Wits students protest over tuition fee increase

The end justifies the means. In South Africa when you negotiate peacefully, you're taken for foolshence violence seems to be the only way to meaningful negotiation. Terrible yes but what could the students do?
 
RASIMIONE said:
The end justifies the means. In South Africa when you negotiate peacefully, you're taken for foolshence violence seems to be the only way to meaningful negotiation. Terrible yes but what could the students do?
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These students weren't violent
 
Necropolis said:
Forcfuly stopping people from entering and exiting the campus is violent in my books...
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Blocking the gates by standing in from of them and singing. They know you're not gonna run them over (except the biker who did try to run the students over).
 
SammyD said:
If I stand in front of your car and say I'm not moving, who has more to fear?
This wasn't a violent protest


By definition from oxford dictionaries:

Definition of violence in English:

noun
[mass noun]


1Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/violence
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Some of the students did get violent and some people were prevented from going to class or where locked in against their will etc.

Imho when you do that you lose all respect and right to protest.
 
This protest will have had the effect of scaring academically strong learners, and good academics and researchers, away from WITS. The long term effects will only be felt after the current cohort of students have finished their degrees.
 
Humberto said:
This protest will have had the effect of scaring academically strong learners, and good academics and researchers, away from WITS. The long term effects will only be felt after the current cohort of students have finished their degrees.
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I dont know, WITS always had a strong "protest" culture. But I suspect the students of late have missed their aim. While most of their protests have a valid base they are targeting it at the wrong people. Thats just damaging their cause.
 
Wits prof denies being held hostage

Johannesburg - Wits University principal and vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib says media reports that he was held hostage are nonsense and “completely wrong”.

Habib left a high stakes education gathering in Durban to attend to the demands of his students on campus and was never held hostage on Friday, contrary to media reports, he says.

“I sat down because I was tired and wanted to eat,” he says.

The singing that went on around him – as he sat munching on nuts and each time he went to the loo – he ascribes to being “part and parcel of social protest”.

He says he was treated with respect, had his phone with him and could have walked out at any time he wished: “I took a calculated guess and decided to stay.”

But he blames some among the student leadership who gave the impression that he was kept at the hall against his better judgement.

Shirona Patel concurred with Habib that he had enough security detail around him not to have felt threatened.

Outgoing SRC president Sharee Kalla says at no point was Habib threatened and believes the student population should be commended for the manner in which they carried themselves on the day.

Before the meeting with Habib, there had been instances where protesting students were bumped by cars and some were pointed at with a firearm by disgruntled white students, she says.

But she insists none of the Exco members who attended the late evening meeting with the students was held against their wishes.

Both Habib and Dr Randall Carolissen, chairman of the Wits council, flew back from the higher education conference on transformation convened by Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande to address the concerns of the students regarding the proposed fee increases next year.
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More at http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-afr...ource=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#.ViPXQG6-Opo
 
supersunbird said:
No, people throwing things (like chairs, I bet you its not their property) around and shoving each other (the manhandling by police was of no issue then since it was similar?).
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So its the third video. I see at max three (green bandanna and the two who threw chairs) students in a scuffle in that video and the rest trying stop the chaos. This was taken Friday night (Saturday morning?) after the students and the Dean of Students Dr Pamela Dube were randomly pepper sprayed and teargased. That was retaliation from a small group of students. Not condoning it but just saying, three students vs the number of students that was actually in that building.
 
Patrick_Hockstetter said:
A saw a pic of Habib on his knees. It looks serious.
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You can only sit on your heels for so long before your butt starts hurting. He was probably just tired of his uncomfortable sitting position. The only picture of him I thought was really depressing is the one with him eating
 
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