Oh dear.
While the act of throwing faeces has come to represent a certain maddening desperation of South African protestors, used in an effort to get their voices heard, what happened at the UCT’s computer science building is disturbing, to say the least.
Arriving at the building early Thursday morning, staff found “shit” strewn across the foyer of the building, reports Daily Maverick. The building had to be sealed off and cleaned, and one student said:
“It’s horrendous how the workers, who the protesters yell about not being paid enough, have to literally clean up their shit.”
Yup, they are back protesting university fees, once again demanding a 0% fee increase as well as other demands.
Responding to the demands, Vice-Chancellor Max Price said on Thursday afternoon during a press conference that:
“One goal [of the protesters] is that we should have a 0% increase in fees, but the university will face inflationary costs next year and the government has not agreed or given any indication that they will increase our budget to compensate for fees, so this is not something we can do.”
Take a look at what happened yesterday:
The protests have once again disrupted classes and exams, with affected students worried about whether they will be able to finish the year in time:
The College of Music school was disrupted. Police locked some protesters inside. Someone outside kicked the door and cracked the glass. In response, the police used stun grenades to disperse the students.
A music student said the shutdown affected a lot of people at college because they have a lot of work to catch up on. “It’s a schlep, really,” he said.
To be honest, taking a look at the annual costs of universities is frightening. I am not surprised students are desperate to halt the annual fee increase.
[source:dailymail]
