The Law Students Council [LSC] has started a petition drive to obtain as many signatures from students to get an ATM installed on West Campus.
The abrupt closure of the O-Village restaurant on West Campus earlier this year has not only left the campus quiet, but it has also deprived west campus students of an ATM.
Yusuf Peer, President of the Law Students Council (LSC) says they decided to start the petition drive after students from Commerce, Law and Management faculty and some staff members were unhappy with having to walk to the Matrix to use ATMs.
Peer says, “It’s quite cumbersome on students having to rush to East Campus all the time particularly with purchasing from the shops and print. We just felt that it’s a huge inconvenience for us students to be rushing to East [Campus], especially with the limited time between lectures. We heard that Education Campus had this problem and the previous SRC managed to resolve [it], although there are legal problems there at the moment.”
Last year’s SRC held a hunger strike outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office (?) in a campaign for the installation of an ATM at the Education Campus, subsequent to which an FNB ATM was installed at the Cafeteria on the Park town campus.
But earlier this year, the ATM was removed, allegedly because of legal complications surrounding the installation of the ATM there.
The current SRC is in full support of the LSC’s petition, although they admit management may be reluctant to consider the idea
“We think it’s necessary because if students feel they want an ATM and they’ve had it before then why should they not have one? “, said SRC Vice President Internal, Itumeleng Mafatshe.
She admitted the SRC is still working towards the re-installation of the Education campus ATM and they need to get the legal requirements right so that they can ensure that an ATM on West Campus will not be removed?
Getting the ATM approved by university management will be a challenge,- and the biggest obstacle, Mafatshe says, is identifying a suitable location for the proposed ATM on West Campus.
“We have advised the [LSC] to, in line with their call for an ATM, to suggest that O-village be re-opened, as there was an ATM there previously”, explains Mafatshe The LSC are distributing the petitions to classes on West Campus and the West Campus residences at the reception desks. Any students interested in signing the petition can visit the LSC office, number 2 at the School of Law,or contact LSC Grievances Officer, Klaas Mokgomole on 076 209 0192