By Daniëlle Gerber
On Sunday morning, 15 May 2022, a white first-year student of Huis Marais residence urinated on the desk, laptop, and belongings of a fellow first-year black student, after which hateful comments were expressed. Since then, campus has erupted as justice is demanded from this act of indignity and racism. With a protest happening on Monday, 16 May, at Huis Marais and the Admin B building as a cry for the seriousness to be acknowledged by the institution conversation around race has increased.
Popular Instagram page @sujustkidding conducted a survey to engage the opinion of fellow students, especially people of colour. Find below a synopses of key terms to use and understand within this conversation collected from the survey results and conversations on campus:
- Implicit stereotypes and biases
While many white civilians of Stellenbosch might believe that they are not racist, implicitly, thereby meaning indirectly, they may hold biases or stereotypes based on race. This is usually as a result of the conversations around race that you were exposed to as a childhood and while it may not have been your choice to adopt these beliefs they could have manifested unconsciously.
- Microaggressions
Microaggression can often stem from these implicit biases. Microaggression is defined by Oxford Languages as the ‘indirect, subtle or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group’. This is the implicit stereotypes and biases in action.
- Racially motivated
This statement implies that actions are motivated by negative prejudices or hate towards someone’s race.
- Systemic oppression
This is the root of Stellenbosch racism. Considering South Africa’s history of colonialism and Apartheid, Stellenbosch as a town and within the university was not exempt from this inequality. Within the history there is intentional disadvantaging of people of colour. While Apartheid’s cease in 1994 did remove constitutional segregation, many students of colour on Stellenbosch campus still experience the residual exclusion of systemic oppression.
- Preventative vs Reactive measures
So far action around racism on campus has been reactive, meaning that action for change is a result of a problem already occurring. The student body is pushing for preventative measures. This means that racism should be addressed as prevention of discrimination and indignity occurs, as opposed to defusing it afterwards.
It is important that all races across Stellenbosch and Stellenbosch University converse about race to create systemic solutions and preventative measures. Whether implicit or explicit, racism is a problem affecting people of colour in Stellenbosch and needs to be addressed urgently and justly.
