STUDENT LIFE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 750, 24 August 1929, Page 29

STUDENT LIFE

HOW THEY MAKE ENDS MEET IN GERMANY COMMUNAL SYSTEM Many of the students in post-war Germany are very poor, and the scholarships of pre-war days were largely destroyed through the post-war inflation. One finds, accordingly, in Germany, as in America, large numbers of students who support themselves in one way or another while pursuing their studies. In Germany the number of such students is, however. not more than 10 per cent, to 20 per cent, of the whole, whereas in America they amount to more than 50 per cent., says a correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian Weekly.” The characteristic feature of modern German student life is the various institutions which have been formed cooperatively. In 1020-21 the German students created a common economic organisation, the “Wirtschaftshilfe dcr deutschen Studentenschaft,” which had as its aim the founding of various institutions to cheapen and facilitate study in general. Thus there has been established in every German university the so-called “mensa academica,” a students' din-ing-hall in which good and substantial meals are supplied at low prices. The total number of these institutions is 41, and more than 30,000 portions are dis-. tributed every day; almost every third German student takes his dinner at such a "mensa.” The dinner consists generally of soup, vegetables, meat, and potatoes. The price varies between 6d and 9d. or less than twothirds of the charge made in those restaurants which also supply "‘students - meals.” Another institution is the register ot" apartments suitable for students. In Berlin over four thousaud rooms are found for thci students yearly In this way at an average price of 40s a month, including cleaning and a cup of coffee in the morning. There are also to be found in every German university tailors* and shoemakers’ shops, laundries, and so on, governed by the students’ organisation and working only for undergraduates, at 20 per cent, to 30 per cent, below the normal charges. These shops aim only at covering expenses, without making any sort of profit. In addition, there are printing and typing offices, and co-operative shops in which books, writing and typing materials. food, chocolates, cigarettes, and virtually all that the student needs can be cheaply bought. The " Wirtschaftshilfe” has also established employment bureaux, which are constantly resorted to by students; there are always more inquiries than jobs. During term the jobs are mainly in teaching or clerking: in the vacation, they are chiefly obtained on the big farms, or in factories or mines. There are also translation bureaux in which commercial translation is

done by students. The largest of these bureaux is not in Berlin, but in Leipzig. The third task of the "Wirtschaftshilfe” is the administration of moneys given to the students’ organisation by the State or private persons. The Berlin organisation alone spends £3,000 a year on free dinners. Sick and convalescent students are sent away to recuperate, especially to Switzerland. Last year the Berlin University provided assistance of this sort for about 250 students. Another institution, also directed by the students’ organisation, which has become of great importance, is the academic loan association. This institution gives loans to students to an extent of nearly £IOO,OOO a year at 3 per cent, interest, this money being placed at its disposal by the State. The loan may be repaid in five or ten years. By this institution more than 4.000 students are enabled to take their degrees every year, and about 25,000 students have already used this facility. Ultimately the German students’ organisation hopes to have a students’ hostej (Studentenhaus) in each university town, but as yet only six German university towns are fortunate enough to possess such hostels.