As much as I disliked apartheid when I was a student in the early 90's, it was sweet to see how quickly the security police could restore order to a campus. One felt safe back then. I can only imagine how law abiding students and lecturers feel with this going on around them.
And having personally had to manage recent graduates I can tell you the effects are being felt in the standard being churned out.
I was at VUT (then Vaal Triangle Technicon) in the mid 90's. One year PASO had a massive action on campus. Lots of rioting, chanting, barging into classes and chasing out the people.
Except for IT. The It dept always had its door closed.
The head of technical support was this short, chubby, Portugese gent - Mr Ribiero. Nice guy - taught us how to assemble our own computers and stuff like that.
Now this one fine day we were in-between classes, sitting in the Parking lot, chatting and drinking cokes.
And watching the PASO marchers run down every hallway, chanting. All the classroom doors were locked, and everyone was ignoring them, so all they could do was chant and toitoi.
That's when they noticed it - the Door to IT was open. First time ever that they could get in there.
So we watched them go chanting in. Then suddenly silence.
After about 20 seconds the chanting starts again, and we see them come toi-toiing out much faster than they went in.
Followed by a visibly angry Ribiero stalking out behind them, holding a phone.
I still have no idea what he told them, but that was impressive.
