Johannesburg - Another showdown is looming between Wits University students and Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Habib, this time over Friday’s general assembly.
Student leader Mcebo Dlamini said they didn’t want Habib to chair the assembly because they saw him as “a thief”.
The assembly is supposed to be chaired by Habib or the chairperson of the council Dr Randall Carolissen. Dlamini said instead of the two, they wanted an external person to lead the assembly.
The decision to call an assembly came after the university postponed academic activities until Monday, following Tuesday’s violent clashes between students and the private security guards and police officers.
On Wednesday morning, two opposing student groups clashed on the way from the Science Stadium to Solomon Mahlangu House. The #TakeBackWits group held a silent march to the hall demanding that lectures resume.
However, a group of white students affiliated with #FeesMustFast tried to disrupt the silent protest. They provoked the silent protesters by tearing down their posters.
They also held posters with messages such as “F*** White People” and “White Privilege”. But the silent protesters held their ground, remained non-violent and were protected by private security guards.
Stuart Young, a first-year film and television production student, who was leading the silent protest, explained the group’s actions.
“We are not against the #FeesMustFall movement. We support the call for free education as it is valid. However, what we are against is the intimidation and bullying by some of the #FeesMustFall protesters who want to stop students from entering campus. We are speaking not for the privileged, but for those who want to graduate this year. And those who have bursaries and loans so they can write their final exams... so they can apply again for financial aid.”
The protest came to a head in front of Solomon Mahlangu House, where Anglican Bishop Jo Seoka intervened to stop the two groups from exchanging blows. Seoka is one of the mediators in the impasse.
Young said: “The silent protest is more a form of discussion. It is to allow all the people who have been too scared to say anything these past few weeks due to intimidation, that they do have a safe place to say it. We are not trying to provoke anyone.”
Similar scenes played out at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where a group of students staged #OpenNMMU silent protests. The group and the #FeesMustFall chapter at the institution agreed that there should be debates on differing views around the opening of classes. NMMU has been closed indefinitely since the fee protests started.
At Wits, students held a mass meeting to discuss Friday’s assembly. Wits management also held a meeting with alumni student leaders, among them advocate Dali Mpofu and Firoz Cachalia, to seek a solution.
Dlamini said on the silent protesters: “There was a small group of white people who, according to Habib’s language, are the 77 percent who want to return to class.”
#FeesMustFall Mcebo Dlamini gives update @IOL pic.twitter.com/NTBfcl84Hi
— IG: MojoIOL (@MojoIOL) October 5, 2016
#TakeWitsBack situation at the moment on the stairs of The Great Hall @IOL pic.twitter.com/ltXuqp60zB
As they gather to make their way to the Great Hall, Stuart Young says he is not against #FeesMustFall @IOL pic.twitter.com/MaiGsPMcZv
— IG: MojoIOL (@MojoIOL) October 5, 2016
The Star