Students condemn racist acts

Binding: Students sign a declaration to root out racism.

UCT students and staff braved the sweltering heat yesterday to honour a Student Representative Council (SRC) call to condemn persisting acts of racism at South African universities.

They signed a declaration and discarded red bands as symbolic of discarding racism. Their action, the second similar event in a week, was prompted by the release of a controversial video showing a racial incident at the University of the Free State.

Thulani Madinginye, SRC president, read the declaration, which says: "We, UCT students, recognise the legacy of our past that continues to prevail and note with grave concern that years of attempts to combat racism and racial discrimination have not been successful".

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Martin Hall, told the students that racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination have no place on any campus in South Africa. "We should ask ourselves searching questions", and spread the fight against racism to include white people.