DA ousts AfriForum in Tuks student elections

THE wind of political change blew into student leadership structures of the University of Pretoria yesterday, when the student wing of the DA Students Organisation trumped long-standing SRC leaders AfriForum.

The victory in the 2015 student representative council elections on Tuesday means the rolling out of programmes which would uplift student life on campus and unite students in their diversity, said newly elected president and DA member Kwena Moloto.

Among the promises which won support of the student community was the defusing of racial tendencies and creation of a safety net for foreign students in instances of xenophobia. He said Tuks, as the university is fondly called, was still very Afrikaans and had no classes conducted in African languages.

With 4 000 signatures on a petition, the SRC under his leadership would push for the availability of mother-tongue tutors to teach students in the language they best understood.

Moloto said this was among projects the DA on campus had been involved in for a while.

For the leadership body, the DA will occupy five of the 10 electable seats, one of which is that of president.

The 21 year-old student of history and anthropology said he had an interest in social change, entering the world of politics when he arrived at the university.

He had mastered the fine art of balancing studies with politics, and even though he had not made it to many of his classes in the two weeks leading up to the elections, he said he would not fail.

His father was an ANC struggle stalwart and his mother a social activist and they both supported his involvement in student politics and his choice of political party.

The DA will also hold the portfolios of secretary-general, societies, safety and security, postgraduate and international affairs on the SRC.

The numbers of votes cast and those in favour of the party were not available yesterday, Moloto said.

“But winning half the seats is an obvious sign that we won by a large margin.”

He said the EFF targeted people who needed financial aid, riding on their past, while AfriForum continuously told Afrikaners that they were under attack, scaring them.

“Our message is basically that unity is key for us as a university to move forward, especially if we are to move forward as a country.”

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex groups were also the subject of focus programmes.