Uprising around UCT a just cause, say students

From the outside, the protests at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in mid-February appeared to be needless disruption and the campus-wide shutdown added to questions about whether the chaos was justified.

Unlawful acts that were part of protest action on campus between 13 and 15 February included the blocking of roads, disruption of classes, and intimidation of non-protesting members of the UCT community. Peaceful protest also occurred, including a night vigil.

But South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) Western Cape chairperson and UCT Student Representative Council (SRC) Deputy Secretary General Erin Dodo believes the reasons for protesting are valid, although she doesn’t condone violence, intimidation, or vandalism.

Funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for student housing is simply not sufficient, she says, especially in light of Cape Town’s high living expenses. In addition, “Students came to university, they had residence offers, they went to their residences, and all of a sudden, they had no place to sleep. The way that it was described to us by management is akin to when flights sell too many tickets and at the gate, they ask you to get off the plane.”

SAUJS put together 150 food packs for financially-excluded students or those going through the housing crisis. “They went in a minute. There are so many students struggling even to get basic nutrition,” says Dodo.

In addition, “Students have been financially excluded often at doctoral or masters level, or in their last year of study,” she says. “They often have historic debt and can’t afford to return or register. This is all due to cuts in funding. There’s no scheme or long-term solution to assist them.”

“The SRC decided to conduct a campus shutdown based on no student being left behind. So, if one student can’t continue, then none of us should. This resulted in academic activity being moved online. We reached agreement with management that it couldn’t record non-attendance because not all students have access to technology or Wi-Fi.”

The shutdown led to more engagement with management. “It’s been difficult to communicate with management,” says Dodo. She’s not actively protesting, but is involved behind the scenes.

“I understand the plight of students,” she says. “They don’t have any other method of voicing their concern because no-one will listen if they don’t make a noise about it. In a lot of ways, they did achieve their goal of getting management’s attention. I don’t believe UCT can solve this alone. It goes to national and government level.”

Students and parents have voiced their frustration and concerns about the situation. “The biggest thing I can suggest is empathy. This goes far beyond us and our university careers. I understand that students are frustrated, I would be too if I didn’t look through a different lens. It’s important to recognise our privilege, how lucky we are to have our community, and to understand that a lot of people don’t have what we do.”

The protests came against the backdrop of reports on 22 February that Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng had resigned from the university.

“Many Jewish students have access to generators or people and places to help us to study online during load shedding, so I don’t feel too affected,” says Brad Gottschalk, a SAUJS committee member in his second year of a Bachelor of Arts. “It’s just a bit annoying going online – there’s nothing like in-person education. Although I don’t agree with the way the protests have taken place, the reasons for protesting are just.

“I’m not sure that the logic of if the university won’t let them on campus, they won’t let anyone on campus is the right approach to take, but people who are in the middle of their courses aren’t being let in. They want to do drastic things to get the university’s attention. They also feel like there’s no allyship from the student body. They aren’t inherently harmful, and it’s a lot less violent than in previous years.”

In a statement on 19 February, UCT’s management said it would commence face-to-face teaching on 20 February 2023. “While the right to lawful protest must always be upheld, it’s equally important to act when any incidents are outside the boundary of what’s legitimate protest action,” its statement read.

“For this reason, the Western Cape High Court was approached for an interim interdict in order to restore order on campus and protect the rights of all in our UCT community. The interdict requires lawful conduct, and provides that law enforcement agencies enforce the court order. UCT will always uphold the right to lawful and peaceful protest, but any acts that are unlawful will be responded to accordingly.

“Management has taken several steps and put in place measures to ensure that the academic project continues without disruption. These include the engagements with the SRC this past week,” said the university. “Approximately 4 000 students who ordinarily would have had fee blocks have now been able to register for the 2023 academic year due to these various measures. Management has also put on the table an additional R5 million to assist students with fee blocks on condition that the SRC matches this amount through SRC-led fundraising initiatives. Management will support the SRC in these fundraising efforts.”

A separate statement from the UCT executive notes that, “The university has taken all reasonable measures to ensure that as many academically eligible students as possible receive funding support. This has been difficult to attain, given that UCT is operating on a deficit budget this year, and that the cumulative historic student debt currently stands at R413 million. The university has established a partnership with a financial institution to provide funding on favourable terms. Other banks have recently made funding available to designated students. This effort resulted in R1.1 million being made available to clear 2022 debt.”

They said there had also been additional progress with regard to accommodation. “The university has successfully made arrangements with an off-campus service provider to accommodate a specific group of students without the required three-months-upfront deposit.

“This is in addition to previous measures where students who were in vacation accommodation were allowed to remain in residence while they were engaging with the finance department to reduce their fee debt or with their relevant faculty on Readmission Appeals Committee decisions affecting them. The university also provided emergency accommodation to a number of students in spite of them not yet having settled their debt.”

• The SA Jewish Report reached out to NSFAS for comment, but didn’t receive a response by the time of going to print.