The UCT - Cecil John Rhodes Statue Thread

[LazyLion]

Is the UCT council so naive to think that this will be the end of their demands?

 

[dualmeister]

So what's next?

Maybe they should actually ......

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STUDY

 

[cybershark]

Statue vandalism part of a larger narrative, says Nzimande

Johannesburg - Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande on Wednesday condemned the vandalism of colonial statues, but said that a larger narrative needed to be discussed.

Addressing a gathering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville Campus, Nzimande said the issue of the statues was the tip of the iceberg.

“I believe that the statue struggle is a proxy struggle about transformation. The real underlying issue here is transformation,” said Nzimande.

The minister said he welcomed the position taken by the students in demanding the removal of the statues of Cecil John Rhodes in Cape Town and King George V at UKZN’s Howard Campus.

“Vandalising and removing the statues will not erase the history of this country. Another thing that I am concerned about is the sudden resurgence of racism in the country. We don’t know, maybe the statues is a response to that.

“Most of the statues are offensive to the people that suffered under apartheid. I say that let’s remove them and store them somewhere. Let’s make this an opportunity to engage one another on the more serious issues that need to be addressed as a country,” said Nzimande.

He said he was happy that the issue had been raised by the university constituency, rather than government.

“The struggle of the statues is a proxy struggle that has me asking myself why do we have racism resurging after 21 years of freedom?”

The minister told the gathering that his visit had not been prompted by the statues, but he had come to engage and hear some of the concerns facing the university.

Nzimande said from 2007 to date, R586m had been allocated towards infrastructure development at the university.

“A total of 44 183 students were registered to study at UKZN in 2013. Of these, 58.4% were women and 41.6% were men. The student profile is interesting in that 66.6% were black, 24.5% were Indian, 6.4% white and 2.1% coloured. This reflects the demographics of this province fairly well,” said Nzimande.

However, he said the academic profile was still too white.

“We need to revitalise the academic profession and need to address the problem that our professoriate is still too white in South Africa.

"The department has developed the Staffing South Africa’s Universities Framework, which takes as starting point the urgent and challenging imperative to recruit, support and retain black female academic staff to address their very serious under-representation at all levels in the sector.”

He also addressed the issue of government’s student loan, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) which has to date supported more than 1.4 million students from disadvantaged homes.

“NSFAS doesn’t not have sufficient funds to enable all deserving students to be supported,” he admitted adding that he did not expect students to destroy infrastructure because they had been denied funding.

“It’s like a community that destroys a library when there are no services in the community, that does not make sense. And it is counter revolutionary,” Nzimande said.

The minister said the department was investigating corruption in NSFAS.

“We found out that some universities are selling NSFAS to students. We also know that some students are using the money to buy big television screens for their rooms and there are many more benefiting from NSFAS when they are not supposed to,” said Nzimande.

 

[Fazda]

So what's next? Now that they have tasted victory and realized they can get what they want by protesting and not working what will they demand next

This is what I have said all along - they now have Carte Blanche to strongarm their way through any situation they want - particularly

Mahopa said it was not just about the statue itself but institutional symbolism.

“Who's teaching and being taught.”

Just watch this space - we are dealing with a bunch of thugs who will make Apartheid pale into insignificance when it comes to racial discrimination!

 

[ToxicBunny]

Is the UCT council so naive to think that this will be the end of their demands?

I honestly hope they haven't been that naive...

But given the statements I've seen subsequent to the decision, I worry that they have been that naive.

 

[Seriously]

So what's next? Now that they have tasted victory and realized they can get what they want by protesting and not working what will they demand next

Now the must really complain about the lecture rooms they sit in. Surely the brick structure must remind them that Rhodes made it possible so it must all be removed brick by brick like the one school in KZN.

The brainless idiotic students seems incapable of studying so rather waste their time on other distractions. One day the idiots will look back and regret their actions I beg to hope.

 

[Seriously]

However, he said the academic profile was still too white.

Yep, thats what I thought it's all about all along. Pure fugging racism. It too white to excel in what you do and perform by the whities. They should slow down their achievements and accomplishments so that others can look good? Why?

 

[dualmeister]

“We found out that some universities are selling NSFAS to students. We also know that some students are using the money to buy big television screens for their rooms and there are many more benefiting from NSFAS when they are not supposed to,” said Nzimande.

Yet again. It's the South African way.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Max Price is just so in love with the students - no mention of "One Settler, One Bullet" song I noticed!

Dear colleagues, students and alumni,



Yesterday evening, 8 April 2015 the University of Cape Town Council voted unanimously in favour of removing the Cecil John Rhodes statue from UCT’s Upper Campus. The statue will be removed at 17h00 today for safekeeping while matters concerning its future are resolved. Students, staff and members of the UCT community are welcome to gather in the area around the statue if they would like to do so to observe the statues removal.



I would like to share an extract of the statement that Archibishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Chairperson of Council shared with the media after the meeting:



“The University of Cape Town Council has voted unanimously in favour of removing the Cecil John Rhodes statue from UCT’s Upper Campus, at a special sitting held on 8 April 2015.



This follows a month long series of protests by UCT students which foregrounded the debate around statues, symbols and the impact these have on the climate of inclusiveness on the UCT campus.



Although the Vice-Chancellor had announced a programme to review symbols and names in October last year, the depth and breadth of feelings on the issue unleashed by the student protest challenged us to accelerate the consideration of the Rhodes statue, in particular.



This process has been orderly and deliberative, canvassing the views of students, Senate, academic and PASS staff, convocation, alumni, and the public. It has certainly been enriched by hundreds of articles in the newspapers, discussions on radio and television and on social media. We have noted the extent of the support amongst all the groupings for removing the statue. This process has been vindicated by the number of people who have come into the debates opposed to removing the statue and who have changed their minds as a result of the frank engagement. This is exactly how a university should work and we believe is an example to the country in dealing with heritage issues.



The Upper Campus precinct is a declared Provincial Heritage site and is thus subject to heritage legislation. UCT will immediately submit an application to Heritage Western Cape to have the statue removed. However, in view of the Council decision we have concerns about the safety of the statue and believe that the only way to protect it while Heritage Western Cape is considering our application, will be to temporarily remove it for safekeeping. The University has obtained a permit for temporary removal for safekeeping and we will remove the statue tomorrow (Thursday, 9 April 2015 at 17h00).



The University will now continue with the planned review of other symbols and names over the remainder of this year. Furthermore the student engagement on this issue has added an energy and urgency to addressing many other aspects of transformation and has mobilised members of the university community not previously seized with the issue. The University management will partner with the students, different staff structures and the UCT community to review and refocus our transformation plans.”



Sincerely

Dr Max Price

Vice-Chancellor

 

[ellyally]

So... crime is now down, rape non-existent, economy sorted, jobs for all, corruption has ended, everyone has basic services....

 

[Seriously]

He also addressed the issue of government’s student loan, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) which has to date supported more than 1.4 million students from disadvantaged homes.

“NSFAS doesn’t not have sufficient funds to enable all deserving students to be supported,” he admitted adding that he did not expect students to destroy infrastructure because they had been denied funding.

“It’s like a community that destroys a library when there are no services in the community, that does not make sense. And it is counter revolutionary,” Nzimande said.

The minister said the department was investigating corruption in NSFAS.

“We found out that some universities are selling NSFAS to students. We also know that some students are using the money to buy big television screens for their rooms and there are many more benefiting from NSFAS when they are not supposed to,” said Nzimande.

Yep, tell me all about it. So sad it's not even true!

 

[LazyLion]

Test run for Rhodes statue removal a success

Cape Town- A rigging team successfully lifted the statue of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes at the University of Cape Town in a test run on Thursday morning ahead of its permanent removal later in the day.

One of the riggers, Anton McEwan, told News24 they arrived at the campus at 07:00, attached the necessary ropes and lifted the statue about 30cm into the air an hour later.

It took three riggers and a man operating a crane truck to lift it.

"The statue is made of bronze and weighs about a ton-and-a-half," McEwan said.

He said it would take about five minutes to lift it for its official removal at 17:00.

The University of Cape Town’s Council recently ruled that the statue, the centre of much debate over the last few weeks, must be removed from the institution’s steps.

The riggers sat in front of the statue and guarded it.

Little achieved - student

A fence and green netting surrounded the statue, which overlooks sports fields and the city's suburbs.

A constant stream of students walked past and most stopped to take a photo on their phones, tablets or laptops.

Around midday, a drone also hovered over the statue for a few minutes, presumably taking photos or a video of the scene.

A 19-year-old first year law student, who did not want to be named, felt that that the students who had fought for the statue's removal had legitimate concerns, but had achieved little.

"The way they have gone about it, attacking inanimate objects, does not really promote difference," he told News24.

"The majority of people who feel very passionately about this did not even know Rhodes existed before this cause started. They have just been taught to hate."

The student, who is South African, was asked by his family in England to take a video of the statue and document his views and opinions on it.

Masakane Mbutuma, 51, travelled with a small group of residents in Kraaifontein to witness the statue's removal.

Wearing a yellow shirt with a Ses'Khona People's Rights Movement logo, he said there would only be peace when all the "apartheid" statues had been removed.

"When I see them, I can't forgive, I can't forget."

Situation paradoxical - student

He said a large group of people from the movement were expected to arrive at the campus later in the day.

A 33-year-old man, who identified himself only as a "Xhosa, black male involved in university initiatives", said people were not interrogating the issue at hand and chose to connect on a more peripheral level.

He found the situation paradoxical.

"Removing it is paradoxical to me because it is a statue of a white person in a university built by white people and that is presently accommodating people from all different cultures," he told News24.

"Why would you come to a university founded by white people and begin to protest against anything that is considered symbolic of white people? There is something illogical about that."

Jenna Etheridge, News24
Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Test-run-for-Rhodes-statue-removal-a-success-20150409

 

[ToxicBunny]

That 33 year old man has his head screwed on somewhat straight..

The 51 year old Masakane, is a retard.

 

[Willie Trombone]

View attachment 206170

It was beaten with belts and even with the first!

I'm quite sure the statue couldn't give a hoot.
ROFL!

In the words of Cheryl Crow

If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad

 

[Galactica]

Mass action works!

 

[LazyLion]

 

[Spizz]

The UCT remains rasist so wee will continu to deymand conseshuns until wee ar given owr Pee haitch deez and made profezurs!!!!

 

[Electric]

UCT is fast becoming a pillar of racist hope in this country.
We strive to be racist in our daily lives so why not teach it in our Universities.

 

[obs]

Now to introduce PASS ONE, PASS ALL

 

[Mila]

Mass action works!

What did it achieve?

They are still stupid
They are still failing
They are still poor
Still hungry
Still black.
Everything is still the same, even the statue still exist. It's not gone.
History didn't change.


Yes. It works, just ask the people that strike and end up in more debt and less money than before the mass action.

Not very clever.
Oh that also stays the same.