TUKS(UP) and other university strikes have become violent.

[Angel eyed wolfy]

The entire main campus and Groenkloof campus was evacuated today. This was the first violent strike at UP this year, where strikers resulted in physically harming individuals and and stealing students bags.

I am so upset that these strikes have been able to get this far.. Semester tests are approaching and we are unsure if we will be able to write them.

This is truly disgusting and it breaks my heart to see the country I love fall so low..

Please may anyone near UP main campus be careful. It is not safe.

[Randall]

Thanks for the heads-up. Didn't know it was that bad.

[Angel eyed wolfy]

It began when varsity was suspended on Friday and seems to be continuing until further notice. UP is looking at removing all lectures taught in Afrikaans ,but out of my opinion it seems that they will not stop the strikes,as they want all Afrikaans removed.. so yip...

[Obsidian]

That is unfortunate, suppose my brother won't be going into varsity this week.

It is somewhat frustrating that there is all this violence and hatred through manipulation and scapegoating, and now it affecting our education system which of course will end badly.

[Leeward]

More of this nonsense? Sigh...

[Sev]

I wanted to say one last goodbye to UCT before I left, but I couldn't bring myself to see it in the state that it's currently in.

[Angel eyed wolfy]

Hopefully things will die down soon.
Im hoping that this is only due to the elections which are approaching, and that things will go back to normal soon.

If you have any stories that you would like to share relating to protest action at your institution of learning, then please do. I would like to see to what extent these strikes have gone.

[jacojerb]

I don't go to university anymore, but one of my friends posted this on FB:

"I would like to thank my fellow engineers for actually standing up and peacefully removing the EFF from the lecture venue. This is what we should be doing. Well done."

[SnowDragon]

I'm just glad I'm done with uni. The strikes left a horrible taste in my mouth, and I feel that the university badly managed some aspects.

Sure, the protests started over exams (Which got postponed, expected), but the mark release dates (adjusted) were blatantly wrong (19th of Dec), I only got my final marks this month. For someone finishing up and getting out, this is a real nightmare. Grad programs have closing dates, you know? Nevermind the stress of waiting and waiting.

Even writing, you knew you weren't gonna perform as well as you could, because you aiming to finish ASAP so you can check on your car and get out of there before things explode, because quite honestly you have no idea what could be coming next.

I feel sorry for anyone still in the system, and wish them the best of luck.

[Raven Song]

What saddens me is that all these strikes have lost weight... People are striking for a thousand different things. One bunch wants fees to come down, one wants all representations of old colonial south Africa destroyed. Some want Zuma out and others want the entire white contingency of South africa gone. And this is spilling out into the streets...

The lines have been blurred between what's worth fighting for, and just fighting for the sake of fighting.

I hope for the sake of all those still at Uni that it stops before it interferes with your learning.

[Adagio]

The ironic thing is somehow the TUT has refrained from striking? This is strange... I mean the idiots striked over the pizza being overpriced once...

But isn't thst blatant discrimination? Wanting Afrikaans out of university? Isn't it our right to recieve education in our mother tounge? We're still in apartheid... It's just done a full 180...

[jacojerb]

In all fairness, the question of weather having different classes for afrikaans and english students divides us is something that can actually be debated. I see where the argument can come from. Perhaps the Afrikaans classes are smaller, and thus gets more attention? Stuff like that

But it should be a debate, not a war. And moreover, it shouldn't be a racial thing. There are a lot of whites currently studying who are studying in English, who are also being targeted... It's like the people striking don't even care about their own argument. Perhaps they don't...

[Angel eyed wolfy]

I agree with how the topic can definitely be debated, and to an extent I can see why the protesters have brought it up. The problem is that many seem to be in this due to racial reasons.

Last week Thursday, before any of this had begun, I was walking to varsity and I happened to be the only white person in the street a that moment. A black male with his EFF cap was walking in front of me with a group of other people that had gotten off of the trains.

One lady asked him if he was worried or not to wear his cap at varsity. He suddenly started speaking loudly saying that he will wear his cap with pride and that he does not care what white people think.

Soon after that he noticed me walking not far behind them and suddenly started speaking at the top of his voice saying that white people get everything, we do not work hard and only sit at bars all day, black people study hard and we do nothing, they will rid SA of Afrikaans and that white people get so many privileges. I was scared as he seemed like a lunatic.

First of all I am not racist. All of these strikes seem to be based on general issues mixed with racism.. It scares me.

[Angel eyed wolfy]

This is not a black on white issue. it just seems to be a large amount of vindictive or poorly educated people.

[Raven Song]

In all fairness, the question of weather...

Whether.

Lol, just teasing you Jacob. You most often have better English than me

[jacojerb]

Is Jaco really such an uncommon name? People always call me Jacob

Well... Jaco has a red line under it, and Jacob not... So according to autocorrect, my name is wrong

[Contrast]

Is Jaco really such an uncommon name? People always call me Jacob

Well... Jaco has a red line under it, and Jacob not... So according to autocorrect, my name is wrong

Not counting you, I know 2 Jaco's.

[Raven Song]

According to my autocucumber on my fone it's Jacob. I do apologise for not picking that up Jaco... My mobile (god I've become English) is retarded...

[jacojerb]

I know that feeling...

One of my friends is called "Henkie"... According to Google translate, his name is Bob

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I don't know if I agree with the "right to strike/protest." In theory, it's fine. In practice, it seems like most South African protests end in violence and destruction. Given that I'm not sure it can really be supported.

[jacojerb]

There are ways to do strikes, legal ways. I don't know why anything but the legal ways should be protected, or even tolerated

[Leeward]

It has now spread to UFS.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ ... s-20160222

[Sev]

Well, on the bright side, foreigners are still completely ignorant of what's happening here. For how much longer, I wonder. Are the cops treading so lightly because of that mine massacre?

[Raven Song]

Not so much Sev. About five people I've stopped today have started talking about it when I said I'm from SA. The thing is I'm inoa university town, and the kids here know.

[Hargan]

Sev:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-QWd-makw

I think they know about us

[Sev]

Not so much Sev. About five people I've stopped today have started talking about it when I said I'm from SA. The thing is I'm inoa university town, and the kids here know.

Interesting. Maybe it's just the Americans, then.

[vakie]

I'm a student at the Hatfield campus, all my lectures are in English and I think the protest is ridiculous. I've done a lot of thinking about the issue but there is a lot to consider. As I understand the issue, they are complaining that giving lectures in Afrikaans causes a divide between the cultures, but it seems to me that they are trying to separate white and black people in everything else they do so I personally don't believe what they are saying. If they did actually seem to genuinely want to merge the cultures then I think this subject deserves some attention and a long investigation into the matter, not just a hasty decision because protesters are getting violent.

As for the protest itself I think the university should draw a line and say enough is enough. They gave in to not raising the fees, then the protesters started demanding free education. There was also the saga about the statues and that there weren't enough black lecturers (although this affected UCT more). The university needs to send a message that they will not give in to these violent ways and rather demand a peaceful democratic solution.

I understand that you can't really expect these student to go study somewhere else just because they don't agree with something (since there aren't many other alternatives and financial implications), but is it really necessary to get upset and protest over every single thing that offends you?

[Sev]

I agree with Taka on this. All of these protestors should be barred from attending any public tertiary Institute. They should be made an example of.

[Adagio]

They're like children throwing a tantrum at a store.
Giving them what they want will just make it worse...

[Sev]

I recall that an American child once sued their parents because they refused to buy the child's favorite cereal. I really hope that that child lost, and badly at that.