:bsz-International. After the North Rhine-Westphalian state election an ancient student’s nemesis is back on the table. On June 9 activists set an example against neoliberal deliberations.

The megaphone echoes: “Who wants tuition fees?” A choir of angry students responds emphatically: “No one!” “And if they come?” “We will rebel!”

On June 9 the negotiations in preparation for a liberal-conservative government coalition were held at the “Jugendherberge Düsseldorf” near the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. High on the agenda: the reintroduction of tuition fees. One day earlier Campact e.V. had initiated an urgent action, mobilising students to join. “Our purpose is to consolidate Laschet’s conviction regarding tuition fees to such an extent that it will be registered in the coalition agreement”, says 

Campact-activist Lisa Lehmann. Despite the last-minute call and unfortunate weather conditions during early morning hours about 30 demonstrators joined the protest and gathered in front of the youth hostel. Landes-ASten-Treffen NRW, Nein zu Studiengebühren and the Aktionsbündnis gegen Studiengebühren supported the protest as cooperation partners. 

Highly symbolic

When the protagonists of this protest approached the hostel, voices raised: Christian Lindner (FDP) purposely avoided the word “tuition fees” and emphasized that an improvement of study conditions is on top of the agenda. His explanations were accompanied by partly self-ironic shouts of protest: “If we had Lindner’s car keys, we could pay tuition fees.”

Central gesture of the urgent action was the handover of a plea with about 37,000 signatures addressed to Armin Laschet (CDU), future Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

Despite all assurances the negoti-

ations resulted as expected: tuition fees for non-EU-foreigners in the amount of 1,500 Euro per semester – based on the recently approved model from 

Baden-Wuerttemberg. 

:Marcus Boxler