<div dir="ltr"><div class="">Campus tempers flare over racism and student elections</div>
<div class=""><span class="">Munyaradzi Makoni</span><span class="">29 August 2015</span> <span class="">Issue No:379</span></div>
<div style="padding-top:38px;padding-bottom:48px">
<div class="">
<a class=""><div class=""><span style="vertical-align:bottom;width:78px;height:20px"></span></div></a>
<a class=""><span></span></a>
</div>
</div>
<div class=""> <div class="">
<span class=""></span><span class=""></span><br>
<br><br>
<div class=""><br><br></div>
</div>
<div class="">
</div>
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
Racial problems that have dogged the South Africa’s prestigious
Stellenbosch University have flared after the publication of a
documentary about the discriminatory experiences of black students. The
parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education and training is
calling the university’s leaders to an urgent meeting, to table
institutional transformation plans. Meanwhile, violence has marred the
run-up to student elections on other campuses.<br>
<br>
Portfolio committee chair Yvonne Phosa expressed concern last Thursday
about incidents of student violence. It was “very worrying” she said in a
statement, to learn of occurences where “violence of a senseless nature
is meted out by students at one another”.<br>
<br>
On Wednesday, police fired stun grenades to disperse students at the
Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria. There was stone-throwing
by students belonging to the Economic Freedom Front, or EFF, and rival
South African Students Congress, which is allied to the ruling African
National Congress, ahead of student elections.<br>
<br>
There was also reportedly a scuffle involving members of the EFF during a
student representative election debate at the University of the
Witwatersrand last week.<br>
<br>
“Despite belonging to different political formations, we urge students
to act in a manner that is civil and to show political tolerance so that
incidents of violence, which have no place in our higher learning
environment, do not recur,” said Phosa, calling on political party
leaders to “desist from engaging in actions that might incite violence
among students”.<br>
<br>
<b>The Stellenbosch saga</b><br>
<br>
Allegations of racism at Stellenbosch University reached a crescendo
last week following publication on social media of a short documentary
called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3rTBQTQk4" target="_new" class=""><i>#Luister</i></a> – Afrikaans for ‘Listen’ – ratcheting up already enormous pressures on ‘historically white’ institutions to transform.<br>
<br>
Yvonne Phosa called on the university management to deal swiftly with
the racism claims. While the university’s management had put measures in
place to ensure transformation, she said, “efforts have to be speeded
up to ensure that allegations such as those revealed in the <i>#Luister</i> video are dealt with and do not rear their ugly head again”.<br>
<br>
In a series of interviews on the video, black students recount instances
of racial prejudice that they continue to experience in the town of
Stellenbosch, and the enormous challenges they face due to the use of
Afrikaans as a language of teaching at the university.<br>
<br>
<b>Language policy</b><br>
<br>
Last month a protest led by members of the ‘Open Stellenbosch’ movement –
“a collective of students and staff working to purge the oppressive
remnants of apartheid in pursuit of a truly African university”, as they
describe themselves on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/openstellenbosch/info?tab=page_info" target="_new" class="">Facebook</a> – broke out in a lecture hall at Stellenbosch. The students said they were objecting to the university’s language policy.<br>
<br>
With its origins as Victoria College, Stellenbosch University acquired
its status in 1918. A wealthy Stellenbosch farmer, Jannie Marais,
bequeathed the money needed to become a university before his death
1915, but attached conditions on the money. <br>
<br>
He said Dutch or Afrikaans should have equal status to English and that
lecturers must teach at least half their lectures in Afrikaans. By 1930
very little if any tuition was in English. The vestiges of this
tradition, 21 years into South Africa’s democracy, are refusing to die.<br>
<br>
The current language policy says that Stellenbosch contributes to
multilingualism in such a way that Afrikaans as an academic language can
be used, safeguarded and advanced, while utilising the value of English
as an international academic language and a common language for the
many speakers of other indigenous South African languages. <br>
<br>
Also, the university says it devotes attention to the judicious
advancement and application of isiXhosa as an academic language and as a
language of social engagement.<br>
<br>
But on the ground practice has angered black students. Some have
complained that they were recruited to Stellenbosch with the promise
that lack of Afrikaans would not affect their academic progress – but
this is not the case when they get to class.<br>
<br>
University spokesperson Martin Viljoen said the language policy afforded
English the same teaching status as Afrikaans. “A growing number of
modules are therefore available in the parallel medium option that is in
both Afrikaans and English, keeping both the human resource constraints
as well as physical infrastructure constraints in mind.”<br>
<br>
<b>Minister wants answers</b><br>
<br>
Dr Blade Nzimande, minister of higher education and training, also
expressed concern over the experiences of racism expressed by students
in <i>Luister</i>, which tells the story of how 32 black students have
experienced race relations on and around campus. Their stories conjure
up dark memories of apartheid South Africa.<br>
<br>
In a letter to the university council, Nzimande requested a report on
how it intends to address the matter. He said in a statement that it was
to shocking to view personal accounts of the daily experiences of
racism that black students encounter.<br>
<br>
“No South African should tolerate racism and discrimination in our
modern, democratic dispensation,” he said, urging Stellenbosch’s council
and management goeis to deal with problems of racism and discrimination
firmly and with the respect, seriousness and urgency. <br>
<br>
“The issue is not only about Afrikaans as a language of instruction at
the university, but this provides a basis for harbouring racist
attitudes among some white students and academics at the university,
clearly depicted in the interviews.”<br>
<br>
Nzimande said the matter of institutional transformation and acts of
racism and discrimination were discussed in a meeting convened by the
minister on in April with representatives of councils and management of
some former Afrikaans universities, including Stellenbosch. <br>
<br>
All of the universities agreed to deal clearly with issues of social
inclusion and cohesion, language and admissions policies. But while the
universities indicated that they were working on such matters, student
experiences showed otherwise.<br>
<br>
“Programmes appear ineffective. The language policies may be good on
paper but the practice is different, thus some of the institutions are
still regarded as bastions of the old South Africa. This culture has to
change, and needs to be done so urgently. <br>
<br>
<b> Vice chancellor speaks out</b><br>
<br>
Stellenbosch University Vice-chancellor Wim de Villiers said that since
his inauguration in April he had confirmed the right of students to
protest, on condition that they complied with processes and procedures
applicable to all universities.<br>
<br>
De Villiers said the video touched on several important issues that
affected students at Stellenbosch and it was indeed sad that some
students were still exposed to dehumanising experiences of racism and
other forms of discrimination – in spite of the progress that the
university has made. <br>
<br>
“My management and I are not indifferent towards these issues as they
are exactly the kind of challenges that are currently receiving
pertinent attention on various levels and in high-level discussions with
groups and individuals on campus,” he said.<br>
<br>
“To insinuate that the university is not serious about transformation,
that it turns a blind eye to flagrant racism or that it in some sense
advocates or maintain a culture of apartheid at the university is simply
not true and cannot go unchallenged,” De Villiers added.<br>
<br>
The university prioritised transformation in every sense of the word.
The violation of human rights, victimisation in any sense, racism,
classism, sexism and all other forms of discrimination would not be
tolerated – “regardless of who is involved” – he said, citing the
termination of the contract of a lecturer this year who sent a racist
SMS to a student. <br>
<br>
De Villiers was concerned that the <i>Luister</i> created the impression he and management did not listen to students or care about their lived experiences on campus. <br>
<br>
There had been several initiatives, including in recent months, to help
with transformation including a dignity march, removal of a plaque to
former apartheid leader HF Verwoerd, setting up a bursary and plans to
establish an office to fast-track transformation.<br>
<br>
“A plan is also in place to set up a research chair in reconciliation and transformation.”<br><br><a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150828143238771">http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150828143238771</a><br></div></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
</div>