weg 
  • Nationalrevolutionäre Jugend (NRJ) (youth organization of Der Dritte Weg)
  • Neue Stärke Partei (NSP)
  • Die Rechte
  • SPITZ

Student fraternities

  • fraternities which are members of the organization Deutsche Burschenschaft (In Freiburg there is Fraternity Saxo Silesia, but fraternities from other cities are to be included as well)
  • fraternities which are members of the organization Coburger Convent (for example in Freiburg among others Landsmannschaft (fraternity) Neoborussia, but fraternities from other cities are to be included as well)
  • fraternities which are members of the organization Allgemeine Deutsche Burschenschaft (for example in Freiburg among others Burschenschaft (fraternity) Teutonia, but fraternities from other cities are to be included as well)
  • fraternities which practice mandatory fencing

Ideological Groups

  • Identitarian Movement (Identitäre Bewegung) and all associated groups