This is re-blogged from damehumilis.wordpress.com
I found it important enough (and outrageously offensive enough) to share with you.
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Press Release
07 October 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact : Motlalepula Musina
Nathan Adonis, Thobile Ntaka, Lungi Dali
15466469@sun.ac.za
We draw the public’s attention to the issue of racial profiling at this institution. This issue reached a boiling point at a Student Parliament gathering held on Tue 5 Oct Oct 2010. Student parliament is an open forum for all Stellenbosch University students to engage in discussion about matters tabulated in the agenda. This agenda is drawn up and distributed by the Student Parliament Committee. This occurs once a term and for this term the Van Der Sterr Geboue was the venue where the following items were on the agenda:
- Election of Speaker 2011
- Feedback from the SRC Chairperson Jan Greyling
- Student fees
- Student safety and SAPS
When the meeting commenced, the current Madam Speaker of the House Helene van Tonder, advised there will be a 50-50 Eng/Afr medium and suggested that all non-Afrikaans speakers use the services of a translator. That service consisted of 24 translation sets for the entire parliament. For those that did not get one of those sets, the Madam Speaker asked that the non-Afrikaans speaker ask his/her neighbour to translate.
It is most absurd, that for a forum that is supposed to include and engage all students – undergraduate and post-graduate, local and international, is held in Afrikaans by default. This is despite the fact that the University’s Policy on language stipulates that a postgraduate student will be catered for in English and that is a requirement for international students to pass an English literacy test before being accepted into the university.
- Election of Speaker 2011
A concern was raised about the legitimacy of student parliament. Since its inception, the student parliament has been operating without a Constitution. The basis of the argument was that it is the Constitution that will guide the electoral process, and stipulates role of the Speaker. Madam Speaker van der Tonder informed that this document was still being drafted and would be ready by early 2011. A suggestion was made that the elections be postponed until the document if finalized. Madam Speaker van der Tonder did not have the power to make that decision and would need to consult the SRC. However, since the matter was part of this agenda, the election would continue as scheduled.
- Feedback from the SRC and Student fees
SRC Chairperson Jan Greyling gave feedback on the state of his negotiations with University Management. This was a follow up on a report given by the University Management on 21 September 2010, where student fees for 2011 were projected to increase by 12% for tuition and 15% for residence. Greyling used a PowerPoint presentation to help visualise and engage the house. His presentations did not abide to the 50-50 language rule set out by the Madam Speaker. The financial figures and table were strictly in Afrikaans.
For the meeting held on 21 Sept and this student parliament, minutes of the meetings and their supporting material (ppt slides) are still not available for the student’s perusal. Without these documents it is very difficult to objectively critique their content against the discussion.
Greyling informed the house that University Management were willing to reduce the increase by a mere 1% for both tuition and residence. He then followed with a justification for the respective 11% and 14% increase.
* Parking – Since the university has a shortage of over 5000 parking spaces, R80mil would be spend over the next 5 years to build new parking facilities.
* Bicycles – R0.5mil will be used to purchase new bicycles. To adopt a greener model of living, a new model of anti-theft, durable, economic bicycles would be imported from Amsterdam. These bicycles will then be leased to students for the year.
* Maintenance
* Lectures salaries – to attract the best staff and maintain a high academic standard
* Inflation
* Rising electricity bills
* Property taxes
A question was raised about why parking and bicycles is so high on the priorities list, when there are loans and bursaries to consider. This is especially relevant since parking and bicycles are a luxury and education is a need. Moreover, parking and bicycles benefits only certain category of students, yet all students must bear the cost acquiring them. Greyling advised that the increase was justifiable but negotiation with University Management were still to continue.
- Student safety and SAPS
Due to the rising number of crime incidents reported in and around campus, the University’s campus protection services and Stellenbosch SAPS were invited to shed some light on the matter. Mr Pool, the SAPS representative reinforced that safety is the responsibility of all students and that the entire community needs to work together to promote a secure environment.
A question about the persistent problem of racial profiling was raised with the SAPS. Their capacity to prosecute criminals and harassment of black students was too queried. Mr Pool did not have answers on why the police are failing to prosecute criminals. He advised that he would need to look at each case individually and thus cannot answer to that. On the issue of racial profiling Mr Poole informed that in order to avoid being mistaken for a criminal, the black students must carry their student cards in and out of campus at all times. There was no objection /explanation / clarification from neither the SRC Chairperson nor the Dean of Students present at the parliament.
In closing, the newly elected Speaker for 2011 was announced and the meeting was adjourned.
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So, essentially, Stellenbosch University has returned to the dompas system. For those of you who don't know what a dompas is, I will give you a short background.
During apartheid, blacks and coloureds were assigned to "homelands." There were ten territories around the country and movement for non-whites was restricted to these areas. If someone wanted to travel anywhere outside of these "homelands" then he or she had to have a pass, a sort of passport. Imagine having to have a passport to go to the next town to visit family. While your white counterpart did not. If you did not have your pass on you, you were thrown in jail (at best). These passes were called "dompas" by those who were forced to use them. Dompas mean, of course, stupid pass.
The pass laws in South Africa were the heart of the apartheid era as they severely limited mobility for non-whites. They were degrading and inhumane. These laws were abolished in 1986.
Now Stellenbosch University is, in essence, doing the exact same thing. They are encouraging non-white students to carry their cards to prove they aren't criminals. Do white students have to worry about this? Of course not.
This is simply outrageous. This is on my ever-growing list of reasons I don't like Stellenbosch. I much prefer Kayamandi or Lynedoch. Places where people are loved for who they are. Stellenbosch is known as a very conservative town with outdated views on the world, yet somehow I am shocked by this.
This is downright offensive.
As media releations practitioner for Stellenbosch University I take the liberty of posting an official comment here regarding to posting above. Clearly the original author made some factual errors - especially in suggesting that it was the university that are "encouraging non-white students to carry their cards to prove they aren't criminals":
ReplyDeleteThe Management of Stellenbosch University is fully aware of reports of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) allegedly requesting only black and coloured students to present their student cards at night. The issue was once again brought to the fore at a meeting of the Student Parliament held recently.
Although Management has a deep appreciation of the work done by the SAPS – often under very difficult circumstances – this issue remains of serious concern.
In this regard it should be clearly emphasised that the issue concerns members of the SAPS, not members of the Stellenbosch University Risk & Protection Services (USBD).
Management is also aware of the fact that opinions expressed at the student parliament by the Stellenbosch Community Policing Forum could have been interpreted (although most probably not intended in this way) as urging only black and coloured students to carry their student cards. In this regard it should be noted that the Forum is an independent body and not a division of the University. The University however wholeheartedly supports the activities and discussions of the Forum.
Echoing calls by the Chairperson of the Student Representative Council of Stellenbosch University, Mr Jan Greyling, the University once again urge students who feel that their rights have been contravened in the manner in which they have been confronted by members of the SAPS, to report the matter as soon as possible to the USBD so that it can be taken up with heads of police in the area.
It should also be stressed that the Stellenbosch campus of the University is an open campus and that the University is not in any way spared the waves of crime hitting the country. In this regard the University acknowledges the right of members of the SAPS to confront anyone on campus – whether they are staff, students of members of the public – in what they deem to be suspicious circumstances. Of importance is the manner in which it is done and whether any form of racial profiling takes place.
Although not official University policy, the University supports calls by the SAPS that all students (and staff members) have their student and staff member cards with them for identification purposes.
Regards
Martin Viljoen