b) Offices and Committies

The tasks of the individual offices and committees[1] may seem a bit more complicated at first glance, but by far the most important competence you need to be able to work there is an interest in DBH and its processes, namely that you care about what happens in the place where you live and want to actively shape it. The rest you will learn (if you can or have to learn anything at all) in the work itself. The first number in parenthesis below indicates how many full members are elected at the HVV for this purpose and how many members should participate in a meeting at most (at least with voting rights), the second number in parenthesis the number of deputy members. I also tried to roughly capture the workload with the categories High (more than 10 hours of work per semester), Medium (between 5 and 10 hours per semester) and Low (less than 5 hours per semester), however, this is only my absolute subjective assessment, how much effort it is in the end depends primarily on your commitment and willingness!

i) The Home Board (2+2)

The Home Board consists of two members elected at the HVV, Michael and Christine and the Head of the Senior Counsil (both with advisory vote only) and meets approximately every two to three weeks. There, they vote on leases of extensions and internal move requests, as well as room assignments based on a recommendation from the Senior Council, discuss personnel issues,[2] small construction measures are discussed and everything else that needs to be coordinated with the office. Some of the meetings are open to the public, so if you have a concern that you would like the home office to discuss, you can come there or write an email (heimleitung@dbh-bonn.de) or ask a (student) member about something before the meeting. However, for motions, it would be advisable if it is submitted in writing. Two members of the home board are also members of the selection committee, in addition, one member attends the senior council meetings to report on the decisions of the Home Board.

Should then have time: Often meetings are on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings, however this is determined each time, so can have some influence on this + Seniorat every other Tuesday + Selection Committee during semester breaks.

Workload: High

ii) The Senior Counsil

The Senior Council usually meets every two weeks on Tuesdays at 7 pm, where all flats send one person (the Popp two). The core of the work is to vote on sheets of activity and leases of extension, but this is also where internal move requests are voted on and room assignments for the new first-year students are made (subject to approval by the dorm management). In addition, solidarity fund requests will be voted on here.
Should then have time: Every second Tuesday at 7 p.m. during the lecture period.
Workload: Medium

iii) The Board of Trustee (3+1)

The Board of Trustees meets once a semester to discuss the budget of the DBH (but ultimately it is determined by the regional church), to decide on changes to the bylaws, and to discuss the basic direction of the DBH. Members of the Board of Trustees are Michael, someone from the Lutherkirche, our neighboring congregation, someone from the Protestant Theological Faculty of the University of Bonn, the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, the Evangelische Akademikerschaft, the Kirchenkreis and the Landeskirche, plus 3 people from the house and one person delegated by the ESG at the congregational evening, and Christine (with an advisory vote). The Board of Trustees is the only body elected for one year at the GHA in the winter semester, but of course you can tell the office and the GHA Board before the GHA that you are resigning from the position for the summer semester, and then will be a re-election for you at the GHA. There will also be rolls after the Board of Trustees! Following this, the ESG advisory board meets.
Should then have time: The date for the WiSe is already determined to the HVV and is noted on the proposal list, the date for the SoSe is determined at the Board of Trustees meeting in WiSe.
Workload: Low

iv) The selection committee (4+4)

The selection committee meets once a semester at the beginning of the lecture-free period to decide who may move into the DBH for the coming semester. The selection committee consists of four elected members, two members of the Home Board, Michael and Christine with an advisory vote. A few days before the meeting of the selection committee, the applications are available in the office during opening hours (9 a.m. to 1 p.m. usually, otherwise you have to discuss it with the volunteer), together with the work list, in which you can write down remarks about the individual applications and also ratings of the individual applications on a scale from A (very good) to B (good), C (upper waiting list), D (lower waiting list) to E (rejection). At the selection committee meeting, the current dorm statistics (minus those moving out) are presented first, as the gender ratio should be roughly balanced[3] and we should have a quota of 30% foreign students. However, besides that, in case of doubt, who fits in well here, both in terms of WG life and DBH, and is willing to commit should also play a role in the selection. For a better comparability, domestic and foreign applications will be treated separately and two lists will be created for them. In the actual selection process, we first look at which applications stand out in particular (positive and negative), because these immediately get a room or a rejection, then in the further course, we look at who got what grades, individual applications are read again, discussed and compared with others, so that eventually there is a list of people who are accepted, who end up on the waiting list (in which there is a precise ranking) and who gets a rejection.
Should then have time: On a certain day during the semester break, which will be announced in advance + on one of the days before to read the applications.
Workload: Medium

v) The Head of Senior Counsil (1+1)

The Head of the Senior Council prepares and chairs the Senior Council meetings. He is also the person to whom you send your sheets of activity and your leases of extension. If you have any questions (e.g. whether you need to renew at all), you can also contact him. Solidarity fund requests can be sent to either the Head of the Senior Council or the Head of the Solidarity fund, depending on how confidential the reason for the payment is, it can be decided without the approval of the Senior Council, but only between the Head of the Senior Council or the Head of the Solidarity fund. If you have a problem with a certain procedure in the house, you can also always contact the Head of the Senior counsol (or otherwise the Home Board), this will then be addressed in one of the two bodies or a solution will be sought elsewhere. The Head of the Senior Council also attends the Home Board meetings to report on the decisions and opinions of the Senior Council.
Should then have time: Every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. during the lecture period + Home Board.
Workload: High

vi) The Head of the Solidarity fund (1)

The Head of the Solidarity fund administers the solidarity fund (which is currently not an account, but a real cash fund, so that we save account maintenance fees), collects the Solikassenbeiträge at the beginning of the semester (about 2-10€ per person) and keeps records of the finances to be able to report on the GHA.
In addition, they accepts (alternatively to or in parallel with the Head of the senior counsil) solidarity fund requests, for which the procedure is as follows: the basic requirement for a payment from the solidarity fund is actually that you have made a contribution to the solidarity fund at least once, but in extreme cases you can be paid money without this requirement. If you are in a financial emergency situation, then you apply for the money, in which you state the amount you need, briefly explain your emergency situation, what you need the money for and, depending on the situation, how you got into this emergency situation. These can be very personal and intimate details, so you have to consider how much of this you disclose. If the Head of the Senior counsil or the Head of the Solidarity fund absolutely needs more info, they will get back to you. Depending on how confidential the details are and how they can track you about it, your name or even the reason will not be given in the seniorate where it is voted on. In special cases of hardship, it is also not even voted on in the Senior counsil about it, but only between the Head of the Solidarity fund and  Head of the Senior counsil.

Should then have time: no fixed dates
Workload: Medium

vii) Confidant (2, if possible, of different genders and from different flats)

The confidant is there for you if you are in a difficult situation and want to discuss it neutrally with someone, whether it is a problem with living together in your shared flat, a financial bottleneck, difficulties finding your way in Bonn or in your studies, or something else that is on your mind (of course, it does not have to have anything to do with the DBH). Everything that is discussed there will of course remain absolutely confidential, but the person of trust can put you in contact with the Solikassen representative or a professional counseling center, for example. Alternatively, you can contact Michael, who is a pastor and systemic counselor, or the following places:

• Psychological Counseling of the University of Bonn (https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/studium/beratung-und-service/psychologische-und-soziale-beratung/psychologische-beratung)
• Psychological counseling of the Studierendenwerk (https://www.studierendenwerk-bonn.de/beratung-soziales/psychologische-beratungsstelle-pbs)
• The Protestant counseling center (https://beratungsstelle-bonn.ekir.de/)
• The catholic life counseling (https://koeln.efl-beratung.de/beratungsstellen/bonn/)

Should then have time: No fixed dates
Workload: Low to medium