The same point of view: MU Faculty of Science then and now – The view from reception

The faculty had a great atmosphere in the 1990s, just after the velvet revolution, as did the whole of Czech society. Though everything was still broken, and boys were dressing in the clothes of their older siblings while girls were making their own clothes, everyone was so euphoric. People rejected by the regime after 1968 were now able to return to the faculty and, while their expertise may have suffered from their 20-year forced absence, they were usually able to pick up from where they had left off. Many of these people now ran their old departments and the students had someone to look up to morally. Generations of post-revolutionary students have benefited from this mood to this day. 

Since the campus reconstruction was completed in 2008, many new students have passed through the faculty. What are they like? They have backpacks; smart clothes are rarely worn for exams anymore; they no longer have to worry about hairstyles, beards, piercings or tattoos being forbidden; they go to school on bikes, scooters and roller skates; they now have a wide choice of sports they can take part in and many dishes to choose from in the canteen; they smoke and drink less, have a healthy diet and many are vegetarians; they are interested in the environment; they sit at computers, tablets and mobile phones and they are on social networks; they live together in student flats; they travel a lot, both through Erasmus and in their free time; they speak English; they are playful; and they associate less in social organisations. On Thursday afternoon, wheeled suitcases rumble around the faculty; backpacks are no longer in. In September, fresher’s meet at the Sculptor Marius Kotrba’s Ringing Statue at the Klodnerplatz Elementary School (erected in 2003) and play young dating games as if they don’t want to grow into adulthood. The faculty is always lively during the semester.