Top 10 stories on CBS WIRE in 2020
(Illustration: Lene Højland Bergh-Hansen)
Although of course, articles about coronavirus feature among the top 10, they were not the only stories you read on CBS WIRE in 2020. Danish humor – or the lack of it, the grade race, and a huge intro case also drew your attention.
News | 08. Jan 2021
2020 was a strange year, to say the least. Suddenly, we were spending much more time in front of our computers – sometimes in total isolation – trying to grasp what was happening, and is still happening.
We spent some of that time staring at screens trying to keep up with the news. Including news from and about CBS published by CBS WIRE.
But what stories drew your attention last year? CBS WIRE has listed the 10 most-read stories, which may also give a snapshot of last year. Because coronavirus was not the only event in 2020. There was even a time before COVID-19, though it feels as if that was ages ago.
But let’s get to it. The top 10!
10: CBS Students strongly criticizes drastic changes to the intro week concept – 27/3 2020
This story needs a brief recap. In December 2019, 25 CBS students were temporarily suspended for, according to CBS, violating the rules and regulations for intro. This also started a discussion of the intro format. What should it look like in the future to avoid situations with students being temporarily suspended?
CBS Students and Senior Management discussed this during the spring of 2020, and in March a new concept was introduced.
A concept that was met with harsh criticism from CBS Students:
“The changes are drastic, and we are concerned about the disastrous consequences they will have for the 3,000 new students,” said Rasmus Christensen, who was Vice President of CBS Students at the time, and continued:
“We especially disagree with postponing the cabin trips until February. We will lose all the social benefits of them being held at the beginning of the semester, when the new students are in the process of forming social relations.”
9: Why Danes are not as funny as they think they are – 29/1 2020
Have you ever been with international acquaintances and Danes and experienced that sometimes, Danish humor does not hit the target? Instead it leaves people feeling a little awkward – maybe even flabbergasted.
Professor Emerita Lita Lundquist from the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy at CBS has explored the Danish sense of humor and interviewed Danes and foreigners for her book ‘Humour socialization: Why are the Danes (not) as funny (as they think they are)?’.
For example, according to Lita Lundquist, a Danish member of the European Parliament was quoted as saying:
“We think our own Danish style of irony and ‘self-irony’ is very charming, but then we are extremely brazen, after all. We are often perceived like that – as extremely brazen, and then we have to run around repairing the damage afterwards.”
8: New organization can have a big impact on employees – 2/4 2020
Developing the new strategy for CBS clearly revealed that organizational changes would follow. In spring, it was announced that five units would be reorganized to support the strategy. According to two shop stewards, the Senior Management could not – at the time – eliminate layoffs.
Moreover, the shop stewards called the announcement of the reorganization bad timing.
“It’s problematic that the Senior Management is continuing with the process. They must be aware that it’s a challenge for people that they can’t meet face to face and talk things over, and it will create more uncertainty. I understand that the Senior Management wants to get the new organization in order before they can implement the strategy, but they should have waited,” said Tine Løvig Simonsen, Shop Steward.
7: Coronavirus to affect teaching and exams in the autumn semester – 13/5 2020
Looking back, coronavirus has affected many areas. Teaching, exams, work. But in the early spring, when we still had no clue how the autumn would pan out, the Dean of Education, Gregor Halff, decided to launch a set of principles for teaching and exams in the autumn – including 50% of all teaching being carried out online.
The principles were, according to a statement, “based on the most likely scenario that campus will be open but the size of gatherings and the distance between people will still be restricted.”
6: How I managed to save DKK 50,000 during my first two years in Denmark – 18/5 2020
If there is one topic that is particularly close to our blogger CBS student Desislava Diyanova Grozeva’s heart, it is personal finance.
Before coming to Denmark, she spent eight months saving enough money to relocate to Denmark and begin studying at CBS. However, upon arriving in Denmark, she knew she had to do something to make her money stretch as far as possible.
In her blog post, she listed how she saved DKK 50,000 in five months – including cancelling her Netflix subscription!
5: Victoria Grønsedt was born in Hong Kong and now aged 21 she runs her own home improvement store in Kalundborg – 12/2 2020
On a cold day in February, CBS WIRE went to Kalundborg to visit CBS student Victoria Grønsedt’s business and warehouse. She owns her own home improvement store, Fixdithus, while juggling her master’s Cand.comm studies.
Initially, she thought she would study for a degree in Law at Oxford or the London School of Economics, just like her friends from Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Malaysia where she grew up. But then other opportunities opened up.
Get the full story of how she started her own business at the age of 19 and got well acquainted with floor heating pump systems, brass fittings, joint fillers, plywood and floorboards.
Read the full piece and watch the small film of Victoria Grønsedt showing around in her warehouse.
4: Spisestuerne files for bankruptcy: 70 staff members lose their jobs – 30/4 2020
As a public institution, CBS was not, as such, at risk of taking a financial hard hit from the coronavirus. However, Spisestuerne, which was owned by CBS Students and had been around since 1988, could not survive the lockdown, which resulted in its bankruptcy on April 24 and 70 staff members losing their jobs.
“CBS Students is devastated by news of Spisestuerne’s bankruptcy. We are especially sad on behalf of the employees at Spisestuerne, who have done an amazing job over the years running an exceptional canteen,” said Sarah Diemar, President of CBS Students.
3: Benjamin and Nikolaj questioned the grade race and investigated what makes CBS students strive for top marks – 22/4 2020
They had both felt the pressure and stress from having to perform and get good grades while studying at CBS. So when it was time to write their master’s thesis, Benjamin Anker and Nikolaj Koors Hoff decided to explore why students get caught up in the grade race.
In total, they held 15 in-depth interviews with CBS students about why and how they engage in the activities they do, and what choices they make based on their engagement.
“When something, in this case getting good grades, is all that matters and becomes an implied truth, it gets dangerous when you stop questioning that truth. When you don’t, you end up in a bubble,” says Nikolaj Koors Hoff.
2: Now coronavirus has consequences for staff and students – 11/3 2020
Right before the national lockdown on the evening of March 11, it was evident that the coronavirus would have consequences for CBS staff and students. On Monday 9, CBS announced that all Thursday bars were to be cancelled, as well as the annual celebration, and fewer seats would be available at the libraries.
1: Six students complain about temporary suspension – CBS stands by its decision – 15/1 2020
On December 6, 2019, 25 CBS students were temporarily suspended for, according to CBS, violating CBS rules and regulations for intro. Six of them were suspended for signing an invitation to a “Slutty Fall Break” party hosted by “Vejlederteamet”. The six students hired a lawyer and complained about the decision.
“The party we held wasn’t part of the intro activities. It was a private party arranged by us and signed “Vejlederteamet” because that’s what most people call us as a group. But since we have been suspended, it must mean that we must follow the intro rules for the rest of our time at CBS. And I’m very surprised about that,” said Signe, who did want to have her last name published, on behalf of the six suspended students.
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