This morning we brought you the story below which covered the UCT ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ protests which have grabbed everyone’s attention and caused more than a few heated debates across social media platforms.
Now we can bring you some pictures from today’s protests and, as you will see, the discord has grown significantly with both students and the UCT Workers Forum out in full force. The pics below taken from News24:
UCT Vice Chancellor Max Price spoke to the protesters gathered outside the Bremner building, although his initial attempt to address the crowd was prevented when he refused to give an exact date for the statue’s removal. It is rumoured lectures may be cancelled for a day across campus so that students and university officials can engage, although the exact details of this are not known.
[STORY FROM EARLIER TODAY BELOW]
We’ve spoken a bit in the last few weeks about the statue of Cecil John Rhodes on the UCT campus. There are even rumours that ‘Do you Hear the People Sing‘ from Les Miserables was playing from someone’s window the other day which seems a bit extreme, although it is a fantastic song that makes you wish you were a part of either the movie or the stage production (maybe not the actual French Revolution though).
The UCT Poo Fighters epidemic has moved to Rhodes University in Grahamstown. If you haven’t done it yet, looking at both Uni’s Facebook Confessions pages is quite interesting (Rhodes HERE and UCT HERE) as students can post anonymously and share their opinions without the risk of coming face-to-face with poo.
But let us briefly address the fact that the Statue Issue has moved from South Africa to the UK, the US and Mexico.
Those are students standing outside Oriel College at Oxford University, where Rhodes graduated. I can’t tell you if the kids are South African or not (the source doesn’t say) and I do feel it makes a difference.
Mexican news website Nexos has written about it – mostly an explanation of what is happening – and the Washington Post gives an unbiased report of the goings on and very brief history of Rhodes.
He was notable for his deeply racist beliefs, a worldview that was echoed later by South Africa’s apartheid regime. “I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race,” Rhodes once wrote in a letter to a friend.
Yet he also left behind a more generous bequest, particularly when it comes to institutions of higher education. A prestigious global scholarship at Oxford University, won by Bill Clinton, among others, still bears his name.
Again I’ll say that Rhodes was both good and bad. But he gave us all a university to go to, to receive a higher education. Just move the statue over, put up another, and start a dialogue between the two. Maybe the statue should actually be there as a reminder to everyone to love thy neighbour.
[Source: UCT Rhodes Must Fall Facebook page]
