Cape Town – Opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday joined the African National Congress (ANC) in calling for an investigation into allegations of racism at Stellenbosch University, as revealed in an online documentary “Luister”.
“The racial tensions at Stellenbosch University, as exposed by the ‘Luister’ documentary should not be swept under the carpet,” said DA spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme, “To this end, we agree that there needs to be an investigation into this matter, so as to establish all of the facts, and to take the necessary action to remedy the situation.”
Uploaded onto Youtube, “Luister” documents 32 students and a lecturer’s experiences of racism at the university. Since release on August 20, the documentary has been viewed over 85,000 times and has received more than 400 comments on the Youtube link alone.
The DA’s response to the documentary echoed the ANC’s who, on Tuesday, stated that instances of racism at the university should be investigated by the likes of the South African Human Rights Commission and the Higher Education portfolio committee.
“The DA also calls upon all stakeholders – including Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training and the leadership of the University and the students – to find each other in order to formulate a way forward,” said Van Damme.
Social media users have also responded to the documentary, with mixed reviews. “One of the things that strikes me about this is how these students’ stories and experiences don’t even sound surprising or unbelievable, and that should make us angry enough to do something,” said one Facebook user Rehana Odendaal.
Another, a Youtube user “Skiballas the great” commented on the video: “Aaah, they take a few examples and paint an entire group or culture with the paintbrush… See, there is a double standard in South Africa, no, the world. It is [politically correct] to point fingers at one group, but wrong to show up the mistakes of others. Time to realise mankind is f**ked up. Whites aren’t better than blacks, blacks aren’t better than whites. Stop being a b*tching victim.”
Adding to discourse online were reactions to an interview by popular Metro FM host and Idols SA judge Unathi Msengana and what followed thereafter. Msengana had spoken to a member of the student organisation leading calls for transformation at the university, Open Stellenbosch. On Tuesday morning, Msengana had allegedly commented that black students at Stellenbosch must have been aware of the institution’s language policy beforehand.
“Unathi” started trending online with Twitter users lashing out at Msengana for her alleged siding with supposed racists at Stellenbosch.
The university has, since the release of “Luister”, spoken out about alleged racism at the institution.
“It is indeed sad that some of our students are still exposed to dehumanising experiences of racism and other forms of discrimination – in spite of the progress that we as a University have made,” said Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers.
“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.”
However, said De Villiers, allegations that the university’s management team were unsympathetic about experiences of racism were unfounded.
“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 maintains a culture of apartheid at the University, is simply not true and cannot go unchallenged.”
ANA