‘Remove colonialist Rhodes statue’
OVER 2 000 UCT students, including the Student Representative Council (SRC), gathered at the university campus yesterday and called for a statue of Cecil John Rhodes to be removed.
The statue, which was described by some students as a colonialist symbol of apartheid and white privilege, formed the basis of an open dialogue titled: “Racial Exclusion at UCT”, at the university’s Jammie Square.
A large number of students made it clear that transformation is lacking at UCT, with many highlighting imbalanced student ratios, a racially institutionalised curriculum and a poor representation of black professors and academics.
ANC Youth League provincial chairman Muhammad Khalid Sayed and Ses’Khona People’s Rights movement leader Loyiso Nkohla also added their support to the call for the statue to be taken down.
Others felt that the statue, which was vandalised with human faeces on Tuesday during a protest for transformation, should stay, and that structures of successful black leaders should be constructed at the university.
SRC president Ramabina Mahapa said there was definitely a lack of transformation at UCT, and that black students find it difficult to identify with the university as it is still largely Eurocentric.
“I understand it is part of history, but the institutional representation of black people at this university is negative. The SRC has taken the stance that the statue must come down.”
UCT spokeswoman, Pat Lucas, said the university will consider requests for the statue to be removed.
“The university will certainly consider the call to remove the Rhodes’ statue, but we are mindful that the campus community comprises different groups of people with many different opinions on this matter.
“Alumni, staff and historians also have their opinions. And it was clear from comments made by students who attended the discussion today, that they do not all have the same view.
“This is one reason why we have initiated, with the SRC, a series of discussions on managing the challenges of transformation, to help identify practical ways that we might move forward.”
Lucas said transformation is a high priority of the university, and that the University Council would meet with the SRC on Monday to discuss issues around heritage, signage and symbolism.
“The vice-chancellor has requested an audit of staff appointments. About 60 percent of our student population is now black, and we are confident this proportion will increase as we implement the new admissions policy for the 2016 student intake,” she said.
UCT executive director of communications and marketing, Gerda Kruger, commented: “We appreciate the controversy about Cecil John Rhodes and the role he played in the founding of UCT.
“In terms of transformation at UCT, our view is that the calls for further transformation are legitimate, very important and valuable,” she said.
THIS is an open letter to UCT Student Representative Council president Ramabina Mahapa.
In response to the poo-throwing incident on UCT grounds, the SRC thought it suitable to write a letter to all students clarifying its stance on the incident and the matters which it attempted to raise, and I commend the president on doing so. However, as a former UCT student, I am absolutely appalled by the SRC’s vote to have the statue of Cecil John Rhodes removed – I find it very shortsighted and lacking proper intellectual insight.
I respect the position that transformation is a very important part of a tertiary institution’s responsibility, and completely agree with the mentioned deep-rooted and systemic problems colonialism has created, not only in South Africa but in large parts of Southern Africa, but one cannot and should not deny where we have come from. It is undeniable that Rhodes had a massive impact on the South African discourse, good and bad, and I firmly believe that the statue should stand as a reminder how far we have come as a country.
Voting for the statue to be removed is tantamount to historical denial of Rhodes’ influence.
Perhaps we should take down the hideous memorial above campus, get rid of that awful Rhodes University and forget about that useless scholarship too! I honestly believe the council needs to readdress its stance on the matter of the statue as I don’t think that Cecil is harming students and people by just sitting there (literally).
How can the fine institution that is the University of Cape Town be about transformation and moving forward when clearly the SRC and its president are so firmly stuck in the past?