Volume 36 Number 07 - University of the Witwatersrand

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The UDF Million Signature Campaign is hotting up in theTransvaal.On Saturday, April 28, 80 activists, many of them Witsstudents affiliated to the UDF through Nusas, took part in asignature collecting blitz in town. The UDF issued allcollectors with a list of points to bear in mind while collectingsignatures.Among these they listed: 'UDF does not fight people. Ifpeople are rude, thank them and walk away. Don't get intolengthy arguments . . . If you are assaulted, take the names ofwitnesses . . . Don' drop your forms if you get angry. Holdonto them tightly. Ideally keep them in a bag so right-wingerscan't grab them.'These instructions may seem bizarre when one considersthat the people concerned were merely collecting signatures.Unfortunately the events of the 2Eth bore out the warningslisted above. Right-wingers snatched signature forms andassaulted Brendan Barry, SRC President and Colin Coleman,an SRC member, while police stood by and watched. Policeharassed and intimidated signature collectors throughout themorning.These tactics show the fear with which right-wingers andthe state regard the UDF, seeing it as a body with the potentialfor truly uniting all progressive organizations in the country,And such unity must inevitably lead to the fall of theapartheid republic, and the creation of a non-racial,democratic South Africa.Schoolchildren are currently boycotting schools in Pretoria,Bloemfontein and Cradock. Such widespread discontentmust be evidence of the continued inadequacy of the Blackschooling system.The media however has continuously portrayed thestudents as irresponsible and their grievances as trivial.'Agitators' supposedly lurk behind the scenes.Black students have consistently been willing to risk theirlives and the continuity of their education to demand that'Bantu schooling' be abolished and replaced by a free, equaland compulsory educational system for all.The conditions they experience are difficult for most whitestudents to understand. Overcrowding and unqualifiedteachers have long been some of the problems. But the presentallegations of sexual harassment of female students and ofexam papers not being marked, although students are failed,bear more serious attention than that afforded bv either thegovernment or the media.Contributors:Matthew KentridgeKaren JochelsonPeter RosendorffCathy StadlerJanet HerschClive GlaserDerek SpitzGrant GordonLinda BerkowitzDavid BruceJon DrimanAdam GordonERCJulie GordonZarina JeenaGabby OzynskiKatie BurkeVicky BronsteinPhilippa GarsonNeville Hoadhonicaf\rawarEditorEditorNews EditorNews EditorFeatures EditorFeatures EditorArts EditorArts EditorKate GreenbergCathy BurnsMike LevyPaul SegalSaul JohnsonTara McKeeRita SaccoTina DaviesRobtert GrievesKaren LazarJohn LaneCarol RifkinHeather JerskvBirth of the NSFThe founding members of theNational Students' Federation(NSF) must be warmly congratulatedfor the honesty inwhich they have launched theiralternative'moderate' students'association, since it is patentlyobvious that its first'moderate'chairman, Mr Russel Crystal,and his 'moderate' collaboratorsare now quite desperate to silencethe 60 year old, dedicated vorceof Nusas. It is not the tirst time,and neither the last, that Nusashas been openly challenged; thismore recent development, howeveris only more hysterical thanprevious occasions, what with agrand press gathering at theCarlton Hotel to witness the longoverdue birth of the EnglishStudent's wing of the NationalistParty.Mr Crystal, now in his l0thstudent year al the University.has as a frightful fixation, thedestruction of Nusas, a bodycommitted to a non-racial anddemocratic South Africa. Eversince he glamorously formed theStudent Moderate Alliance, MrCrystal has as a premise for thisorganisation the denigration ofthe SRC and its clearer implicationsfor Nusas: all the slickpro-Nationalist publications,which read more like Departmentof Foreign Affairs handoutsare unashamedly derisive ofthe policy stance adopted byNusas; all the energy generatedwithin this group is utilised toveer English students away frompolitical awareness and intocomplacent'moderate' stanwhich is nothing more thanconvenient acceptance of tlpresent status quo; all the e. haustive membership drives aclearly conducted to serve tlambition of a man more colmitted to his own political statthan to equitable change in tlcountry.Nusas has made it clear that.' is committed to the oppositionapartheid, and this commitme' is neither as Mr Crystal purpor'radical', nor dictatorial; in farthe union has much in comm
-rll-v!Urt-Democracy in M oz,ambique?f Cape: Exec.rethere re-;RC.list ofrgdo-,f us. Iler ourrted orey feelsition.perate.rill.'e SRCaturity,derate)ut rerllengechalreyond:raine,C withre pro-them-:y willorainelnuinelebate. out,C hadsationI at theiRC's:posiplied:i Dentodate:ctionrativents aI, noghtootherde bywiths ther-,pJust how far can ideology go indistorting percetptions, or has1984 got to Wits Student as well?I refer to the editorial, Vol 36No 5. wherein we are informed ofthe'democraticallyelectedMarxist government of Mozam-.bique'! Would the editor like toinform me as to when free andfair elections were last held inthat country, which incidentallyis rated by organisations such asAmnesty International as havinga human rights record worse thanin South Africa.However, perhaps my judgementis in error. After all, what'sin a name? Maybe the GermanDemocratic Republic (East Germany)rs after all more demo-cratic than the Federal Republicof Germany (West Germany)? Ifany opportunist revolutionary sochooses to label himself Marxist,is he not then lipso'democratic'foctoand'progressive?What really distresses me isthat as students our PercePtionsshould not be prematurely blindedby ideological predilections.Human rights and liberal freedomsare important, but thenwhy bewail their absence onlY inSouth Africa on this continent ofours? The world is complex,there are no clear-cut issues, andthis is precisely what extremistpolitics ignores, usually withtragic results.Vltits Student would do well toemulate that great lournahst,George Orwell, whose deservedappeal lay in his honesty anddirectness of approach, his disdainfor the hypocrisy andpropaganda ofeither left or right.the Government and SABC ir'South Africa good, Black Albad'.JB Btoom (MNOTE: To preempt any kjerk labelling of me, let me sthat I despise the SMA and rstands for.Let us not, then, imitate the sheep Could you please furnish us rin Animal Farm, mind-lessly more details of this so-cableating'South Africa bad, Black Amnesty I nternational retinlAfrica good'just as insistently as we find it questionable. IOrganize gaysGod-given sexualityIn response to a letter headeo gether for the improvment of'Campus Gays: Into the Daylight'in which an appeal was mation by others. If we wanown self-esteem and its emade to those persons interested be taken seriously, let us tin forming a gay working group, ourselves seriously first, and lStudents' Christian AssociationStatement on participation inRag.We, the SCA Committee,,wouldsociate ourselves from certainaspects of Rag on the basis thatthey undermine the dignity givenby God to all men and women.I would like to express myenthusiasm for, and purposefulengendering oi such a venture.The voice ofgay liberation haseach other to negate societself-fulfi lling prophecy.But with despair and frustion have I continued encounlike to make our stand clear witho Thebeen muffled forabuse oftoo long.alcoholWhile ing an irrational fear amrandregard to participation in Rag.student activistsblatanthavedrunkennessooenlv other gay people on campuwhich isWe believe that the authoritativewelcomed theacceptedformationand encouragedof coming out of the closet, a Iin Rag.teaching of Jesus Christ iso An attitude encouraging 'free groups concerned with issues that tells them that their lirelevant to all aspects of life andsuch as feminism,sex'racismwhichetc, the won't be worth it if their parecheapens and pervertstherefore has specific applicationeclecticism potentiallythe God-given giftinherent lecturers or peers'find out'. Brof sexuality.to Rag. This is the motivation foroin radical thoughtSubtlehassexual perversionbeen life worth it as a half-person;dproducing this statement.denied and gay issueswhichrelegateddistorts and stereotypesThe word RAG meansdown to the position'Remember femininityofseen in thing we'll get to in ourliving mean hearing of yoursepart of a group depicted as vrcertain sexistand Give'. We thereforesupport Rag in so far as it is atime'.as a tormented,aspects of Ragown good frivolous. childlike. foolish -Royalty, Drummiesmutilatedand Bummies.m(genuine expression of socialAgain, as is in common with phor for human lonelinFor most students Rag isconcern. For this reason we asoppressed groups, our right to Because this, desolation, issimply an excuse for having amembers of SCA will be involved 'good speak out has been determined only reward you will get until time' and thus the realSin Rag acltivities. In addition weby those who know better, with emerge from your twilight womeaning of RAG is lost.believe that our response shouldus left sitting pretty in terms of and admit what you are.not be limited to the Rag period We see these practices in Rag the insecurity about our own lack Thus I reiteratealone, but should be an expressionof a lifestyle committed to issuesas only a reflectionthe appeaof far deeper of organization. with society all gay people onwhichcampus toresultcoin our alienationpointing this out as sympromaticforwardserving those in need, in theand organizefrom God.as persOn this basis we of our neurotic inability to relatelinkedmanner taught by Jesus Christ. qualifyby theour participationcommon desirin Rag. to one another in a meaningful,improve the tenuous andHowever. we wish to disas-SCA Committee
Page 1: How many'd's inmoderate?',...;:;il:
Page 5 and 6: Nusas turns 60 in 1984, and toceleb
Page 7 and 8: ampus speaksout on VOWWits Studenl
Page 9 and 10: - - t'Ettrl-ustep bxckwxrdsSRC itse
Page 11 and 12: MirrortoaworkermovementInternationa
Page 13 and 14: n militxry fuI that The military is
Page 15: l. The Malady Lingers OnA prof stoo
Page 19 and 20: Artsilla: Penetrating the Piazza,)x
Page 21 and 22: -r(lvurity Policeis an NPever denie

Volume 36 Number 07 - University of the Witwatersrand

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?