Statement of the Presidium after the "Together we are strong" rally

Against the background of this terrible crime, the Presidium of the University of Kassel views it with very great concern that public discourse is increasingly characterized by attacks, exclusions, untruths, hatred and violence. "In the view of the Presidential Board, this alarming development is being deliberately promoted by certain political circles. Especially on the right side of the political spectrum, new networks and institutions are forming, for example in the form of education-related foundations, which are actively working to push the boundaries of what can be said and to fight basic democratic values," says Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, President of the University of Kassel.

"The university management resolutely opposes all those who spread hatred and agitation or prepare the intellectual ground for it through their evil rhetoric. We as a university in particular have a responsibility to ensure that the rules of appreciative, factual and non-discriminatory discourse are observed." The Presidential Board therefore calls on all members of the university to distance themselves and resolutely rejects any cooperation with anti-democratic parties, foundations and institutions, also against the background of what has happened in the recent past.