There were tense scenes at Rhodes University lecture venues this morning Monday 3 October as protesting students entered some lecture venues and disrupted classes. And there was also visible tension between two staff groupings who both say they are prepared to put their bodies on the line for students exercising their rights – but whose idea of what those rights are greatly differs.
There were tense scenes at Rhodes University lecture venues this morning Monday 3 October as protesting students entered some lecture venues and disrupted classes. And there was also visible tension between two staff groupings who both say they are prepared to put their bodies on the line for students exercising their rights – but whose idea of what those rights are greatly differs.
Dismissing Rhodes University management’s call for classes to continue while discussions about fees increases and free education proceed, a group of around 20 students entered the larger lecture venues, at Barratt and Eden Grove complexes this morning, singing and interrupting lecturers with questions related to the fees and free education protests.
A memorandum to faculty deans from the university management emailed shortly after the start of the first lecture informed staff about the protesters’ modus operandi for the day.
“Students are starting by asking lecturers what they are doing there,” the memorandum read.
Encouraging staff to engage in dialogue with protesting students, the memorandum reiterated that Rhodes University strongly supports free education for students from financially disadvantaged homes.
However, staff from the Faculty of Law were today forming human chains at the entrances of lecture venues, to ensure that protesters could not enter and classes could continue.
Shortly before midday, Grocott’s Mail found associate professor of Law Helena van Coller and colleague Shuaib Rahim, senior lecturer in the faculty, standing guard in front of the closed doors of the Eden Grove Red lecture theatre where a lecture was taking place inside.
“We are doing this in support of our colleagues who want to teach, and to protect our own students who want to attend their lectures,” Van Coller said.
Van Coller, who had been guarding lecture venues since 8.40am, said around 80% of the final-year Law class had attended their lecture that morning.
“Attendance has tripled since last week, now that the students know we are here,” Van Coller said.
Armed with class lists, the Law staff were supporting staff and students from other faculties too.
“Inside that venue earlier was the Pharmacy 1 class,” she said. “The lecturer wanted to teach, her class wanted to learn, so we came to protect them.”
Van Coller said the protesters had spent the morning moving between the larger lecture venues.
One staff member said she was shaken by the actions of a group of around 20 students who confronted her as she guarded the entrance to a lecture venue earlier.
Senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law Helen Kruuse said she had stood guard at the door of the venue for a Law of Property lecture in the Eden Grove Red venue.
“I literally put my body in the doorframe,” Kruuse said.
“The students came to both doors and forcibly opened both doors to the extent that I could not close them.
“I tried to close the door and it was yanked open – there was a shoving match between me and students.”
Kruuse said the group then became verbally abusive.
“Then it became an issue of them wanting to enter the classroom while the class was going on.
“Let me say unequivocally that we believe that free education for the poor is an important task. But with three weeks to go this term, to disrupt lectures to the extent that some might not get their degree is not the best way of going about this issue,” Kruuse said.
The “human chain” group had tense words with a second group of staff, who are seeking to play a different kind of peacekeeping role.
Member of the peacekeeper group, John Reynolds, who is a member of the academic staff at Rhodes, said their group’s role was to try and de-escalate the situation on the university campus.
Police acted with force against protesters in Somerset Street, on the border between the university campus and the town, on Wednesday 28 September. They drew wide condemnation after video footage showing one student being dragged towards a police van and another being pulled out from behind a wall was screened on national television. While police later said the screened footage omitted the events leading up to their use of stun grenades and rubber bullets, they were criticised for what many considered excessive force.
The peacekeeper group said they had formed because they saw the need to de-escalate tensions between students and students, students and staff, students and police.
Several are drawn from the Concerned Staff Group formed at the time of the #RUReferenceList protests earlier this year that sought to mediate between students and university management.
“We try to constantly keep lines of communication open so we understand where the police are in terms of their assessment of threat, and then communicating with students so they understand the potential consequences of their actions,” Reynolds said.
“We’re not taking sides either for or against. Students know we’re here. We’ve identified ourselves to the police as well. We’re constantly interacting with both sides to ensure there’s no violence that occurs.”
Reynolds said white sashes were being made for the group so they would be visible.
“We’re trying to broaden this peace-keeping group. We had a training session yesterday and we’re having another one today.”
Volunteers for the group had come from both within the university and the wider community, Reynolds said.
“A number of people are volunteering to assist, including the Dean of the Cathedral Reverend Andrew Hunter, so we can try and avoid violence on campus.”
Asked if the group would put their bodies on the line for the protesting students, Reynolds said without hesitation, “Yes. If we have to, we will stand between students and police.”
Another member of the peacekeeping group, Philip Machanick, explained the role they had played earlier today Monday 3 October.
“Earlier outside I spoke to Lieutenant-Colonel Monray Nel who said that the rules of engagement had changed from accepting short, five-minute protests, to anyone going into the building being arrested.
“He said they would go into the building and arrest the students if they didn’t leave.
“I came in and informed the students of this,” Machanick said. “They decided that they weren’t going anywhere. Most of them had been in the lecture and the lecturer had exited the lecture theatre.
“We’ve tried to establish what would trigger a reaction from [the police], and tried to persuade the students to stand down to avoid that reaction.”
Grocott’s Mail witnessed heated discussions between academic staff aligned to the human chain campaign and those in the peacekeeper group.
Afterwards, Machanick said assertions that they (the peacekeeper group) were encouraging the student protesters were untrue.
“We couldn’t tell the students what to do if we tried,” Machanick said. “We can tell them what the situation is, and they will make their own decisions based on that information.
“We have no idea what they are planning from hour to hour – we are not party to those discussions. Our role is only to keep the lines of communication open, and put ourselves on the line if necessary.”
Students at Rhodes University on Wednesday 21 September called a halt to lectures, two days after Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande announced that universities would set their own fee increases for 2017, subject to an 8% cap. Students at tertiary institutions across the country have called for free education for poor students and a moratorium on fee increases.
While many students were in class today, some vowed they would not return to classes until management came to them and meet their demands.
"There's no school until management gives in to our demands," said a student who wanted to remain anonymous.
Students Representative Council Media Councillor Tuletu Nelani said most students had returned to classes today.
In a media statement released late this afternoon, Rhodes University’s Communications and Advancement Division said the academic programme had continued today although there had been some disruption.
“We remain committed to continuing with the academic programme and to ensuring a successful completion of the academic year. To this end, the University remains dedicated to engagement with all constituencies…
“We reiterate the University’s position that everyone has the right to protest peacefully and within the bounds of the law.”
Counselling was available to students through the Counselling Centre and to staff through the HR Division.
Vice Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela was among those attending a multi-stakeholder forum convened today to discuss post-school education funding.
At today’s meeting, higher education minister Blade Nzimande said while urgent solutions were needed to the current crisis, this should not compromise medium- to long-term goals for the transformation of the university system.
“We need to ensure that in responding to urgent challenges we also do not lose sight of the bigger picture of the challenges facing the whole of the post-school education and training sector,” Nzimande said.
“For instance our research tells us that about 18 million South Africans require some form of further or adult education of one form or the other. This is far larger number than that in our universities and colleges.
“Statistics South Africa also tells us that there is an estimated 4 million young South Africans between the ages of 15-24 who are neither in education, employment nor training, whose needs have to be addressed as part of the mandate of our post-school education and training system.
“The most immediate challenge we have is that we are faced with a minority of students who are determined to bring our higher education system to a halt, while the overwhelming majority of students are either in class or want nothing more than to be there.
“We meet as a small minority is determined to spread anarchy and to destroy those assets the nation has dedicated to the empowerment of the next generation with the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to the future of our advanced industrial economy. What started as legitimate and peaceful protests now seem to have been hijacked by elements who seem to want to collapse the system.”
“Our job today as leaders is to find common ground. To find solutions which recognise and secure the space for legitimate protest while at the same time saying that the right to choose to go to class and finish one’s academic year is as protected by the Constitution.”
