Share

Rhodes University: Inside the student sit-in

accreditation
Pictures in Rhodes University’s council chambers. PHOTO: Kate Janse van Rensburg
Pictures in Rhodes University’s council chambers. PHOTO: Kate Janse van Rensburg

Rhodes University’s holiday-accommodation policy, which requires that students either vacate their rooms for the short, two-week holidays in March and September or pay an additional fee for the short stay over and above the already exorbitant annual accommodation fee, is exclusionary.

In a country where as much as 70% of the black population is poor, this additional fee is set at levels prohibitive to all but the university’s “imagined” student – a person who is white or affluent, urban-dwelling and disconnected from the social and economic realities faced by the country.

The fee is unaffordable for poor, working-class and international students, as is the alternative of paying for transport to travel the great distances to reach home.

The policy also ignores that, for students who do not have access to the internet and other resources at home, the short holidays are a valuable time to spend working on campus.

Since March this year, the Black Student Movement (BSM) has tried to raise its concerns over the policy, which ignores the socioeconomic composition of the student body and demonstrates the university’s lack of willingness to let go of its one-dimensional idea of what it imagines students at the institution to be.

Things came to a head on August 28 when the BSM occupied the council chambers and the vice-chancellor’s office in protest against this policy and the other white-supremacist mechanisms the university sustains.

Usually reserved for the elite, mainly white, decision makers of the institution, the chambers have been turned into a home by and for black students. The walls that used to carry paintings of old, white, male vice-chancellors and a commissioned tapestry telling the one-sided, painful history of the colonial institution have been removed.

The walls now carry pictures of individuals from many backgrounds and speak to the lived experiences of black people previously denied access to such spaces.

The BSM also tried to raise concerns about the policy directly with the university’s senate. But instead of listening, the university attempted to lock the gates and called the police to intimidate the BSM.

This reactionary and overwrought response bears testimony to the university’s failure to come to terms with changes in its student demographics and respond meaningfully to the realities of a democratic South Africa.

In locking the gates and calling police to deal with black students protesting for substantive equality, the university demonstrated its desire to remain antiblack and pro-capitalist.

In this way, Rhodes continues to function in similar ways to how it had under apartheid, when it refused to allow Steve Biko and his comrades to spend the night on its premises because they were black.

There are many other examples of mechanisms like the holiday-accommodation policy.

They pervade the culture of the campus and how it is administered and continue to deny the existence of black students at Rhodes, particularly poor black students.

Because of this, the experience of many black students at the institution is one of being subjected to aggression, violence and vilification.

What the BSM wants is to dismantle these white-supremacist capitalist mechanisms and end anti-black, anti-poor violence.

We want to create an institution where all students, regardless of their race or socioeconomic backgrounds, are treated like they matter and their existence is considered as valid as any other.

These are perfectly reasonable demands in line with the spirit and values of a free, fair, equal and just South Africa.

We are revolted and disappointed that the vice-chancellor, senate, council and the campus protection unit oppose this.

Balani and Coetzee are students at Rhodes

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you believe that the various planned marches against load shedding will prompt government to bring solutions and resolve the power crisis?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes
21% - 103 votes
No
79% - 394 votes
Vote