The Student Representative Council (SRC) held their general meeting on Thursday but were met with a less than dismal attendance from the student community.
The meeting, which was held in the SRC boardroom, was meant to be a forum wherein students could listen in on the discussion and contribute to the discussion. The meeting was attended by less than ten non-SRC students.
Among the agenda points for the meeting was SRC visibility on campus to which SRC Chairperson, Nomzamo Ntombela, requested members of the council to keep the promises they made to students by attending various events.
Ntombela stated that all council members had committed themselves to serve students and implored them to keep their word.
Deputy Chairperson, Maxwell Mlangeni, reflected on the recent Higher Education National Convention – which was aimed at finding solutions for the current higher education funding crisis. Mlangeni said that the convention had only lasted for a day due to physical fights between students from the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) and the EFF.
The issue of communication among various bodies on campus was also discussed with Hazel Seseko stating that for the SRC to be more visible, they would have to penetrate spaces which many students do not expect them to. Seseko, the Council’s representative for Stellenbosch University International (SUI), added that it was not enough for the Council to communicate with students using their Facebook page as many students do not see what has been posted.
Council member, Jeandré Boshoff, stated that there was a need for student parliament to be reintroduced following a motion of notice from Student Court. “We want Student Parliament to be independent of the SRC,” emphasized Boshoff. Boshoff explained that a separation of powers was necessary to ensure that the Council is held accountable.
Gender neutrality in residences was also on the agenda, with the SRC raising concern that many residences are still not gender neutral. Council members stressed the need for residence policies to change to ensure gender neutrality in all residences.
–Nyakallo Moleko
Stellenbosch University SRC offices. PHOTO: NYAKALLO MOLEKO