Cape Town - The African National Congress in the Western Cape has condemned as offensive a UCT student newspaper article about which race was more attractive.
The article in Varsity News carried results of a student survey which found that when it came to dating, whites were more attractive than blacks, coloureds or Indians.
Varsity editor Alexandra Nagel had apologised last week following outrage on social networks and from students and lecturers.
The article had intended to engage readers about a relevant topic, and was not meant to offend, she said.
ANC provincial chairperson Marius Fransman said on Sunday: “The ANC welcomes the position of UCT as an institution slamming the article and have noted the half-baked apology by the editor of the campus rag.”
Fransman accused the DA of being silent on the issue.
“The DA six months ago actively electioneered, with DA leader Helen Zille at the helm, to take control of the UCT SRC, of which Varsity is a mouthpiece. It is evident that the DA’s tactic is to deepen the divide between people along racial lines to create black gevaar (threat) aversion and take control,” Fransman said.
DA provincial leader Ivan Meyer said he was also shocked by Varsity’s article, which “will deepen divisions we have in our society”.
“Varsity has nothing to do with the DA. UCT does not belong to the DA. It belongs to the people.
“He (Fransman) is starting his election campaign by not saying what the ANC is doing for the people… The ANC has nothing left to fight with, and it seems race is the last thing they use,” Meyer said.
DA SRC representative Tarryn Naude said: “We did release a statement to our constituency rejecting the article. The piece in Varsity was inappropriate and perpetuates race-based thinking.
“We recognise the article was opinion by the writer, rather than fact. The writer surveyed 60 students out of about 20 000, and so that article has no statistical value.” - Cape Times