[lg policy] South Africa: Stellenbosch: A black member in a sea of white

[Harold Schiffman]

Stellenbosch: A black member in a sea of white
S’Thembile Cele 2016-02-14 15:00
Michael le Cordeur

The only black member of the newly elected executive committee on
Stellenbosch University’s convocation says the university cannot continue
to operate exclusively in Afrikaans.

Although Dr Michael le Cordeur was elected to the position of “additional
member” on the six-member executive, he is determined to make it count.

Stellenbosch University’s convocation election sitting was scheduled for
November, but was postponed as a result of the #FeesMustFall protests.

Le Cordeur, the head of the university’s department of curriculum studies –
who was elected along with a white- and male-dominated convocation that
includes president Jan Heunis, vice-president Jacques du Preez, secretary
Nadia Marais and additional member Sonja Loots – said he was excited about
his appointment, although it was “still early days”.

“It is something new for me – I still have a lot to learn. But something I
have been encouraging among fellow lecturers is that we cannot just
complain about the issue of transformation at Stellenbosch. We need to be
prepared to serve,” he said.

“The position of additional member is not a powerful one, but we can work
on that.”

At the forefront of the quest for transformation at the university is its
language policy, but Le Cordeur said this week that too much time was spent
on debating language, while other equally pertinent issues were put on the
back burner.

“There are other issues apart from the language one. The institutional
character of the university is problematic. Black students do not feel
welcome. Accommodation is a problem. There are students who travel by taxi
every day from places like Atlantis and Mitchells Plain,” he said.

“I was speaking to a student who travels every day from Atlantis by taxi
and it costs her a lot of money. She has to be up by 5am to get to class on
time. Both of her parents are unemployed. These are the kinds of things
that we need to speak about. I will be pushing for a shuttle service for
these students because this is not just a place for hostel students.

“The institutional character cannot continue to be allowed to make students
feel unwelcome.”

Le Cordeur said he did not expect to be elected, and stood for the position
because he believed those who were pushing for transformation at the
institution needed to be proactive and not just “criticise from the
outside”.

“I think the university missed a wonderful opportunity to show the world
that we are serious about transformation by not electing someone like
[Nigerian-born political sciences master’s graduate] Lovelyn Nwadeyi.
Convocation can play an important role in changing mind-sets, and voting
for Lovelyn would have contributed greatly to that conversation,” he said,
in a reference to Nwadeyi’s speech on the evening of the elections that
since went viral.

Le Cordeur said he believed that an additional 10 student or lecturer votes
would have made the difference and would have seen Nwadeyi elected to the
convocation body. She missed out on the position of deputy president to Du
Preez by 15 votes.

“We cannot be absent from debates on campus as alumni – we need to engage,”
he said.

Le Cordeur, who is fluent in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, said he
constantly encouraged his students to be multilingual.

“Language is important because it does translate to access, but my motto
going into this term will be that we need to forget about thinking of
Afrikaans as the only language of education,” he said.

“We need to work to construct a balance between English and Afrikaans at
the university. We cannot continue to operate as exclusively Afrikaans.
Those days are gone and they should never return. English can add value
because the playing field is uneven and English can level it out.”

*In an article headlined **No rainbow nation for Stellenbosch**, published
on January 30, City Press reported that the convocation committee elected
at the university consisted exclusively of white members. This was
incorrect, as Le Cordeur is black. City Press apologises for the error.*


*http://city-press.news24.com/News/stellenbosch-a-black-member-in-a-sea-of-white-20160214
<http://city-press.news24.com/News/stellenbosch-a-black-member-in-a-sea-of-white-20160214>*


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