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Sieraaj Ahmed writes that it would be appropriate for the place that provided the spiritual, academic, and leadership backbone of the apartheid regime, provided the country a road map out of the leadership dead-end we've painted ourselves into.
The most surprising thing I experienced during the 1 June Extraordinary Meeting of the Stellenbosch University Convocation was a feeling of deep sorrow for the side I'd spent weeks actively opposing.
Nearly exclusively, that side was white, Afrikaans… and grey; older people I had been taught to respect and protect.
That night they seemed dazed. Confused by the "TURMOIL!" at their alma mater, as trumpeted nearly daily for weeks in (mostly) the Afrikaans media. Confused by an opposing side that wasn't all angry black Matie (as they seemed to expect) but instead represented an alternate universe to the one that has historically dominated SU's Convocation: the opposing side was young, old, black, white, gay, straight; even white and Afrikaans. Many of them first-time attendees of a Convocation meeting, awakened by those six weeks of "turmoil".
In case you need the definition: all graduates and academic staff (full-time and retired) of a university are automatically members of that university's Convocation.
Allegations of nepotism
The current fracas started with allegations of nepotism against Vice-Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers, first reported on 3 April. The then Convocation Executive Committee (CEC, five people elected by the broader Convocation) called for De Villiers' resignation, prompting 247 Convocation members to file a motion of no confidence in the CEC on 2 May, saying they (with the exception of CEC Vice President Dr Rudi Buys) had acted without mandate. The 1 June Convocation meeting endorsed that motion by 1559 to 811 votes. This leaves Dr Buys as a one-person CEC charged with ensuring new elections – a process he hopes to conclude within three months.
The Convocation's three seats on the Council are, to me, the point. The current VC is seen as an ally of an SU constantly transforming itself (as it has – slowly but consistently – over the 20 years since I studied journalism there). Three of 25 Council votes would seem to be a key soapbox from which to agitate for a VC less passionate about transformation and more inclined to side with the old guard who refuse to see SU as anything but "theirs” – an institution built to promote white Afrikaner nationalism; and one that should continue to prioritise (white) Afrikaans interests above all others.
This battle has changed shape in the two months since the nepotism allegations broke. The then CEC, dominated by conservatives, some of whom had waged a 20-year campaign against the three most recent (and progressive) Vice-Chancellors, tried to frame the disagreement as one between an anti-nepotism and pro-nepotism group (us, supposedly). But my sense of what happened next differs greatly to that strange narrative.
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I got involved on 3 May, the day the no-confidence motion made news. I have voted in Convocation elections sporadically over 20 years when I had time to scan biographies for words signalling support for transformation. But on 3 May, apathy changed to anger (well,“gatvolness”, a word I would soon hear from many new friends). I sensed the conservative-controlled CEC was trying to use the Vice-Chancellor's apparently poor decision-making to try to force out a progressive so they might use their (our) Council votes to try to replace him with a conservative.
"How can we still be having the same arguments 20 years after I left Stellies?" I thought. "Will we still be repeating these conversations 15 years from now when Amir [my son] goes to varsity? Will some backward reprobate pee on his laptop in 2038 because he's black and 'It's a white boy thing'? Nee fok, if the VC did give a med school slot to a relative, he must go. But they're not going to use his mistake to try to strangle transformation again. Not in my name. Not any more."
So I tweeted. Within 40 minutes, I was in a WhatsApp group, and the rollercoaster next four weeks began. Via thousands of messages, Maties from 23 to 84 years old volunteered time and skill. After two group video meets, we cobbled together a campaign, one that grew steadier as progressive Maties found more progressive Maties.
What happened on 1 June in Stellenbosch felt big, perhaps not just for SU but for South Africa. A group of graduates and academics (from every demographic in our country, I believe) stood up, many for the first time at a Convocation meeting, and voted together to support change. What type of change, how fast, and dozens of other questions remain. But hopefully these crucial debates will now be led by a CEC representing a greater diversity of views from a more active Convocation (the university says there are 230 000 Convocation members).
Pity and sorrow
There was a lot going on in that hall that night. But what jumped out at me was a feeling I did not expect: pity. Pity and sorrow that we’d ended up here: two opposing sides who should have been bonded by our shared love of this institution.
And then another unexpected thing happened – the other side fell apart in front of our eyes. From (soon-to-be-ex) Convocation President Jan Heunis' argument in defence of the CEC's conduct, a large portion of which he used to list reasons why he sees himself as not racist rather than responding to the motion's essence, the speakers arguing for the other side mainly were incoherent, emotional, angry.
READ | Stellenbosch University's convocation vote 'highly flawed', formal objection claims
Our side – black, white, older, YOUNG! (and, in a surprise twist, billionaire Christo Wiese) – were more impressive than even my mostly optimistic heart could have hoped. The youngsters (many lawyers!) focused on substance. Some emotion was inevitable, though. One memorably pleaded with the opposition (paraphrase): "We appreciate your passion for this place, but you had your time to make it yours… Now can you allow us the same privilege?"
Young Maties were the stars of that night, providing a jolt of energy and optimism about what our future might look like. They presented their arguments logically, passionately, even tenderly.
Change is painful
Still, there was deep hurt in that hall, too. Change is painful, and likely more so when you've resisted it for so long. As the Convocation dusts itself off and prepares for new elections, I will leak one thing from our WhatsApp groups: despite the deep pain of the past 29 years of extending an unrequited hand of reconciliation to bittereinders, I sense this new voting bloc would still value the (constructive) input of those who feel hurt by or scared of the changes taking place.
I see a loving commitment to multilingualism in our chats – where "reasonably practicable", as the key phrase at SU states. Many of us love Afrikaans. My three older brothers speak only Afrikaans to each other, and I try to do Afrikaans-only with my son every second day. But one of the things that binds us even more strongly is our desire to see language used to include, not exclude.
Almost a week later, I feel cautious optimism that the group of Maties assembling and growing (we named ourselves #SUNewConvoRise) could herald the start of something big and new for South Africa.
Wouldn't it be just too beautiful (and so bloody South African) if the place that provided the spiritual, academic, and leadership backbone of the apartheid regime were to provide us with a road map out of the leadership dead-end we've painted ourselves into?
- Sieraaj Ahmed is MD of Brightlight SA Communications.
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