Cape Town - UCT is going all out to change the names of buildings, rooms, spaces and roads deemed “dishonourable”, and have asked the public to suggest name changes.
This could see buildings such as the Leslie Commerce Building, Bremner Building, Chris Barnard Building, PD Hahn Building, the MR Drennan Anatomy Museum and streets such as Rhodes Street being renamed.
UCT Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng has invited the public to submit proposals to the Naming of Buildings Committee.
Phakeng said the proposal must be accompanied by a motivation that convincingly makes the case for why the current name should be removed, and a motivation explaining the rationale for adopting the new name.
“You are invited to consider names of people but also names other than those of people, to offer a wider reflection of UCT’s identity as a university. We would also consider the naming of buildings that are not currently named, such as the new lecture theatre,” Phakeng said.
“UCT endeavours to create an inclusive environment in which students and staff see themselves - their cultures, values, heritage and knowledge systems - reflected through the various aspects of everyday life on our campus.”
She said one way to do that was to consider how the names of buildings and spaces at UCT reflected the diversity of the campus community.
She said they recognised that names had meaning, and that, as happened at other institutions around the world, choices had been made at certain times in history to honour specific people.
However, she said it was also the role of a university to question the extent to which the institution continued to embrace and uphold names, symbols and imagery that uncritically honoured those whom history had shown to be dishonourable.
“At the same time, the act of naming offers an opportunity to think deeply about what the university represents and how it can reinforce the values that it upholds through a naming or renaming process,” Phakeng said.
The call comes four months after the university renamed their Jameson Memorial Hall after Khoi icon “Saartjie” Baartman.
Former #FeesMustFall leader Chumani Maxwele said the university’s call followed their demands made in 2015.
“These are the answers to our debates we had during #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall protests,” Maxwele said.
“There are still a lot of buildings that need to be renamed,” he said.
UCT’s student representative council chairperson, Asanda Lobelo, said they supported the initiative.
“The university has a very colonial past. Some buildings on our campus celebrate colonials who played a part in dehumanising black people during apartheid,” Lobelo said.
“It is our duty to address the injustices of our past by shaping our future. The buildings must be named after someone who represents the ideals of the university,” Lobelo said.
Proposals should be sent to [email protected], before 5pm on Friday, April 19.
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