Stellenbosch opts for greater diversity

Last week, by a margin of just four votes, a new placement policy was endorsed after a heated special convocation meeting on campus that lasted five hours.

The white, mainly middle-aged and male lobby, has been trying to block the university's attempt to accommodate more black students. The group was outvoted at the meeting.

Vice-chancellor Arnold Schoonwinkel told the gathering that the university intended to change the "diversity profile on campus".

"Excellence is strengthened through diversity. This is about language, race and diversity. About 58% of first-year students on campus are first-generation learners. They need to have access to residences because they are vulnerable," Schoonwinkel said.

The university has 23 residences in Stellenbosch - nine for men, 12 for women and two that accommodate both male and female students.

The racial breakdown of students in the residences is 66% white, 23% coloured, 10% black and 1% Indian.

The controversial new placement policy is regarded as significant because students in residences are at the heart of shaping the tradition and culture on campus.

Criteria for admission

Whereas academic excellence was the determining factor previously, the new policy has now set a wider range of criteria:

• Academic merit (a minimum of 76% is currently required to get into a residence);
• Whether the student is a South African citizen;
• Language preference (of the 28,000 students, 13,000 are Afrikaans);
• Ethnicity;

• Whether the applicant is a first-generation student and whether he or she has a bursary.

Some opponents of the new hostel policy felt it was too vague and potentially discriminatory against white students.

In addition, critics said it could be seen as the reintroduction of racial classification.

About 300 people - mainly alumni who had voting rights - attended the meeting and of them, 120 voted in favour of the policy and 116 against.

After the vote was announced, about 50 members of the audience got up and left the hall, a clear signal that those who had come to oppose the policy had not come to terms with it.

The university, one of South Africa's premier tertiary institutions, has long been regarded as the cradle of Afrikaner leadership. Some of its more notable alumni include Andries Treurnicht - who became the leader of the Conservative Party - and former apartheid leaders Daniel Malan and Hendrik Verwoerd.

More recently, the university was harshly criticised by the likes of former president FW de Klerk when it decided to offer classes in English. De Klerk accused the university of deliberately handicapping Afrikaans.

Those who opposed the new accommodation policy showed themselves to be true to the university's conservative reputation.

Students support the move

The university's student representative council supported the new policy, saying it was in line with South Africa's constitution.

Rector Russel Botman told the gathering: "Students are telling us we should do more for transformation - these students asking for changes are white."

Botman's administration has been plagued by allegations of racism and inter-racial violence on campus and he has repeatedly committed the university to transformation.

The residence placement policy has been hailed as a step in the right direction.

Dr Jerome Slamat, director of community interaction at the university, said listening to those who opposed the new policy reminded him of the days of the swart gevaar. "Stellenbosch belongs to all of us," he said.

An upbeat Botman said the meeting was the crowning achievement of many years of effort.

"I saw students themselves talking in favour of diversity and talking about the future of themselves and this institution," he said.

"The vote in favour of the policy was important because the university's culture and traditions are carried by its residences. The convocation meeting told us that the university is ready for change," he added.

Source: Sunday Times via I-Net Bridge