Of the free student associations that existed in Basel, Bern, and Zurich around 1908, only the one in Bern survived, likely because it sought to achieve its reformist objectives primarily through public lectures. Between 1906 and 1990, this student organization, which did not want to be classified as such, organized around 900 lectures on natural and social sciences as well as poetry readings featuring over 700 speakers from across Europe and overseas. Intellectuals such as Carl Jacob Burckhardt, Thomas Mann, and Jean Rudolf von Salis were among the speakers, alongside scientists like Otto Hahn and writers like Hermann Hesse. Scientific achievements of the 20th century resonated alongside philosophical questions of existence and the current trends in literature, art, and music. As a result, the free student association became a leading lecture organization for a long time.