Free-speech Oxford won't punish student in tip furore

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Qwabe caused a public outcry by demanding land back from a white waitress instead of giving her a tip.

An online petition urging the university to revoke Qwabe's scholarship or institute disciplinary action against him had garnered more than 36000 signatures by Thursday afternoon, 4 May.

But a spokesman for Oxford University said the institution encouraged freedom of speech, however offensive it might be.

"Our duty of care to all members of the university means we do not discuss individuals. Oxford is a place where non-violent speech, however objectionable, can be expressed and challenged. Our students may voice opinions which others believe to be misguided or which they find offensive. They have a right to do this, but in exercising it we expect them to respect other people and the law."

Qwabe posted on Facebook on Friday how, when Ashleigh Schultz presented the bill, his friend Wandile Dlamini wrote on it: "We will give tip when you return the land." Qwabe bragged: "She sees the note & starts shaking. She leaves us & bursts into typical white tears (like why are you crying when all we've done is make a kind request? lol!)."

A counter online petition to keep him at Oxford was also launched. It read: "The university is a place where views coalesce and it cannot be allowed to exclude people based on the whim of those who feel superior than others. His not tipping was a choice and daily black Africans experience the rejection felt by that young white woman and he stood up for them."

By last night 1117 people had signed the second petition.

But Qwabe urged his supporters not to sign it. "Leave whiteness to its hysterical ways," he said.

Schultz's encounter earned her a R140,000 "tip" from the public, which she intends using to study.

Source: The Times