The new summer semester always begins at universities in April. We are taking this as an opportunity to draw attention for the first time to a find from the stocks of the university archive, which has been built up since 2025 and is located at the HLSB. It is the first-semester information of the General Student Committee (AStA) from 1977, which was printed and distributed in a print run of 400 copies at the time.
The information was intended to welcome new students to Fulda and make it easier for them to start a new phase in their lives. It covered topics ranging from affordable housing and student life to the functioning of the university, student funding and childcare.
Even though many young people today face the same problems when starting university studies, a clear development can be recognised. In the halls of residence in Fulda at the time, a furnished room (11 to 32 square metres) cost between 95 and 130 DM (48.85 to 66.84 €). However, the AStA also recommended that you shouldn't be afraid of unfurnished rooms, as you could organise initial furnishings relatively quickly via bulky waste.
The first semester information recommended the Fulda pub culture, which had established itself in Karlsstraße and Horaser Weg at the time. At the same time, the Rhön and the Vogelsberg were also touted as "fantastic" places for hiking, barbecuing and partying.
Incidentally, in 1977 the BAföG grant rate was DM 580 (€ 298.23), of which "only" DM 150 (€ 77.13) was granted as a loan, while the rest was a grant. Nevertheless, the AStA criticised this procedure, as it would force students "to accelerate their university studies".
For the winter semester 1977/1978, the information terminated for the first time an "alternative event", in which a course organised by students themselves was to be offered once a week to discuss the study situation at the university and the Higher Education Framework Act.
The information contains a number of statements about the various bodies of the student body, including the plenum, the student parliament and the central student council. The "playroom", which already existed at the university at the time, looked truly modern, offering morning care for children on all weekdays and after-school care on two days. At that time, eight children between the ages of two and four regularly attended this supervision.
The history and development of the Fulda University of Applied Sciences was also listed, starting with the founding of the specialised education institute in 1963. Finally, it was comprised that some of the students had gone on an indefinite strike in 1977, which was directed against some examination regulations, the Higher Education Framework Act and the "scaled-back" opportunities for further qualifying additional studies. Even though the strike was called off in June 1977, the most important conclusion was: "DO NOT GIVE UP!!!".
