Goethe University Frankfurt’s Westend Campus lecture hall center and the square in front of it were bustling with first-year students today,with sunny weather and pleasant temperatures making for a bright start to a new chapter in life. Central university institutions as well as student initiatives and university groups presented themselves at the UNISTART fair, and many made use of the opportunity to gather information, exchange ideas and make contacts.
In her welcoming address, Prof. Viera Pirker, Goethe University Vice President Studies and Teaching, emphasized that she herself also felt somewhat like a first-year, so to speak, adding that welcoming the first semester students was her first official act in her new capacity as vice president, a position she assumed in early April this year. As a university foundation under public law, Goethe University Frankfurt stands for great diversity, Pirker emphasized in pointing out the university’s broad spectrum of subjects, which ranges from African studies to dentistry.
“My central message is: in solitude you find yourself, in the crowd you find friends. Get in touch with your fellow students, contribute to the interests of others. Go to the student council party and make friends there. And always remember: you are not alone on your journey through university.” Also speaking at the event was Frankfurt Mayor Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, who – having studied psychology at Goethe University Frankfurt – also felt right at home. “Studying means discovering something new, including yourself. But you also make friends for life”, she emphasized in her speech, adding that while Frankfurt is a city of science, it is also a city of democracy, and pointing out that studying also teaches you to question and become politically active. She called on the students to stand up together against racism and antisemitism. “People from 180 nations live in Frankfurt, the world is at home here.” In her welcoming address, Emma Scholz from the AStA student council board bemoaned a lack of space for students at Goethe University, adding that the high rents in Frankfurt also constituted a major obstacle to studying.
Some 2,600 students enrolled at Goethe University Frankfurt for the summer semester, bringing the total number of students to just under 40,000.
