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Division over free accommodation at Wits
Affected students in a meeting with acting Dean of Students Lamese Abrahams discussing amongst other things, the plan to accommodate students preparing for exams. Photo: Michelle Gumede
by Masego Panyane and Michelle Gumede
HUNDREDS of Wits students will be temporarily accommodated for free after being left homeless on campus over the festive season, squatting in libraries and computer labs to prepare for their supplementary and deferred examinations.
This comes after the entire end-of-year examination timetable was reshuffled due to the #FeesMustFall protests that rocked the country late last year. Supplementary and deferred exam dates were pushed back to early January and many students stayed on campus to prepare. But many were left without accommodation as residences closed on December 1.
In protest against their lack of accommodation, many of the affected students with the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Wits Fees Must Fall (FMF) staged a sit-in at the Senate House concourse, also known as Solomon House.
On Monday January 4, several Student Representative Council (SRC) members met with representatives from the All Res Council, the university administration and Wits EFF to agree that students writing deferred and supplementary exams would be accommodated on campus.
SRC projects, media and campaigns officer Mzwanele Ntshwanti said the SRC left for holidays on December 23. When the SRC arrived on campus in early January, they received and processed a list of the homeless compiled by a few students who had been staying in the library, concourse and computer labs. Ntshwanti said the SRC were already prepared that there might be a situation where a bulk of students would come from all over the country to write their exams. However, he said preparations stalled over how much it would cost the university.
“Conversations were started, they were just never concluded because the university was like ‘It’s gonna be costly and they were not willing to take the cost’,” Ntshwanti said.
This week’s agreement allows for 500 students, 300 male and 200 female, to be accommodated at Men’s Res and Jubilee respectively. Ntshwanti estimates the accommodation will cost the SRC R181 per night per student.
University officials could not be reached for comment by Wits Vuvuzela as of the time of posting this article.
Vuyani Pambo of Wits EFF said his organisation spent their holidays staging a sit in at Mens res, studying and consulting with students on possible solutions regarding the academic year ahead. Pambo says during their interaction with students it became more apparent that many students were on campus studying and doing vacation work to save up for their fees while being without accommodation.
On December 28, the Wits EFF staged a “let in” at Mens Res, where they opened up the residence for all homeless student which lead to conflict with campus control.
Pambo said they occupied Men’s Res only after attempting, unsuccessfully, to negotiate for accommodation for the homeless students with the university.
Although campus control was called to the Men’s Res, the students were never removed from the res and students are now coming in to sign up for accommodation since the agreement was publicised on social media by both the SRC and Wits EFF.
The procedure is that students have to go to cluster head Doreen Musemwa at Jubilee residence the day before their allocated exam date where their status for a deferred or supplementary exam is verified. Students must then go to the SRC offices to fill out forms and then they can then move into res. Students can stay at res until the day after their exam and will receive breakfast daily at the main dining hall for the duration of their stay.
Third-year mining student, Albert Sefadi* said that learning about the agreement on Facebook, he drove to Johannesburg from Mahikeng to sign up for the accommodation before his exam date. However, he says when he got to Jubilee on Tuesday he found that Musemwa was not around and he had to sleep in his car.
Sefadi was later assisted by the SRC on Wednesday and had completed all his paperwork, ready to move into his room by 10am.
There are some students who are distrustful of the arrangement. Rendani Dumah* a final-year education student and Wits FMF member decided to not take the offered accommodation.
“I don’t want to have the SRC telling people that they did stuff for me when they didn’t do anything,” said Dumah.
As of Friday, the occupation of Senate House has continued despite the dean of students sent the FMF group a letter demanding they leave the concourse.
*Affected students requested that Wits Vuvuzela change their names.
Wits SRC and EFF say student suspensions are unfair
by Zimasa Mpemnyama and Litaletu Zidepa
The Wits SRC has responded to the recent suspensions of seven students by the Wits University Council last night. The Economic Freedom Fighters have also responded arguing the situation is unfair.
Student Representative Council (SRC) president Shaeera Kalla has condemned the Wits University Council’s decision to suspend seven students as well as the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as a recognised club and society.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Kalla said that most, but not all, of the seven students suspended were members of the Wits EFF.
Kalla said the actions of the council amounted to student victimisation. “The process of identifying students who have breached code of conducts and then taking disciplinary action against them has been unjustifiably fast tracked by the VC [Vice Chancellor Adam Habib] and this is unacceptable,” she said.
“The VC has suspended seven students with immediate effect a month before exams, this affects their academics and this is an academic institution.”
Kalla criticised the consistency of the university in dealing with matters of misconduct around Tuesday’s SRC debate which descended into a brawl.
“Some organisations who were involved have not been demonized the way in which the EFF has and this is against every principle of accountability, responsibility and transparency,” she said.
Speaking to news channel eNCA earlier today, Wits EFF member Anele Nzimande said that the university used the personal Twitter accounts of Wits EFF members for the investigation which she said was unfair because, “they put a target on your back and they come after you”.
Kalla also commented on the processes of investigation the university used: “The VC cannot decide when he wants to fast track processes and when he wants to follow due process, an investigation into the matter and the extenuating circumstances of how it actually happened must roll out before any judgement is carried out and extrajudicial processes should not be used as is the case here.”
Nzimande also said the university was hypocritical over matters of “rules, law and authority” and accused it of violating labour law in relation to workers in the Matrix and Campus Control.
“Wits has this moral high ground that they are law abiding citizens, they follow the rules and they can judge when students are deviating from the rules, when they are not following the law themselves,” she told ENCA.
In an official statement released by EFF acting national spokesperson, Fana Mokoena, the party said it was suspicious of the timing of the suspensions, suggesting they were the result of political interference. “We also know that the university is being controlled by politicians who are determined to kill the EFF and its footprint from the university. It is not the first time this apartheid university has mistreated our members.” Read the full statement here.
Wits EFF secretary Mbe Mbhele took to Twitter to voice out his dismay at their suspension, “First thing I thought of when I was told to vacate the university is my mother. My suspension reminded me that SA is a fatherless nation.”
The EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said on Twitter: “When a university casts a critical student out, it only shows it has lost an argument, refused its duty to educate; thus has failed society.”
The council said in the statement that the university is still investigating the matter.
Related stories:
Wits Vuvuzela, STORIFY: Mixed reactions to student suspensions at Wits, August 22, 2015
Wits Vuvuzela, Timeline: the SRC campaign so far, August 22, 2015
Wits Vuvuzela, SRC debate investigated, August 21, 2015
Timeline: the SRC campaign so far
On Friday the University of the Witswatersrand released a statement around the suspension of students and the exclusion of the Wits EFF society. This comes after a disruption that was initiated by the Wits EFF at the SRC debate which ended in a physical altercation between parties. It was the start of an unusual campaign season.
This year four parties registered to run for the 2016 SRC elections these included the Wits Economic Freedom Fighters, Project W, the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO).
Cancelled SRC debate
Campaigning started off with a bang this year when the annual Student Representative Council (SRC) debate was cancelled after a fight broke out between parties.
Members of the Wits EFF filled the Great Hall stage dancing and chanting “No SRC!” The party continued to disrupt the proceedings of the debate.
The organisers, campus control head of investigations Michael Mahada, and campaign managers then went backstage for an emergency meeting. The group then came out and announced that the debate was cancelled. Chief electoral officer, Thembi Dlamini explained that the cancellation was based on a “collective decision”.
Exceptionally disappointed with the puerile & disruptive actions of Wits EFF. For Pete’s sake debate ideas & win argument through persuasion
— Kenneth Thobejane (@ramabifiT) August 22, 2015
Circus Flop
Then more confusion hit at what was supposed to be the first campaigning circus for the year. Only the PYA and a few Wits EFF candidates arrived at the FNB building on Wednesday. According to PYA’s Twitter account, supporters were requested to meet at 1:20pm at the FNB building, for an official election circus. But on arrival it seemed that there was no organisation for the event and only a few PYA candidates handing out pamphlets.
A handful of PYA members were handing out pamphlets encouraging students to vote for their party. When asked, the candidates told those that gathered that they were waiting on the party’s officials and the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC), none of whom showed up. PYA representatives told Wits Vuvuzela that, “It seems as though only Project W were made aware of the postponement, because it was only the EFF and the PYA that prepared for today’s circus.”
What seemed at first, to be a defiance of the cancellation to those who knew about it turned into a simple misunderstanding and miscommunication on the part of the candidates and their parties.
We will be at FNB today for the first official election circus, 1:20pm! Come through, meet your PYA candidates and hear why #PYALEADS!
— WitsPYA (@WitsPYA) August 19, 2015
The show goes on with circus at the Matrix
On Thursday the first organised and official campus circus was held at the Matrix on Wits East campus. Students were encouraged to question candidates on issues surrounding party mandates and burning topics related to the university. While at one point the EFF caused a bit of a disruption, all in all the circus went off with no major incidents.
Suspension of Wits EFF and students involved in debate disruption
On Friday the EFF were not at the second circus that was held at the Wits Medical campus. That evening at 6:30pm a statement was emailed to the Wits student body from the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand. The document gave comment on the decisions to suspend the Wits EFF as a society and said some of the students involved in the fighting at the Tuesday debate would be suspended.
@WitsElections @WitsUniversity has decided to expel us and remove @WitsEFF as a society at Wits KUBI!!!!!
— EFF expelled at wits (@lovezamazama) August 21, 2015
Varsity is a place where young intellectuals meet,discuss & bring new ideas, a hub for challenging the status quo so reinstate Wits EFF now
— Modibe J Modiba (@10dibz) August 21, 2015
STORIFY: Mixed reactions to student suspensions at Wits
Wits Vuvuzela journalist attacked on campus
A Wits Vuvuzela reporter was attacked on campus earlier today as she attempted to take photographs at a march against xenophobia.
Anlerie de Wet was taking photographs at an anti-xenophobia march organised by Wits EFF outside the Matrix building on the east campus of Wits University earlier today when she was confronted by a group of Wits EFF supporters.
The Journalism Honours students says a female supporter grabbed her around her wrist “trying to grab the camera out of my hand camera”, as other supporters rushed towards her. “A male student reached from behind, and smacked my head,” she added.
“They said I’m not allowed to take photos,” De Wet said.
When she questioned why not, she says she was told that she did not ask for permission to take pictures of the march and “because I am white”.
ALSO READ: “You fucking whities”
Mbe Mbhele, secretary of Wits EFF confirmed that a confrontation with De Wet took place but said “there was no physical attack on her”. He said, “the journalist just took a picture of us without asking for permission”.
“When we asked her who she is, why she did not ask for permission, she said this is a public space and that is when the confrontation started,” Mbhele said.
ON CAMERA: This is the last photograph Anlerie De Wet managed to take at the march outside the Matrix before EFF supporters tried take her camera from her. Photo: Anlerie De Wet.
Another Wits student, Ayanda Kunene, witnessed the Wits EFF supporters trying to take the camera from De Wet.
“She (Wits EFF supporter) grabbed the camera, wanting to take it away,” Kunene said.
Quintus Dirks, who also witnessed the incident, said, “I saw three EFF members, one grabbed the journalist’s camera … threatening to smack it”.
In a series of tweets this evening, the Wits EFF account tweeted: “We will not allow any media 2 (sic) take pictures of us without our permission … its against the law. No amount of reports you use will change that”.
“This is poor journalism and misrepresentation of the truth. You can do better really!”, another tweet read.
De Wet has reported the incident to Wits Campus Control.
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