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Feb 2009 Uni Kassel

students have interesting thoughts

<blan
kfest
liter
May
7th
>
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e.ar 9
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sic

p08 The Law of Success

p10 Lord Arthur Saviles ... Night on Campus

table_of_contents

reviews p16Top Albums 2008

p10Lord Arthur Saviles ...

... Night on Campus

sub_culture p04Steampunk

p06Crazy Contraptions
The Rub Goldberg Machine

art p20Solving the banking crisis

creative_writing p12jolie tristesse

p13Flowers on Mars

p13January

p14The World after the 1st of March

opinion p07The pot calling the kettle black?

p08The law of success

p1517+4
 Vigilance. No exceptions! editorial

Did you know that while our department (FB02) registers the second largest number of stu-
dents of all the university of Kassel we are also the department with the least number of pro-
fessors? Ah, and never mind those 4 lecturer positions and those two EFL-positions of Koenig
and Fehling that were/are supposed to be cut. Forget also about studying Spanish or French.
Seriously, get over it!
You see, since no one made any serious attempt at blowing the whole place due to the current
situation, it can’t be so bad, can it? Surely, this must be the logic behind all that follows.

That’s the situation: Our teachers are being given more work, less resources and increased class
sizes and are expected to improve test scores. Students are expected to finish school sooner,
with no re-runs and no personal development whatsoever. Can you be a teacher by the age of
21? You bet!
Directors of universities and politicians are under pressure to cut costs. They often look at this
as a simple cost analysis, where and how we can save money. They do not look at the people
involved, simply numbers. Numbers do not have a voice, numbers do not tell you how it is im-
possible to get a word in, in a class of 100 students. But numbers can tell you that you will fail:
It is a proven fact that a 1st semester student that has already been in, say, England for a year,
is lucky to be able to hold his level of language skill during his time here. Of course, that’s
only if it’s given that this very students does not watch German TV, but only English Chan-
nels, switches his Cellphone and Notebook to English, and has a large collection of DVDs and
foreign friends to call his own.
Otherwise: To bad for you, sucker. You will fail very badly!

The development of Sprachpraxis is, by the way, a good example of how good or bad you
are going to be made a teacher. You see, one of our lecturer positions is going to be cut. The
geniuses in bildungspolitik only worship number, numbers, numbers. Not taking into account
new students coming in, re-runs by unlucky students, students dropping classes, exchange stu-
dents, availability of classes etc. Not to mention the fact that in a class meant to help students
improve their language skills a class of 25 affords each student approx. 3mins per week of
speaking time, not exactly practical. Apparently what is best for the balance sheet is much more
important than what is best for the students.
This is merely an example of what is transpiring in the English department, and it is as bad or
worse in Romanistik. There needs to be a change in thinking by all parties concerned. Students
must demand better resources, class sizes, opportunities and support; and the teachers should
be echoing these demands. There can’t be a divide between students and teachers anymore. No
more “students protest & teachers whine”. That’s a failed policy!
If students want barricade the way into the department, teachers are obliged to cancel all their
classes. No exceptions. If we don’t act, and if we don’t act soon, nothing will happen. And that’s
to be taken literally, because without vigilance nothing will happen, because we are the only
ones responsible for our situation!

The Photo you can see above is from 1988, when the “Fachschaft 08” (later to be become 02)
protested against what they viewed as the beginning of a steadily deteriorating quality

of language studies. This and other Photos can be viewed in the Fachschaftsraum (0242).

3
 sub_cultural

Steampunk
“Good evening old friend. I am most grateful that
you could spare the time to pay me a little visit. Do
sit down and have a glass of port. My most humble
apologies for not immediately answering your mes-
sage but business has kept me quite in a hurry the
last fortnight. Now, what is it you wanted to show
me? Is it one of your extraordinary contraptions
such as the one you showed to me last month? I was
deeply stirred by the fine execution of its function.
I thought it exceedingly useful although I have not
quite evaluated the part about “aetherical submis-
sion”, yet. Now, I do not want to sound inquisitive,
but your message kept me thinking. What do you
mean by “cordless electricity transmission”? I as-
sume you are jumping onto the ‘Tesla-Coil’ train
but how on earth do you want to deliver a message
or photograph without sending a messenger? I
wonder if this is once again one of your idées fixes
like the “necroscopic spectagraph” you were talking
about at our last meeting. Good Sir, I say this to
you quite frankly and openly, you spend an exces-
sive amount of time with Sir Babbage.”

Just imagine a Victorian age that never was. An

alternate universe in which the wonders of 19th
century progress brought machines and contrap-
tions into life which would have been impossible in
our reality. Ask yourself the question “What would
have happened, if Charles Babbage had succeeded
in building his Difference Engine?” The Computa-
tional Age would have begun in the middle of the
Nineteenth Century. The term “steampunk” could
also be “retro-science-fiction” or, more precisely,
“Victorian science-fiction”. Think of H.G. Wells or
Jules Verne and their fantastic stories of time trav-
el, Martian invasions, of a journey to the middle of
the earth or 20.000 leagues under the sea. Think
of movies like WildWildWest or The League of
the Extraordinary Gentlemen. All of them are full
of futuristic machines which did not exist during
Flickr Photo by cayusa, under cc

4

that time. The term itself was established after the
publication of William Gibson’s and Bruce Ster-
ling’s The Difference Engine. Gibson was at that
time mostly known because of his “cyberpunk”
novel Neuromancer. The similarities between cy-
berpunk and steampunk are by no means artificial.
Whereas cyberpunk took our modern technology
and evolved it into a new kind of dystopian future
look, steampunk did the same in the other direc-
tion on the timescale. Both terms were created out
of a need to differentiate more between different
streams of the huge field of science-fiction. Nev-
ertheless, steampunk did not remain a literature
genre. During the last twenty years the fascination
with a past that never was has evolved into a com-
plete subculture with its own aesthetic (brass, gears,
wood, iron, leather, floral ornaments and look be-
fore function) and dress code(a Victorian wardrobe
with modern-day elements). Members of this sub-
culture call themselves ‘punks’, not because they are
not satisfied with their current political leaders (as
a matter of fact political discussions are frowned
upon between steampunks) but rather because they
say, “In a world full of violence, unfriendliness and
a general loss of good manners, politeness is the
new punk”. A lot of steampunks derive from the
sub_cultural
DIY-scene and are drawn towards the aesthetic of
a Victorian age which never was not only because
old fashioned cameras or telephones look nice, but
as well because they have the growing feeling that
the design of modern day technology is turning
more and more into a mass produced pile of clean,
white, sterile, plastic boxes with LED-lights rather
than contraptions where an unbelievable amount
of time was spend on every last detail to make it
look pleasing. So, they take modern day gadgets,
such as mp3 players, personal computers or note-
books and turn them into something that could
have been made in the nineteenth century. Apart
from the DIYers, members of the Gothic subcul-
ture found their way into steampunk via the dress-
es. Steampunks tend to dress in Victorian gowns
(for the ladies) or frock coats (for the gentlemen),
with modern day Gothic elements, such as dreads,
Mohawks or modern boots. But even plain realistic
Victorian dress can be termed steampunk, as the
dress code is by no means as fixed, evaluated and
elitist as it is in the Gothic scene. So, next time you
see someone on the street who does in some way
seem not to belong to this century, it might be a
member of the steampunk genre.
Dennis Wienert
Flickr Photo by vonslatt, under cc
5
 sub_cultural
Crazy Contraptions
The Rube Goldberg Machine
Flickr Photo by Jeff Do you know these crazy machines which, once
Kubina, under cc activated, perform a chain reaction with ordi-
nary objects like cans, ropes, or marbles? Their
origins can be found in America, where newspa-
per cartoonist Rube Goldberg created “Profes-
sor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts”. In each cartoon
strip, Professor Butts presents an enormously
complex device with an extremely simple func-
tion. The freaky cartoon character made his
debut in 1914. Living in an age of technologi-
cal advancement, Goldberg noticed the rising
complexity of inventions and claimed that
“the machines are a symbol of man’s capacity
for exerting maximum effort to achieve mini-
mal results”. Goldberg’s works can be seen as
a call for simplicity. With growing popularity,
the comic inventions were soon called “Rube
6
Goldberg Machines”. It’s no surprise that the
Pulitzer Prize winner had a degree in engi-
neering. Combined with his clever ability to
come up with jokes and cartoons, Goldberg
caricatured the technological Zeitgeist of his
time. His name has even found its place in the
English language, for example when people
complain about “the Rube Goldberg-like tax
system”. The artist died in 1970, but his works
remain up-to-date: Even today the markets are
flooded with complex mobiles or complicated
computer software. Moreover, students have
been showing their crazy inventions at the an-
nual “Ruben Goldberg Machine Contest” since
1949. This year, the contestants were supposed
to build a contraption which assembles a ham-
burger with a precooked meat patty and other
ingredients between two bun halves. To win
the competition, each machine had to work as
circuitously as possible. Searching the internet
for Rube Goldberg machines makes clear that
Flickr Photo by Jinho.Jung, under cc
people from all over the world seem to enjoy
constructing the most crazy devices. You don’t
need to be a creative supermind to create your
own whacky machine - a computer is enough!
Sierra Entertainment published “The Incred-
ible Machine” in 1993 and numerous succes-
sors have been released since then. All this can
be traced back to Rube Goldberg’s imaginative
mind. More about his life and work can be found
on www.rube-goldberg.com.
Marc Motyka

The pot calling the kettle black?
So, it’s that time of the year again when the world’s
economic gurus descend on Davos for the annual
economic forum. However, more than a few big hit-
ters will be conspicuous by their absence this year.
As always, the media will be there in droves but will
they be fuelling the fire or simply pointing out that
it is burning?
One notable absentee is last year’s star Richard
Fuld, former CEO of the doomed Lehman Broth-
ers, seen in the news recently as he allegedly sold
his Florida beach home, bought in 2004 for around
$13 million, for $10. The buyer was his wife and
some cynics have suggested that the sale was a ploy
to safeguard against lawsuits from angry Lehman
shareholders which may force Fuld into personal
bankruptcy, despite the estimated $300 million
he has reportedly taken home over the last eight
years.
What’s more, we may see an adjustment in the
power balance becoming apparent at the forum:
with so many global financial institutions being
nationalized, the political leaders who have always
been present may begin to be considered as the new
Warren Buffetts. Or perhaps the new Bernard Ma-
doffs. We will see. In any case, we will probably see
fewer private jets as they do seem to rather rile the
US Treasury when they hand out billions of dol-
lars of taxpayers’ money to struggling companies.
Citigroup has even been forced to cancel their order
for a new aircraft – how embarrassing!
As in previous years, Britain’s Gordon Brown is
billed to appear, but this time as Prime Minister
rather than as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The
United Kingdom, possibly the second most serious
casualty of the current crisis after the USA, is also
feeling the pinch, so he will be even less likely to
crack a smile this year. And with unemployment in
the UK nearing two million, it is not just the finan-
cial sector which is affected. Such well known Brit-
opinion
ish institutions as Chel-
sea Football Club are
reputed to be in dan-
ger, as Russian owner
Roman Abramovich
has reputedly lost be-
tween $12 billion and
$20 billion depending
on which report you read.
Even the Queen is being
forced to tighten her belt, due
to a frozen budget and massively
increasing costs. It seems that £40 million
per year just doesn’t go as far as it used to.
The $64 million question (or is it now $64 trillion?)
is where do the media fit into this crisis? Have they
turned a slowdown into a recession with their tales
of doom and gloom? Was it inappropriate to men-
tion the Great Depression of the 1930s in the con-
text of a much more complex modern economy?
Or was it unavoidable? Did they encourage the
orgy of consumption with their daily coverage of
celebrities and bling?
And was it the media who loaned huge amounts
of money to deadbeats? Who then packaged these
debts and sold them, conveniently getting them
off their own books? Who nodded and smiled and
swore all was fine, right until the Chapter 11 came
rolling in?
As with any disaster everyone has scrambled to
save their own skin, with a litany of accusations
and blame-filled jibes flying between each camp.
The banks are blaming the media and the media
are blaming the banks – it really is a case of the
pot calling the kettle black. What remains to see is
whether either of these groups will be able to drag
us out of the mire.
Alastair Purves
Flickr Photo by neubi, under cc
7
 The law of success
During my time in high school I was always
one of the few who consistently had very good
grades without really breaking a sweat come
exam time. Virtually never did a task given by
the teachers have a degree of difficulty where
I would be rendered clueless. The worst out-
come was a mediocre result, nothing serious.
That resulted in me being a happier student. I
could do whatever I wished after school and on
top of that the teachers would treat me more
favorably.
Since October 2008, which was the time my
career as a University student started; the
above mentioned happy time is over. My mo-
dus operandi from the last academic decade did
not pass the tests designed by professors and
their like. Without truly dedicating time and
sweat the sheer amount of information was
too much to keep the level of excellence I once
had in high school. The point where my tal-
ent of comprehending information at a given
speed was reached and often greatly exceeded.
I had come across one of the laws of success:
Talent is not enough.
Sure, for high school it was sufficient. I could
easily work at a simple job and greatly over
perform, but I would never be able to work in
let’s say middle management of a fortune 500
company – never.
Talent is greatly overrated nowadays. In
sports potential prospects receive an unprec-
edented hype and sports clubs are willing to
pay amounts of money like never before. In
the business area this belief has also emerged
on the big screen. For example Lynda Clem-
mons who went from weather derivates trader
to head of an independent business unit in
just seven years. Enrons focus on talent was
8
probably as high as on performance, even if
it meant breaking the rules. Falsely asserting
the value of talent can be devastating; in the
case of Enron it meant putting a leader in po-
sition that was believed to have a very high
ceiling although the construction had yet only
reached the basement.
I have to admit that talent does play a role.
Let us assume that Joe Average was born with
the mathematical ability of 3, and based on his
intelligence and upbringing his ceiling of that
very trait was 7. If he were to devote his en-
tire life to mathematics he would be a 7, even-
tually – but anything above that is unreachable
for him. He would never be able to understand
the implications of, let’s say, Einstein’s theo-
ries of relativity. The above-mentioned start-
ing points and limitations exist. But it there
are worlds apart between a 3 and 7 skill wise.
It is up to every single one of us to fill out our
projected ceilings and reach our top.
A decade ago probably one of the greatest
athletes of our time retired from professional
sports, his name was Michael Jordan and he
played basketball. During his prolific career
he has won everything imaginably on and off
the court. He made Nike the global company
it is today, he was the first icon of our global-
ized world and simply his iconic image during
his prime was worth billions of dollars. His
potential ceiling was an unreal 10. When he
played the game of basketball it looked easy,
every time his leadership and skill was needed
Michael Jordan delivered. Never in his life has
he lost a Finals round in the championship
tournament.
The professional sports leagues around the
world are full of possible next Michael Jor-

dans. They too have incredible athletic talent,
an extraordinary physique and mind blowing
reflexes. Many times have we heard of the
“next” Michael Jordan, Pele, Jimmy Hendrix
or Freddy Mercury. All those thought of walk-
ing in the footsteps of the all-time grates had
the pieces to become all that but they did not.
Simply put, their effort was not sufficient.
Stephen King once said “talent is cheaper
than table salt. What separates the talented
individual from the successful one is a lot of
work.” I would go as far as to say a ton of
work. Awesome achievements come from un-
spectacular preparation. Dirk Nowitzki of the
Dallas Mavericks, for example, spends his en-
tire summer in the gym. Three times a day for
a total of 9 hours he goes through the motions
of shooting a basketball, executing a series of
moves, or simply dribbling a basketball. That
preparation enables him to perform at an elite
level when the season starts. Every star in ev-
ery sport has to do the same in order to win it
all. If you are lazy during your free time then
there is no way for you to reach the top come
game time. Abraham Lincoln said “You can-
not escape the responsibilities of tomorrow by
evading them today”. That holds true in every
aspect of life. If your professor comes to class
unprepared he might be able to compensate for
a given period of time, but if he repeatedly
does not give his best he will not only hurt
himself and his skill of teaching but he will
ultimately hurt you in the long run. Every one
of us knows a person like that. They are stuck
at being a three or four at a given skill and
invest no time and thought on improving. A
great deal of possible tens are wasting their
time and talent procrastinating, mindlessly
opinion
playing World of Warcraft or watching use-
less videos on YouTube. I am not suggesting
every one of you should be pushing themselves
at all times in order to reach the maximum on
every possible aspect of life. No. What I sug-
gest is that you should evaluate your skills on
the different talents that you might or might
not have and then decide whether it is useful
to invest time and effort. Let us take me as an
example. I would say that my skill at math-
ematics or linguistics is around 3. My ceiling
is somewhere around 6. On the other hand
my knack for business and leadership may be
around 5-6 and I could possibly reach level 8.
Paired with my interest in business and dislike
for linguistics/maths it is obvious for me that
every minute over the bare minimum spent on
the latter should be considered a waste of time
and talent.
My final point is that being talented is great;
having a lot of potential is also fantastic, a one
two punch that leaves people salivating over
your services when they get a first impression
of you. But consider the flip side – their high
beliefs in you result in epic failure and disap-
pointment if you fail to deliver on a task given
to you based on your initial impression.
If you believe that you have special strengths
in certain areas then keep on realizing your
potential. Fulfilling your own goals (Being a
nicer person, a better friend or a better boss...)
will ultimately make you and others around
you more contempt and happy. Nothing else
is as comfortable as a pillow of a clean con-
science – unspoiled by unfulfilled tasks and
dreams.
Iderbat Ariuna.
9
 opinion
Lord Arthur Savile‘s ...

Creatures creeping around campus, a smart butler,

a dumb lord, an anarchist and lots of explosives…
where’s the connection? Well, it’s the Red Brick
Company’s double feature: The Night of the Liv-
ing Bricks and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime!
It was a horrible sight for innocent bystanders
(who therefore didn’t have to pay any fee for being
scared professionally) to be walking across cam-
pus on a very special night in January. Frightening
screams were to be heard and murderers, vampires,
zombies and other indescribable creatures running
wild were prowling the campus. And, by the way,
who was the anonymous corpse that was lying
around and looked as if had been stabbed to death
and had then fallen off a bridge afterwards? Was
all of this the work of evil bricks or where other
forces involved as well? These were the questions
the bystanders didn’t have any answers to. Only
the few elect were aware of the meaning and the
connection of all this. And they also learned that
mushrooms should be avoided by vegetarians. Are
you curious to know why? Do you want to see the
connection, too? Then join us on our next Night
of the Living Bricks, which will surely be taking
place sometime somewhere in the future, if noth-
ing unexpected happens.
And beware of the Dark Side!
Lord Arthur, however, doesn’t care much for

10
 sub_culture

... Night on Campus

spooky stories. He only wants to end his bachelor
life and get married with the beautiful Sybil. If
only there wasn’t this one small task to perform
first… But it seems quite hard to send someone
to push daisies, even with the help of such a well-
educated and supportive butler as Baines. There
are so many awkward choices to be made: When,
where, how and, finally, whom? What good one
could do with murdering somebody… if only
one succeeded. Loaded with special effects, some
of them pretty unique, the Red Brick Company
succeeded in presenting yet another entertaining
stage play, this time once more at K19.
This semester, as in the previous semesters, the
“older” Red Bricks were again joined by many new
actresses and actors, enriching our “secret order”
with their ideas and talents. We hope you all had
a very warm welcome and enjoyed this semes-
ter as much as we did. Still, all of this would not
have been possible without the people in the back-
ground, building props, selling tickets and doing
sound and lighting. And of course nothing could
have been done without our fantastic mentor, Dr.
Heiler, and Jacqueline, the queen of text. A big
“Thank You!” to you all!
For more info on The Red Brick Company visit:
http://www.redbrickcompany.de/

11
 creative_writing

artwork and poem by Karin Kolb

12
 creative_writing
Flowers on Mars
When leafs fall off the earthly trees

and human beings start to sneeze,

in the sky between the stars

January
botanic life spreads out on Mars.

A month that is kalt

Tall like houses do they grow,
All ice and Schnee
emitting flashing flakes of snow.
Hab’ Lust to escape it
Glinting stems break through the sand
Und geh’ far away.
cast lively colours on the land.

Wo ist es bright and sunny and Heiß?

The alien flowers dance with glee,
Vielleicht nach Australien, The Bahamas sind nice
are specked with greatest relish.
Mit einem Flugzeug, a boat or some such
A pity that noone can see
Aber ich should just hier bleiben, um zu üben mein…German.
the desert they embellish.
(Alastair Purves)
(Marc Motyka)

Flickr Photo by yxvcyv under cc

13
 The World after the 1st of March
When I was younger I always wanted to be able to look into the future. I would have liked to have a time
machine to see what’s going to come and how the world is going to change. But back then in 2009, I
would never have been able to imagine that the world would be doomed ten years later; doomed because
of World War III.
I guess it all started with the election of a young, charismatic president in the US. In his presidential
campaign he had promised to finally bring the war in Iraq to an end. However, he was assassinated soon
after his inauguration and his vice-president, a 70-year old war-veteran called Adrian Shotler prob-
ably wanted to continue playing war and instead of pulling the troops out of Iraq, he sent even more.
Of course, the Iraqis weren’t happy about that. I remember that the war in Iraq had started because
the Americans assumed that the Iraqis were building atomic bombs. However, the American troops never
found any. And since the Americans didn’t come to the bombs, the bombs came to America. How the
Iraqis were able to smuggle bombs of the size of a car to the States, nobody knows. But on 1 March,
2018, three atomic devices exploded in the USA destroying NYC, Washington DC, and Chicago and kill-
ing 3 million people. It is impossible to describe the chaos and mayhem which suddenly arose through-
out the world. Lots of other nations acted rashly, especially the European Union which immediately
agreed to also send troops to Iraq to destroy this country and its weapons. It soon developed into a
war of religions: the Muslim-based countries against the Christian-based countries. And bombs start-
ed falling in Great Britain and all over Europe, too. Nobody in Britain was safe anymore and the few
hundred thousand survivors were evacuated and brought to an uninhabited island which is now called New
London. But our colony doesn’t have anything to do with London. It only consists of barracks where we
sleep on straw and other barracks where we eat our apportioned food. It’s always cold and windy here
because the island is located in the middle of the ocean. We don’t have telephones, computers, or TVs
here; things I took for granted only a year ago. We don’t even have anything to do: there’s no work
because we don’t have any tools or materials to build anything with. Once a week, a ship comes over
here to bring some food, letters, and more refugees. Most of these refugees are even sicker than us
and except for a few doctors, who have no tools except their own hands, there is no medical treat-
ment here. I have been exposed to an atomic explosion myself and I can feel how my hair is falling out
already. Our colony mostly consists of women because nearly all the men have been drafted to fight
in the war. My boyfriend Michael died 2 months ago. I still can’t imagine that I’ll never see his smile
again. For me all that is like a bad dream from which I’ll awake soon. There is nowhere for us to go:
nearly all the countries in Europe have been destroyed and those which are not will not take any more
refugees. I am not so sure what we are doing here. Are we waiting for the end of the war? Or the end
of the world? And even if the war does stop, what will we do? Will we rebuild all of Europe? Will there be
anything left to rebuild? And will there be enough healthy people to produce non-retarded children?
Einstein once said: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will
be fought with sticks and stones.” I now, unfortunately, know the answer the first part of his saying
and I am sure that Einstein is right about the second part as well.
1414 Sabine Krause

17+4
This article is about the modularized education
studies, compared to the “old” education studies.
The heading sounds like Black Jack, but it isn’t actu-
ally about that. But, as in Black Jack, this article has
to do with a lot of mathematics. Don’t worry, you
still don’t have to be a math major to read it. I don’t
know about Black Jack, but the real possibility of
getting a good score out of four tests is at least four
times higher than getting the same good score out
of seventeen tests. Of course, this is a theoretical
approach. It is also easier to fail in four tests than in
seventeen. Seventeen tests seems to strengthen the
average. But is being average enough for today?
You might ask you what the heck I am talking about.
17 and 4 is not only another name for Black Jack, it is
also the relation between the old and the new, modu-
larized, Staatsexamen. In the old version, there were
four tests, one written one and three oral ones. In the
new version there are seventeen modules counting
for the final grade. This means not only that it is
harder to fail, but also it is harder to be really suc-
cessful. And seventeen scores counting is only the
minimum. If there are modules involved were the fi-
nal score is not set by one single test or single paper,
but by a number of tests or papers counted together,
the amount of scores counting rises.
Where is the problem? It is harder to fail. And the
test are spread over the last years of studies, not
piled up at the end of them. That is OK and actu-
ally one advantage to the old system, so far. But
seventeen is only the number of modules counting
for the Examen, added up out of modules in both
subjects studied and pedagogy modules. Only in
English studies one has to finish up to 12 modules,
depending on ones course of studies. All of them
consist of one to three courses, seminars, lectures
or practice lessons. In total one has to take up to 29
courses, most of them including some sort of test.
This is definitely a very high workload and, if one
takes one’s studies seriously, it is hard to finish one’s
course of studies in the seven (L1 / L2) or nine (L3)
semesters these modules are said to fit in. This is the
first big problem.
To me, today it is mostly about tests and learning
for tests, like in school, and not studying and looking
beyond one’s intellectual horizon, like it should be at
university. It is about rules, regulations and strongly
opinion
prescribed schedules,
if one wants to finish
on time, and not about
one’s interests. It is also
not about campus life or
active participation in
university institutions.
For the modularized
students it seems to be
just about tests.
In addition to that, the main goal of the modulariza-
tion was to enable everybody to switch universities
more easy and thereby set a standard of university
education. This hasn’t by far come true. And, getting
back to the headline, with this overload of tests it
is really hard to focus on the important ones out of
the many, the ones that count for the Staatsexamen.
Even if one manages to focus, it is harder to get a
really good grade, even though, in the same way, it is
harder to fail completely. Having a less good grade
means getting a less good place on the lists of people
applying for both teacher training and, afterwards,
teacher jobs. This could turn out a real problem,
even though there are less teachers available than
needed, at least up to now. My prognosis is that the
average grades will drop and this will cause some
trouble both for the people applying, the universities
and finally for the ones working on statistics in the
states education departments.
More freedom to choose courses by personal interest
and less control and testing would be more helpful
to forge the next generation of teachers. Later on in
school, these teachers won’t encounter a system as
set as their university education was. And they will
have to cope with that, in addition to coping with
students, material, progress in teaching methods,
colleagues, supervisors and with ever rising expecta-
tions burdened on them by the community. Already
in university, these later-on-teachers should learn to
work independently and not by extrinsic force and
regulation. They should not encounter a school-like
university and therefore never leave school, going
from their own student career in school over a school
called university to their career as a school teacher
in another school. This cannot be wanted, for the
pupils’, the teachers’ and the publics’ sake.
by Bastin Heß
15
 sub_culture

Top Albums
of 2008
<blank> music review by Marc Motyka, Franz Mutschler and Don Lowman

Metal Myrath
Hope
1 Meshuggah
ObZen
2 Gojira
The Way of all Flesh
3

Oriental progressive Be prepared for the The whole album

metal in the tradition next level of auditory revolves around death
of genre leader Sym- heaviness! Listening – ‘the most common
1 2 phony X. Wow! Let’s to ObZen is a test of thing on earth’, says
‘Hope’ to hear more stamina for your ears. Gojira.
from the Tunisian band
soon.

Kingdom of Sorrow 4 Andromeda 5

Kingdom of Sorrow The Immunity Zone
3 4
This album is hardly More electro, more
innovative, but it de- metal – great combi-
livers raging riffs and nation plus thoughtful
midtempo hardcore lyrics and a tendency
metal at its best – isn’t for jaw-dropping solos
5 that all we want? on all instruments.

Alternative Thrice
The Alchemy Index
1 Mogwai
The Hawk is Howling
2 The Sound of
Animals Fighting
3
3&4: Air and Earth The Ocean and the Sun

The second part of Noisier and meaner For Concept, for

their Magnus Opus than ever, Mogwai spectacular structures,
shows just how po- prove that you really for wearing animal
lytropic Thrice have don’t need vocals to masks, for innovation,
grown to be. Vivaldi’s get your message for intensity,for being
Four Seasons fort he across. The Ambient the combination of
Post-Harcdcore Gene- record of the year. great bands- and if for
ration. nothing else, then at
least because Anthony
Green is a Genius!
1 2
The Mars Volta 4 Nine Inch Nails 5
The Bedlam in Goliath The Slip

Because they are Trent Reznor wrote, ful and you can down-
finally taking things recorded and released load it for free on his
3 4 back to their earlier The Slip within 2 website: http://www.
days and are a lot months following his nin.com/. The perfect
easier to listen to on 36 song masterpiece accompaniment to
this record. Now dont Ghosts I-IV. He then your morning coffee.
get me wrong – this released it, unan-
is Mars Volta – it will nounced, for free on
never be anything less his website. It is dark,
than over the top. raw, noisy and power-
5
16

no age
Nouns
1 bon iver
For Emma, Forever ago
http://www.myspace.com/ http://www.myspace.com/
nonoage boniver
indie, lo-fi, punk; all Anyone that flees the
apt descriptions for tragedies of breakup
this brilliant duo that and the afflictions of
somehow topped their everyday life by mo-
2007 debut. ving to a remote cabin
2,000kms away in the
middle of winter and
emerges with 37mins
of heartbreaking beau-
ty gets my vote.
Two Cow Garage 4 Why?
Speaking In Cursive Alopecia
http://www.myspace.com/ http://www.myspace.com/
twocowgarage whyanticon
I’m not sure if it is the “I’m not a ladies man,
wonderful band name, I’m a landmine, filming
the clever album my own fake death.”
title or the infectious Confusion, death and
alt-country/anti-folk lack of identity are
songs that make me indicative of the lyrics
love this band. on this album and the
range of musical styles
with which they are
presented. From hip-
hop to indie-rock to
alternative, this album
is simply addictive.
Electro//Dance
Autechre Kenny Larkin Greg “Stryke”
Quaristice Chin
Keys, Strings,
Tambourines The Narrowest of Paths
1 2
Cut Copy Girl Talk
In Ghost Colours Feed the Animals
4 5
<blank>_feature
2 frightened
rabbit
3 Indie//Rock
Midnight Organ Fight
http://www.myspace.com/
frightenedrabbit
The ability to since-
rely pull off veritable
desperation with a
smile is a skill seldom
realized. Luckily every
now and then someo-
ne is able to do it.
5 Okkervil River 5*
The Stand Ins
1 2
http://www.myspace.com/
okkervilriver
A typical Okkervil
River album is filled
with pain, sorrow and
littered with literary,
historical and cultural 3 4
references, the Stand
Ins is no exception; la-
menting the tragedies
of fame, both real and
imagined.
5 5*
HipHop
Nas Q-Tip
Untitled The Renaissance
3 1 2
Lil Wayne The Cool Kids
Tha Carter III Bake Sale EP
3 4
17
 <blank>_feature
<blankfest>
After our first event, the Battle of the Bands, it
didn’t take us long to start planning its succes-
sor. From the mindset of our Prophet sprang the
new idea for what is about to come: the <blank>
fest.
Following our successful band contest we decid-
ed to expand the scale and this time not only give
a chance to musicians but also to artists and poets
to be discovered.
Mark the 7th of May red in your calendar as on
this day our <blank> fest opens its doors provid-
ing you with several activities. This time in ad-
dition to our evening concerts at the K19 we are
also having an art exhibition, an author’s read-
ing, a poetry slam and singer/songwriter per-
formances at the Café Desasta and Arnold Bode
straße. So as you see <blank> conquers more of
the campus to be able to cover all of your inter-
ests step by step.
18
Yet again you, as our reader, can be part of this
event. Do you have any art or photography you
want to display? Or are you an undiscovered
poet? Don’t let your inner artist be trapped in-
side you. Contact us at studentpaper_kassel@
yahoo.com to tell us that you want to be a part of
the <blank> fest with your submissions.
In case your own creativity is at rest at the mo-
ment, don’t hesitate to spread the word about the
event to everybody and don’t forget to come by
on May 7th.
Reunions from our last event are guaranteed...
but this time <blank> goes bigger and (hopefully
even) better!
More info available at myspace.com/theblankpa-
per or www.blankpaper.de
Email: studentpaper_kassel@yahoo.com or
dlowman@uni-kassel.de
Impressum
Zeitung der Studierenden der Anglistik / Amerikanistik des
Fachbereiches 02 der Universität Kassel,
Georg-Forster-Str. 3, 34109 Kassel Telefon: 0561 804 3380
eMail: dlowman@uni-kassel.de
V..i.S.d.P.: Don Lowman
Redaktion: Don Lowman, Peter Carqueville, Pieter Coetzee
Staff/Writers: Sabine Krause, Gudrun Hahn, Iderbat Ariuna,
Murat Sezi, Marc Motyka, Dennis Wienert, Karin Kolb,
Don Lowman, Pieter Coetzee, Sabrine Lohmann,
Andreas-Carlos Hochhutz, Franz Mutschler, Katrin Werner,
Cover-Bild: Karin Kolb Rückseite: Bastin Heß
Satz und Layout: Peter Carqueville, Karin Kolb / Druck: Nordlicht
Bilder: „under cc“ bedeutet, dass jenes Bild unter der Creative Commons Lizens bei Flickr vom benannten User veröf-
fentlicht wurde und unter Namensnennung und nicht-kommerziell weiterverwendet werden darf, siehe z.B. Musterver-
trag http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.de
sponsors

19
20 artwork by Bastin Hess