Business Day (4/3/2008) — 03/04/2008
VIDEO INSIGHT INTO A MALIGNANT BIGGER PICTURE
Karima Brown
Residential segregation at University of Free State since 1990s
IT IS not often I find myself agreeing with the South African Students' Congress (Sasco). But I must confess I share Sasco's sense that firm action must be taken not only against the students who made the racist video at the University of the Free State, but also the administration under whose watch the whole sorry business happened. We should not forget that the struggle to end segregated residences at this university is more than 10 years old, so the call for the administration to be held to account is not unreasonable. The campus was thrown into turmoil in the 1990s, when white and black students first clashed over this issue. When violence erupted, the university's response was to separate students along racial lines to 'keep the peace'. So while UFS never officially had segregated residences, as this would have been illegal, it tacitly accepted exclusive race-based hostel accommodation for its students.
 
A ticking time bomb in SA's higher education institutions
The irony is that what started out merely as a temporary solution simply stagnated and became a permanent arrangement, largely as a result of inaction on the part of the university authorities. Clearly, they have much to explain. The university should also explain why integration involving women students has been more successful than that involving men. This is not just a matter for the university authorities. It raises broader, more important, questions about the willingness of whites to really integrate. Sasco, an organisation that organises mainly black students on campuses, knows first hand of the covert and overt racism that remains on many, if not most, formerly exclusively white campuses. Moreover, the organisation has long warned of a ticking time bomb at our tertiary institutions, but in its usual way, the authorities at these institutions and the government have displayed a tin ear, often dismissing their concerns in a manner that suggests incidents of racism at these institutions are the exceptions rather than the norm.
 
Racist malignity given acceptable status at university
As we learn more about the goings-on at UFS, it is patently clear that the video, hateful as it is, is by no means an exception. The incident happened in a context in which exclusion based on race is still part of the fabric of the place. The fact that any institution, never mind a place of higher learning, can still have segregated residences more than a decade into freedom is nothing short of a disgrace. That the Freedom Front Plus, a political party that enjoys all the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution, can go about its business giving racism an acceptable face by campaigning for exclusive residences on the basis of race is an abuse of those very freedoms we all enjoy and has very little if nothing to do with fighting for minority rights.

Judging from a news report in the Sunday Times this past weekend, a second video, the content of which is as yet unknown, exists. Given the content of the first video, it doesn’t require rocket science to figure out that the second video will no doubt contain more of the same racist malignity. It seems as if white racists have a penchant for capturing their noxious views on camera — remember the notorious police training video shown on Special Assignment, in which police used black refugees as bait to train the dogs in their unit?
 
University residence a 'no-go area' for black students
But I digress. Let’s get back to the issue at hand. Reitz House, I am told, has a reputation for being a hotbed of racists and those who seek to undermine transformation at the university. It is also common knowledge that the residence is a 'no-go area' for black students, a reality of which the authorities are well aware. I understand there is also a strong sentiment on campus that Reitz House should be closed down once and for all. While such a move might satisfy some, it is clear that unless racism in any form - whether under the guise of culture or language - is no longer tolerated and made a punishable offence, genuine transformation will remain a pipe dream at places such as UFS.