Something beyond language lies at the heart of Stellensbosch University students’ frustrations, writes Melanie Verwoerd.
The release of the “Luister” documentary on YouTube recently seemed to open a can of worms for the authorities of the University of Stellenbosch. Not only did they have to deal with intense media scrutiny, but they were also called in front of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training.
I could not help pondering over the irony of this previous bastion of Afrikaner nationalism having to explain its transformation policy - and how they were going to deal with the alleged racism on the campus - to an ANC-controlled parliament in a venue close to the Old Assembly where Afrikaans was entrenched in 1992 as the medium of instruction at the university.
What I found rather puzzling was that, as at UCT a few months earlier, the university authorities seemed caught by surprise at the intensity of emotions and anger of many of the students.
From my perspective the surprising thing is that the anger and frustrations had not boiled over earlier.
I am a graduate of the University of Stellenbosch. I did my Bachelors, Honours and Masters degrees there (and they are real, I promise). I was on campus for almost a decade from the mid-80s to the early-90s.
When I enrolled in 1985, Stellenbosch was unashamedly the cradle of Afrikaner nationalism, providing the intellectual and theological underpinning for apartheid. After a short break abroad and a having gone through a political awakening, I returned to the university in the early 90s. Little had changed, although there was now a small, but very vocal group of left-wing students who fought passionately against the establishment and university authorities on many issues.
The university leadership was mostly dismissive and hard-handed in their reactions to these protests and there was a clear sense that nothing was going to change if they had any say in it.
In the pre-1994 white panic, the university moved swiftly and orchestrated the passing of The University of Stellenbosch (Private Act) 1992 through the last white parliament. Section 18 of this Act entrenched Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.
The progressive students were furious.
Many marches and other protest actions were held, to try and prevent it. It seemed clear as daylight that this was more than an attempt to keep Afrikaans safe: it was also an attempt to entrench whiteness by keeping in particular black students out.
The authorities argued lamely that it was not a race issue. They claimed that many coloured and Indian parents would like to see their children studying at this first-rate institution in Afrikaans.
The obvious rebuttal was that the majority of students in this country would still de facto be excluded, being unable to successfully study in Afrikaans. Now, 21 years later, the chickens have come home to roost.
Of course Stellenbosch is not the place it used to be – at least not in its statutes and governance.
The Private Act of 1992 has been repealed and the language policy is now one of diversity and inclusion.
Current and recent management is certainly very different from those of the apartheid days and there are many transformation initiatives.
But as the recent debates and unrest have shown there are still significant and fundamental problems at the university.
While the dominance of Afrikaans has taken centre-stage, I don’t believe this is the main issue.
Like the Rhodes statue at UCT, the language issue has to be addressed, but from everything I have heard and seen, something beyond language lies at the heart of the students’ frustrations.
To therefore retreat into lagers about language is not going to solve anything.
The message of the (mainly) black students at Stellenbosch and the other historically white campuses around South Africa is that they feel alienated, with no sense of belonging.
They do not feel heard or even seen and are tired of being “accommodated” rather than being legitimately and integrally part of the student body.
AND it is about the overt racism that they still experience. I have heard many Stellenbosch academics express their disbelief about this.
Yet the shocking fact is that many of the white “born-frees” of this country are as racist as those who were on campus in the pre-1994 years. My children who studied in Ireland, but frequently socialised with students when on holidays here, have for years expressed their horror about the frequent use of the K-word by Stellenbosch students.
A close friend of mine recently overheard Stellenbosch female students in a restaurant talking about how they were “grossed out” (“gegril”) when black students asked them to dance.
These experiences are echoed by the students on the “Luister” documentary.
Recent events seem to indicate that racism is also present amongst some lecturers as illustrated by a text of one lecturer and a tweet of another Council Member.
Of course racism is not unique to the University of Stellenbosch or university campuses. It is endemic in our society. But it appears to be a far too big a problem at the historically white universities and together with the sense of alienation felt by so many black students it is creating a very explosive and dangerous environment.
The problem is of course that intellectuals usually engage better with facts and figures, than they do with feelings and emotions.
Thus we keep on hearing how these students are factually incorrect and do not acknowledge the progress that has been made.
Authorities also frequently object to the tone and methods of students, whilst failing to notice their own dismissive and condescending tone and attitude.
The question is what should be done. Clearly obvious obstacles such as difficulties with the language of instruction, offending symbols and names need to be removed. There should be an absolute zero tolerance of any racism among students in formal university activities as well as in social contexts. Expelling students for racial slurs or actions would send a powerful message and it is high time that this started to happen.
Most importantly we need to ensure that students feel heard and seen and are taken seriously.
What is clear is that the historically white universities are at another crossroad.
Legal changes and transformation initiatives were important first steps, but now more is needed, to fully integrate our campuses.
University authorities need to listen, hear and respond to the frustrations of students of colour, and they need to do so with a humility born out of a deep awareness of the massively discriminating and excluding history of these institutions in the past.
* Melanie Verwoerd is a former ANC MP, SA ambassador to Ireland and executive director of Unicef Ireland.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.