Wits students protest over tuition fee increase

Fudzy said:
Witnesses would have to back up his version regarding not using his car as a weapon.
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There are other technicalities like the legality behind the protest and the approved area in which a protest may be held. There may also had been prior aggressiveness towards the driver(s) which would had put him in danger, the risk. This is simple mob violence.
 
The associate professor who referred to students as "selfish ****ing ****s" told News24 on Monday that while he had apologised for the incident, he would most likely "do it again" because he gets angry easily.

University of Cape Town (UCT) Faculty of Commerce Associate Professor Peter Ouwehand was recorded saying these words when referring to a group of protesters. In an interview on Monday after the incident, he acknowledged that while it was not "okay to talk to people like that", he did so because he was angry.

"It's exam time next week [and] they are preventing people from coming onto campus," Ouwehand said.

The video of Ouwehand was recorded on Monday morning by Twitter user Raeesa Pather. By Monday afternoon it had been retweeted more than 300 times.

In the video, Ouwehand is seen getting out of his car and is heard telling the group, "You guys are not helping. Those poor students are not going to get any of their lecturers in here today. How is this going to help? Why are you doing this? Bloody hell, it makes me insane."

As he gets back into his car, he is heard calling the students "****ing selfish ****s".

"There were about 12 of them," he told News24.

"They were privileged. All of them were sitting there on the grass with an Apple laptop and I do not think, judging by what I saw, that they were doing the poorer students any good."

Ouwehand said protesters could protest at any time of the year. "But the exams are next week. To prevent student access now is actually almost criminal.

"I’m not saying it's okay to talk to people like that, but I did because I was angry. Next time I am angry I will probably do it again."

When asked if he wanted to apologise to the students, he said: "Actually, I did. I walked up to them and chatted to them and told them, 'I am sorry for what I just called you'.

"I flare up quickly and I calm down again quickly."

But Ouwehand insisted the students "are wrong in this".

"They may be right about the issue, but they are wrong about the time. Now is a dreadful time."

UCT spokesperson Pat Lucas confirmed the university was investigating the incident.

Students are protesting at several universities nationwide against proposed fee increases for 2016.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...prof-says-after-swearing-at-students-20151019
 
The ANC says the current student protests at several of the country's universities over fee hikes are "legitimate".

In a statement, national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said: "These legitimate protests underscore the very important call that affordability cannot be the barometer that is used to determine whether the youth of our country have access to education - the only tool with which we can transform the world as immortalised by former ANC President Nelson Mandela."

Kodwa said the students were protesting against "unreasonable and exclusionary fee increments... imposed by various universities across the country".

He said the party remained committed to the realisation of free education at all levels.

Since 1994, university student enrolment had more than doubled from 495 000 to 953 000 in 2012, he said.

"The ANC welcomes the decision of the Minister of Higher Education and Training to convene a meeting with the Vice Chancellors of our higher education institutions. It is our hope that this meeting will emerge with tangible resolutions that will ensure that universities do not use the proposed fee increases as a form of exclusion."

The statement comes amid several protests at universities nationwide against proposed fee hikes for 2016.

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande was to meet vice chancellors, university council chairs, students and workers from various institutions on Tuesday to discuss the fee hikes.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Student-protests-are-legitimate-ANC-20151019
 
Fulcrum29 said:
There are other technicalities like the legality behind the protest and the approved area in which a protest may be held. There may also had been prior aggressiveness towards the driver(s) which would had put him in danger, the risk. This is simple mob violence.
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As pictures prior to the incident show. Students were sitting down. Hard to be aggressive when you're on the ground.
 
SammyD said:
As pictures prior to the incident show. Students were sitting down. Hard to be aggressive when you're on the ground.
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Where are these pictures? Did they had the approval to block a public road and vandalise property?
 
Neoprod said:
I completed matric in 1997 with 5 A's and a B (Afrikaans, thorn in my side since primary school). My dad's company offered me a partial bursary that was not enough to cover tuition so I waited tables through uni to make enough money to cover travel, text books, typical university costs. This was a fairly typical story for most of the kids from my area (Chatsworth, Dbn) that received the privilege of tertiary education.

The kids in the street outside Wits and other universities do not deserve this privilege.
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I know protesting kids who got 7 and 8 A's in matric. What makes you more deserving? Ulo (incoming SRC president) is also working part time to pay for university (as are a lot of protesting students). Don't act all high and mighty because you could cover the costs with waiting on tables. You think a medical student can do that?

I read a report somewhere that said student fees at South African universities has increased by 600% in the past few years (it didn't say how many). I'll look for a link.
 
SammyD said:
As pictures prior to the incident show. Students were sitting down. Hard to be aggressive when you're on the ground.
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Why were they sitting on a public road? Why is it okay for them to infringe the rights of others?

Besides, there were numerous callers that phoned into 702 long before this incident saying their cars had been bashed with sticks and their windows smashed etc., by the same group.

More importantly - why aren't they protesting at Luthuli House?
 
SammyD said:
Post 210, first link.

And here too
https://twitter.com/simamkeleD/status/656125680330129408
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Two pictures, it is quite visible that there are other groups standing in the background. Then you also have a thing which is called a photo moment.

Then she also posted this,

https://twitter.com/simamkeleD/status/656128014288363520

This is beautiful! UCT students broke into Bremner Building & are now are occupying it (Again!) #FeesMustFall
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I see that one lady posted this,

Black South Africans have 300 centuries of reasons not to trust white people. #ThatisAll
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OrbitalDawn said:
Why were they sitting on a public road? Why is it okay for them to infringe the rights of others?

Besides, there were numerous callers that phoned into 702 long before this incident saying their cars had been bashed with sticks and their windows smashed etc., by the same group.

More importantly - why aren't they protesting at Luthuli House?
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The media took tons of pics. If other cars were also vandalised, they wouldn't miss a beat. They'd have those pictures everywhere.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
Two pictures, it is quite visible that there are other groups standing in the background. Then you also have a thing which is called a photo moment.

Then she also posted this,

https://twitter.com/simamkeleD/status/656128014288363520



I see that one lady posted this,
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The standing students are behind the sitting students. That article you guys posted said he drove passed the crowd to the BP garage. That's behind the standing students. He felt so threatened that he decided drive through tons of sitting students toward the people he feels threatened by. Smart guy. Quite the distance to be threatened from too. If he felt threatened he'd have kept driving not stop at a garage.

Oh and what does UCT and what some lady said have to do with the price of eggs
 
Is it true that almost 75% of wits's students are on bursaries?
 
SammyD said:
Oh and what does UCT and what some lady said have to do with the price of eggs
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You posted the Twitter account. I simply read through it and made notice that the account holder is supporting these movements across SA. It looks like there are shared goals which makes it relevant.
 
SammyD said:
What are you taking about. That's Empire road. Where he drove through the students.
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Those photos are about 300 meters from the incident. And no indication of when in time... useless as evidence.
 
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