Last updated 21. Juli 2025 | Sprecherinnen

[Vorweg] Liebe Absolvent*innen, Liebe Angehörige, diese Rede wird in Englisch gehalten, um auch die internationalen Studierenden dieser Universität anzusprechen. Die Deutsche Fassung findet ihr auf unserer Website.

Dear graduates, dear relatives and friends,

Today is a special day. Today is a special day for you, because today you will be awarded your Bachelor’s/Master’s degree. Your study time at our univesity will formally come to an end. We would like to congratulate you on this success and hope that you use this day to celebrate your achievements over the past years. You have certainly surpassed yourselves and learnt a lot in many different ways. Of course, this doesn’t just mean the content of your numerous lectures, seminars and tutorials, but above all everything that has happened around them. You learnt a lot about yourselves, about communication and collaboration, about independence and community and about knowing and not knowing. You can be very proud of yourselves for that!

But learning does not take place in an empty space. You all had to deal with different challenges during your studies. You came here as first-time graduates, you lived in precarious circumstances or experienced racism, queerphobia, ableism and other forms of discrimination. You studied with children or chronic illnesses, you cared for relatives, you struggled with Bafög, you worked alongside your studies and the Mensa food was still too expensive. You felt let down by the system and yet you are standing here today and can be all the more proud of yourselves. We need to change the system and fight these conditions. That was true yesterday and it will be true tomorrow, but today you should simply celebrate.

What you have also learnt, and perhaps precisely because of this, is critical thinking. Questioning these conditions and reflecting on what you have learnt. What is important to you? What do you want and what do you explicitly not want? What is needed to fulfil your wishes and how can you make a contribution towards a society you want to live in? We are living through turbulent political times. Times in which we are all feeling the shift to the extremist right, in which the climate crisis continues to intensify and at the same time politicians seem to feel like the Gendersternchen and other forms of inclusive language are a greater danger. Just three days ago, a convicted felon, populist and fascist was elected president in the United States of America, making him one of the most powerful people in the world. Germany is also facing huge challenges after the end of the ‘Ampel’ coalition on Wednesday, leaving many questions unanswered. And while the gap between rich and poor is widening and reports of wars continue to be part of everyday life, you are graduating. But this is not a moment of hopelessness and disillusionment. This is a moment of hope, because you are hope. Get organised, be loud, and claim space. Don’t leave this space to the fascists and populists, but form communities and stand together against them. We wish you the strength to do so from the bottom of our hearts.

Many of you have already experienced a lot of these communities that keep fighting against all these challenges during your time at this university. You have been involved in the AStA, in student councils and committees, in the StuPa and numerous initiatives that shape and characterise life on this campus and in Lüneburg. You have contributed ideas, taken on responsibility and made this place more active, warmer and inclusive. We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all these moments, for your time and your commitment. Your efforts have left traces here that will remain visible, even if you have long moved on. We will not forget you and hope that you will not forget us either. Of course, not everyone is able to volunteer to the same extent alongside their studies, work and the rest of their lives, but we hope that you will all continue to have this experience or be able to make it in you future.

And yet today is not only a special occasion for you as you graduate. Your graduation falls on October 9th, the anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht of 1938. A date that reminds us of the horrors and violence of the Nazis. In these turbulent times, in which right-wing movements are becoming louder again and hatred seems to be gaining ground once more, remembrance is of particular importance. Remembering means remaining actively visible and taking a stand against anti-Semitism, discrimination and all forms of hatred. That is why we would like to ask you today to dedicate a moment of reflection to this occasion amidst all the excitement. Whether that means cleaning Stolpersteine in your evening dress, taking part in a memorial service or simply creating a quiet moment of remembrance is up to you. We regret and feel sorrow that your graduation falls on such a dark and defining day in history and hope that today you will find a way to reconcile the two – celebrating your graduation and recognising the responsibility that comes from remembrance.

In these last few weeks, you will certainly experience many ‘last times’ here in Lüneburg – perhaps the last coffee in your favourite corner, the last time you will eat in the Mensa or the last big party with your friends and today you will also experience the last speech of the AStA (unless you stay with us a little longer). In these last times, we wish you a day full of joy and community, in which you celebrate yourselves and your fellow students, dance a lot, and look back proudly on all that you have achieved. No matter what awaits you now – whether it’s a Master’s degree, starting your career, a (hopefully paid) internship or another adventure – take the time today to celebrate your success and don’t let your excitement wind down!

Congratulations on your graduation! Have a wonderful day and a wonderful celebration together!

AStA-Sprecher*innen
Denise Granzow (sie/ihr)
Hannah Spittler (sie/-)
Emil Jüchter (er/ihm)
Theo Lohse (er/ihm)

AStA der Universität Lüneburg
Universitätsallee 1
21335 Lüneburg
Gebäude 9

www.asta-lueneburg.de
Tel.: 04131 677 1907