Overview
- Students occupied and blocked the Otto‑Suhr‑Institut, the university’s political science institute, on Wednesday, and the Freie Universität confirmed the site remained under student control with a calm atmosphere.
- The university said its leadership was on site, the police were not immediately present, and all instructors were asked to move teaching online to keep classes running.
- Protesters and student groups framed the action as opposition to budget cuts to universities and to growing militarization, including the prospect of conscription.
- The occupation was organized and promoted by campus bodies and networks including AStA, SDS, the Solidarisches Komitee and the Aktionskomitee ‘Gen Z regelt’, which called for participation in the October 31 nationwide protest.
- Students said the OSI was chosen because proposed funding cuts would sharply reduce political science teaching and staff, and the action echoes a longer history of campus protest over education funding and social services.