The introduction of marshals at Inter-Varsity raises questions over whose agenda the marshals are aimed to serve. The issues are outlined in points made by the university management and student representatives.
The introduction of marshals at Inter-Varsity raises questions over whose agenda the marshals are aimed to serve. The issues are outlined in points made by the university management and student representatives.
“We trust that their presence will have a positive, calming effect that discourages unruly or anti-social behaviour,” states Dr Vivian de Klerk, the Dean of Students at Rhodes University. George Kahn, Vice- President of the Student Representative Council (SRC), says: “The university feels that [students]don’t have any interest in trying to maintain a level of control, that we actually almost encourage the chaos.”
Kahn says the marshals are part of the SRC’s response to the administration’s criticism, and are intended to get students involved in trying to manage Inter-Varsity.
But Kahn implies a taint of hypocrisy to Rhodes’ own position, suggesting that the university’s lack of a handson approach encourages them to overestimate the problem.
“They talk about all these problems, but they’re not really there,” he says. The marshals’ presence may be in the interests of the students and the SRC, continues Kahn, since they will give a more accurate reflection of an event that was almost banned this year.
He hopes the university will “see what the problems are, what’s hearsay, what’s out of proportion, what the real issues are, and actually get them invested.”
The SRC expects the university to work with them, “We were willing to [have student marshals], as long as there are academic support staff,” states Kahn.
De Klerk confirms that the marshals would consist mainly of volunteers from the Rhodes student body with a few staff volunteers. Kahn says this will be a one to four ratio.
But Kahn also says that the marshals will be witnesses to misdemeanours and may carry cameras to record instances of students bringing the university into disrepute.
“One of the things [Rhodes] brought up very strongly is that there is a need for witnesses,” he says. In the past, student prosecutions often fell flat due to insufficient evidence.
Gordon Barker, the former student prosecutor, says that he “can only remember two cases in the past ten years in which specific students were identified and charged”.
He added that in contradiction to Inter-Varsity’s reputation, “reports are seldom made about specific students behaving badly at Inter-Varsity.”
It appears that the marshals would be a formidable resource as witnesses in this regard, and could thereby threaten the continuation of Inter-Varsity, given that Vice-Chancellor Dr Saleem Badat’s official statement was: “Should these conditions be breached, there shall be NO further participation in Inter-Varsity going forward.”
