Wapad.13February2020

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13 Februarie 2020 Het jy nuus? Stuur ’n e-pos aan wapad@nwu.ac.za Wapad WAPAD ® IS DIE STUDENTEKOERANT VAN DIE NWU-POTCHEFSTROOMKAMPUS

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Rough start for Mafikeng Protest action causes temporary closure

Marizyl Marais & Anneke Langner @marizyl; @anneke_langner

T

he Mafikeng campus of the North-West University (NWU) was temporarily shut down due to protests and has since reopened after the temporary evacuation. The protests commenced on Monday 27 January and were held in solidarity with the call from the South African Union of Students (SAUS) to shut down campuses across the country. Student protesters prevented other students from entering the campus while damaging property of the university and assaulting fellow students. According to the NWU, the campus was declared unsafe by relevant stakeholders and the SAPS by 15:00 on Tuesday 28 January. Louis Jacobs, director of Corporate Communication at the NWU, later confirmed that charges for assault were made at the Mmabatho police station. Around 14:00 on 2 February the NWU’s Mafikeng

Theo Seepamore, Mafikeng campus SCC Chairperson adressing the crowd

Student Campus Council’s (SCC) Facebook page reported that the Media and Operations Officer of the SCC was arrested on allegations of intimidation but was released 24 hours later. According to Jacobs, the damage to university property was “minimal”. Upon inquiry, Theo Seepamore, the Mafikeng campus

SCC Chairperson, said, “The case was removed from the roll. He [the Media and Operations Officer] did not even appear in court. I assume charges were withdrawn.” The Mafikeng campus was reopened on 31 January and classes commenced as normal on 3 February. Seepamore confirmed that the campus is fully operational

PHOTO: NWU-Mafikeng Campus SCC Facebook

during a telephonic interview with Wapad on 6 February, but added that “our issues are still pending”. “A big issue is students that have to make use of private accommodation but cannot afford it. The university does not say how to work on this. I am not against the protests and I am behind students,” mentioned Seepamore.

Some claims included in the memo of demands. Other claims made by the students through the SAUS include the cancelation of historical debt and that students who still owe the university money will be allowed to register for the 2020 academic year. Free access to the campus clinic is also demanded. In response to this claim, the NWU said in a news release that students pay only R10 administration fee at the Mafikeng campus. On the Potchefstroom campus a fee of R50 is required for a consultation. Other demands also entail specialised accommodation guidelines as well as transportation, the provision of sanitary towels in all female residences, as well as incampus bathrooms. The final demand is that “all first year students should be equipped with laptops as part of their Registration and Orientation packages, which already includes t-shirts and caps”. The NWU replied that they have already invested substantially in the digitization of the academic environment through the provision of Wi-Fi and computer labs that are open for every student to make use of.


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