Rules of the WhatsApp groups
Who is part of the WhatsApp groups?
The WhatsApp groups, which are created and managed by the Geography Student Council Bonn, are generally open to all students who started studying Geography at the University of Bonn in the semester specified in the group title. In addition, the official Student Council cell phone is part of every WhatsApp group.
Students who have dropped out or changed university or subject and are therefore no longer studying geography at the University of Bonn are no longer eligible to be part of the WhatsApp groups. The only exception here are alumni groups (i.e. groups from semesters that have completed their studies), whose members may remain in the Ersti group. However, the Geography Student Council Bonn reserves the right to delete old Ersti groups that have completed their studies after the standard period of study.
What rules apply to messages in the WhatsApp groups?
The moderation rules are based on the self-conception of the Geography Student Council Bonn. All messages posted to the WhatsApp groups by academics or students must therefore adhere to the following principles:
- Liberal-democratic basic order: This is based on the recognition of human dignity, the principle of democracy and the rule of law as well as non-violence and the idea of intercultural understanding and cooperation.
- Self-determination of the individual: the fundamental Self-determination of individuals: The freedom of the individual is fundamental, which ends with the restriction of the freedom of others.
- Equality for all and freedom from discrimination: The Geography Student Council Bonn advocates equal opportunities regardless of ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, social status and ideology.
Within the framework of this self-image, the Geography Student Council Bonn is neutral in terms of party politics, ideology and cosmopolitanism.
These basic principles result in incompatibility with sexist, racist, fascist, totalitarian, nationalist, anti-religious, historically revisionist, revanchist, ableist, queer and trans-hostile ideas and actions. This also includes messages that disseminate or represent these ideas.
What are the consequences of not following the rules?
People who do not observe the principles of the WhatsApp groups and, for example, write inappropriate messages will be warned and, if necessary, removed from the WhatsApp groups.
The first offense usually results in an official warning from the Geography Student Council Bonn. This warning is issued via private chat, i.e. not publicly in a WhatsApp group.
In the event of a further offense or a particularly serious first offense, the person in question will be permanently removed from the WhatsApp groups without further warning. Re-joining is not permitted. Knowingly adding or inviting people who have been removed from the WhatsApp groups counts as a particularly serious breach of the rules.
The Geography Student Council Bonn reserves the right to decide on a case-by-case basis what is considered a breach of the rules and whether a warning will be issued or immediate exclusion will occur.
The members of the WhatsApp group concerned will be informed by the Geography Student Council Bonn as soon as an infringement of the rules has been punished. For data protection reasons, however, no specific or personal information about those affected or accused will be shared.
Where can I report rule violations?
The Geography Student Council Bonn makes every effort to recognize and punish rule violations as quickly as possible without any external input. However, due to the high number of WhatsApp groups and messages, it is not always possible to react immediately to rule violations.
Information on rule violations, including in study-related private chats or groups, can be sent to the Geography Student Council Bonn via the official contact options. Please use one of the following contact options and do not write to students on their private numbers to ensure that the complaint can be dealt with promptly:
- WhatsApp: +49 1517 4553019
- Email:
- For confidential awareness requests, you are welcome to contact the Student Council’s awareness mail, which will handle your requests discreetly:
- Instagram: fs.geographie.bonn
The Geography Student Council Bonn weighs up each complaint and then decides what action to take. We will confirm receipt of the complaint. You will then be informed in the WhatsApp group concerned whether there have been any consequences (see last paragraph in “What are the consequences of non-compliance?”).
Last edited: 28/01/2024