Cape Town - Art and drama students at a UCT satellite campus in Cape Town on Wednesday shared their concerns with a large group of the institution's workers as they marched together from upper campus.
Student leader Masixole Mlandu said the point was to consolidate student and worker demands across all campuses and work together.
Campuses were shut down on Wednesday amid uncertainty about 2017 fee increases and other issues.
Around 150 students and workers marched from the main campus to the train station to get into central Cape Town. Police officers tried to stop large groups of students from marching out of the station to the campus in Gardens.
There was a heavy police presence at the campus entrance. Two cars, rubbish bins, tape and tables blocked it off. Three police vans, a Nyala, and around 20 public order police officers stood nearby.
Students were peaceful and quietly walked to a hall for the meeting.
Sexual offenders
Hiddingh campus students said they were prey to sexual offenders.
"There are men who are sneaky and violent toward women on campus," one woman said.
Most students had class at night and left campus in the early hours of the morning. They wanted the Jammie Shuttles to be on time so no one was a target.
"It is extremely unsafe and there is [criminal] stuff the university can't control."
They wanted more education on sexual violence and increased channels to report incidents.
With residences, they were unhappy that students had to wait 12 hours between meals on weekends. Those who could not afford residence had to "squat" with others.
For workers, it was about insourcing.
Mlandu said many were unhappy with wage agreements their unions had reached, which resulted in salaries of less than R10 000 a month. They wanted R12 500.
They felt they were cheated in the process.
“We are here to reconvene and resolve some of these issues."
Hiddingh students asked those from other campuses to stand with them because their campus was very small.
"We find we are being victimised by administrators and technical staff," a student said.
"When we tried to shut down on Friday, technical staff were very violent. Policemen came in two trucks. We are very vulnerable."
The group sang struggle songs and danced.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/men-are-violent-sneaky-uct-students-20160921
Student leader Masixole Mlandu said the point was to consolidate student and worker demands across all campuses and work together.
Campuses were shut down on Wednesday amid uncertainty about 2017 fee increases and other issues.
Around 150 students and workers marched from the main campus to the train station to get into central Cape Town. Police officers tried to stop large groups of students from marching out of the station to the campus in Gardens.
There was a heavy police presence at the campus entrance. Two cars, rubbish bins, tape and tables blocked it off. Three police vans, a Nyala, and around 20 public order police officers stood nearby.
Students were peaceful and quietly walked to a hall for the meeting.
Sexual offenders
Hiddingh campus students said they were prey to sexual offenders.
"There are men who are sneaky and violent toward women on campus," one woman said.
Most students had class at night and left campus in the early hours of the morning. They wanted the Jammie Shuttles to be on time so no one was a target.
"It is extremely unsafe and there is [criminal] stuff the university can't control."
They wanted more education on sexual violence and increased channels to report incidents.
With residences, they were unhappy that students had to wait 12 hours between meals on weekends. Those who could not afford residence had to "squat" with others.
For workers, it was about insourcing.
Mlandu said many were unhappy with wage agreements their unions had reached, which resulted in salaries of less than R10 000 a month. They wanted R12 500.
They felt they were cheated in the process.
“We are here to reconvene and resolve some of these issues."
Hiddingh students asked those from other campuses to stand with them because their campus was very small.
"We find we are being victimised by administrators and technical staff," a student said.
"When we tried to shut down on Friday, technical staff were very violent. Policemen came in two trucks. We are very vulnerable."
The group sang struggle songs and danced.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/men-are-violent-sneaky-uct-students-20160921
