RAU racism probed

2003-09-12 22:11

Adriaan Basson

Johannesburg - The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) on Friday appointed an independent legal advisor to investigate allegations of racism on campus.

This follows a joint protest yesterday by the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the South African Students' Congress (Sasco). The two organisations used the opportunity to demand the heads of racist students and security personnel.

The race row at RAU erupted three weeks ago following an alleged race-driven incident between white students - residents of Bastion, a men's hostel - and security guards against two black students.

The ANCYL and Sasco said on Friday in a memorandum, which was handed over to the university's management team, that racism was a growing problem on campus.

"Bastion hostel is becoming more and more racist. There are individuals that want to promote racism and the university refuses to tackle issues that affect students daily," read the statement.

About sixty students took part in Friday's peaceful protest and promised to "demolish the walls of racism".

"Away with racist security guards! Away with a university that's breeding a boer force!" students chanted.

The university said in a statement that it had "comprehensive information on the alleged racial incident, but that it would call on an independent person to investigate.

"If it is found that any RAU student has broken a university rule, they will be dealt with accordingly."

According to the statement, RAU will not hesitate to punish offenders.

- Beeld