Category: Articles

Dannenröder Forst- resistance against highway A49

We’re heading towards the forest on a muddy path. Four people, making their way through the quiet forest, carrying a wooden palette between us. Our destination is the marked-out route of the new highway A49. As we are walking, the dense forest suddenly opens up and a giant gap can be seen, where the clearing has already begun. As far as your eyes can see, there is nothing but cut down tree trunks, fallen leaves, branches and broken remains of the protests that have been fought there. We are walking away from the graveyard-like place towards the trees that are next on the route. One of us climbs up one of the trees using two loops around the tree which he strains alternately. As soon as a sufficient hight is reached he pulls up the wooden palette und ties it around the tree with some ropes to create a small platform. It’s around six o’clock in the morning as we are leaving the forest. Another group of activists passes us. They will now climb the trees and platforms such as the one we just hung up. They will wait for the police who will arrive between seven and eight o’clock and evacuate the activists from the trees. What’s the purpose of it all? To win time. Time for a forest that can only be cut down as long as there are no people occupying its trees. Time for a forest whose days are already counted.

The clearing of Dannenröder Forst started in October 2020. The forest needed to go since the space is needed for a giant car infrastructure project: the new highway A49. Ever since the decision was made many protestors got loud. Demonstrations and legal campaigns took place, but all that didn’t help to change the situation and people started to occupy the forest. They build tree houses, planned, and organized legal protest camps next to the forest and contributed their whole life to the project. But why are so many people giving up their lives and luxuries of their regular routine to move into a forest in the middle of winter?

Dannenröder Forst is a healthy mixed woodland, some of its trees being up to 300 years old. Nowadays this is not a common thing and together with the huge area it covers, it is very important for plants and animals. That is also why it is classified as a nature reserve. Through its massive size it is home to complex ecosystems, which will be destroyed if the forest is cut in half by a massive highway. Furthermore, the forest is located on a water protection area. The ground water beneath it provides thousands of people with clean drinking water. However, the water will get polluted when the forest is gone or through the building and even more so the usage of the new highway.

In the end the whole project shows us how we keep destroying natural habitats even in such dire times. It is no secret anymore that the climate crisis will become a huge problem even for western countries- and yet our government decided to sacrifice a forest that was able to store CO2, for an outdated piece of infrastructure, that produces further CO2.

The last tree of the main clearing in Dannenröder Forst fell on December 8th, 2020. Some people were aghast, some outraged, some were weeping. As the last tree house falls so do their hopes for a better future.

Author: Linda Ruchti

Is veganism actually helping the environment?

afe to say that it’s more a lifestyle choice rather than a diet. It is a very controversial topic nowadays because many people don’t want to believe that meat and dairy production contribute to many problems we will have in our future if we don’t change something soon.

Veganism is a philosophy and way of life in which one does not use or eat any animal-derived products such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese or leather and it’s safe to say that it’s more a lifestyle choice rather than a diet. It is a very controversial topic nowadays because many people don’t want to believe that meat and dairy production contribute to many problems we will have in our future if we don’t change something soon.


© Marina Förster

There are many different reasons why meat and dairy are especially harmful for our environment. First of all, the grain feed used for livestock is the main cause of deforestation, which leads to the destruction of living space for animals and therefore resulting in habitat loss and species extinction. Furthermore, it comes with an extensive use of crops and water, which could be used differently and more efficiently to actually produce food for humans instead of livestock. On the whole, it is a big factor in the development of global warming because of the methane cattle produces, widespread pollution of groundwater, caused by runoff from agricultural areas and land degradation, which can be accelerated by deforestation. Food and land security are becoming a major issue because we won’t have enough food left in the future if we continue wasting our resources for meat and dairy production.

The question is, how does being or going vegan actually help the environment? It is safe to say that a plant-based lifestyle has a lot of other benefits but does it really change something for our environmental issues? The answer is definitely ‘YES’. By avoiding eating animal-derived products one can reduce their individual carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent. Moreover, the world could decrease its global farmland use by 75 per cent, which would lead to a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions and the recapture of wild land lost to agriculture, which has been the biggest cause for mass extinction. Water scarcity is another problem which could be tackled by consuming less meat, as growing vegetables and fruits require far less water than for example beef, which needs 15 tons per kilogram. By 2030 we will only have 60 percent of the water we would need left if we don’t rethink our food choices now.

It is important to mention that there are also environmental arguments against veganism but the ones for a vegan lifestyle predominate. Joseph Poore, a researcher at the University of Oxford said: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use . . . It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car.”

Author: Marina Förster

Quidditch in Real-life?

Augsburg Owls and the Bavarian League

Quidditch is a fast-paced and full-contact sport that combines elements of handball, rugby, dodgeball and flag football. A quidditch cadre can contain up to 21 players. 7 athletes per team are on the field at any one time. It is played in coed teams with nor more than three players of the same gender on the pitch during play.

In 2005, it made its way into the real world when students in Middlebury, USA, found a way to adapt the sport from the Harry Potter universe to a world without flying brooms then, both the sport itself and its community are growing tremendously.

Quidditch in Germany and Augsburg

In Germany, the sport has become increasingly popular as well, especially in recent years. There are over 40 teams registered with the German Quidditch Association (Deutscher Quidditch Bund) or in development. The local team in Augsburg is called Augsburg Owls. The team was founded in 2015 and remains Augsburg’s first and only Quidditch team to this day. Besides taking part in the annual Bavarian League, which is one of the six leagues throughout Germany, the greatest success of the team has been the qualification for the European Quidditch Cup 2020, which was postponed due to the Covid Pandemic and is expected to take place in Limerick, Ireland in 2022. Furthermore, the team managed to win the Bavarian Cup, which was first held last month.

© Anja Volkwein

How to participate

For interested and curious students, the Owls offer a starter course within the sports program of the University of Augsburg. Additionally, so-called “Newbie trainings” take place regularly at their home club FC Haunstetten. So, if you want to discover the sporting world of Harry Potter beyond the books and movies, check it out and have a try at handling quaffles, bludgers and brooms. Your real-life Quidditch experience is closer than you might think.

Author: Anja Volkwein

Be Careful, Children! That’s a lot of Sodium!

Some facts about salt you may not know yet

A simple ingredient, salt is contained in most of the meals a person could have around the day. Sodium chloride is a rock, which makes it the only family of rocks regularly eaten by people. It could also be used as an effective cleaner in the kitchen or on bathroom appliances. With so many different applications, it’s not surprising that there are some things about salt that aren’t commonly known – so let’s have a look at some!

Salt, the answer to all suffering?

Kosher salt or kitchen salt can be used for cooking or cleaning. It is free of any additives, such as iodine. Iodised salt sounds chemical and dangerous but rather is a prophylaxis for serious health issues. Mixing a small amount of iodine in salt was a requirement in states like Switzerland, Austria, USA, and in the German Democratic Republic before the reunion. Today, in the reunited Germany the use of iodised salt is not legally required but many German households use iodised salt. Why is that? Due to the national iodine deficiency, which is no longer an issue, the WHO recommended only using iodised salt. Until today this type of edible salt helps a great deal in preventing serious iodine deficiencies and resulting health issues.

Be careful children, that’s a lot of sodium

What is often shouted out as a joke is not nearly as fun when it comes to health risks associated with a high sodium intake. According to the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), the average Indian consumes around 10g of salt per day. The recommended amount would be only half of that. But reducing the salt intake is often easier said than done. Since the taste for salt is acquired, one should only consume very little amounts from an early age. Fast food items like burgers or pizza are higher in sodium due to their serving size. Adding extra salt to meals like salads could be dangerous. Processed foods like salad dressings, pickles or ketchup are also extremely high in sodium. One might think adding sea salt would be healthier, but you’re up for a surprise. Sea salt and table salt roughly contain a stunning 40 per cent amount of sodium. When you’re trying to go for healthy seasonings, try garlic, pepper, herbs like oregano, sage, rosemary, or a little bit of acid like lemon juice or vinegar, which boosts flavour without adding sodium.

Did you know?

In ancient Rome, salt was so valuable that soldiers were paid with it. The Latin word for salt, sal, is the etymological root of the word salary. If a soldier did not do his job right, he was not paid in full which is the birthplace of the expression “not worth his salt”.

Only 6 per cent of the salt used in the United States is added to food. 17 per cent of the salt is used to salt the streets, so they don’t freeze in the winters. The 10-cm Don Juan Pond is the saltiest pond, with a salinity level of 40 per cent which ensures that the water in it rarely to never freezes.

Aside from some fun trivia about salt, there’s something else we can take away from this: even the most innocuous-looking everyday items in our homes can have a rich history.

Author: Katerina Bompodakis

Disney’s colors of the wind – POC presentation and Disney movies

“Encanto” is the newest animation movie produced by the Walt Disney Company. With its release date set on the 21st of November 2021, Disney fans can look forward to a humorous addition to the list of impactful and love-filled 3D animation movies. Especially one country is celebrating the announcement of “Encanto”: Columbia. With the story taking place in the beautiful and culturally diverse South American country, Columbians are ecstatic to see themselves being represented on the big screen. But why exactly is it important to have diverse representation in media, and why is it especially impactful that the movie is a Disney product?

The ever-changing entertainment industry

With the rise of social media came a new way to amplify your own voice online, which is especially important for minorities and people of color (POC). While today’s media landscape might seem colorful and representing a wide variety of people, this wasn’t always the case. White people were dominating the movie industry, which meant the media they produced were heavily focused on white people as well. If people of color were included in movies or shows, they often were subject to stereotypes. For years, however, the industry has been changing and is becoming more inclusive. More and more movies and shows are being directed and written by people of color, and more POC actors are shown on screen.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Why exactly do we need POC representation in our media? The answer is simple: it’s a more accurate reflection of our world. There isn’t just the British or American culture and there are not just white European people. There are more cultures in the world than many can even imagine, and they have the same right to see themselves being represented in media as anyone else. A Columbian child growing up and only seeing European or North American culture being portrayed in their favorite shows might lead to them missing out on their own culture.

Disney, the media giant

The Disney company owns many big movie studios and popular franchises in the industry, among them Pixar and Marvel. With their movies being the more successful ones on the market, they have a huge influence on what, and more importantly who, we see on the screen. As many superhero movies in Disney’s arsenal already state: with great power comes great responsibility. Disney arguably has a huge responsibility to bear when it comes to accurately representing POC and different cultures. There are, of course, older movies that already made attempts, for example Aladdin or Pocahontas. However, these movies often succeeded only partially, and their representation is subject to criticism. With “Encanto” Disney has granted themselves another try at satisfying their diverse fanbase, and hopefully they won’t disappoint their Columbian fans.

Author: Oskar Kartasinski

Dear Diary …

Writing as a way of learning about yourself

The way we document the events of our lives has changed from a way of saving our private thoughts and memories to an action that is shared with the world. We switched from pen and paper to smartphone cameras and social media. However, there are still benefits to writing in a journal and expressing the mind with pen and paper.

… they said: “stop taking pictures”

Nowadays, with being constantly connected to others through social media, some people tend to think that the events in our lives, our greatest memories, are meant to be seen by other people on the internet. Other people also share pictures of their vacation, so we should do it as well, right? The answer is: it is up to you. The important thing is not to put pressure on yourself. Don’t allow the thought of taking the perfect picture for the internet to distract you from gaining pleasant memories.

Sitting down in the evening and writing in a diary is a good way of raising awareness of your actions throughout the day. Writing about your conversations can help to reflect on your relationships with others. Sometimes, we have to remind ourselves how much impact our environment has on us.

… I think I haven’t done anything today

Through writing regularly, we can also track our productivity and overall, how we are living. Having nothing to write about can mean that we spent a lot of time doing something that might not be worth mentioning, like browsing through the internet for most of the day. We can reflect on that and figure out if it was just procrastination or exhaustion after events or tasks of the past days. Flipping to prior pages is enough to find out. While reading through those entries, we can also see if we spend most of our days living exactly the same or take the necessary time to meet friends, travel and make memories. Writing almost every day that we’ve spent eight to twelve hours working or studying and only having the energy left to lie around afterwards is what makes the contents on social media so interesting to us. Instead of experiencing certain things for ourselves, we rather watch how others do it.

… I’m feeling better now

Writing can be calming and ease the mind. We can be honest with ourselves and let our emotions flow into the paper. As already mentioned, diaries raise our awareness, not only of our actions but also of our feelings. Sometimes, we might think that the issue that is bothering us is not important to us. “Let’s forget it and not bother others with talking about it.” Our diaries will never be bothered. These abstract emotions get a physical form on paper and become visible. If the same issue is mentioned several times, we can do something about it.

The diary gives us the opportunity to learn about what makes us happy, what is overwhelming, and what should be changed in our lives. We get to know ourselves better and that’s why documenting daily events in your diary has way more advantages than sharing it online.

Author: Merve Cevic

Is Cancel Culture working?

Why Cancel Culture is Problematic

Cancelling people has become a widespread phenomenon in the last decade. Not only celebrities, but journalists, politicians, professors, artists and across the entire media and political landscape are affected. Cancelling an individual, however, often goes beyond simply pointing out mistakes they made. It is often imbued with ideological beliefs, posing a huge threat to constructive criticism and real progress.

Understanding the Debate

Cancel Culture can be seen as a position of moral high ground which is used by an individual or a group of people to oust someone from social or professional circles. It’s often connected to social media, as it poses as an easy way to publicly point out mistakes people have made. An example where social media was predominantly involved is the #MeToo movement of 2017, in which women were encouraged to come forward with stories about sexual harassment they have experienced. A prominent figure that was – justly – cancelled was Harvey Weinstein. The case of Weinstein clearly shows one of the advantages Cancel Culture provides: successfully seeking and often rightfully pointing out grievances.

The Shortcomings of Cancel Culture

Even though there are many instances where Cancel Culture came forth as useful, inspiring entire movements, it shouldn’t be treated uncritically. Especially on social media, cancellations can happen almost at lightspeed. Earlier that day someone was a genuine, down-to-earth celebrity and from one moment to another, they are someone to avoid. Cancellation instead of conversation seems to be the mantra of such debates. James Gunn, for example, was called out when a right-wing media personality discovered offensive tweets that he posted in 2009 and 2010. The outcry on Twitter was tremendous, leading Disney to fire the director in a response to the outrage. The media backlash was mostly led by progressive leftists despite having originated from the opposite side of the political spectrum. All of this happened without taking into consideration how Gunn’s position on the matter has changed since then, rendering his personal growth in the past ten years practically invisible. Even after having apologised for the tweets that he posted a decade ago, it took a lot of effort from various actors and actresses to get him rehired by Disney. Judging people based on things they did throughout their lives doesn’t always paint an accurate picture of what they stand for today. Another shortcoming is the actual lack of reach and consequences for people that have been cancelled. Kanye West, for instance, faced a massive backlash as well after publicly supporting Donald Trump and calling slavery “a choice”. Yet the outcries have had very little consequences for his career, his music, and his fashion.

What Cancel Culture Misses

Cancel Culture can be problematic because it’s often used as a weapon more than it’s used to point out grievances. However, this isn’t to say that it can’t be used to hold people accountable. The way it is often executed is just missing vital parts of any discussion: constructivism and engagement in good faith.  Sometimes, it can be more about destroying a person and making way for personal beliefs rather than constructive criticism based on facts.

Author: Samuel Brand